Re: Les Paul custom replacement for black winter
so many questions... I'll try to reply to them all.
Ok so Orpheo, for reasonable price say a set under 2 it 300$ it a mix and match set either way you would recommend what then? I used to have stock 499s that came with my guitar I had an ibanez tsa 15h and cab, the black winters at the time of replacing them sounded brighter and did have more definition but I can’t help but wonder if I went overboard, it’s olastered all over the pickup info that they are extreme and it could be my ignorance but since they were originally made for seven string would they necessarily cut any corners?
I already posted about these pickups a few posts back. It's not that SD is cutting corners because they're not BAD pickups perse. I just want something more and I know it can be had from the shop floor and not the customshop because I hybridize seymour duncan humbuckers constantly to get the maximum potential out of these pickups. I posted so much about that in the Seymour Duncan blog, I'm sure you can find more on that if you wish....
Back to my amp I tried gain stacking with it and it never got “there” so now with the Hughes and kettner and Yama THR100HD both are nowhere near the sounds I’ve hard from nutckethead live and have an idea similarly in my head.
But there's the problem; the Yamaha THR100HD is a good amp (I don't know which Hughes&Kettner amp you have, you don't specify that) but that amp isn't perse made for the tones you have in mind. That amp delivers great sounds, for sure, but won't ever get you near the powerhouse tones of Buckethead or anyone for that matter who uses a huge tube amp.
My problem is I’ve not got enough money to go buy a Friedman or Mesa maybe I could get a new Marshall dsl20hr
NEVER settle for less. First and foremost: I don't like mesa boogie; not my tone, not my vibe. I've tried them all... great cleans, sweet crunch; high gain? Not my thing.Friedman: same. I can't get behind Friedmans. I would recommend you get a Revv amp, once your budget allows. For the time being, do yourself a favor and ge t the Revv G3 pedal. that pedal is like an amp in a box; makes everything sounds that much better. It's just that I've got a Revv Generator 120 on order for myself otherwise I would have gotten that pedal!!!!
I understand I was misinformed, blame sites like reverb,guitar player and such for the misinformation thank you for explaining it to me , I don’t like going around not knowing what I’m talking about. These are the first high output pups I’ve had aside from my old Ibanez jem.
There is so much information out there, I totally understand being overwhelmed. That's why I tried literally every Seymour Duncan. I tried 75% of the Dimarzio catalogue (up until 2012, I stopped when they came out with new ones, I have to be honest). I tried 60% of Bareknuckle's lineup and I have tried 75% of the Fluence pickups. Plus a whole bunch more...
Perhaps you could point me in the way of your opinion about my tone quest? I’ve tried chase bliss brothers, ocd, tubes reamers, eqd palisades on and on. With a good amp I could get there but it’s nt practical nor affordable since all I do is record I don’t need a 50 watt evh 5150 III, I’ve been trying to spring for a fractal ax8 but they are more than an amp would be
OK, sure. I wouldn't ever get an axeFX unless you absolutely need to have a billion tones under your fingertips and like to tweak and adjust more than you play. I Personally want just a great amp, one or two pedals to alter the flavor of the gain, a guitar, tuner, wah and bam, done. A 50 of even 100 watt amp is being hailed as useless for a 'home guitarist' but I disagree. Tube amps with lower wattage that claim to be high gain always have the problem that they 'crap out' in the low end when really pushed. That's inherent to their design. No matter how soft or loud you run them. That's why I prefer to use a 100 or 50 watt amp. I just feel and hear the difference. ONE notable exception: the Victory RD1. Great little amp. if I were you, I'd get that little amp, get me a second hand marshall cab, buy the Revv G3 pedal to tighten up the amp where need be, add some extra gain and rock it out with that setup. In terms of pickups: I'd get the Sentient for the neck position because it is so super versatile and get an Alternative 8 in the bridge if you wanna go super hot, but preferably, I'd get the 59/Custom hybrid: that pickup has the dynamic response, the voicing, the tightness and harmonics to really shine in a Les Paul. It's just a really versatile pickup.
Setting aside my quest for hi gain then my opinion still stands about the black winters. I don’t do that kind of metal I’m more prog like maiden, buckethead etc.
So I guess if the output on pups have nothing to do with the gain it’s just a marketing lie saying it’s born of Scandinavian metal and made for it. I don’t give a hoot about Scandinavian metal nor anything calling itself such the only current band I listen to besides buckethead was Metallica and they stopped being good a while ago.
I guess I’d categorize it as wanting to be able to do heavy yet cleans up like a box and I do like me some kids just not at the sake of other frequencies.
Output in pickups have a meaning in terms of gain but not as clearly defined as you might think at first glance. Some pickups out there have three magnets, wound to an insane reading, all made to have the highest output voltage out there. But they are so smushy sounding, so flat in their EQ that you don't really notice it. I've got a great example. The Kent Armstrong Motherbucker. That's two hotrail style pickups on 1 baseplate with 2 ceramic magnets. It's a 27.5k beast. If you use both hotrails, all in series, you get a tone. It's OK. not bad, OK. But once you split off one of the hotrails, you are left with a 13,75k ohm pickup. Don't for one second think that the output would drop 50%, because it doesn't work that way. Yes you will drop a bit in output but you reclaim clarity, sparkle, bite, attack. Output doesn't tell the entire picture, helas.
If I got one mid scooper and one mid pushed would that balance it out?
No, it doesn't work that way. You have to look at each pickup, bridge and neck, individually. Because you play the majority of the music you play, on either bridge or neck. The middle position is there for the ride, but isn't your bread'n'butter. If you've got a mid heavy guitar and you want cut, attack, bite, crunch and definition, what use would it be to have a mid heavy pickup in the neck and a mid scooped in the bridge? You've got to tailor your pickup choices to the guitar and your wishes, not to perse have something scooped or boosted for the sake of it. With that in mind, I came up with the suggestions I have done.
To summarize.
Pickups:
Alt8 bridge is a great one. 59/custom is also a great one (didn't mention that one earlier, my bad). The alt8 is hotter than the 59/Custom but both are good pickups.
Sentient Neck pickup. Very responsive to the tone pot but with the tone pot on 10, it has clarity without feeling overly singlecoil-y.
Amp:
get an amp that sounds great on its own. Pedals should be there to augment your tone, to flavor the gain structure, not be the end-all of the gain you're using, with the notable exception of the Revv G3 and to a lesser degree the Seymour Duncan Palladium (the Revv is imho a better pedal but that's a matter of taste; I just like Revv a lot). I'd suggest you get the Victory RD1 plus a nice cab because it's affordable, small and packs a major punch. Add a Revv G3 and you're done. It will give you a rig that will work for everything, from super saturated high gain tones to bluesy dirty sounds to even warm cleans.
Try amps with your ears, not with specs or what your heroes are using. My favorite guitarists use amps I could never get behind (Andy Timmons uses two mesa boogies, I absolutely loath those amps but I love his tone; just to name one).
I know if I don’t take someone’s advice I’d pick a mismatched pair that sounded like a butt bugle[/QUOTE]
