Re: Pickup Choice for Maple Neck-Through
Hey, guys, just returning with some feedback, as promised. And also a little surprise turn of events.
I got, and installed, the Custom Custom bridge and the Pearly Gates neck. Did not record any sound samples though, I'm afraid.
First off, this set is a far better match for the guitar, so thanks again for recommending Alnico 2s.
The Custom Custom (bridge): a very nice sounding pickup in this guitar. Tighter than the JB, smoother high end, but still borderline too bright for this guitar! Fortunately, amp settings are much easier to dial in, thanks to its much nicer midrange and tighter bass (i.e. I don't need to up the high-mids / highs to hear separation in the low notes, which obviously made higher notes too piercing). It's still a pretty a hot pickup, drive the amp nicely, cleans well, and splits acceptably. I use the bridge PU for riffs and solos almost exclusively, and the CC does that brilliantly. So, the brigde is sorted, I would say.
The Pearly Gates (neck): More, and nicer midrange than the Jazz, making amp settings easier for clean sounds. Just as defined than the Jazz, but fuller on the higher notes, allowing turning down the bass and mids on the amp, which gets rid of the mud. Doing this on the Jazz only managed to make it thinner. Bass seems less muddy, but also less deep than the Jazz. I think that's the compromise. It splits less well than the Jazz (weaker splits), and I do think its coils are unbalanced: the screw coil is ever so slightly (but noticeably) weaker, even though it's closer to the neck. The split tones keep giving me this sensation of weakness, of "too little", so I'm not very happy with them. The full humbucker clean tone is definitely less muddy than the Jazz and, yes, it does "snarl", albeit in a very controllable way - I made it add just a very, veeery light tinge of "sizzle" on the clean notes, which makes for an interesting, complex attack. Under distortion, this pickup really comes into its own. Great drive tones, great for shredding above the 12th fret, great cut through the mix. It has a scratchy, snarly attack that can be adjusted with the guitar tone knob, to a certain degree. The famous Alnico 2 "flutey" character is there in spades. Awesome soloing tones. This is definitely a great pickup, it works very well in this guitar, but it's not for me because of the cleans that are still not quite what I want.
There you have it, so far.
Now, for the surprise paradigm shift. I was contemplating trying a P-90 (a Phat Cat maybe) in the neck, for better cleans, when I got the idea of trying an old single coil first, just to make sure I'm not wasting my money on a humbucker-sized P-90 or single coil.
I have an old bridge single coil pickup laying around, very old (at least 1994, which means it's almost 20) probably Asian, staggered poles, measures circa 8.3 K, but so do its middle and neck counterparts from the same set... I've put this in the Schecter's neck using the humbucker mounting ring, and WOW! This is what I was looking for all along in this guitar. Punchy, clear bass (finally!), crystal highs, AND an overall fatness that's just beautiful - and this is a cheap, old piece of junk (I'm aware that may mean nothing in itself), I wonder what can be achieved with a better single coil - I only tested this at home, I'm concerned about how it sounds at venue levels. I combined it with the bridge CC split, and it gives absolutely great Strat-like tones, alas not hum cancelling, since this isn't RW/RP. Also, it has The Hum, obviously.
So, I guess now I'm looking for a:
- humbucker-sized
- noiseless
- gold-covered
- RW/RP
- true? (or would a stacked humbucker do)
single coil (or P-90) at about 8K DC! Should be easy enough to find. Not.
How would the Phat Cat compare with what I just described? It would be the easiest to find to match most of the above criteria.
Should I open a new thread or can you offer advice here? :help:
Thanks for all your advice, I feel I'm finally, slowly getting there.
Hey, guys, just returning with some feedback, as promised. And also a little surprise turn of events.
I got, and installed, the Custom Custom bridge and the Pearly Gates neck. Did not record any sound samples though, I'm afraid.
First off, this set is a far better match for the guitar, so thanks again for recommending Alnico 2s.
The Custom Custom (bridge): a very nice sounding pickup in this guitar. Tighter than the JB, smoother high end, but still borderline too bright for this guitar! Fortunately, amp settings are much easier to dial in, thanks to its much nicer midrange and tighter bass (i.e. I don't need to up the high-mids / highs to hear separation in the low notes, which obviously made higher notes too piercing). It's still a pretty a hot pickup, drive the amp nicely, cleans well, and splits acceptably. I use the bridge PU for riffs and solos almost exclusively, and the CC does that brilliantly. So, the brigde is sorted, I would say.
The Pearly Gates (neck): More, and nicer midrange than the Jazz, making amp settings easier for clean sounds. Just as defined than the Jazz, but fuller on the higher notes, allowing turning down the bass and mids on the amp, which gets rid of the mud. Doing this on the Jazz only managed to make it thinner. Bass seems less muddy, but also less deep than the Jazz. I think that's the compromise. It splits less well than the Jazz (weaker splits), and I do think its coils are unbalanced: the screw coil is ever so slightly (but noticeably) weaker, even though it's closer to the neck. The split tones keep giving me this sensation of weakness, of "too little", so I'm not very happy with them. The full humbucker clean tone is definitely less muddy than the Jazz and, yes, it does "snarl", albeit in a very controllable way - I made it add just a very, veeery light tinge of "sizzle" on the clean notes, which makes for an interesting, complex attack. Under distortion, this pickup really comes into its own. Great drive tones, great for shredding above the 12th fret, great cut through the mix. It has a scratchy, snarly attack that can be adjusted with the guitar tone knob, to a certain degree. The famous Alnico 2 "flutey" character is there in spades. Awesome soloing tones. This is definitely a great pickup, it works very well in this guitar, but it's not for me because of the cleans that are still not quite what I want.
There you have it, so far.
Now, for the surprise paradigm shift. I was contemplating trying a P-90 (a Phat Cat maybe) in the neck, for better cleans, when I got the idea of trying an old single coil first, just to make sure I'm not wasting my money on a humbucker-sized P-90 or single coil.
I have an old bridge single coil pickup laying around, very old (at least 1994, which means it's almost 20) probably Asian, staggered poles, measures circa 8.3 K, but so do its middle and neck counterparts from the same set... I've put this in the Schecter's neck using the humbucker mounting ring, and WOW! This is what I was looking for all along in this guitar. Punchy, clear bass (finally!), crystal highs, AND an overall fatness that's just beautiful - and this is a cheap, old piece of junk (I'm aware that may mean nothing in itself), I wonder what can be achieved with a better single coil - I only tested this at home, I'm concerned about how it sounds at venue levels. I combined it with the bridge CC split, and it gives absolutely great Strat-like tones, alas not hum cancelling, since this isn't RW/RP. Also, it has The Hum, obviously.
So, I guess now I'm looking for a:
- humbucker-sized
- noiseless
- gold-covered
- RW/RP
- true? (or would a stacked humbucker do)
single coil (or P-90) at about 8K DC! Should be easy enough to find. Not.
How would the Phat Cat compare with what I just described? It would be the easiest to find to match most of the above criteria.
Should I open a new thread or can you offer advice here? :help:
Thanks for all your advice, I feel I'm finally, slowly getting there.
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