Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

[OKC]

Re: Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

I'm in the middle of a guitar rebuilding project, turning a mostly forgotten and very distressed strat copy into something that I might actually want to play. There is a whole woodworking and refinishing thing also going on which I won't get into (long story short; finishing guitars by hand is hard) but of course there is the much more exciting bit with the electronics.

This guitar is routed for HSS, but I have replaced the pickguard and will be fitting her out as just a single humbucker. The question is which humbucker, and that is what brings me to you.

This guitar is definitely not going to versatile; it's going to be my Drop C guitar for playing metally metal and nothing else. I almost feel spoilt for choice when it comes to that kind of pickup these days, but also a bit out of my depth. It's hard to make a confident choice when it seems everything would be pretty good. If I'm going to drop £100+ then I want something that fits well, ******.

I am looking for chuggy rhythm with clear definition at the bottom end. I am not a lead player, but I play some fills and easy/short solos, so the top end needs to be reasonable but isn't my biggest concern. I'm much more of a modern metal kind of guy - Bands like Chimaira and Machine Head, rather than your black metal.

I don't know what wood the body is by the way; when I got the finish off I found a very pale, very hard wood and a lot of black epoxy/grain filler. Make of that what you will.

Black Winter or Nazgul both seem appropriate, but I am a bit uncertain because I can't really tell the difference from how they are described and/or reviewed. They both seem to be “good”. And then Bare Knuckle Pickups make about 7 different pickups that they swear are great for downtuning (Aftermath, Ragnarok, Painkiller, etc) but which I again cannot begin to tell apart, and which also cost a premium.

Many swear by actives – A Blackout Metal would seem an obvious choice, but so would an EMG81. I am not opposed to active at all, and in fact I'm tempted because I like the extra clarity, but choosing one or another is still a problem. Oh and then there are these Fluence things I have heard about, which are apparently good but versatility isn't my goal here.

I have too many choices – Someone for the love of god help me narrow this down.

I have a Drop C guitar and the EMG-81 in the bridge does exactly what you are looking for, you'll miss having an EMG-85 in the neck though. When you record even with just an iphone, the clarity is unbelieveable. EMG-81 isnt for everything but it rules in Drop C

 

[RexRemus]

Re: Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

So, after some resoldering that feels like it cost me 15 years of my life, I have gotten this damn guitar to actually work. First it just flat out did not work. Then I re-soldered it, and it worked, but it hummed like crazy. Finally, after acquiring some new burns, exchanging every piece of wire for a new bit, whelp... She makes guitar noises.

And well, some damn good noises.

The Distortion is definitely noice and toight at the bottom end, and it chugs like an absolute beauty. I just plugged it into my existing settings, and the difference it pretty clear. The old settings feel over-gained, and too bass heavy. Just the new pickup has sustain for absolutely days, and even when the bass is blowing my ears off it's still tight and well defined. The only criticism is that it's a little noisy compared to the stock (potentially shonky wiring?). I had turn the noise gate up just a twinge, but that's the worst of it.

I will post some glamour shots tomorrow since this project has finally (thankfully) concluded. I regret everything. But at least this guitar will sound good eh?

Glad you're happy with the choice. Looking forward to seeing it

 

[LostTheTone]

Re: Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

Ok, finally the big reveal:




The finish is... Well, it's better than it was and I'm not doing it again. From a distance it's alright. Enough said. The finish has been by far the most painful part of this project, and I am never ever ever doing it again. The headstock came out well though eh? I chopped it down to make it pointy and it looks very metal.

The sound is great though. I have spent a lot of time twiddling knobs, both in my venerable Line6 Spider Mk3 and in the old amp sim, and both are starting to sound pretty damn good.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

That looks cool. Be proud of it!

 

[RexRemus]

Re: Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

Looks great, the headstock could put your eye out - perfect. Those look like some pretty chonky strings! 12s? 13s?

 

[LostTheTone]

Re: Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

Looks great, the headstock could put your eye out - perfect. Those look like some pretty chonky strings! 12s? 13s?

12s. I had 11s on it before I put the new pickup in and they just flapped around. The low-C sounded like I was playing slap bass, and that is not amenable to nice tight triplets. The 12s play much nicer.

 

[RexRemus]

Re: Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

Yeah was running 12s on my C# though I switched to a light top/heavy bottom set of 11s recently and I'm liking that so far. Bit of spitting the difference, but it's not flappy on the bottom end and doesn't tear your fingers off if you need to bend. Really great refurb you did!

 

[LostTheTone]

Re: Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

That looks cool. Be proud of it!

Thanks, and I am quite proud.

That said, it looks less impressive up close! Although not obvious from afar, the Sunn Mustang (despite being a licence Strat copy) does not have a single piece of Strat-spec hardware on it.

The pickguard had to be significantly amended to fit properly. It stuck out over the lower horn, and did not fit around the bridge, at all. It fits(ish) now, but up close you can see the rough edges. If you can believe it, even the back cover over the trem is not standard sized. Had to make new holes so that string slots lined up.

Also, the new bridge just... It mostly fits, but it's slightly wider than the old one, so the screw holes don't match. It only has two screws in, one in an original hole, the other in the opposite end where it could go into a fresh hole. It doesn't seem to matter, as I've blocked the trem anyway, but not ideal.

And yet... Getting a tolerable finish has been just... The worst. Beyond the worst. Hand-filing the tuning machine holes to fit the new tuners was a garden of delights by comparison.

 

[LostTheTone]

Re: Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

Yeah was running 12s on my C# though I switched to a light top/heavy bottom set of 11s recently and I'm liking that so far. Bit of spitting the difference, but it's not flappy on the bottom end and doesn't tear your fingers off if you need to bend. Really great refurb you did!

Yeah, its funny just how much difference it makes to get strings that feel good. Especially on this neck which is... It has some problems - The truss rod is weird and doesn't do much, and there was some high spots on frets too. It was a mess and having strings that were even just a bit too loose made it just feel miserable to play. It actually sounded alright, weirdly, but you could feel the buzz and the action was too high and just awful. In other news; cutting and fitting your own nut is an exciting adventure which I do not recommend. Anyway, getting strings that felt right helped a lot. At least I can adjust other stuff around them!

Oh and cheers dude: D All of the suffering has kept me sane over the past months of being stuck at home!

 

[Artie]

Re: Narrowing Down Pickups - Drop C Project Guitar

Those look like some pretty chonky strings! 12s? 13s?

I was about to say the same thing. They almost look like 6-string bass strings. Anyway, nice project. Sweet axe. Enjoy.