ec101dm
New member
Hi there!!
I’m new here, so let me introduce myself. I’m Danny, 33 years old, and I’ve Been playing guitar and bass since 18 years now. I’m from Belgium, so please don’t be too hard on faulty use of English
Lately I’ve put a “hotrodded humbucker” set from SD in my Epi SG, because the stockpickups sounded a bit bland and dull to me.
Well, after some weeks of intense usage I have to admit I’m only for 60 % satisfied with this modification.
The neck humbucker, an SH-2 “Jazz” is great: clear and well contoured tone, warm but not too dull, perfect for clean sounds and mild bluesy overdrive, and perfect for producing that classic “woman tone” with rolled-back tone control.
But the bridge humbucker, being the legendary JB, is really disappointing. I’d heard this pup before in several other guitars (mostly Les Paul’s) and in those it sounded splendid to my ears. But not in my SG. In my SG it sounds terribly shrill, with an overdose of hi-mids and barely bottom/low end at all. I hear some nasty frequency in its sound, which I cannot eliminate by equalizing. Some people have described that sound as a “cocked wah” and when reading reviews this seems to be typical for the JB. Seems that it doesn’t sound good in each guitar, or that you need a guitar with much wood (= a thick body) as some sort of sonic counterweight to the piercing highs.
Now: to make things clear: I like the “base sound “ of the JB (don’t know if that’s the correct term, I hope you’ll understand what I mean here). It comes through well in band situations and is well-suited for crunchy to hi-gain lead sounds. I only want to get rid of that shrill quality and annoying metallic frequency. So I’d like to stick with Seymour Duncans for sure.
(On a side note: I’m not planning to mess with replacing magnets or the like. I don’t trust myself doing that, I’m far too clumsy. So I won’t touch it.)
So I was wondering: which SD pickup would be better for me? It has to be moderately hot, clear, but above all: it has to be WELL-BALANCED (= not overly emphasizing certain frequencies). I myself was thinking of a Custom-5 (SH-14). When reading the description on the website, it seems soundwise not too far from the JB, but it seems to have more bottom, less piercing highs and less penetrating hi-mids…
I’d like to hear your recommendations, ideas, suggestions, etc…!!!
Oh by the way, I play mainly 80’s new wave, indie rock and old school metal. Some names: Joy Division, Pixies, Sisters Of Mercy, old Christian Death, old Metallica, …
Cheers from Belgium,
Danny
I’m new here, so let me introduce myself. I’m Danny, 33 years old, and I’ve Been playing guitar and bass since 18 years now. I’m from Belgium, so please don’t be too hard on faulty use of English
Lately I’ve put a “hotrodded humbucker” set from SD in my Epi SG, because the stockpickups sounded a bit bland and dull to me.
Well, after some weeks of intense usage I have to admit I’m only for 60 % satisfied with this modification.
The neck humbucker, an SH-2 “Jazz” is great: clear and well contoured tone, warm but not too dull, perfect for clean sounds and mild bluesy overdrive, and perfect for producing that classic “woman tone” with rolled-back tone control.
But the bridge humbucker, being the legendary JB, is really disappointing. I’d heard this pup before in several other guitars (mostly Les Paul’s) and in those it sounded splendid to my ears. But not in my SG. In my SG it sounds terribly shrill, with an overdose of hi-mids and barely bottom/low end at all. I hear some nasty frequency in its sound, which I cannot eliminate by equalizing. Some people have described that sound as a “cocked wah” and when reading reviews this seems to be typical for the JB. Seems that it doesn’t sound good in each guitar, or that you need a guitar with much wood (= a thick body) as some sort of sonic counterweight to the piercing highs.
Now: to make things clear: I like the “base sound “ of the JB (don’t know if that’s the correct term, I hope you’ll understand what I mean here). It comes through well in band situations and is well-suited for crunchy to hi-gain lead sounds. I only want to get rid of that shrill quality and annoying metallic frequency. So I’d like to stick with Seymour Duncans for sure.
(On a side note: I’m not planning to mess with replacing magnets or the like. I don’t trust myself doing that, I’m far too clumsy. So I won’t touch it.)
So I was wondering: which SD pickup would be better for me? It has to be moderately hot, clear, but above all: it has to be WELL-BALANCED (= not overly emphasizing certain frequencies). I myself was thinking of a Custom-5 (SH-14). When reading the description on the website, it seems soundwise not too far from the JB, but it seems to have more bottom, less piercing highs and less penetrating hi-mids…
I’d like to hear your recommendations, ideas, suggestions, etc…!!!
Oh by the way, I play mainly 80’s new wave, indie rock and old school metal. Some names: Joy Division, Pixies, Sisters Of Mercy, old Christian Death, old Metallica, …
Cheers from Belgium,
Danny
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