Pickups for my ESP Horizon

ElectricGypsy

ElectricGypsy

New member
Hi, I've an ESP Horizon FR with ash body, maple neck, ebony fingerboard, 24XJ frets 25,5" scale lenght and Floyd Rose bridge. Stock pickups were JB-59' then I've repleaced the 59' with a Jazz; I love these pickups but I'd like to change them to find something more original and special. I mean the "hot rodded" set it's probably one of the most common set in the guitar history so I now that they sond good but I want to try something different just to experience. I think that a Pearly Gates would be perfect for the neck position, it reminds me a 57 classic but with a little more bite and of course with the SD unique flavour; for the bridge position I'm torn between a Custom Custom and a Perpetual Burn. I love the JB so I want a pickup that's as close as possible to the JB, but without it's harsh and piercing treble and maybe with more bass. The main thing is that it has to be a warming sound pickups, my guitar is a very bright instrument so I'm looking for pickups that warm up the sound. I play a lots of different types of music from pop to heavy metal, however the most heavy tone that I need it's like a Metallica type of tone so nothing so heavy compared to others modern metal bands; so I need 2 pickups that allow me to get different sounds from blues to rock, hard rock, pop and fusion: the keyword is versatility :) Well now it's your turn, every tip is welcome :arms:
 
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Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

Try a PATB-1 or PATB-2 Distortion. Those were made to fatten up Floyded guitars. I prefer the PATB-2. You probably would, too. It's hot, but you can control it easily and it pulls off passable blues to a thrash sound easily.
 
Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

Swap the mag in the JB with A2 or A8. Both made it better to my ears in my epi SG and I currently have the A2 in it. Do a search, there are quite a few members that have lots of experience swapping mags
 
Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

I forgot to mention a neck pup....you said the guitar was bright. A Distortion neck is a pretty good neck humbucker. Does a whole lot of stuff pretty well.

If you're willing to go Dimarzio, the Air Norton is a fantastic pickup for the neck slot.
 
Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

Ptolemaeus said:
Try a PATB-1 or PATB-2 Distortion. Those were made to fatten up Floyded guitars. I prefer the PATB-2. You probably would, too. It's hot, but you can control it easily and it pulls off passable blues to a thrash sound easily.
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Ptolemaeus said:
I forgot to mention a neck pup....you said the guitar was bright. A Distortion neck is a pretty good neck humbucker. Does a whole lot of stuff pretty well.

If you're willing to go Dimarzio, the Air Norton is a fantastic pickup for the neck slot.
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Thanks for your tips, I forgot to say that I don't really like ceramic pickups...I prefer to stay in the A5/A2 range. As regards DiMarzio's pickups, just because I'd like to stay as close as possible to the JB, I might consider the AT-1 but I don't know which neck pickup I could match with it...
 
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Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

You might consider the Alnico 2 Pro neck and Stag Mag bridge. Think of it it as a warmer sounding version of the hot-rodded humbucker set. The Stag Mag is really versatile and has the same output level as the JB.
 
Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

What about the Perpetual Burn and Custom Custom ? Do you think that they're so far from what I'm looking for ? :confused:
 
Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

ElectricGypsy said:
What about the Perpetual Burn and Custom Custom ? Do you think that they're so far from what I'm looking for ? :confused:
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Between these two, I'd go with the Perpetual Burn. The Custom Custom might be too loose in the low end to pull Metallica off...then again, Myles Kennedy uses one in Alter Bridge, so you might could pull it off.
 
Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

Maybe also a Custom 5 could be a good alternative relying on what's written on SD's description: "Compared to the SH-14 Custom 5, the JB has a stronger treble detail"....from this I gather that the Custom 5 should be a JB with less treble, therefore more warm....:scratchch
 
Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

I get back to this thread to sum up my last thought. I've thought how to make my desired tone understandable without using too many words that could be misunderstood. So I came to the conclusion that the best thing is to make two comparisons: when I think to a bridge hb I think to Andy Timmon's bridge hb, and I see it as a JB with more bass, less treble and a smoother attack; for the neck pickup I think to Slash's Les Paul tone....the Sweet Child O' Mine intro you know what I mean :headbang: I think this is the best description I can do, these are the two sounds that I really want in my guitar. I've choosen 4 pickups that in my opinion might bring me the tone that I'm looking for: Perpetual Burn or Custom Custom for the bridge and Pearly Gates or Alnico II Pro Slash for the neck. I'm inclined to the Perpetual Burn because I think that it's closer to my idea, for the bridge it's fifty-fifty....your thought ?
 
Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

I have a Perpetual Burn in the bridge position of a swamp ash guitar as well. It definitely reminds me of a slightly tamer JB in terms of voicing and response.
 
Re: Pickups for my ESP Horizon

BurnMyEyes666 said:
I have a Perpetual Burn in the bridge position of a swamp ash guitar as well. It definitely reminds me of a slightly tamer JB in terms of voicing and response.
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Thanks for have shared your experience...this is exactly what I need: people who give me their vision of these pickups.
 
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