Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

[Renderman]

I have a mahogany Les Paul shaped body that I made a while back. The neck on it is maple with a rosewood fingerboard. The scale is 25.5" if that makes any difference. I need a bridge and neck humbucker for it and I want to make sure I get ones that will sound good with the mahogany and maple. I know it comes down to personal preference but I really only have experience with EMGs and am hoping you guys can point me in the right direction.

I play mostly metal music and would like a warm and fairly heavy and thick sound out of the guitar, but with nice definition for faster thrashy tones. I have an EMG loaded guitar and don't need that super tight low end on this guitar. I was thinking the JB would be good for the bridge. I hear it sounds good with mahogany and many metal and rock guitarists use it. And for the neck, I like to use it for smooth soloing with distortion. For neck cleans I don't have to have super duper cleans. Something bluesy sounding would be fine. I was thinking either the Jazz or the '59, leaning more towards the '59 for using with distortion.

Would my choices be a good place to start? Can anyone suggest different pickups and describe how the tone might be with mahogany and maple?

Thanks for any help.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

Is that body full Les Paul thickness?

 

[Renderman]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

Is that body full Les Paul thickness?

I don't know the thickness of a Les Paul, but the body on mine is 1 5/8" thick.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

I think the Duncan Distortion will be better for you than the JB. The JB isn't warm. Those who like it often have things like solid maple Floyd superstrats.

Or a JB with A2.

 

[Renderman]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

Thanks uOpt. After reading more intensively here it seems like a distortion will work great with mahogany and metal music. I think I'll try out the Jazz over the '59 as well. I was leaning towards the '59 but I think I'd rather have the clarity of the Jazz.

 

[ColonPowell]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

I love the D Distortion in Les Pauls, although I have a mahogany/maple neck LP
with a Suhr SSH+ in the bridge, it's hot beef city!

 

[Renderman]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

Actually, how would a SH-5 custom sound in this case? It seems like a lot of people like them in Les Pauls. I was interested in the SH-6 Distortion but I'm looking for a thick, chunky tone and wonder if the custom would work better. I already have EMGs and am affraid the SH-6 won't be all that different.

 

[RokJok]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

Generically speaking, the SH-5. It will do metal, chunk, chug, and a lot of other things. Very versatile. The 59 is a great p'up but slightly more vintage in nature (to my ears). The Jazz can be a little dark, especially on 25.5". That and the mahogany will prolly darken it up some along w/the rosewood board. That said, I have yet to find a situation where the Jazz didn't work in the neck position. But YMMV.

So, for lack of being near it to hear it - no idea of what amp, pedals, etc., are being used, I'd go w/the SH-5/Jazz combo. The Custom Custom is also an option.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

What type of bridge and string mounting system will you be using? I ask because from the specs, you're guitar seems more like a dual 'bucker tele than a LP. What do you want this axe to sound like? Are you going for a traditional LP tone, or do you want something tighter and brighter? Darker? Hotter?

Also, what's the rest of your rig look like? If your amp has enough gain on tap, a cooler, tighter pickup may benefit you more than a high output monster.

 

[Renderman]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

I don't know why I haven't mentioned this before, but I'll be running this guitar right into a Peavey XXX combo. No pedals. I've tamed it with a 12DW7 tube in one of the slots but it's still about as high gain as they come. Because of that I'm thinking that I don't have to have the highest output humbuckers. I normally dial in "marshall on steroids" tones with just some slightly scooped mids.

The guitar body is mahogany, 1 5/8" thick, has no cap wood, and is routed for two humbuckers. I'll be using a Tone Pros tune-o-matic bridge with tail piece. The maple neck is bolt on. To give me something different from my EMG equipped ESP, I'd like this guitar to give me thick, chunky rhythm tones capable of sounds like Slayer's South of Heaven and Metallica's Ride the Lightning albums. I want warm crunchy tones that aren't harsh and creamy leads from the neck would also be nice. This will be the first time pickups will be in this guitar so I really don't know how warm or bright it is. I'm trying to select pickups based on the assumption that the mahogany body and maple neck will balance out the tone.

