Pickups for custom alder superstrat

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Guitardude93

New member
I've been looking into ordering a custom superstrat from Halo Guitars and was wondering what pickups would be best in it. It's an alder string thru body with a maple neck and a rosewood fretboard. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to get it with a set neck or a neckthru design, if that makes a difference to the pickup suggestions. The guitar will be played through a Peavey 6505+ 112 combo.

I play mostly modern rock and metal, such as Breaking Benjamin, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine, Stone Sour, Three Days Grace, and Skillet.

I have a Custom in a Les Paul, and really like it. Would that sound good with an alder guitar? Some of the other pickups I was looking at for it were the Custom Custom Sh-11 and the Distortion Sh-6. Out of these 3 which would be best for the styles mentioned above? Or is there another one that would sound better?

Also, would it make a huge difference if the guitar was neck thru?

Thanks
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

Yes, the construction style does have an impact on the tone of the instrument as a whole. Neck-through guitars tend to be dominated by the wood of the neck wood (that also runs through the body), whereas set necks are balanced between neck and body woods but are warmer sounding generally than a bolt-on which, while also balanced between neck and body woods, have a brightness and snappiness that set necks usually lack. IME, neckthroughs usually have some of the brightness of a bolt-on (without the snappiness) and some of the warmth of a set neck as well. The differences aren't HUUUUUUUUUGE, but they are noticeable enough to have an impact on sound.

So that's something to consider at the same time as you're thinking about pickups. Alder is a pretty even sounding wood that leans slightly toward the brighter end of the spectrum. and the combination of maple and rosewood for the neck going to sound pretty well balanced.

But generally speaking, in terms of pickups that work well in alder, there are a lot. Like I said, it's a pretty even sounding wood, and most pickups will sound pretty good in Alder. I had a custom in an alder body/maple neck+fretboard strat, and it was too bright and harsh for my tastes. I also had a Custom Custom in that same guitar and found it to sound pretty good at home (but it's a loose, chewy, more classic rock/hard rock kinda pickup IMO), but I just couldn't get it dialed in to sound right when I was jamming with my band (black metal/death metal/thrash kinda stuff). Ages ago I had a Dimarzio Super Distortion, in a different alder body/maple neck+fretboard guitar (bolt on) and later on in an alder body/maple neck/rosewood fretboard strat, and it sounded absolutely devastatingly awesome for really heavy stuff in both those guitars.

I also had a Distortion in a mahogany body/maple setneck + rosewood fretboard guitar, and that sounded clear, tight and awesome for the heavies. The custom was in there previous to the distortion. I much preferred the Distortion. Nothing against the custom though. it's a great pickup, but that wasn't the right guitar for it.

Between those three pickups that you mentioned, I'd say definitely the Distortion would be my #1 pick, followed by the Custom and I wouldn't even really consider the Custom Custom for that kinda music.

Another few pickups to consider are the Alternative 8, the Black Winter, the Perpetual Burn and the '59/Custom Hybrid.
 
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Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

For me it can be dangerous to lump all guitars into their body woods. Not all alder sounds 100% the same not all basswood or any other. Ive played dark mahogany guitars and ive played bright ones. You can generalize wood to a point but in the end you dont really know until you got the guitar in your hands. One reason a neck through might sound different would be maybe it has a higher content of hard maple than a similar design set neck.

But being your having a guitar built and wont be able to try it first before I selecting pickups I say just go with pickups that the descriptions sound like what you would want to hear. If it was me for your picks I would go with the SH6 its a great pickup that can cover a ton of territory it has a bit more scream in the high end than the SH5 does. The SH11 is cool but some people dont get along with the pulled back lows and highs. But it does have a nice squishy feel if your into that.
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

Thanks for the replies. I had mostly considered the Custom Custom for 2 reasons: 1) I had read on a few forums that the Custom and Distortion were very bright in Alder and that the A2 in the Custom Custom helped darken the sound and 2) I really like the lead guitar sound of Breaking Benjamin and I know that for their most recent albums the guitarist used a custom Washburn with a Custom Custom in the bridge.

If i were to go with a neck thru design, would the maple be brighter than the alder?
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

Guitardude93 said:
If i were to go with a neck thru design, would the maple be brighter than the alder?
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Not necessarily. In fact, most people assume Maple is ultra-bright, but it's a surprisingly neutral wood most of the time. Solid Maple guitars (body and all) generally have a very controlled, lively, well-balanced tone to them. I've got a solid Mahogany (body and neck) Jackson that's brighter and thinner sounding than most Maple guitars I've played.

