Looking for Pickups for a potential purchase

Zarg

Zarg

New member
Hi Guys,

I've been on the look for THE guitar for me and I think I found it: the Jim Root Signature Stratocaster
0114545706_gtr_frt_001_rr.jpg

The only thing that keeps it from being perfect are the EMG's. I don't like them, actually I don't like any actives and I'm thinking about buying it and converting it to passive.

What do I want?

Well I want to play metal with it, no doubt. I really love the atomic humbucker in my hwy 1 strat, I think its close to a JB?
I want good string separation, clear notes and an open sound with thumping palm mutes. I like mids and it should cut through.
It's actually a bit different from regular strats, has a mahogany body, ebony fretboard and maple bolt on neck.

what do you guys recommend? thank you!
 
Re: Looking for Pickups for a potential purchase

I'm currently having an out of body experience with a C8. If you've magnet swapped before (very simple), it's a Duncan Custom pickup, any model, with an alnico 8 magnet. I used the unpolished. Tight lows, perfect mids, smooth and not piercing highs. Just put it in a few days ago in the cheapest model Jackson Rhoads V with a Floyd and it may be the best sounding guitar I have. With the band I play stuff from 80s pop to Metallica, and at home I like to fool with drop C tunings. To my old ears, it fits every style of heavy music. Wish I would have done this waaaaaaay back. Hey, good luck with the pickup search. That's a REALLY nice guitar, hope you love it.
 
Re: Looking for Pickups for a potential purchase

For a modern, chuggy, percussive low end with articulate highs, check out the Pegasus/ Sentient combo, which will give you what you want (and it will sound a lot better). Don't forget to replace the pots, too (500k).
 
Re: Looking for Pickups for a potential purchase

I know you don't typically like actives, but I suggest taking a look at the new Duality set...very different from those EMGs, allegedly more passive-like than any other Duncan active, marketed as tight and articulate and they would be a simple plug-n-play swap for the EMGs.

For open-sounding passives with punch and crunch, take a look at the Full Shred, the Pegasus (as Mincer mentioned) and maybe even the Nazgul. The "Custom 8" 75lespaul mentioned is a great all-rounder with plenty of output, as well. Match any of those with something like a Sentient in the neck and you've got a pretty versatile passive setup for sure.
 
Re: Looking for Pickups for a potential purchase

typical duncan forum question on pickups for a guitar you still haven't bought

i know you don't like actives, but pickups don't sound the same on 2 different guitars (it applyes even on the worst chepest actives you could buy from alibaba or aliexpress using counterfeit money)

blind (deaf as you don't know exactly how the guitar sounds) recomending can be done but it ain't as satisfactory nor as precise es when you actually know how the guitar sounds acoustically, how it sounds through your amp and what you like and don't like about how it sounds THROUGH YOUR AMP

so i would say, if you like the guitar buy it, do not mind the pickups until you get it

when you get it first and foremost please set it up right for you, action, neck relief, intonation if needed (action and relief can mess intonation if too drastically different from previous setup), change strings (optional, but is preferred you already try the guitar with your preferred brand and gauge of strings), first play it acoustically, hear how it sounds, dark, middy, trebly, muddy, wiri, full, tasty, vodka, blue, tennessee whisky, summer on the beach, spring on the forest, whatever, know it's sound and describe it the best you can.

then plug in through your gear, play it through all your preferred settings and tones, on all the riffs and solos you know how they sound, remember the sound, doesn't matter if you hate the tone, just describe it, then try the dynamics (if you're actually dynamic on your tone, some guitarists are actually way less dynamic playing than what they think, i know i'm not so much, with distortion i'm a hamfist while for cleans i pick with pingertips, nails, thumb and of course different picks and angles), how does it respond to your playing?

when you got all that then the real fun can start, just list your gear, preferred guitar tones and any tone that is ballpark to your goal with this guitar, get some bacon, popcorn, a glass of booze and sit down to read what pickups we come up with, google them, hear them on youtube and then it's all to you to decide
 
Re: Looking for Pickups for a potential purchase

I would encourage you to give the actives a chance especially if you're using software simulators.
 
Re: Looking for Pickups for a potential purchase

I agree with others, that it would be a shame to take an axe that's set up for actives, and make it passive. There are enough passive axes out there. I haven't gotten around to installing either of my active humbucker sets yet, but my Livewire II's for Strat is easily my favorite axe. Try 'em. (Actives, I mean.)

P.S. Sweet guitar. I love that model.
 
Re: Looking for Pickups for a potential purchase

i'm not an active pickup defender, nor a hater of them, i just think that they're for their own purposes, just like hot passives and vintage passives are.

on the same situation where a Dimebucker sounds like a growling chainsaw slashing zombies to small pieces of putrid meat an EMG might just sound tight and have just some saw buzz

but where an EMG 81 sounds super tight and defined with strong attack a Custom 2 might be muddy and velvety fuzzy

the situation where a Pearly Gates just sounds like juicy spicy texas goodies with the right hint of fuzz and bourbon a Distortion might sound too charged and lacking fizz n' ye good ol' misk of a nice smooth whisky while overloading the low end

different pickups serve well some applications while they always best at a Couple tones

try the guitar with actives and see how you feel them if you like them or not on THAT guitar and what you like/don't like of that tone
 
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