I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

[Help!I'maRock!]

Greetings, Earthlings! This is my first post on your fine forum.

I have a 2005 PRS Custom 24. I've owned this guitar for 10 years. It's #1 and always will be. Complete with it's matched Dimarzio Virtual PAF humbuckers, installed in '06. Not even the Hot. Straight up VPAFs. For nearly 10 years! At the time, I also modified the McCarty switching. Each pot is a push/pull, which puts a pickup into parallel. So there's a lot of combinations here.

I've always played another style of guitar as a backup. Usually a Tele or Ric. But I've started using a lot of alternate tunings and so I'm contemplating a custom build. Think Fano LPjr if that helps (and if not, just think LP without the maple top).

I need pickups! And Dimarzio doesn't make the VPAF anymore. What I love about them is they're balanced and clear sounding. There's not a lot of gain, which allows my amp and pedals to do the work (Skreddy Hybrid Fuzz Driver -> GGG Red Llama clone -> Catalinbread Echorec -> Allen Encore).

I've used the Air Norton in the bridge of an old Ibanez RG, and that sounds cool. But I think it might be too hot, and have too much bottom end for a mahogany hardtail. The Air Classic was the pickup I passed on way back in '06, though it's a consideration.

What recommendations do you young whippersnappers have for an old Rip Van Winkle like me?

 

[Demanic]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

If you want to stick with Dimarzios, I recommend the D-Activators. Maybe a bit hot, but clear as day. They clean up well with the volume knob. For Duncan, I would say a Jazz in the neck along with a 59 in the bridge.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

If you want to stick with Dimarzios, I recommend the D-Activators. Maybe a bit hot, but clear as day. They clean up well with the volume knob. For Duncan, I would say a Jazz in the neck along with a 59 in the bridge.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

I'm not married to Dimarzio. But as a rule, their lower output pickups have more mids than Duncans. Which is helpful with my Fender based amp.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

I'm seeing a few VPAFs on Ebay.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

If you want mids with low output then you should check out the Whole Lotta Humbucker set by Duncan or a Pearly Gates set by Duncan.

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

If you want mids with low output then you should check out the Whole Lotta Humbucker set by Duncan or a Pearly Gates set by Duncan.

I wonder how differently each company rates their tone profiles. Because it seems like Duncan's have no mids. Thoughts?

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

I wonder how differently each company rates their tone profiles. Because it seems like Duncan's have no mids. Thoughts?

My thoughts are plenty of Duncans have tons of mids. I am not sure what Duncans you have tried or heard but they make a very wide variety of pickups covering every frequency range you could be looking for. This is the first time I've ever heard someone making a blanket statement like "all Duncans have no mids" regarding a pickup manufacturer's EQ across their entire line. It's like saying all DiMarzios are lame... oh wait...

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

These are "by comparison to what I'm used to hearing" comments.

Just like when people say EMGs are sterile because they have a flat, full-spectrum response and do not have pronounced EQ spikes or DiMarzios sound compressed and fizzy as compared to the brand they've been using, or the JB has an awful mid-spike in comparison to the ball of mush pickup that used to be in there.


Of course I really love it when people try a completely different pickup than their amp has been tweaked for and then denounce said pickup.

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

My thoughts are plenty of Duncans have tons of mids. I am not sure what Duncans you have tried or heard but they make a very wide variety of pickups covering every frequency range you could be looking for. This is the first time I've ever heard someone making a blanket statement like "all Duncans have no mids" regarding a pickup manufacturer's EQ across their entire line. It's like saying all DiMarzios are lame... oh wait...

I'm just reading the information each company puts out there. Look at their websites. Duncans primarily have a scooped profile while Dimarzios don't. I'm not being dismissive here, just trying to find the thing I'm looking for.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

It's not that Duncan's charts show reduced mids so much as boosted highs and lows. Basically they pick one guy to try out the various pickups and he says "kinda bassy", "seems to have more highs", "kinda even with a slight lean to the high-end". That's it. There's some sort of device that plucks the string the same way every time so at least player tone isn't a factor. The guitar and amp might be huge factors, but I don't think those have been reported.

I'm sure DiMarzio does it the same way. I mean, how else could it be done? The pickup has to be mounted to something, as do the strings, and whatever they're mounted to is going to influence the tone, as will the amp and speaker and the room.

I wonder if an electric motor disturbing the magnetic field of a JB will sound differently or generate a different signal on an oscilloscope than, say, a 59b? There's got to be an unbiased method to check a pickup's tonal curve.

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

It's not that Duncan's charts show reduced mids so much as boosted highs and lows. Basically they pick one guy to try out the various pickups and he says "kinda bassy", "seems to have more highs", "kinda even with a slight lean to the high-end". That's it. There's some sort of device that plucks the string the same way every time so at least player tone isn't a factor. The guitar and amp might be huge factors, but I don't think those have been reported.

I'm sure DiMarzio does it the same way. I mean, how else could it be done? The pickup has to be mounted to something, as do the strings, and whatever they're mounted to is going to influence the tone, as will the amp and speaker and the room.

I wonder if an electric motor disturbing the magnetic field of a JB will sound differently or generate a different signal on an oscilloscope than, say, a 59b? There's got to be an unbiased method to check a pickup's tonal curve.

Spectral analysis? I dunno, I'm just trying to buy the right thing without re-buying.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

So you're looking for a balanced vintage tone that will let the rest of your gear handle the heavy lifting?

Sounds like the A2pro or Pearly Gates set to me. But then again, I've never tried the WLH that has already been suggested.

The "Duncans are scooped" conception derives from some of Duncan's flagship models like the 59 and Jazz, but the eq charts and measurements and such are made simply based on comparative opinion between the models. They're meant to give you a general idea of the high/mid/low ratio, not to imply that the pickup is vacant of any kind of frequency objectively.

 

[jeremy]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

if you buy new, both duncan and dimarzio have trade programs. if you dont like the pup you bought, swap it for another within a few weeks of purchase

 

[Diego]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

I've used a fair share of Duncan and Dimarzios. "Not enough mids" was never something that came to my head, to be honest.
I don't think you'll find pickups like the Pearly Gates, the Alnico 2 Pros or the WLH set to be scooped sounding. Plenty of snarl to be had there.

And by the way, welcome to the forum!

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

Re: I'm like a throwback to 2006 - Looking for suggestions

if you buy new, both duncan and dimarzio have trade programs. if you dont like the pup you bought, swap it for another within a few weeks of purchase

Can I trade a Dimarzio for a Duncan?

At this point, I'm either going with the Dimarzio Air Classic or the Pearly Gates. Dunno which.