The Maple neck-through with Alder wings and Rosewood fretboard is a balanced combination and I'm sure you'll like it. Don't overthink the wood thing...and get the pickups you think you'll like. With the Custom models, the winds are the same and the only change is the magnet, which you can tweak yourself.
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

masta' c said:
Not necessarily. In fact, most people assume Maple is ultra-bright, but it's a surprisingly neutral wood most of the time. Solid Maple guitars (body and all) generally have a very controlled, lively, well-balanced tone to them.
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This is true and even something that gets missed is that eastern hard rock maple is different from soft big leaf maple. But in guitar terminology it gets lumped under the same ultra bright wood.
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

Guitardude93 said:
Thanks for the replies. I had mostly considered the Custom Custom for 2 reasons: 1) I had read on a few forums that the Custom and Distortion were very bright in Alder and that the A2 in the Custom Custom helped darken the sound and 2) I really like the lead guitar sound of Breaking Benjamin and I know that for their most recent albums the guitarist used a custom Washburn with a Custom Custom in the bridge.
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I might be letting my personal bias here color my suggestions. The custom custom for me just wasnt so versatile to me it felt like my guitar was stuck in 3rd gear all the time. Not enough grunt... hard to get started and when I really wanted to wind it up just wasnt there. But thats me maybe you will dig the hell out of it. Though be careful choosing a pickup off a polished studio tone. A suggestion could be as much as it makes me cringe to say it. Get the guitar with an SH5 if you dont like it you can mag swap the crap outta it. You can make the SH5 into an 11 for 5 bucks and 10 minutes.
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

Edgecrusher said:
I might be letting my personal bias here color my suggestions. The custom custom for me just wasnt so versatile to me it felt like my guitar was stuck in 3rd gear all the time. Not enough grunt... hard to get started and when I really wanted to wind it up just wasnt there. But thats me maybe you will dig the hell out of it. Though be careful choosing a pickup off a polished studio tone. A suggestion could be as much as it makes me cringe to say it. Get the guitar with an SH5 if you dont like it you can mag swap the crap outta it. You can make the SH5 into an 11 for 5 bucks and 10 minutes.
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Luckily I have a Slash bridge model sitting around somewhere that I could take an A2 out of if I don't like the Sh-5. What would be a good neck pickup that I could get good cleans from? I have a Slash neck model in my les paul that sounds really dark and kinda muddy in the mahogany, though it could sound good in the brighter alder/ maple combo
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

The SH-2 Jazz will give you the clarity you want for modern metal but be able to handle almost any style. Like the Custom series, the Jazz is a great pickup to do mag-swaps on, as well.
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

wait and see how it sounds unplugged and then think about which pickups would best complement its natural timbre
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

The advice from Gibson175 is generally sound of course. I have some limited experience in the guitar type you look to be heading toward.

I have a Carvin neckthrough superstrat - maple with alder wings and ebony fretboard. What I've found with this one is that the tone is quite balanced but with some great cut for single note stuff - really works well for Joe Satriani type stuff I'm butchering right now (it has a Dimarzio Evolution pickup in the bridge).

I think you'd want to look for something somewhat balanced in itself if my guitar is anything to go by. You don't necessarily need a push in any direction.

I'd make these recommendations:

PATB3
PATB1
59/C, maybe with a magnet swap
Perpetual Burn.
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

AlexR I had actually looked at the 59/custom for awhile. how does it compare to the custom sh-5? also, since a couple people have suggested either the sh-6 distortion or the sh-5 custom, would these pickups be too bright in the alder/ maple combo? the Sh-5 sounds great in my les paul, but thats all mahogany.
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

Guitardude93 said:
AlexR I had actually looked at the 59/custom for awhile. how does it compare to the custom sh-5? also, since a couple people have suggested either the sh-6 distortion or the sh-5 custom, would these pickups be too bright in the alder/ maple combo? the Sh-5 sounds great in my les paul, but thats all mahogany.
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The 59/Custom doesn't have the thump the Custom does. And it doesn't scream. I have only played the 59/C in Mahogony and my Maple semi hollow and it's fantasic in those. I put an A8 in it and it helped thicken it up a little. Overall, the hybrid is clear and articulate. And not as aggressive as the Custom.

About the Custom and Distortion in your guitar, what tuning are you using?

I think both the Super Distortion and Alt 8 are great suggestions aswell.
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

The 59/c is like a more vintage C5. For those of us in the rock genre its great, as you get a fair bit of aggression, but with much more dynamics. If you're into the heavies and need thump etc its probably a bit light on. I would personally go for the PATB1 - it has the aggression but seems to deal well with lots of saturation.
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

There are a lot of threads on this very topic. Using the search function could lead the OP to many more suggestions as well.

But the JB is the way to go.


Sent from my armored space station via iPad using Tapatalk
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

Inder_Cine_Mann said:
The 59/Custom doesn't have the thump the Custom does. And it doesn't scream. I have only played the 59/C in Mahogony and my Maple semi hollow and it's fantasic in those. I put an A8 in it and it helped thicken it up a little. Overall, the hybrid is clear and articulate. And not as aggressive as the Custom.

About the Custom and Distortion in your guitar, what tuning are you using?

I think both the Super Distortion and Alt 8 are great suggestions aswell.
Click to expand...

I mostly play in either drop C or drop D.
 
Re: Pickups for custom alder superstrat

I'm not necessarily worried about output from the pickup since I'll be playing through a Peavey 6505+
 
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