I appreciate all of your help so far.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

From Duncan, I'd be tempted to use a PATB-1 set.

I know you did say no EMG's, but from what you describe, an 85 in the bridge paired with a HA in the neck would do what you want very well.

 

[Renderman]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

Thanks for the suggestions Benjy. I'll look into those. And I'm not necessarily against EMGs. I really like my 81 bridge. But I've heard that an EMG more or less sounds like an EMG regardless of the guitar it's in. I'd like passive pickups this time to take advantage of the mahogany and to compliment it.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

I really like my 81 bridge. But I've heard that an EMG more or less sounds like an EMG regardless of the guitar it's in.

That is unequivocally a crock of bull. EMG's are like any other pickup, the tone will change depending on what it's installed in. Will it sound like an EMG? Of course. The same can be said about any pickup. Will a JB still sound like a JB if you pull it from your strat and use it in a LP? Yes. It's different, but it'll still have it's own characteristics.

 

[Renderman]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

So I think I'll give the Custom a try. But how do you think a Pearly Gates would sound in the neck. I know it has some extra top end so would there be a chance of having too much treble with the maple neck?

 

[CenterStaqeSilver]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

Since you have mahogany and the neck position is darker, the need for clarity in the highs is always there, and with the maple neck, you've helped balance out the mahogany, sooooooooo, the Jazz neck sounds like a great selection for the neck position.

Your mahogany/maple balancing act now allows you, probably, some good range of options for a bridge pickup, and you can consider the intended range of tonal options you want, vs what the wood is limited to. Was there a little wood routed out between the bridge and neck joint, for pickups and wiring, or a lot? The overall guitar design can also affect tone. Distance of pickup to the strings is one. Certainly, pots and capacitors have a major influence on how much of the treble gets through, and you need to rig you volume control so that turning down the volume doesn't squeeze your treble out. Volume is supposed to be volume only, not a second tone pot. The more powerful the bridge pickup, the more the signal might be compressed, losing feel and treble. I'm a fingerpicker and detail guy, but maybe you want thrash or mellow jazz and compression is fine with you. I want the full dynamic range.

Speaking of routing, I'd really like to see all the Seymour Duncan pickups come in versions that didn't require routing out any wood, so the strength of the wood between the bridge and the neck joint is at a maximum. That would theoretically allow the maximum transfer of string energy and all the tonal detail and dynamics to be retained either in the strings or in a direct path from neck to bridge.

Routing weakens wood in that area and subsequently energy is dissipated, absorbed to the rest of the guitar body and/or shaking and muffling in the guitar neck and body. Tone will be affected as well as sustain. Some guitars may have desirable tones based on the combination of routing, wood and design, but when I look at the extensive amount of routing on some standard guitars I just wonder what they might sound like if more solid in the center.

 

[Mark Cearlock]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

So I think I'll give the Custom a try. But how do you think a Pearly Gates would sound in the neck. I know it has some extra top end so would there be a chance of having too much treble with the maple neck?

I just put one in my squier tele custom 2 which is agaithis, and has a maple neck. To my ears agaithis is kind of like mahog, only with a little more highs and a little less mids (this guitar is heavy also) With that being said, I find the pgn to be just what the doctor ordered. Very smooth, somewhat on the dark side, but with bite. Very bluesy. I like it so much, that I am going to change my custom 5 in the bridge, to a a-2 or maybe a-8 to darken it a bit.(so it matches tonaly with the pgn).
Hope this rambling helps.

 

[Renderman]

Re: Pick-Up Suggestions For Mahogany Body/Maple Neck

Thanks CenterStage and Mcearlock for the info. For the routing for the wiring, I just drilled a 1/4" hole from the neck pocket into both pickup cavities. Then another 1/4" from the bridge pickup into the control cavity. Would that be considered little routing? And can you explain how to rig the volume control correctly? I planned on using the 2 humbucker, 2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way switch wiring diagram on Duncan's site.