Need some experienced pickup advice!

TSE

TSE

New member
Hello, I am new to the forums here and I registered to get some advice from anyone who has experince with DiMarzio Air Zone or Steve's Special in bridge position. I'm mostly into melodic metal, shred, some blues, little rock.

I play cheaper ibanez RGs through a 6505+(5150) and a Earcandy Buzzbomb custom cab with Eminence Swampthang speakers. Right now I have a Jb/Jazz in my RG2EX1 basswood body guitar and DD/Jazz in my RG321 Mahogany body.

I feel that the Duncans have too much gain/output to work well with a high gain amp like a 6505+. They seem to push way too hard. I need something with medium/lower output, more clearity, and a deeper, fatter sound. Duncans seem to have alot of trebble and upper mids and I need less buzzy trebble, more bass and low mid.
I am considering the Steve's Special because of the cearity factor and the scooped mids or the Air Zone because of its lower output and fat tone. I can't choose because I like the Special's mid scoop and clear tone but not the high output and I like the Air Zone's low output but not the huge mid thing!:smack:

Because of the mid scoop, is the Special THAT high in output? Some say it is about Tone Zone/Evo2 output, is that like JB output? Air Zone looks good too, but I don't know If I like that much mid from my pickups, I like amp mid!

Any help would be great, thanks.
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

hmm I would try a SD '59 In the Bridge..it Should warm things up Nicely! either that or Pearly Gates

~Mitch~
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

Looking at the Duncan descriptions those seem to be ratrer bright, I want a clear, super fat pickup with not alot of trebble and medium output. I think I will go with dimarzios because they have a more modern tone, duncans seem to gear more to the vintage player. Feel kinda dumb though because lets face it, I am on the SEYMOUR DUNCAN forum!

Thanks.
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

Haha yea...either way I'm just talking from experience I've had....I threw a '59B in My 80's LADO Super Strat..either alder/basswood body w/maple neck and rosewood fretboard and it really Warmed it up cuz it was SUPER bright when I put anything else in..as for Dimarzios...I only own 1...:P a 70's Super Disto...sorry I'm not much help:P

~Mitch~
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

Welcome to the forum!

Fatness and clarity are not so easy to get together and fatness is more associated with mids.
For DiMarzio I've heard very good things about the Breed but I've not tried it myself. The Steve's Special is a good choice for high gain, it stays clear but it's not fat. The Super 3 may be fat but it seems to be quite middy. The Air Zone is very fat and has not much treble but it's middy too.

For Duncans I'd try some of the PATBs, probably the original for this situation.

Maybe you'd like the Bare Knuckle Warpig but it's a little overpriced.

Good Luck!
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

The air zone is fat and has great clarity. IT has good sustain and will be perfect for what you want. The DC rest is 17K but it is not as hot as most 17k pickups since the air tech in effect make the pull of the mag weaker. So it is medium output, fat, great clarity and sensitive to pick attack
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

What about the custom? Lower output pretty clear not super agressive not super fat either though at least from what I remember.

What sound are you looking to emulate?
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

TSE said:
Hello, I am new to the forums here and I registered to get some advice from anyone who has experince with DiMarzio Air Zone or Steve's Special in bridge position. I'm mostly into melodic metal, shred, some blues, little rock.

I play cheaper ibanez RGs through a 6505+(5150) and a Earcandy Buzzbomb custom cab with Eminence Swampthang speakers. Right now I have a Jb/Jazz in my RG2EX1 basswood body guitar and DD/Jazz in my RG321 Mahogany body.

I feel that the Duncans have too much gain/output to work well with a high gain amp like a 6505+. They seem to push way too hard. I need something with medium/lower output, more clearity, and a deeper, fatter sound. Duncans seem to have alot of trebble and upper mids and I need less buzzy trebble, more bass and low mid.
I am considering the Steve's Special because of the cearity factor and the scooped mids or the Air Zone because of its lower output and fat tone. I can't choose because I like the Special's mid scoop and clear tone but not the high output and I like the Air Zone's low output but not the huge mid thing!:smack:

Because of the mid scoop, is the Special THAT high in output? Some say it is about Tone Zone/Evo2 output, is that like JB output? Air Zone looks good too, but I don't know If I like that much mid from my pickups, I like amp mid!

Any help would be great, thanks.
Click to expand...

Those pickups you mention are comparable on output to the JB. If output is your concern those probably won't fix things. The JB's sound is based on the things you don't care for. I would suggest a Custom or C5 from the Duncan line as an alterative

When you get into lower output / more vintage style pickups the high end generally increases. Its the nature of the beast. The Seth Lover has the lowest resonant peak/smoothest top end of the vintage lines. It would need to be potted but could work.

