I play a lot of power metal now, and the pickups on my les paul cant quite keep up with the speed. I was looking at the SH-10 Full Shred for a bridge and I think that would satisfy the metal, but I want something in the neck for a more Joe Satriani style sound. Any suggestions?
pickups for power metal?
- Thread starter seanohue
- Start date
daemon barbeque
Zuhahahaologist
Re: pickups for power metal?
Hi Bro welcome to the forum.
I am a biig Fan of The Parallel axis distortion(Patb-2)for the bridge and the Patb-1 for the bright guitars..And i think they are a good couple if your guitar has a Floyd or similar Bridge.
Hi Bro welcome to the forum.
I am a biig Fan of The Parallel axis distortion(Patb-2)for the bridge and the Patb-1 for the bright guitars..And i think they are a good couple if your guitar has a Floyd or similar Bridge.
T
theodie
Guest
Re: pickups for power metal?
Yeah but, the CC wont have tight enough lows for that kind of music. The Custom would be a good place to start and for the neck, an Alnico II pro might be a winner for you.
Yeah but, the CC wont have tight enough lows for that kind of music. The Custom would be a good place to start and for the neck, an Alnico II pro might be a winner for you.
J
Jeff Dunne
Guest
Re: pickups for power metal?
Custom bridge, Fred or Air Norton neck.
Custom bridge, Fred or Air Norton neck.
daemon barbeque
Zuhahahaologist
Re: pickups for power metal?
i HAD A Fred(still i have) and it is not suitable for powermetal i think.It has its own "phasing" sound and not articulate as DD ,not to mention far away from the Custom.Jeff Dunne said:
guitarslinger213
New member
Re: pickups for power metal?
Herman Li from Dragon Force uses Evolutions.
Herman Li from Dragon Force uses Evolutions.
Re: pickups for power metal?
The FRED is great for light/hard rock and lead work. But other than that, it doesn't do much.
My Satriani FRED/PAF Pro equiped axe is not a metal axe, by any means. If I was primarily playing lead in a metal babnd though, the FRED sounds great and IMO is extrmely articulate under high gain.
I'd look into the ToneZone and Air Norton in the neck or PAF Pro.
The FRED is great for light/hard rock and lead work. But other than that, it doesn't do much.
My Satriani FRED/PAF Pro equiped axe is not a metal axe, by any means. If I was primarily playing lead in a metal babnd though, the FRED sounds great and IMO is extrmely articulate under high gain.
I'd look into the ToneZone and Air Norton in the neck or PAF Pro.
Zhangliqun
Questionologist
Re: pickups for power metal?
Might I recommend either a Custom 6 or, if somehow that's still not meaty enough, a Custom 8...
P.S. JEREMY -- I found you can actually get 8k worth of #43 wire on a bobbin.
Might I recommend either a Custom 6 or, if somehow that's still not meaty enough, a Custom 8...
P.S. JEREMY -- I found you can actually get 8k worth of #43 wire on a bobbin.
bigheadood
New member
Re: pickups for power metal?
What model les paul?
What pickups are in it now?
If your tone is eq'ed more for low mids, than bass, the CC can be really tight, and articulate. The mid response of this pickup is huge, and under high gain it can scream pinch harmonics better than a JB, but it's never harsh. The Air Zone is supposed to be good also, but I haven't tried it.
What model les paul?
What pickups are in it now?
If your tone is eq'ed more for low mids, than bass, the CC can be really tight, and articulate. The mid response of this pickup is huge, and under high gain it can scream pinch harmonics better than a JB, but it's never harsh. The Air Zone is supposed to be good also, but I haven't tried it.
H
heymcz
Guest
Re: pickups for power metal?
No way in heck on the CC, sorry, not tight enough and not enough bottom.
No way in freakin' heck on the Tone Zone, it's just mud. And a particularly sucky sort of mud, at that.
Answer: Custom. Distortion would be okay. Maybe FS if you get enough bottom out of your guitar and amp already.
As always, your mileage may vary.
No way in heck on the CC, sorry, not tight enough and not enough bottom.
No way in freakin' heck on the Tone Zone, it's just mud. And a particularly sucky sort of mud, at that.
Answer: Custom. Distortion would be okay. Maybe FS if you get enough bottom out of your guitar and amp already.
As always, your mileage may vary.
ibanezrocks
HardtailPisser
Re: pickups for power metal?
How about a Dimarzio Breed for the bridge? should be dark enough, I'm not sure how tight it is though, I have yet to try one.
On another note, while the Evolution is a bright pickup, it's really nowhere near painfully bright and I do prefer a very dark sound. I've also found that on heavily distorted tones it is much easier to EQ this out, simply turning down the presence control works perfectly (and I dont have an overly elaborate amp). Clean tones are harder to get right because the Evo will sound pretty piercing, but for even moderately distorted ones just rolling the presence down lets it stay tight without sounding buzzy or harsh. The Evo is an extremely tight aggressive sounding pickup with wicked harmonics that is perfect for speed metal.
My vote is for the EVO though I'm sure the Full Shred could work too, neither one is as bright as everyone really says, and the full shred should be given enough bass just by being in the LP.
