New pickups for Mahogany Super Strat for Metal

Chuck_Norris

Chuck_Norris

New member
Hey guys, it's been a while.


I am looking for new pickups for my Ibanez s5470. It has a Mahogany body, Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard. Currently, it has a TB-5 Custom in the bridge and a DiMarzio LiquiFire in the neck. The middle pickup is some stock Ibanez single coil. This guitar is mainly used for Metal. Most of the time I play Thrash Metal (Havok, Kreator, Lazarus A.D., Testament), Groove Metal (Lamb of God, Machine Head) and Metalcore (Killswitch Engage).

The amp I am currently playing through is a 15 watt Engl Gigmaster combo which i boost with a Fulltone Fulldrive II. The amp doesn't have that much gain but boosted with the Fulldrive it's enough for my needs. The only problem is that the amp loses some tightness when the gain is turned up too high. Also, it is a fairly warm souding amp.

Basically, I really dig the sound of my guitar and rig. The only issue that I have is that it seems to lack some tightness and aggression in the bottom end for faster and thrashier stuff. I can still do it but it sounds a bit too "round" for my needs.

It seems to me that the Distortion is the obvious way to go. What do you guys think? I am also curious about the DDn (aka Seymourizer) both as a neck and bridge pickup.


What would you pick for that guitar?
 
Re: New pickups for Mahogany Super Strat for Metal

I'd give black winters a serious look. Ignore some of the awful, thin black metal demos of them. They are like a distortion with more mids and output. I far prefer the black winters, but honestly the first few demos I heard were unrecognizable from what I get from my black winter equipped guitar. Seriously amazing pickups.
 
Re: New pickups for Mahogany Super Strat for Metal

Distortion is the obvious choice, but Black Winters are a nice option as well. Depends on if you want more mids or not.
 
Re: New pickups for Mahogany Super Strat for Metal

Distortion would do well. It's got a huge low end, but it tends to track tighter than the SH/TB-5.

You might also wanna consider a Full Shred. The coils are quite similar to the Custom series pickups, but the dual rows of allen-head screws give it a MUCH tighter response. Great for fast riffing and precision/articulation. Would be significantly more versatile than the Distortion, but it's tighter, and if you amp/pedal can give you enough gain that doesn't necessitate very high output pickups, then Full Shred would be a great pickup for your needs.

If you need the extra output get the Distortion. Black Winters I believe are even higher output than the Distortion but based on a similar tone/feel.
 
Re: New pickups for Mahogany Super Strat for Metal

The DDn looks interesting. Heard it's basically an underwound Custom (someone correct me if I'm wrong) so you could expect it to have less mids and being a bit brighter, which could work in a mahogany/rosewood strat.

Distortion and Full Shred are excellent Thrash pickups in my experience. Plenty of tightness and cut without sounding thin. Distortion sounded a bit smoother in the mids and more cutting in the high end. The Full Shred had a sweeter lead sound and a more pleasing clean sound to me.
 
Re: New pickups for Mahogany Super Strat for Metal

El Supremo said:
The DDn looks interesting. Heard it's basically an underwound Custom (someone correct me if I'm wrong) so you could expect it to have less mids and being a bit brighter, which could work in a mahogany/rosewood strat.

Distortion and Full Shred are excellent Thrash pickups in my experience. Plenty of tightness and cut without sounding thin. Distortion sounded a bit smoother in the mids and more cutting in the high end. The Full Shred had a sweeter lead sound and a more pleasing clean sound to me.
Click to expand...

The Distortion neck is a very good pick if you are using a very high gain amp and want some clarity from your guitar.
 
Re: New pickups for Mahogany Super Strat for Metal

I have always like the D.D. neck pickup. I don't play as heavy as you, but I find the Distortion neck to be really creamy. It's pretty versatile. Have it in the neck, so you can put the Black Winter in the bridge. And if you are looking for a new middle pickup, go with something heavy and thicker like the quarter pounder. I think that would be a pretty good set-up.
 
Re: New pickups for Mahogany Super Strat for Metal

Thanks for the answers so far. I used to have a Full Shred in that guitar and while it was cool for fast Thrash stuff it always kind of lacked some punch and ballz. I also had an Alt 8 but that wasn't really what I was looking for. The lead sound was amazing though. I still have a Dimebucker lying around somewhere and might check it out again.

Distortion or Black Winter seem to be the way to go. What are the main differences between the two and which one is tighter?
 
Re: New pickups for Mahogany Super Strat for Metal

Chuck_Norris said:
Thanks for the answers so far. I used to have a Full Shred in that guitar and while it was cool for fast Thrash stuff it always kind of lacked some punch and ballz. I also had an Alt 8 but that wasn't really what I was looking for. The lead sound was amazing though. I still have a Dimebucker lying around somewhere and might check it out again.

Distortion or Black Winter seem to be the way to go. What are the main differences between the two and which one is tighter?
Click to expand...

To me, the black winter seems like it has more mids, as the distortion felt somewhat scooped to me. I think the BW is probably a touch tighter, but I never installed both in the same guitar. It could be a difference in guitar. To me, the BW feels fuller and huge. The bridge is nice and tight, and the neck sounds great as well. I also never liked the distortion's cleans. I like the BWs which is something I did NOT anticipate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top