Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

evh_slash

evh_slash

New member
So I've had a crazy liquid lead petrucci craze these last 2 years but recently i've been getting back into my cranked plexi roots and playing loads of Racer x and hard rock.

I absolutely love that clarity with speed picking that Paul Gilbert gets and I'm looking for a bridge pickup with that kind of super tight pick attack.
Luckily I spent days on end learning how to pick fast from Pauls intense rock video as a teenager and have kept it up ever since.

I find that even the EMG 81 doesn't quite give that pick attack i'm looking for when used with my Rockstah plexi and sounds a little too bassy.

Can anyone recommend some bridge humbuckers with super tight bass and killer pick attack/bite?

I'm looking for a similar kind of razor sharp tone he has in this video, but I dont want single coils ! :P
I also know Paul used to wire his super distortion's in parallel in his racer x days for that snappier brighter sound... but surely there are some standard humbuckers out there with a treble hump...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtxBLErTXUw

Another example of the kind of sound i'm after (the palm muted chunky riff at the start of the solo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8kjarvKweQ
 
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Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

Alpha/omega set or you could go with my personal fav Alternative 8. I use it for your exact reasons and currently have it in most of my guitars. Its very aggressive though. Very. All of mine are reading in the 17.5k-17.9k range

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

In Racer X Paul ran a Super Distortion in parallel.

For part of the time with Mr. Big he used a Tone Zone. I'm not sure what else he used, and you probably knew all this already, but it's all I got.

Aside from a mini humbucker in the neck I have no idea what he used from Seymour Duncan. Bruce Bouillet, who I thought had better tone used a JB.

Based on what you're asking, I recommend checking out the Full Shred and the Screamin' Demon. If you dare put your technique under a microscope try the Jazz set and knock your gain back just a bit.
 
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Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

Excellent info Gregory, I didn't know he ran it in parallel, I thought it was series all this time. Learned something there, thank you.
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

Perhaps a Dimarzio humbucker from hell? Hard to get tighter & brighter than that, and I believe the output would probably equal or surpass a Super D in parallel.
I had a SD wired series/parallel with a push/pull pot and in parallel that thing was weak.
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

You want the JB! If you want that clicky biting percussive sound, the JB into high gain Marshall IS THE SOUND! Think Jake E Lee!

From the Dimarzio camp you can grab a Tone Zone (what PG had in Mr Big) or a PAF Master (which is what PG runs these days) again into a high gain Marshall for similar results.

I also have to recommend the Suhr SSV and the Suhr Aldrich. Very crystal clear biting pickups, extra percussive and clicky!
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

You want, in order of treble

Screaming' Demon - lowest output

Distortion - highest output

Full shred - moderate output? Not sure how moderate....


I think you really want a full shred.
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

I agree with Ace. A Full Shred. Even a Jazz bridge would work. If you needed more output, just boost it down the line.
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

The PAF Pro has also got that super immediate picking response.
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

oooh - Jazz Bridge. Very cool, highly underrated!
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

If you were lookingat replacing an 81 then the Killswitch Engage Fluence or Mick Thomson Blackouts.

Passive I think the Full Shred recommendations are spot on.
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

Don't forget the reliable and articulate Bill Lawrence XL-500.... Clarity, treble and power are the hallmarks of their sound going back to the 70's. And, they're only $55 on eBay.
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

Screamin Demon is very percussive; since the Jazz bridge was brought up, they're pretty similar pickups but the Jazz bridge has quite a bit less bass, and is looser.
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

I'm happy to see my recommendations including the Jazz have been echoed by some of the forum gurus!

gregory said:
Bruce Bouillet, who I thought had better tone used a JB.

Based on what you're asking, I recommend checking out the Full Shred and the Screamin' Demon. If you dare put your technique under a microscope try the Jazz set and knock your gain back just a bit.
Click to expand...
:-D
 
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Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

Try the Duncan Perpetual Burn if youre looking for a mid-output pup. Its not great a bluesy bits, though. It's cutting and articulate, and i have rarely needed to use the neck pup to shred, however. So it might just suit you well.
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

evh_slash said:
Can anyone recommend some bridge humbuckers with super tight bass and killer pick attack/bite?
Click to expand...

I am surprised no one named the Dimebucker for your description... I'll be the first then, the SH-13 would deliver!! There were other great suggestions made, like the Full Shred bridge and the Bill Lawrence XL-500, but when I read your description of what you are after, the Dimebucker was the first one that popped into my mind, give it a look!
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

Humbucker with tight bass and killer pick attack/bite? The original DiMarzio EVOLUTION ;)

Full Shred is great from the Duncan lineup of passives. Also, as Frank mentioned, the Mick Thompson Blackouts are surprisingly tight and biting!
 
Re: Looking for an extra cutting/percussive bridge pickup ?!

lol first on the lit to fit the bill would be the dimebucker with a lace deathbucker right behind it
 
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