newbie needs help

[AmirH]

I've been looking a lot of different places for advice on new pickups, so I thought I might try the source.

I recently bought myself a nicer guitar, for the first time. I'm not exactly a dazzling virtuoso guitar player but I'm good enough that it doesn't limit me when composing and recording my own stuff, and for only 5 years of playing I'm decent. I fell in love with a schecter c1 elite, mostly because it came very close to the feel of prs, at a price I could afford. It's made of mahogony with a quilt maple top. The neck, according to the website is also mahogony but I would have guessed it for maple. It has a rosewood fingerboard as well- but I don't know if that affects tone. The neck is set, it is archtop, and the strings go through the body. Currently it has duncan designed humbuckers which don't sound terrible but are too bright, and horrid for metal.

My other guitar, an epiphone sg(very cheap one) has a set of emgs in it. I put those pickups in because A. I wanted a metal tone, and B. I didn't want the cheap wood to affect it. My biggest problem with those are also that they are much too bright sounding for jazzy leads. I am satisfied enough with those to keep that for a metal tone however.

Basically, I want a tone that will cut through the mix but isn't so bright it hurts the ears. I want it to be transparent, balanced, and unbelievably warm. This guitar will be used for work in metal, progressive rock ala pinkfloyd and king crimson, and jazz. It must also be able to achieve a good rhythm metal tone. As versatile as a PRS basically. It will be run with a peavy bandit(may try to mic with sm57) and into the computer with a behringer Vamp2, hopefully to be upgraded with a podxt very soon. Which pickups do you think would work best for me? I recently found the wcr pickup sight and loved the tone of the goodwood clips. I would hate to spend almost as much on pickups as the guitar but if those are right for it I might do it. need to sound decent with coil split as well. Is there a set of duncans you could recommend? once again- emphasis on WARMTH, balanced, not bright and not dull, and transparent.

Thanks
-Amir

 

[Artie]

Re: newbie needs help

Hey Amir; Welcome to the forum. First off, you really shouldn't worry about spending more on p'ups than the guitar cost. Most of the guitars in my sig were less money than the hardware and pups that I've put in them . . . and I love them all. Think about how many "hot-rodders" have more money in their engine, than in their car.

Others with more pup experience will be along shortly, but I just can't stop raving about my JB ever since I installed it. For warm, smooth tone, its great. As a pup with a lot of midrange, its not too bright, not too bassy. I have mine in my cheapest guitar, with the worst neck, and its the guitar I play the most, just for the JB sound . . . especially with the QP's.

Artie

 

[big_black]

Re: newbie needs help

:headbang: Welcome to the best forum on the 'net! :headbang:
The JB is my favorite pickup to split. It's a good all around pickup that, I would say, doesn't add too much color to the tone like a PAF stlye tends to. I would say it's pretty transparent. I think of it as a good base to build tone from. It also goes well with any wood I could think of. I'm a big fan of the twang a PAF sounding pickup gives. In this, of course, the '59 is great, the Duncan Demon is a lilltle more intense, modern, and has a growl to it that I dig. The '59n is my favorite neck I would say. I'm not too familiar with the Customs, but there are amny users here that will give you their take.

 

[brinton]

Re: newbie needs help

"Transparent, warm and balanced, not bright, not dark"......................Calculating......................................................................................................

You want a PAF Pro, If your description matches will, this is THE PUP. It's very transparent and can cut relatively well, it's got power too so it doesn't sound thin.
Check it out @ dimarzio.com
It's a really cool pup that almost suits universal needs.

 

[tone4days]

Re: newbie needs help

welcome to the board and congrats on picking such a fine guitar .. those schecters are a dream to play and look at .. with some duncans, you'll be in tone heaven

i'd say an alnico II pro neck and JB bridge would give you incredible warmth and 'cut' when you need it without a hint of brittleness ... if you want real versatility, get yourself a 5-way rotary switch and go fo rthe 'PRS style' wiring for pickup combos .. i did that on my brian moore with those two exact pickups and it's very sweet indeed for jazz, blues, and rock of all subgenres

good luck
t4d

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: newbie needs help

I'm really enjoying the Custom at the moment. It's pretty tough to go wrong with the JB, though.

Surprisingly, another pickup I'm really into is the Gibson 500T.

 

[AmirH]

Re: newbie needs help

Wow, that was pretty fast. Thanks to all who have replied so far. Seems like almost everyone favors the jb as being one of the best in the duncan line. I was discourage by a few reviews I read that called it too bright, but it sounds like most people don't think so. Do you think that dimarzio would be a good combination with the jb or is it more of a bridge pickup? I know a guy with dimarzios in his ibanez jem that sound wondeful. tone4days made the alnico pro II sound quite enticing too

I did exaggerate a little about the price of the wrc pickups because I didn't mention that I got a killer deal on my guitar from my friend at the shop. I paid only 470 for it, which is why 325 dollar pickups seem like a bit much. I'm pretty much abandoning that idea the more good things I hear about other cheaper options though. This will be a tough choice.

 

[tone4days]

Re: newbie needs help

This will be a tough choice.

yup ... but in a good way .. 'cus you know your tone will be so sweet once you decide ... the 21 day no hassle policy takes alot of the pressure off .. if you happen to not like the choice you make, send the pup back and try another ... option anxiety to be sure, but there's no excuse for crummy tone these days

... no need to try to choose between pups either, that's why there's more guitars to buy

welcome to our shared sickness


cheers
t4d

 

[big_black]

Re: newbie needs help

You deffinately don't need to go out and spend that kind of money to get a good pickup. Duncans average a range from $30-$70 a piece. di marzios are even cheaper. I've never had a problem getting rid of a Duncan I grew out of either. Just keep browsing the Lounge, You'll find something you like.

 

[knucklefux]

Re: newbie needs help

dude! i know somebody is gonna kill me, but why has no one suggested a duncan distortion? this is an awesome bridge pup, and any time you need to roll off the highs, remember the TONE knob. it's not there just to look pretty...

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: newbie needs help

i personally hate the JB

I'd go for a custom 5 bridge /Pearly Gate neck set

 

[AmirH]

Re: newbie needs help

Since I'm strongly considering the jb, could you tell me what exactly you don't like about. I'm edging toward the custom as it's supposed to be "bassier" and I tend to like darker tones better. I'd almost say thicker, but that's like a direct contradiction of transparency, so I'll stick with "fuller".

 

[big_black]

Re: newbie needs help

The JB can be kind of harsh and shrill with 500k pots. It is generally recommended that you use 300k or 250k if it bothers you..

 

[AmirH]

Re: newbie needs help

Seems like the duncan custom might be a better match for me then. I think I'll go for the custom with either the alnico II, paf pro, or jazz in the neck. harshness is something I really would like to avoid with this axe.

 

[AmirH]

Re: newbie needs help

question- of the alnico II, jazz, and paf joe- which has more of a dark "singing tone"? I'm really having trouble deciding on a neck pup because I don't know if dimarzio has the same return policy as duncan, meaning it could be more of a gamble to find the sound I'm after.