Pickup Recommendation for Light Weight Swamp Ash Body?

[PDC]

I’ve got a pair of Warmoth partscasters, both single humbucker builds with Hipshot 2-post trems (graphite nuts and locking tuners). One is Alder and the other is light weight roasted Swamp Ash. Both have maple necks with maple fingerboards. I have been using EMG 57s since building these guitars 1-2 years ago. I have recently switched back to passive pickups. I got a good deal on a TB-5 and a TB-11. I put the TB-5 in the Alder guitar and tried the TB-11 in the roasted Swamp Ash guitar. Both sound really good and VERY different. I ‘think’ the Alnico TB-11 in the Swamp Ash guitar is a little ‘soft’ on the low end. I will say, it is VERY warm and ‘bottom heavy’ unlike Northern Hard Ash. The Roasted Swamp Ash is probably more like Basswood. I really like the Ceramic TB-5 in the Alder guitar. Should I try another TB-5 in the Swamp Ash guitar? Any other recommendations for a warmer, darker sounding body?

P.S. - Having read about the IM-1, with its ‘brighter, brasher’ characteristics, I wondered if that might work really well with the warmer, darker Swamp Ash guitar. But as you all know, it is no longer listed as a Custom Shop Offering and now they have the ‘Frankenstein’ listed. Hmmm... if the Custom Shop ‘Frankenstein’ is essentially a re-named IM-1, maybe that would compliment the Swamp Ash guitar?

Finally - thank you - I spent hours reading threads and posts when making the move from active to passive pickups. Lots of great players with tons of experience on this forum.

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: Pickup Recommendation for Light Weight Swamp Ash Body?

I imagine a Custom (TB5) will work well in that guitar. My first Custom came in a neck thru Jackson King V with basswood wings. Sounded great in there. But I've since moved it to my Epiphone Les Paul Custom. It's not a very bright sounding guitar and it sounds great in there too. Also, I tend to put brighter pickups in basswood. I have my Black Winter Set in that King V and I have a Dimebucker in one of my Ibanez RGs (basswood body). Both of those are brighter pickups like the Custom, although they sound different. But the bright top end works well with the basswood in those guitars.

But you don't need to buy another pickup. Just swap out that Custom Custom's A2 for a Ceramic 8 and you'll have a Custom, identical to the Custom in your alder guitar.

 

[PDC]

Re: Pickup Recommendation for Light Weight Swamp Ash Body?

FWIW - I broke out the soldering iron this morning and swapped the pickups in my two guitars. I put the TB-5 (ceramic) in the Swamp Ash body and put the TB-11 (Alnico) in the Alder body. Big difference. The Ceramic magnet in the TB-5 tightens up the low end in the very warm swamp ash guitar. The pickup and body balance each other very nicely and the guitar sounds fantastic. Same result with the Alnico magnet in the slightly harder, heavier Alder guitar. Low end is nice and tight and unwound strings / higher fret positions sound nice and smooth. But honestly, I’m glad I started out with the pickups in the other guitars, because now I really know that the current combo really works. Had I started this way, I might have been tempted to swap them just to see how I liked it and then I’d be committed to swapping them back!

 

[yerkool]

Re: Pickup Recommendation for Light Weight Swamp Ash Body?

FWIW - I broke out the soldering iron this morning and swapped the pickups in my two guitars. I put the TB-5 (ceramic) in the Swamp Ash body and put the TB-11 (Alnico) in the Alder body. Big difference. The Ceramic magnet in the TB-5 tightens up the low end in the very warm swamp ash guitar. The pickup and body balance each other very nicely and the guitar sounds fantastic. Same result with the Alnico magnet in the slightly harder, heavier Alder guitar. Low end is nice and tight and unwound strings / higher fret positions sound nice and smooth. But honestly, I’m glad I started out with the pickups in the other guitars, because now I really know that the current combo really works. Had I started this way, I might have been tempted to swap them just to see how I liked it and then I’d be committed to swapping them back!

So have you tried them both in a band dynamics level? One thing I realize years ago, early on in my weekend gigs, and by the way, I have been giggen for well over 3 decades locally. I was taking a glorified bedroom guitar sound and taking it to band practice and or gigs and finding out that it just sucks so bad!

Things in a band dynamics become very different when your on a tight stage next to a bass player with 4x10 cabs and a loud pounding drummer on the other side of you. Then let alone a loud keyboard player that's everywhere! So any ways let us know how the swamp ash guitar with the TB-5 sounded in the band context,how did it do in the mix? how did it blend during stage volume wars? style of music etc...

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Pickup Recommendation for Light Weight Swamp Ash Body?

Yercool, we experienced a similar bad situation with a new guitar. During a break we revoiced the amp setting: took out the bass and some of the low mid round 800 hz. The we were boosting some high mid round 3k. Worked wonders.

 

[PDC]

Re: Pickup Recommendation for Light Weight Swamp Ash Body?

Stage Volume - tru dat. I’m and old dog, been playing 30+ years. 1989/90 GIT grad (Paul Gilbert/Bruce Boulliet era). I ‘pressure test’ every change to my rig - from pickups to stomp boxes to speakers - at Full Stage Volume. I find the longer I have played, the less gain I have used and the more compression I get from the power stage. The switch back to passive pickups has been such a blast. Once the power tubes and speakers start to ‘work’ you can really feel the dynamics of your whole rig.

The Alnico TB-11 definitely works in the Alder guitar and the Ceramic TB-5 flat ‘belongs’ in the lighter weight Swamp Ash body. I’ve got Mark Abrahamian’s #2 ground-up Rockstah Mod5 Build (Metropoulos 12,xxx chassis) along with a pair of Splawns. The Rockstah has that PPIMV ‘squish’ that you gotta’ dial back the louder you run the head, where the Splawns stay pretty tight and aggressive everywhere.

I’m a big fan of the Custom and the Custom Custom, but I admit, I am relatively new to the passive scene. I will say, the EMG 57 is the most passive-like pickup they sell. Lots of string separation and clarity - but definitely lacks the responsiveness and dynamics of the Duncans.