Neck pickup advise please!

[I NEED HELP123]

I have recently bought a jackson dxmg. It has EMGHZ pickups stock in it but i don't like them in this guitar, maybe they would sound beter in another guitar. I have already swapped the bridge pickup to a duncan Custom and it's perfect for this guitar. really love it to bits! Now i need to choose a neck pup and i really can't choose. Maybe you guys can help?

The guitar has a basswood body and a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. It also has a floyd. I mainly play all types of Rock and EvH stuff, but sometimes I also play blues, pop and metal.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

59N and JazzN both pair very well with a Custom. The Sentient is supposed to fall somewhere in between the two but I haven't owned one yet. Being that it's a 25 fret guitar, I might go with the 59. If you want a little more midrange, the DiMarzio 36th is a good neck pickup. For something a little hotter, the 59/Custom Hybrid could be a great option too.

You might also consider the PATB-1N; it's often overlooked. Great choice for a trem guitar, and versatile. Despite its unusual modern look, it's entirely capable of great classic tones.

I had an old Gibson T-top in one of my Floydcasters for two decades and it sounded great. Only pulled it when I switched to a PATB set.

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I think I'm going for the 59 or the 59/custom hybrid. Also thinking of buying an alnico pro 2 and swapping the alnico 2 mag for an alnico 5 or 8 one. has anyone used the 59/custom hybrid in the neck position?? All oppinions are welcome!

 

[Ben1962]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I just installed the PATB neck and it is giving a certain clarity I have yet to encounter. I dont really play clean, but I cant be any happier with the tone.

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I read that a screamin demon in the neck is really good, more gritt and mids than a 59. What do you guys think?

EDIT: just saw a couple of videos on youtube of a screamin demon in the neck and it isn't the sound i'm looking for.

Now it's the 59 or the 59/custom hybrid. What would you choose and why?

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I have listened to the sound clips of many pickups on the seymour duncan website, and I have chosen the pearly gates for sounding the best. I think it will be a great pair!

 

[Dayeeeve]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

Jazz or Sentient would be my choice ��

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I was under the impression that the hybrid was more suited to the bridge. Its output is a bit higher too than most neck models.

Honestly I would follow the others advice on a jazz or sentient. Maybe 59, but I think the other 2 are "safer" bets

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I was under the impression that the hybrid was more suited to the bridge. Its output is a bit higher too than most neck models.

Honestly I would follow the others advice on a jazz or sentient. Maybe 59, but I think the other 2 are "safer" bets

I am looking for a more fat sounding neck humbucker, but not muddy with distortion. Do you think I can achieve that with the jazz or the sentient??? I have read that they are a bit thin sounding, but maybe it will sound good in my guitar because it has a quite dark sounding basswood body.

 

[dave74]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I am looking for a more fat sounding neck humbucker, but not muddy with distortion. Do you think I can achieve that with the jazz or the sentient??? I have read that they are a bit thin sounding, but maybe it will sound good in my guitar because it has a quite dark sounding basswood body.

I'd go jazz myself, but I've no experience with the sentient,,,,,either way I wouldn't do a 59 for that guitar unless cleans-only was your neck requirements.
If you're wanting a neck for both warm cleans and precise shred leads probably the sentient is a safer bet. I've read that it splits the difference as well as any Duncan neck.

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I saw a thread where someone said this:

"59: awesome, can get boomy in a Les Paul (again my only reference) traditional sounding
Jazz: Great Spank quality, not boomy, huge sound, modern sound
Demon in neck: missing link between the 59 and Jazz (a bit more traditional flavor, with a touch of Jazz vibe)
Full Shred: More of a traditional vibe as compared to a Jazz, but no outstanding characteristics (may work well with a Demon in the bridge, I am sorry I have not tried this combo yet)
PG: Think Warren Haynes neck tone. Very Traditional sounding (for a LP) Great grind and bite"

someone also mentioned that the pearly gates is essentially a jazz but with more bottom end and more roundness, but with no mud.

On the Seymour Duncan website it says that the PG has the same "Tone Profile" as the Sentient, but with an alnico 2 mag. I think I want to go with alnico 5 because of the low end.
The Jazz and Screamin demon almost have the same "Tone chart" but the screamin demon has some more mids and output.

I said in a previous post that I had watched a youtube video of someone playing a guitar with a screamin demon in the neck and disliked it, but it will probably sound very diffrent in my guitar. The guy from the youtube video had a guitar with probably a bright tonewood body, and I have a dark sounding basswood body.

I have narrowed it down to the sentient, jazz or demon. I don't think many people have tried the demon in the neck, but the people who did told good things about it, but it would be a bit of a gamble. I think maybe the sentient might be too modern sounding. I also hear a lot of people saying that the jazz is too boring sounding.

again, any oppinions are welcome!

 

[sd4ever]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

Save your money and avoid frustration, get the 59. Jazz will be super bright on your guitar.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I am looking for a more fat sounding neck humbucker, but not muddy with distortion. Do you think I can achieve that with the jazz or the sentient??? I have read that they are a bit thin sounding, but maybe it will sound good in my guitar because it has a quite dark sounding basswood body.

Check out the Pearly Gates or DiMarzio Liquifire—should give you the fat tone without being muddy with distortion, IMO.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I'd like to know what you want in a neck pickup, and what you don't like about the EMGHZs (I didn't like them, either).

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

I'd like to know what you want in a neck pickup, and what you don't like about the EMGHZs (I didn't like them, either).

I didn't like the EMGHZs because they are too compressed for my taste and they sound very muddy (in my guitar). I already replaced the bridge pickup with a duncan custom. The duncan Custom is really really nice! It's just what I wanted and needed. It's a humbucker with a nice fat sound, but articulate and not muddy. It really screams!! It's essentially a PAF/vintage voiced pickup on steroids (what I am also looking for in the neck position). Harmonics just fly of the fretboard and it's very versatile. It has an output of 14,1k and has a small ceramic magnet.

In the neck I would like a nice fat and smooth humbucker that can do cleans well, but I would like it to really sing. I also want to be able to make some good distortion tones with it.

I'm planning to wire the neck humbucker to a series/parallel switch so I can get some thinner sounds with it.

The guitar I want the pickup in has a really prominent midrange, so I probably want a slighty midscooped pickup.

I think the Pearly gates is the right pickup for me,but let me know what you think!

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

Well, the PG is a great pickup, but it does have an expanded high end, so it isn't 'fat & smooth' like you had wanted. I'd opt for more of a '59 or Jazz, both of with will remain tight under gain. When someone describes 'fat & smooth' I immediately thing of the Slash set or the Alnico Pro II, but those might be too much in a mid-heavy guitar.

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Neck pickup advise please!

Well, the PG is a great pickup, but it does have an expanded high end, so it isn't 'fat & smooth' like you had wanted. I'd opt for more of a '59 or Jazz, both of with will remain tight under gain. When someone describes 'fat & smooth' I immediately thing of the Slash set or the Alnico Pro II, but those might be too much in a mid-heavy guitar.

thx for your reply, I think I'm going to go with the alnico pro II and if i don't like it, I think I can just send it back and get a 59/jazz neck.

thanks again!