On a different note, the 6505 being a really high gain amp, can be part of the issue as well. Most players I have worked with tend to use way too much gain. This just emphasizes the issues you are describing. Try turning down the gain 20-25% and work with that a while to see how that affects things. Work with the presence control as well. On my Marshalls the presence knob has a big effect on the area you are describing and I suspect it would on your amp as well.
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

Hmm, maybe I'll give the C5 a go. It seems to have lower output, and a mid scoop thing going on. What do they mean when they say it sounds more "vintage".
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

The Air Norton may be what you are looking for, even though the C5 would be a good choice too. The AN has a rolled off topend which will push you down the EQ range like you want to, and it isn't a HO pickup, but has more output than the PAF's.
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

I hear Super 3 in his description, fat, clear and not to much treble...
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

its probably the amp more than anything, i think the 6505+ and 5150 II are pretty buzzy and thin. I owned a 6505+ sold it for the reasons you are talking about, then bought a 5150 II (sounded exactly the same as the 6505+) and a regular 5150. The regular 5150 doesn't have the buzz IMO of the II and +. Just my opinion. I definitely think the JB and distortion do not sound good through the 6505+ i had them in my guitars at that time too. Although the JB sounds pretty good through the 5150.

What cab and speakers are you using?
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

I have mostly Duncan p/u's in my guitars, but have an Air Zone in the bridge of my Strat and LOVE IT. It has loads more bottom than the JB I had in there before and the highs are just perfect for the bridge position. It can get a little middy but not too much so to my ears (the mids really fill out the tone of leads above the 12th fret). It's a really versatile p/u.
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

DesertRat said:
I have mostly Duncan p/u's in my guitars, but have an Air Zone in the bridge of my Strat and LOVE IT. It has loads more bottom than the JB I had in there before and the highs are just perfect for the bridge position. It can get a little middy but not too much so to my ears (the mids really fill out the tone of leads above the 12th fret). It's a really versatile p/u.
Click to expand...

is the air zone crunchier than a JB?
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

I play through an Earcandy BuzzBomb 2x12 ported cab stangme01, it is quite loud for a 2x12, louder than any 2x12 I have ever encountered and louder than most 4x12 cabs too. It has a good balanced tone. I have 2004 Eminence Swampthang speakers in there(the ones with the old basket style).

I should probabaly tell you guys some of the bands I like, Amon Amarth, Necrophagist, At The Gates, Black Dahalia Murder, Yngwee Malmsteen, In Flames, The Red Chord, Emperor, Rapsody, Behemoth, Dark Tranqility, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Kataklysm, Dragon Force, those are some of the more popular bands I like, currently checking out Into Eternity and Urn.
Also, I tune to C-standard for my own material, but use standard, Eb standard, D-standard, and B-standard for covers and such. Now, this is not dropped-D(low-E tuned down a step) , this is all the strings tuned down(just in case you are not farmiliar with this method).

So far I think it's between the Air Zone, Steve's Special, Custom 5, or maybe a Norton for bridge. Just something medium in output and without dominating/searing trebbles, my amp has plenty of that! Something versatile, more controlable, LESS NOISE AND FEEDBACK!

I was looking for a pickup that I can dial alot of mids on without sounding nasaly/honky. I really like using a good amount of midrange depending how much I need to cut through the band. I guess it's ok if the pickup has alot of mid like AZ, just as long as it's not to an annoying extent. I want the sound to be clear for solos, sweps, legato, trem, whatever and able to use the gain knob past 4-5 on my amp!

With my current pickups, my amp settings are as follow->
gain->4-6 Low->8-10 Mid->3-8 treb->3-5 Low Res->7-10 Pres->3-5
I would like to get the most out of my amp and High ouput pickups don't seem to do it, they push the lead channel too hard, they sound better on the rythm channel!

I really appericiate all your help, thanks alot guys.
 
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

stangme01 said:
I think the 6505+ and 5150 II are pretty buzzy and thin. I owned a 6505+ sold it for the reasons you are talking about, then bought a 5150 II (sounded exactly the same as the 6505+) and a regular 5150.
Click to expand...




Actually, the 6505 series is the 5150 series but, with a different name. I think it means either they started in 1965 and it was an anniversary thing in 2005 or they have been in business for 65 years in 2005, either way it comes out as 6505. Also, I heard that after Eddie Van Halen stopped indorsing the 5150 he had the rights to the name and wanted Peavey to discontinue using it on the amps. I am not EXACTLY sure on that, it's something I heard people talking about.

This guy is so ****in' funny->:banana:
Saw it on Family Guy, did not know what it means, but just the sheer randomness of it cracked me up. Peanut butter jelly time!!!
 
Last edited:
Re: Need some experienced pickup advice!

yes 5150 = 6505
5150 II = 6505+

I have not had the 6505 but its exactly the same as the 5150. I'm saying the 5150 "II" and the 6505 "+" i don't like (they are not the same as the regular 6505 and 5150).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top