Jeffsmusic4919
New member
Hey all, long time lurker, first time poster. There is some great info on this site but I can't find an answer to this one anywhere. I have been using Seymour Duncan pickups since '92 and I am a very happy costumer. I play through a Marshall JMD100 head and multiple different Marshall cabs with G12T-75's mostly using the "Modern Clean" (JVM) and the "Classic" (JCM800) which is boosted with a "Tube Screamer". This setup is versitle, cheap, loud and fantastic sounding with a few easy mods.
I am in a band that writes/plays in dropped B. I used a stock '98 Les Paul Studio and it held up well with the dropped tuning. With 13's on the guitar I decided to stop abusing my nut and bridge and use that guitar for standard tuning because the color of that guitar is kinda rare. I also had a Ibanez Blazer(Mahoghany body maple neck) with a "Mayhem" set and a "Classic Stack". That guitar was by far the winner in the distortion category. It held up extremely well in dropped B. Seriously, try the wood combo if you tune to dropped b, it kills. That guitar is getting harder to replace for cheap so, back to standard tuning for that one.
Knowing how good that combo sounded, I decided on a dual humbucking partscaster. Piece by piece I assembled a John5 Squier Tele(black with white binding,) alder body, Mid 90's Fender "Squier Series" Maple neck, black 3 ply pickguard, custom drilled plate for 2 vol(split coil), 1 tone setup, I still need better tuners.........then to pups. I had tried the "Alternative 8 in my Blazer at one point and realized it paired better(opinion) with the "Distortion" neck than the distortion did. A couple factors help me decide that, a match made in heaven. In that guitar though, it was very 80's metal sounding. (I like the "quack" of the "distortion" in that guitar, although I could live without the fizz and weak low end.) I put the "Alt 8" in the bridge, the "Distortion Neck" in the neck of the Tele. With careful adjustment of the pups and pole piece height this combo is a perfect sounding guitar for dropped b metal distortion. A superb sounding setup, articulate, powerful and tight. I will post some clips when I can. This pickup combo in alder is a real winner for metal. Now, the cleans on the other hand aren't quite what I want. Really nice but.... So, on to the mahogany bodied guitars.
I replaced the Gibson with an Ibanez SZ720 with the foreign made Duncans. I rewired it to a standard configuration and was fairly pleased. The pups were dry sounding to me, kinda lacked the mojo and the rear pickup squealed terribly. So I went with a Aternative 8, great pickup, not in that guitar for dropped b. It sounded like newish "In Flames" type of sound, good, but not what I was looking for and it still squealed in that guitar. The string through/bridge design is at fault for the squealing, I think. I put in a "Custom" and tuned to dropped C# after I realized the guitar didn't have a maple cap. That pup will never leave that guitar, it sounds awesome with a 250k pot.
I tried a mahogany Schecter, different pups, different ohm pots and even tried an "EVO". That guitar is the only guitar I ever sold. Not for me at all, to many issues to list.
I currently have an Ibanez SZ520, it has a maple cap. I started out with the EVO, not bad, not a Duncan so, out it came. In went the "Black Winters", little tough dialing in height and pole piece height but a good overall match. They have excellent cleans, some of the best cleans I have ever had. The distortion sound, they have a very distinctive voice to them. They really deliver "The Brootlz" as the kids say when you wail on the low b. I am overall pleased, especially the cleans. I just don't like the low mids in heavy distortion. It is a little to undefined in those frequencies with that tuning. I think it is the Mahogany body. I am considering putting in the "Nazgul/Sentinent" set. I just don't want to loose the cleans, they are that good.
Here is the payoff: Has anyone played both sets of pups in a maple capped mahogany body guitar in dropped b? Mainly the clean sound, How do they compare and what will I loose/gain with the swap?
These are just my opinions and experiences so I hope this helps some with tone seekers in the dropped b metal/rock scene.
I am in a band that writes/plays in dropped B. I used a stock '98 Les Paul Studio and it held up well with the dropped tuning. With 13's on the guitar I decided to stop abusing my nut and bridge and use that guitar for standard tuning because the color of that guitar is kinda rare. I also had a Ibanez Blazer(Mahoghany body maple neck) with a "Mayhem" set and a "Classic Stack". That guitar was by far the winner in the distortion category. It held up extremely well in dropped B. Seriously, try the wood combo if you tune to dropped b, it kills. That guitar is getting harder to replace for cheap so, back to standard tuning for that one.
Knowing how good that combo sounded, I decided on a dual humbucking partscaster. Piece by piece I assembled a John5 Squier Tele(black with white binding,) alder body, Mid 90's Fender "Squier Series" Maple neck, black 3 ply pickguard, custom drilled plate for 2 vol(split coil), 1 tone setup, I still need better tuners.........then to pups. I had tried the "Alternative 8 in my Blazer at one point and realized it paired better(opinion) with the "Distortion" neck than the distortion did. A couple factors help me decide that, a match made in heaven. In that guitar though, it was very 80's metal sounding. (I like the "quack" of the "distortion" in that guitar, although I could live without the fizz and weak low end.) I put the "Alt 8" in the bridge, the "Distortion Neck" in the neck of the Tele. With careful adjustment of the pups and pole piece height this combo is a perfect sounding guitar for dropped b metal distortion. A superb sounding setup, articulate, powerful and tight. I will post some clips when I can. This pickup combo in alder is a real winner for metal. Now, the cleans on the other hand aren't quite what I want. Really nice but.... So, on to the mahogany bodied guitars.
I replaced the Gibson with an Ibanez SZ720 with the foreign made Duncans. I rewired it to a standard configuration and was fairly pleased. The pups were dry sounding to me, kinda lacked the mojo and the rear pickup squealed terribly. So I went with a Aternative 8, great pickup, not in that guitar for dropped b. It sounded like newish "In Flames" type of sound, good, but not what I was looking for and it still squealed in that guitar. The string through/bridge design is at fault for the squealing, I think. I put in a "Custom" and tuned to dropped C# after I realized the guitar didn't have a maple cap. That pup will never leave that guitar, it sounds awesome with a 250k pot.
I tried a mahogany Schecter, different pups, different ohm pots and even tried an "EVO". That guitar is the only guitar I ever sold. Not for me at all, to many issues to list.
I currently have an Ibanez SZ520, it has a maple cap. I started out with the EVO, not bad, not a Duncan so, out it came. In went the "Black Winters", little tough dialing in height and pole piece height but a good overall match. They have excellent cleans, some of the best cleans I have ever had. The distortion sound, they have a very distinctive voice to them. They really deliver "The Brootlz" as the kids say when you wail on the low b. I am overall pleased, especially the cleans. I just don't like the low mids in heavy distortion. It is a little to undefined in those frequencies with that tuning. I think it is the Mahogany body. I am considering putting in the "Nazgul/Sentinent" set. I just don't want to loose the cleans, they are that good.
Here is the payoff: Has anyone played both sets of pups in a maple capped mahogany body guitar in dropped b? Mainly the clean sound, How do they compare and what will I loose/gain with the swap?
These are just my opinions and experiences so I hope this helps some with tone seekers in the dropped b metal/rock scene.
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