zos thanatos
New member
Hello, all,
I know you all know your stuff, and I'm really torn, so I thought I'd hit you up for some input/ideas. i've got an Eastman El Rey ER2 (thinline full-hollow archtop-solid carved woods, spruce top/maple back/sides, trapeze tailpiece, floating bridge NO F holes) with the stock Kent Armstrong 12 pole PAF's in it, and they sound kind of lame. They're okay, but the neck is too muddy and the bridge is a little thin. I've got a mid '90's Hamer Artist with Seths that I absolutely love, and I've dug every SD I've ever played through, so I though SD's would be good for this guitar.
I use this axe mainly for what I call neo-urban-soul-jazz. I just got a very sensitive 30w EL84 based amp that I run through a single Vintage 30, so I want a pickup that will let my hands speak through it and that will let more of the guitar's beautiful natural sound through, too. I'd like a neck p/u that is warm but with clear highs, and a bridge that's a little hotter than the neck with a good midrange bite. Here's some ideas I had; I'm interested to see what you all think (I love the Seths in my Hamer but I don't see any point in having two guitars with the same pickups).
Neck Bridge
A2Pro A2Pro
A2Pro '59
'59 '59
Jazz '59
Any other ideas? Will the jazz be darker than what I want in the neck? Will I end up sounding like Slash (definitely not my goal) if I go with straight A2Pro's (I had a 3 p/u Tele thad had all A2Pros and I loved their expressiveness and bounce, but I've never played on the humbucker version)? Will the '59 be too bright in the bridge? The sound I go for is somewhere in the Scofield, Carlton, Eric Krasno, soul/fusion area. For an idea of the general sound I go for you can check out my myspace page: www.myspace.com/thanmedlam (different amp but you'll get the idea). I know this is stupid long but I figure more info is better than less. I really appreciate you pickup gurus taking the time to read this!
I know you all know your stuff, and I'm really torn, so I thought I'd hit you up for some input/ideas. i've got an Eastman El Rey ER2 (thinline full-hollow archtop-solid carved woods, spruce top/maple back/sides, trapeze tailpiece, floating bridge NO F holes) with the stock Kent Armstrong 12 pole PAF's in it, and they sound kind of lame. They're okay, but the neck is too muddy and the bridge is a little thin. I've got a mid '90's Hamer Artist with Seths that I absolutely love, and I've dug every SD I've ever played through, so I though SD's would be good for this guitar.
I use this axe mainly for what I call neo-urban-soul-jazz. I just got a very sensitive 30w EL84 based amp that I run through a single Vintage 30, so I want a pickup that will let my hands speak through it and that will let more of the guitar's beautiful natural sound through, too. I'd like a neck p/u that is warm but with clear highs, and a bridge that's a little hotter than the neck with a good midrange bite. Here's some ideas I had; I'm interested to see what you all think (I love the Seths in my Hamer but I don't see any point in having two guitars with the same pickups).
Neck Bridge
A2Pro A2Pro
A2Pro '59
'59 '59
Jazz '59
Any other ideas? Will the jazz be darker than what I want in the neck? Will I end up sounding like Slash (definitely not my goal) if I go with straight A2Pro's (I had a 3 p/u Tele thad had all A2Pros and I loved their expressiveness and bounce, but I've never played on the humbucker version)? Will the '59 be too bright in the bridge? The sound I go for is somewhere in the Scofield, Carlton, Eric Krasno, soul/fusion area. For an idea of the general sound I go for you can check out my myspace page: www.myspace.com/thanmedlam (different amp but you'll get the idea). I know this is stupid long but I figure more info is better than less. I really appreciate you pickup gurus taking the time to read this!