Tommy Von Voigt
New member
Hi everyone! This is my first post on this forum, and I'm diving right into pickup suggestions...
I'm not sure I have the right pickups for my needs currently. I have a 1984 Gibson Designer Series Explorer, which has an alder body, maple neck, and ebony fretboard. Faber Tone Lock hardware for the bridge and tailpiece, nickel-plated brass saddles, Tusq nut, and RS Guitarworks electronics. I'm currently running a Super Distortion in the bridge, and a Super 2 in the neck. I'd actually really love your thoughts on both positions...
The issue with the Super Distortion in the bridge is that it seems like it's just "too much" somehow, and I feel as though it sounds almost like a fuzz pedal. It seems to be more noticeable with lower and lower volumes. Not defined enough, too mushy, that sort of thing. Also, the guitar seems extremely sensitive to just about everything. I feel like I'm working triple overtime keeping random string and pick noise under control. Admittedly, a good amount of that falls under technique, but it seems a little out of control. My head is a 100 watt 68 Plexi, modded by David Hopkins as a Pandora, with an additional preamp tube for an added gain stage. I feel like it would be safe to say it is a fairly high gain head. It's that modded Marshall, 80s LA kind of thing. I'm wondering if the Super Distortion is just more output than the front end of my amp wants / needs? Should I be using something much lower? I definitely love saturated, high gain rock tones. 80s rock and metal, the first 2 Boston records, Def Leppard, that sort of thing. But I want to emphasize growl, grind, chime and definition, and not fuzziness or mushiness.
For the Super 2 in the neck, I have to say I'm surprised by just how bassy it actually is. I think I was looking for something a little less jarring in that regard. I actually have a second 84 Explorer with the original 80s era Dirty Fingers pickups. When switching to the neck pickup on that guitar, I find the difference between bridge and neck to be much less pronounced. I went with the Super 2, since DiMarzio claims it shifts the EQ curve upward in order to overcome the natural muddy / bassy thing the neck position can have, but it still seems to be an issue. I think I'd prefer a neck pickup that just sounds a little different from the bridge, for some different flavor, but not something that is really jarring and pronounced in terms of bass.
What would you all suggest for these 2 positions?
I can add that I've tried some other pickups in other guitars, and they didn't really do it for me:
• I've tried a Classic 57+ in my gold top, and that was just a little too harsh. But, that could have been the guitar. It is a noticeably brighter guitar than any other Les Paul I've touched
• I've tried a Suhr Doug Aldrich in the same gold top, but that pickup seemed like it was fighting me. It felt stiff and fake, like a bad distortion pedal
• I didn't care for what I believe was a T-Top in a 71 SG. Too bassy and mushy. Would have been perfect for old Sabbath, though...
• I've tried a 498T in a few different guitars, and found them to be brittle, for lack of a better word
• Unfortunately, I can't comment on the Dirty Fingers bridge pickup in my other Explorer, since that guitar is getting a full fret job at the moment. It was basically unplayable
I add that info in the event it may help in some capacity, since at least those tests were all done using my own hands and my rig, even if the guitars were different.
Thanks!
I'm not sure I have the right pickups for my needs currently. I have a 1984 Gibson Designer Series Explorer, which has an alder body, maple neck, and ebony fretboard. Faber Tone Lock hardware for the bridge and tailpiece, nickel-plated brass saddles, Tusq nut, and RS Guitarworks electronics. I'm currently running a Super Distortion in the bridge, and a Super 2 in the neck. I'd actually really love your thoughts on both positions...
The issue with the Super Distortion in the bridge is that it seems like it's just "too much" somehow, and I feel as though it sounds almost like a fuzz pedal. It seems to be more noticeable with lower and lower volumes. Not defined enough, too mushy, that sort of thing. Also, the guitar seems extremely sensitive to just about everything. I feel like I'm working triple overtime keeping random string and pick noise under control. Admittedly, a good amount of that falls under technique, but it seems a little out of control. My head is a 100 watt 68 Plexi, modded by David Hopkins as a Pandora, with an additional preamp tube for an added gain stage. I feel like it would be safe to say it is a fairly high gain head. It's that modded Marshall, 80s LA kind of thing. I'm wondering if the Super Distortion is just more output than the front end of my amp wants / needs? Should I be using something much lower? I definitely love saturated, high gain rock tones. 80s rock and metal, the first 2 Boston records, Def Leppard, that sort of thing. But I want to emphasize growl, grind, chime and definition, and not fuzziness or mushiness.
For the Super 2 in the neck, I have to say I'm surprised by just how bassy it actually is. I think I was looking for something a little less jarring in that regard. I actually have a second 84 Explorer with the original 80s era Dirty Fingers pickups. When switching to the neck pickup on that guitar, I find the difference between bridge and neck to be much less pronounced. I went with the Super 2, since DiMarzio claims it shifts the EQ curve upward in order to overcome the natural muddy / bassy thing the neck position can have, but it still seems to be an issue. I think I'd prefer a neck pickup that just sounds a little different from the bridge, for some different flavor, but not something that is really jarring and pronounced in terms of bass.
What would you all suggest for these 2 positions?
I can add that I've tried some other pickups in other guitars, and they didn't really do it for me:
• I've tried a Classic 57+ in my gold top, and that was just a little too harsh. But, that could have been the guitar. It is a noticeably brighter guitar than any other Les Paul I've touched
• I've tried a Suhr Doug Aldrich in the same gold top, but that pickup seemed like it was fighting me. It felt stiff and fake, like a bad distortion pedal
• I didn't care for what I believe was a T-Top in a 71 SG. Too bassy and mushy. Would have been perfect for old Sabbath, though...
• I've tried a 498T in a few different guitars, and found them to be brittle, for lack of a better word
• Unfortunately, I can't comment on the Dirty Fingers bridge pickup in my other Explorer, since that guitar is getting a full fret job at the moment. It was basically unplayable
I add that info in the event it may help in some capacity, since at least those tests were all done using my own hands and my rig, even if the guitars were different.
Thanks!