How about a Dimarzio Breed for the bridge? should be dark enough, I'm not sure how tight it is though, I have yet to try one.
On another note, while the Evolution is a bright pickup, it's really nowhere near painfully bright and I do prefer a very dark sound. I've also found that on heavily distorted tones it is much easier to EQ this out, simply turning down the presence control works perfectly (and I dont have an overly elaborate amp). Clean tones are harder to get right because the Evo will sound pretty piercing, but for even moderately distorted ones just rolling the presence down lets it stay tight without sounding buzzy or harsh. The Evo is an extremely tight aggressive sounding pickup with wicked harmonics that is perfect for speed metal.
My vote is for the EVO though I'm sure the Full Shred could work too, neither one is as bright as everyone really says, and the full shred should be given enough bass just by being in the LP.
Loserchief
SwingingIdiot
Re: pickups for power metal?
+1 I'd go even farer and recommend a set of Evos. They are pretty balanced in their overall eq and can pretty much balance out with any guitar imo. But they can add a good bit of tightness and cut you'll need for powermetal.
Evo Bridge: Just as ibanezrocks described; tight, aggressive, lots of cutting power, very controleable if you know how to use a tone knob or presence control. Superb pup for fast high-gain riffing. Split you will get a crystal clear glassy and bright hot-single coil sound. Not vintage sounding but very nice for cleans. Monster Harmonics of course(a reason why i love this pup)
Evo Neck: Still very tight, especially for a neck pup. Very cool for stoner rock and things where you don't need all the cut but still want some cool riffing.
Leadwise it's pretty warm and vocal but more like Steve Vai than Satch(obviously). Very cool pup if you want you leads to be smooth and expressive. Split you will get a hot but very bluesy and full sounding SC sound which i really like.
If you get Evos you might want to split them since a guitart setup with splits for both of them will be very versetaille.
ibanezrocks said:
+1 I'd go even farer and recommend a set of Evos. They are pretty balanced in their overall eq and can pretty much balance out with any guitar imo. But they can add a good bit of tightness and cut you'll need for powermetal.
Evo Bridge: Just as ibanezrocks described; tight, aggressive, lots of cutting power, very controleable if you know how to use a tone knob or presence control. Superb pup for fast high-gain riffing. Split you will get a crystal clear glassy and bright hot-single coil sound. Not vintage sounding but very nice for cleans. Monster Harmonics of course(a reason why i love this pup)
Evo Neck: Still very tight, especially for a neck pup. Very cool for stoner rock and things where you don't need all the cut but still want some cool riffing.
Leadwise it's pretty warm and vocal but more like Steve Vai than Satch(obviously). Very cool pup if you want you leads to be smooth and expressive. Split you will get a hot but very bluesy and full sounding SC sound which i really like.
If you get Evos you might want to split them since a guitart setup with splits for both of them will be very versetaille.
Dr.Mavashi
neonderthalotonalogist
Re: pickups for power metal?
Wait, evolutions are they SD??? did not find it anywhere in the products section of this site, or maybe I am just slightly blind. You don't think Invader will work in LP, I can see the argument of it being to bassy in LP, but don't you think that presence knob on the amp and TS-like OD pedal can solve that problem?
Wait, evolutions are they SD??? did not find it anywhere in the products section of this site, or maybe I am just slightly blind. You don't think Invader will work in LP, I can see the argument of it being to bassy in LP, but don't you think that presence knob on the amp and TS-like OD pedal can solve that problem?
Loserchief
SwingingIdiot
Re: pickups for power metal?
Evolutions are Dimarzio Pickups and they are Steve Vais original signature Pups(they were introduced befor the breed, Evo2 and all the other Vai pups). Since seanohue never made his request a SD only one i guess all pup makers have something to offer, and the Evo would be pretty fitting.
I would think that the Invader in a Paul would be way to dark in most cases. if you have a particulary bright Paul or bright amp it might work without it becoming muddy but overall i'd say it would be too much darkness. Too much presence would probably make the tone fizzy and an OD might take of some of the meat of the invader,but that would somehow run contrary to the purpose of an Invader imo.
Evolutions are Dimarzio Pickups and they are Steve Vais original signature Pups(they were introduced befor the breed, Evo2 and all the other Vai pups). Since seanohue never made his request a SD only one i guess all pup makers have something to offer, and the Evo would be pretty fitting.
I would think that the Invader in a Paul would be way to dark in most cases. if you have a particulary bright Paul or bright amp it might work without it becoming muddy but overall i'd say it would be too much darkness. Too much presence would probably make the tone fizzy and an OD might take of some of the meat of the invader,but that would somehow run contrary to the purpose of an Invader imo.
Dr.Mavashi
neonderthalotonalogist
Re: pickups for power metal?
I don't know, what I play you could say is power metal, Invadered start, TS9moded, Laney AOR, i can get pretty close to Helloween Dr.Stein and I want out tones if I want to. But I guess the key in this thread is LP.
I don't know, what I play you could say is power metal, Invadered start, TS9moded, Laney AOR, i can get pretty close to Helloween Dr.Stein and I want out tones if I want to. But I guess the key in this thread is LP.
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