Pickup Recommendation for alder body/maple top

[Alerzhul]

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for a bridge humbucker for an alder body, maple top and neck, and ebony fingerboard guitar. I currently have the TB-5 custom and it sounds pretty bright and harsh with all of the woods of my guitar being bright. The guitar also has stainless steel frets which may be adding to the brightness. Is there any pickup that would tame this a bit? I mainly play metal but don't necessarily need high output. Looking for something warmer but still tight. Thanks in advance.

 

[dave74]

This might be a good case for a super3.

From SD possibly a Pegasus or the good ole JB.

 

[Mr. B]

Invader bridge would work for that situation.

 

[Mincer]

I'd say a Black Winter or Invader. Both will solve the problems you have, just pick the power level you want.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Putting an A6 mag in your Custom might do it.
Saturday Night Special could be an option if you're thinking vintage output.
People often recommend the Custom Custom for rich and warm, but it has loose lows so in this case it's off the table.
Duncans in general tend to be bright and articulate, not always a great match for a very bright guitar.

DiMarzio offers many mid-heavy options: there's the Norton, the Mo Joe, and the aforementioned Super 3.
There's also the venerable Super Distortion, a rock classic for good reason.
Tone Zone too, great in alder guitars - or if you want fat but not too hot, maybe an Air Zone?

 

[dave74]

Dreamcatcher is another medium/high-output ceramic that is voiced darker. It's especially good for bright guitars with floyds that are lacking lower mids.
Invader is also very punchy in the lower mids, and it has enough output that you might not need a boost at all.

 

[Teleplayer]

Does the guitar have a neck pickup? If so, what is the neck pickup, and are you happy with it?

 

[Alerzhul]

Thank you guys for the great suggestions so far. This is helping a ton. The neck pickup is currently a pearly gates which I'm happy with. I don't use the neck pickup much anyway.

Edit: So far I'm leaning towards tone zone in bridge and air norton in neck. I love the "snarl" from seymour duncan pickups but from comparison videos I'm checking out the tone zone seems to have a warmer sound with more clarity that I like.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Dreamcatcher is another medium/high-output ceramic that is voiced darker. It's especially good for bright guitars with floyds that are lacking lower mids.
Invader is also very punchy in the lower mids, and it has enough output that you might not need a boost at all.

I didn't know about the Dreamcatcher; seems pretty cool. Almost like an updated/modernized version of the sadly discontinued Breed.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Thank you guys for the great suggestions so far. This is helping a ton. The neck pickup is currently a pearly gates which I'm happy with. I don't use the neck pickup much anyway.

Edit: So far I'm leaning towards tone zone in bridge and air norton in neck. I love the "snarl" from seymour duncan pickups but from comparison videos I'm checking out the tone zone seems to have a warmer sound with more clarity that I like.

TZis super fat. Great choice for a bright guitar, especially one that's a bit thin-sounding as well.

 

[Juanhanglo]

Pretty much more than half of dimarzio's high power class humbuckers have warmer highs.

Airzone
​​​​​​​breed bridge
​​​​​​​tone zone
​​​​​​​any of the petrucci pickups
​​​​​​​gravity storm
​​​​​​​dominion
​​​​​​​satur8
​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​and many more.

​​​​​​​Duncan cant compete here with the amount of choices for reduced high end pickups.

 

[Teleplayer]

Some guitars with maple top just have extra presence in upper mid range. The ebony fret board will also have an effect IMO. Sorry, but I dislike ebony on strat style guitar.

The solution IMO is to get a pickup that has a natural "grind" or some kind of emphasis in the mids. I think you are on the right path with the Dimarzio suggestion. There is also a risk in getting something that is too loose or end up with too much compression. Generally the medium output Dimarzios will have more mids and warmer balance than the Custom 5. Being slighly bright isn't a problem if you can fix it by turning the tone knob to 8/10ths.