pickups for classic rock

Brown Note

Brown Note

New member
I bet this is gonna get a lot of love :naughty: but I'd like to know what pickups to get for nailing the 1984 EVH tone. I especially love the solo sound of hot for teacher.

The guitar is maple topped alder with maple neck through and ebony fretboard. The guitar is not that bright sounding as much as it is very dence and tight in the low end. I have the amplification needed, but the emg's don't really cut at this kind of rock tones.
 
Re: pickups for classic rock

Erm, a mostly maple guitar that does not sound bright? Interesting. :scratchch
 
Re: pickups for classic rock

Wow, the description of the guitar was telling me, "Bright, bright" but then you said it wasn't. Are you sure it's not the active pickups that are coloring your guitar?

At any rate, and some may correct me, but the pickup would be somewhere in the Custom Custom territory. After Ed started using Floyd guitars exclusively, he opted for a hotter pickup and would seem to prefer A2 magnets for their boosted mids and softer bass and treble, since his guitar was hard ash with a maple neck and very bright. Assuming your maple neck-through, maple-capped, Alder guitar with an ebony board IS warm-toned, you might try the Custom 5 or a plain-ole '59 in the bridge. Allegedly, when Ed retired Frankie shortly before 1984, his prototype Kramer has some kind of Duncan in it... he says a '59 so who knows? If I play "Drop Dead Legs" (sloppily) with a light touch of chorus (to simulate his harmonizer) it's pretty close. You have to crank your amp and roll the volume down until there's a bit of hair on it.
 
Re: pickups for classic rock

I have alder with maple neck through without maple top and it's definetly brighter. Maple topped guitar is indeed bright, but has less precense than you'd think it does. It's not warm, but it's *very* dense sounding. Palm muting sounds like sledgehammer being punched through a wall heard from inside the house.

The pickup needs to have loose bass and lively top end. Not too mid heavy as with this guitar it would sound way too aggressive.
 
Re: pickups for classic rock

IanBallard said:
Wow, the description of the guitar was telling me, "Bright, bright" but then you said it wasn't. Are you sure it's not the active pickups that are coloring your guitar?
Click to expand...

Dull, quiet and/or farty active pickups usually means a flat 9v battery.
 
Re: pickups for classic rock

IanBallard said:
Wow, the description of the guitar was telling me, "Bright, bright" but then you said it wasn't. Are you sure it's not the active pickups that are coloring your guitar?
Click to expand...

the guitar is bright, but less so than one would inheritly think. Maple makes the guitar much more tight and upper mid heavy as opposed to being very bright; an ash strat with maple fretboard is much brighter as is a maple neckthrough with alder wings without the maple top.

The pickup needs to have loose bass and lively top end. Not too mid heavy as with this guitar it would sound way too aggressive.
 
Re: pickups for classic rock

+1 on the Custom Custom,, possible JB as well, you could swap out the magnet with a A2 and I bet you would have your desired sound.
 
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