Lower output pickup into a very high gain amp

Re: Lower output pickup into a very high gain amp

I agree that you can use either a high-gain pickup into a medium gain amp or a medium-gain pickup into a high-gain amp to achieve similar results. My point was the individual definitions of "Metal tone" and why it's vitally important to classify the various genres, because they are largely defined by their sound and how to get it - pickup class and amp class most notably.
 
Re: Lower output pickup into a very high gain amp

I currently have my Busrtbucker 1&2 set in my Explorer and yeah, they're very open and articulate, it they lack the oomph that medium and high output pickups have. The amps I've run it through are my Triple Rec, Splawn Pro Mod, and Marshall JVM, all capable of very high gain.
 
Re: Lower output pickup into a very high gain amp

fab.regnaut said:
Michael Romeo is an awesome player and composer BUT I don't like his guitar tone , too much fizz and compression ,
and actually enjoy more the tone of Y Malmsteen who use single coils and get some dynamics .
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Romeo's tone is good but I LOVE Yngwie's guitar tone. It crushes.
 
Re: Lower output pickup into a very high gain amp

For many years I tried the hottest pickups through the hottest amp I could find. I didn't like using a boost because I thought introducing solid state circuitry in the signal chain was sacrilege.

These days I have more success with medium to high output pickups through a boost and into a mid gain amp. Before, I always fought between saturation and lack of clarity. Using a pedal lets me saturate the amp a bit more without going as far as a hot pickup would.

Your needs will vary depending on style. If you want something super saturated, fuzzy, and nasty sounding, as is the case in a lot of black and death metal, high output pickups into a high gain amp will work.

But I prefer starting conservative and using the minimum amount of gain necessary to get the tone I need so that I retain clarity and articulation, especially during recording. If a guitar sounds a little under saturated, by the time it is doubled it will thicken.

For that reason I tend to prefer pickups in the 12-14k zone, which I would consider moderate to high output.
 
Re: Lower output pickup into a very high gain amp

I think it's a balancing act.

Ultra high-gain pickups into ultra high-gain amps don't work for me. You lose articulation and dynamics. And depending on what kind of metal you play, it's possibly important. If you're doing the death metal buzzsaw thing, it's not important. If you play solos influenced by the likes of Slash, etc, it's more important.

Similarly, too low an output from the pickups can struggle despite the gain from the amp. To get things like pinch harmonics out, you need a certain amount of gain from your pickup. I struggled getting them out on pickups like the Pearly Gates or Whole Lotta Humbucker.

Something around the middle is good for me. So far, my favorite seems to be the Perpetual Burn and Full Shred bridge, or in a DiMarzio flavor the Super Distortion.

I just switched my LP back from the Whole Lotta Humbuckers to the Slash AlNiCo set I have and firmly decided to stick with that setup simply as they seem a little easier to play with.
 
Re: Lower output pickup into a very high gain amp

DrNewcenstein said:
I agree that you can use either a high-gain pickup into a medium gain amp or a medium-gain pickup into a high-gain amp to achieve similar results. My point was the individual definitions of "Metal tone" and why it's vitally important to classify the various genres, because they are largely defined by their sound and how to get it - pickup class and amp class most notably.
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+1 To this, many different tones fall under the same genre. I am guitly of this because I usually describe my tone as "Rock Tone" but what type of rock? Classic Rock or Hard Rock or Light Rock, clean tones or gain tones, rhythm tones or lead tones...etc.

For Metal in my head I am thinking of Dimebag but there are so many Metal tones out there.
 
Re: Lower output pickup into a very high gain amp

Lots of opinions and that is good but for me no matter what when comparing the high output set+high gain 5153
to the 10K pickup set(blues patb3 bridge and a screamin demon in the neck) through the same amp the lower output set got me the better palm mutes,pinch harmonic's,clarity(a given) dynamics,rich ness/detail.
For years i was in the mind set for heavier tones to use high output pickups tp slam the preamp of my amps
but i cant say i like that anymore after playing on the lower output pickups in both studio and live with a band.
In you bedroom i dont think it matter much unless you are recording yourself.
 
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