Hey all,
My name is Tim. I'm a long time reader and first time poster.
I have an ESP/Ltd. EC-1000 (all mahogany body, and neck, 24 fret rosewood fretboard and Tonepros locking bridge) that came stock with the EMG 81/60 combo and I want to switch to passives as metal is no longer my main focus.
The 81 is very thin, harsh, has no low end, and feels lifeless.
The 60 too much low end/boominess, not enough clarity and also feels and sounds pretty dull.
I've also tried 57/66 set.
The 57 was a bit fuller, still too bright/harsh
The 66 was clearer, but has some annoying resonant frequencies and almost a pinging sound that drove me crazy. They both also still felt lifeless.
I also tried swapping positions and combining the bridge and neck positions of each set and nothing worked for me.
I play clean, low gain-mid gain crunch,high gain rhythm and leads in all styles as well. I switch between them constantly so I need a set that can cover rock, blues, and metal essentially.
Some bands I would say my sound sits closest with would be: Tool, Clapton, Metallica,Chevelle, Tash Sultana, Trivium, Lamb of God, Deftones, In Flames, Hendrix.
I'm looking for a bridge pickup that has a full sound, tight but powerful lows, with a high end that will cut thru a live mix without being harsh and a neck pickup that is very clear but still has a nice low end without being muddy and unclear.
I mostly use this guitar into my interface with amp sims or when I play at my church. But I will be buying a Mesa Rectifier or Mark IV in the next few months.
I tried the JB/59 set and Distortion set both in a Jackson soloist/dinky, the Custom 5/Jazz set in an ESP H3-1000, and the Alpha/Omega set in the Mark Holcomb PRS SE.
I'm sure they will sound different in my guitar but I wanted to get an idea of how they sounded.
The JB seemed flubby and I thought it was harsher than the 81, the 59 wasn't clear and was kind of boomy.
The Distortions bridge was pretty close in terms of fullness, low end and tightness, but it's missing some brightness.
The Custom 5 was almost there, just not bright enough and still a little flubby but better than the JB.
The Jazz's was almost hollow and lifeless.
The Alpha neck had the clarity I'm looking for and the Omega had a nice high end without being too harsh but was too thin. The one thing that really bugged me about them was they were almost too pristine and reminded me of how the EMG's feel.
I've listened to the sound clips and the Custom and Alternative 8 has caught my ear for the bridge.
The custom seems like it is still a little harsh and lacking in the low end and the alternative 8 might have too much low end and not enough clarity for me.
I emailed duncan as well and they recommended the Nazgul/Sentient set but I don't know how well they will do the cleans and lower gain stuff I play.
Price isn't really an issue and I'm open to any brand.
I've also been looking at Mojotone's specifically the Black Magic and the PW Hornets.
Sorry for the long ass post and thanks for your help.
-Tim
My name is Tim. I'm a long time reader and first time poster.
I have an ESP/Ltd. EC-1000 (all mahogany body, and neck, 24 fret rosewood fretboard and Tonepros locking bridge) that came stock with the EMG 81/60 combo and I want to switch to passives as metal is no longer my main focus.
The 81 is very thin, harsh, has no low end, and feels lifeless.
The 60 too much low end/boominess, not enough clarity and also feels and sounds pretty dull.
I've also tried 57/66 set.
The 57 was a bit fuller, still too bright/harsh
The 66 was clearer, but has some annoying resonant frequencies and almost a pinging sound that drove me crazy. They both also still felt lifeless.
I also tried swapping positions and combining the bridge and neck positions of each set and nothing worked for me.
I play clean, low gain-mid gain crunch,high gain rhythm and leads in all styles as well. I switch between them constantly so I need a set that can cover rock, blues, and metal essentially.
Some bands I would say my sound sits closest with would be: Tool, Clapton, Metallica,Chevelle, Tash Sultana, Trivium, Lamb of God, Deftones, In Flames, Hendrix.
I'm looking for a bridge pickup that has a full sound, tight but powerful lows, with a high end that will cut thru a live mix without being harsh and a neck pickup that is very clear but still has a nice low end without being muddy and unclear.
I mostly use this guitar into my interface with amp sims or when I play at my church. But I will be buying a Mesa Rectifier or Mark IV in the next few months.
I tried the JB/59 set and Distortion set both in a Jackson soloist/dinky, the Custom 5/Jazz set in an ESP H3-1000, and the Alpha/Omega set in the Mark Holcomb PRS SE.
I'm sure they will sound different in my guitar but I wanted to get an idea of how they sounded.
The JB seemed flubby and I thought it was harsher than the 81, the 59 wasn't clear and was kind of boomy.
The Distortions bridge was pretty close in terms of fullness, low end and tightness, but it's missing some brightness.
The Custom 5 was almost there, just not bright enough and still a little flubby but better than the JB.
The Jazz's was almost hollow and lifeless.
The Alpha neck had the clarity I'm looking for and the Omega had a nice high end without being too harsh but was too thin. The one thing that really bugged me about them was they were almost too pristine and reminded me of how the EMG's feel.
I've listened to the sound clips and the Custom and Alternative 8 has caught my ear for the bridge.
The custom seems like it is still a little harsh and lacking in the low end and the alternative 8 might have too much low end and not enough clarity for me.
I emailed duncan as well and they recommended the Nazgul/Sentient set but I don't know how well they will do the cleans and lower gain stuff I play.
Price isn't really an issue and I'm open to any brand.
I've also been looking at Mojotone's specifically the Black Magic and the PW Hornets.
Sorry for the long ass post and thanks for your help.
-Tim
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