New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

jestremera

jestremera

New member
Hi,

I have an LTD EC-1000 with EMGs and I want to go passive on the pickups. I really love the guitar and the EMGs sound really good but they aren't as warm as I would like. My ears are used to passives. I'm a big fan of John Sykes and love his sound on the 1987 Whitesnake album. His rhythm sound is creamy and slightly mushy - I like that though it's not for everyone. The leads are clear, warm and sweet even though he uses quite a lot of gain. For those of you not familiar with this guitar, it's a single cut model with a mahogany/mahogany carve top body and a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard.

Can you guys recommend something from Seymour Duncan that might get me close? Sykes used Dirty Fingers pickups in his Les Paul for that recording. Gibson pickups are really great but I don't want to spend $300 if I don't have to.

I look forward to getting your responses.
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

LTD puts the JB and 59 in the EC-1000's that don't come with EMGs. Have you tried one of those versions of your guitar? Just wondering how how far off the mark they would be.
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

Www.smitspickups.com. He has a dirty fingers clone called the dirty boy for 100$. Otherwise I say go custom\59 or pearly gates. If your willing to swap mags the double think ceramic would be ever closer.
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

be ware of the wiring, guitars that come stock with actives dont have a bridge ground connection, so you will have to make it or else will be noisy as hell
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

jestremera said:
Hi,

His rhythm sound is creamy and slightly mushy - I like that though it's not for everyone. The leads are clear, warm and sweet even though he uses quite a lot of gain.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you want a set of PG's; A2 magnets have warmth mids, a looser low end, and lots of organic dynamics.
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

dvadneau said:
LTD puts the JB and 59 in the EC-1000's that don't come with EMGs. Have you tried one of those versions of your guitar? Just wondering how how far off the mark they would be.
Click to expand...

I tried out an EC-1000 with this combo. The 59 is great and I kind of have it penciled in as my neck pickup but I wasn't crazy about the JB; it was a little thinner than I would like.
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

metalmachine said:
Www.smitspickups.com. He has a dirty fingers clone called the dirty boy for 100$. Otherwise I say go custom\59 or pearly gates. If your willing to swap mags the double think ceramic would be ever closer.
Click to expand...

I've never done a mag swap before but it's an interesting suggestion. I'm not opposed to some tinkering
 
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Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

jestremera said:
I tried out an EC-1000 with this combo. The 59 is great and I kind of have it penciled in as my neck pickup but I wasn't crazy about the JB; it was a little thinner than I would like.
Click to expand...

i have an EC400VF with the 59 neck, and i find it very boomy. like russian tsar bomb boomy
but maybe it will react differently since yours is a 24-fret neck? i don't know
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

Before you do a passive swap, try a set of the Duncan Blackouts. They have a really organic passive sound, with all the active perks. You also can use the EMG connector system without having to do a complete pot and wiring job.
 
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Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

Another thing you can try is the 18V mod on your existing EMGs. It's supposed to open up a bit more headroom on the preamp and give you a more organic tone.

Which EMGs are in that, BTW? If it's an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck try swapping them. The 85 is warmer sounding and actually put out a touch more output than the 81 and the 81 gives a bit more clarity in the neck. It's free to try and REALLY easy if you have the modular plugs that current EMGs come with (older EMGs didn't have them).
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

GilmourD said:
Another thing you can try is the 18V mod on your existing EMGs. It's supposed to open up a bit more headroom on the preamp and give you a more organic tone.

Which EMGs are in that, BTW? If it's an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck try swapping them. The 85 is warmer sounding and actually put out a touch more output than the 81 and the 81 gives a bit more clarity in the neck. It's free to try and REALLY easy if you have the modular plugs that current EMGs come with (older EMGs didn't have them).
Click to expand...

That's actually the first thing I tried. I got an 85 (the guitar comes with the 81/60 combo) on eBay and made the swap. It sounded better but not exactly what I was looking for.
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

GilmourD said:
Another thing you can try is the 18V mod on your existing EMGs. It's supposed to open up a bit more headroom on the preamp and give you a more organic tone.

Which EMGs are in that, BTW? If it's an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck try swapping them. The 85 is warmer sounding and actually put out a touch more output than the 81 and the 81 gives a bit more clarity in the neck. It's free to try and REALLY easy if you have the modular plugs that current EMGs come with (older EMGs didn't have them).
Click to expand...

GilmourD, I just tried the 18V mod and all I can say is, WOW! There's a major difference. It's really unbelievable. It's not 100% what I'm looking for but it still sounds much better than with a single 9V battery. It's was really simple to do. I just went Radio Shack and they had everything I needed. Thanks for the tip.
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

jestremera said:
GilmourD, I just tried the 18V mod and all I can say is, WOW! There's a major difference. It's really unbelievable. It's not 100% what I'm looking for but it still sounds much better than with a single 9V battery. It's was really simple to do. I just went Radio Shack and they had everything I needed. Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...
No prob. :)

Now which pickup is where? 85 in the bridge and 81 in the neck or is it stock positioning (81 bridge/85 neck)?
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

GilmourD said:
No prob. :)

Now which pickup is where? 85 in the bridge and 81 in the neck or is it stock positioning (81 bridge/85 neck)?
Click to expand...

Initially, I had the 81 bridge/85 neck setup. After a couple of hours, I swapped the two and was floored. The 85 is a monster in the bridge. The lows are just booming. I also got nice highs from it - slightly vowely but not overly so. I wasn't as crazy about the 81 in the neck so tomorrow I'll replace with a 60 that I have laying around and see how that works out.

Cheers!
 
Re: New Pickups for LTD EC-1000

jestremera said:
Initially, I had the 81 bridge/85 neck setup. After a couple of hours, I swapped the two and was floored. The 85 is a monster in the bridge. The lows are just booming. I also got nice highs from it - slightly vowely but not overly so. I wasn't as crazy about the 81 in the neck so tomorrow I'll replace with a 60 that I have laying around and see how that works out.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

85/60 18v combo sounds like the ticket.

Saves you time & money.
 
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