New Pickups for my Satriani?

[BluesGuyJ]

Hey guys!

I recently got my hands on a Mesa Boogie Mark III Simul Class combo, and she sounds sweet. But iI feel that my Satriani isn't driving the amp to the extent that I would like it to. So I am thinking of swapping out the FRED and PAF Pro for two new pick ups.

I'm thinking of getting an Evolution set or perhaps Putting the Fred in the neck and a Tone Zone, Evolution, or Air Norton in the bridge.

I play Pearl Jam, SRV, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Alice in Chains, 80s hair band metal, a lot of other blues and progressive/instrumental rock.

I'd like to keep my tone cutting, a little on the bright side, articulate, high gain, and sustainful. I'd like to simply improve upon everything the FRED already does. I am in love with my split coil tones and I can really nail an SRV clean tone and I dont want to jeopordize that with new pickups though.

So do you guys have any suggestions? I am open to Duncan pickups, but Dimarzios as well.

 

[Reckless Abandon]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

Get a JB and Jazz combo. Works great for 80's metal and will do ac/dc pretty well. The midrange is good for classic rock.

 

[Frebnedzo]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

If you like what the Fred does but just want more of it, why not put
Fred into the neck and Evo-2 or Evo in the bridge? No I haven't heard
or played them, but reading the Dimarzio site, here and harmony central
I get the impression that the EVOs are higher gain but Fred like in terms
of harmonics etc.

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

Phat Cats. Especially if you like the split sound.

 

[Jimbojsr]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

My bandmate VERY nearly bought a Stariani, but ended up getting an SG Voodoo instead.... what's the axe like? It sure looked tasty in the shop, but I never heard it played...

P.S. - Yay for Phat Cats!

 

[WITH FULL DISTORTION]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

Or...
a Tone zone Bridge, Air Norton Neck
or, Duncan distortion bridge, duncan Full Shred Neck.

 

[Robotechnology]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

If you like the basic tones your guitar and pickups are giving you already, why not just try the SD Pickup Booster or some kind of boost/drive/distortion pedal (Maxon OD-9 & MI Audio Blues Pro are great ones)?

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

The guitar is really comfortable to play, more so than a JEM I think. Versatility is it's name. The bridge pup cuts through great and is bright but not to a displeasing extent and the neck pickup is really great for fast Petrucci like solos/tone. With the coil tap and my Mesa Mark II and the Graphic EQ punched in, I can nail SRV tone. Everyone should try this axe out.

The tone zone bridge and Air Norton neck combo sounds interesting as well as the DD bridge and FS duncan neck.

How do the Duncan Distortion and JB compare in terms of output and tone?

 

[WITH FULL DISTORTION]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

Duncan distortion is kinda raw sound, lots of Tight Bass, crunchy enough Mids, and cutting through highs, Kinda dry highs..
at least in my BASSWOOD charvel .
the jb i didn´t test in this same guitar, but in others.. it has Tightier bass than the DD and more crunchy and juicy Middles. also the Highs are better.
but I GUESS(someone correct me please if i´m wrong) the JB can be Brittle in some guitars
EX: ASH body guitar
HEHEHEHEHEH
Hails
J.P

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

I have a hard time picturing any mesa that needs a hotter pick for more gain.

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

I shouldn't say more gain, but rather more punch with the level of gain I use. I keep it on about 4 o'clock. I want the bridge pup to be a little hotter but more of what I mentioned above more than anything else.

 

[Xeromus]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

Air Norton in the neck, tone zone in the bridge. You'll like it. The tone zone is going to have less treble than the fred though.

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

I was even thinking of trying a Steve's Special in the bridge and the Air Norton in the neck, Petrucci's old Ibanez setup.

how do the Tone Zone and Steve's Special compare?

 

[SoCalSteve]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

Phat Cats. Especially if you like the split sound.

Very cool idea. I like the looks of those too.

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

Well, I think I am going to try out the Tone Zone and Air Norton combo. I am definitely torn between the Steve's Special and the Tone Zone, but the Tone Zone sounds like its more of what I am looking for.

Wish me luck and thanks for all the help guys!

Any objections to my choice?

 

[taphappy]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

I checked the dimarzio site a couple days ago and they now have a satch signature bridge pup thats supposed to be a high output fred.

It's called the Mo' Joe, check it out in the news section at dimarzio.com

 

[Dave Z]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

"I want the bridge pup to be a little hotter but more of what I mentioned above more than anything else."

I'm doing something similar, moving up from a Fred - in this case too bright - to a TZ and I have one on the way...but I'm wondering why you did not consider the Norton? Seems like a step up from the Fred & if the TZ turns out to be too dark/ heavy I'll drop down to a Norton myself.

BTW why drop the PPro? I have one in the neck of my SG & it is HUGE...I keep it 1/8-inch lower than the bridge - a JB - and it is still bigger, fatter, loads more bass than the bridge pickup - a JB. WHich means should match great with the mids & bass heavy TZ.

FWIW you mentioned the JB & distortion - I dont have any info on the DD but I was playing around with the SG (JB bridge) and the superstrat (Fred bridge) last night with my homebrew higain amp, and basically what you are trading off here is:

- less PAF-ish scream from the JB, you know how that Fred's harmonics twist? For example, I can nail the snarly old Sex Pistols rhythm tone with the Fred, with the JB its more modern & heavier sounding. Clean, the Fred is nearly a match for the '59..the JB is darker and has that hump....Very different voicings.

- distorted, JB has smoother highs, more howl/less scream than the Fred, does not have mismatched coils, so those high bends are sweeter. I find the Fred's resonant peak is very evident when you hit the high E anywhere around the 12th fret...whereas the JB really kicks it with the B or G, and that is pretty noticeable, due to the mid spike.

- Lows are about the same, kinda there, serviceable not real punchy with either. THAT will change with the TZ, it defines punch. Extremely touvh-sensitive.

- JB sounds fuller, less brittle than Fred when split. I think the Fred split can sound hashy unless you roll off the treble, but the JB split full-on sounds nice, more like a strat. TZ is also excellent split.

All in all, I'd say from what you want to do the TZ is a better choice over the JB, as it should be tonally in the same family as the Fred, but with more output & bass.

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: New Pickups for my Satriani?

And if it doesn't work out, then I'll swap 'em back. I am swapping both pups so that if I like the new set a lot, I can get my hands on a used RG570 or some sort of nice Ibanez with crappy Dimarzio designed pups and throw the Satch set right in. I think the Satch set sounds great, but not what I am looking to achieve for the majoirty of the time.