Possible pickup advice

[Bad Fish]

Hey all,

I'm currently playing a Vintage SG through a Marshall DFX 50.
My problem is that it was good when I was into more grungy heavy type stuff, but now my main band are playing Rancid/Clash style punk.

I want my guitar to sound more like a Rancid style punk sound than the heavy tone I currently have so I went down and had a word with a respectable guitar shop worker.

He told me that my best bet may actually be to put a Seymour Duncan pickup on my Vintage SG and actually recommended the S9 Model Humbucker and the Screamin Demon Humbucker.

I went into another guitar shop and a few of the workers told me that it may not actually do anything for my sound...

I'm a little confused. Any addition help or info would be high appreciated.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Possible pickup advice

What do you mean by "Vintage"?

What year are we talking about?

I believe your amp is holding you back more than the pickups ever would.

 

[Bad Fish]

Re: Possible pickup advice

Oh forgot to mention, ''Vintage'' is the actual guitar make. They make copies of Gibsons etc (like Epiphone etc). I personally like the guitar.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Possible pickup advice

A set of SD 59's is just what the Dr. ordered, or if you want more output the 59/C5 combo. This will help you get either tone. Obviously the aforementioned bands were using cranked but let's tackle one thing at a time.

Welcome to the forum!

Luke

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Possible pickup advice

Welcome to the forum Bad Fish!

I have to admit I'm a little with Jeff on this one.
Lars and Tim use JCM 900s and Mesa dual rectifiers (respectively) as far as I remember from the latest interview I read. I'd say your amp might be what's holding you back the most. I have no problem getting close to their tone with my JCM 800 with a added o/d pedal (they don't use that much gain to get that crunchy tone). Of course, a change of pick-ups, even electronics might also be a good idea, as I don't know how good/bad your current electronics are/sound in your guitar.
They also use epiphones (les paul custom for Lars), gibsons (SG for lars also), Gretsch (tim) live, with what is mostly stock pick-ups if I'm not mistaking. I'd say anything in the PAF ballpark or souped-up paf tone ('59, custom (for more output), JB (more output also) will be a nice touch to get closer to their tone...

Have fun

 

[Bad Fish]

Re: Possible pickup advice

Hey thanks Luke. Seems like a good guitar forum in general here. Theres quite a few forums on the net that are un-pleasent and people who think theyre gods representative on a guitar.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

EDIT-

thanks surgeon, how much did you pay for the JCM 800? Were you originally aiming for that kind of tone?

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Possible pickup advice

people who think theyre gods representative on a guitar.

I'm just Charles Nelson Reilly's representative on bass...




:wink:

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Possible pickup advice

I'm just Charles Nelson Reilly's representative on bass...

:wink:

:laugh2:

You still haven't changed your avatar!


No problem fish! Everybody is here to help everybody, and learn from everybody. Some folks are more knowledgeable some aren't, but everyone tries to be helpful.

Luke

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Possible pickup advice

Hey thanks Luke. Seems like a good guitar forum in general here. Theres quite a few forums on the net that are un-pleasent and people who think theyre gods representative on a guitar.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

EDIT-

thanks surgeon, how much did you pay for the JCM 800? Were you originally aiming for that kind of tone?

I paid 650$ (canadian) for mine, it's from 1983, 50 watts combo, 1x12... quite cheap since these are getting pricier now... I was aiming for a nice crunch tone... I've always been a punk/hardcore kinda guy when I wrote and played with bands... everybody's going for the scooped mesa tone in these fields right now, that's why I was looking for that kind of old-schoolish tone... kinda distinguishing a bit more nowadays and for more gain I can always use a nice overdrive pedal to push the signal harder.... I'm very satisfied right now. My other guitar player uses a mesa nomad, our tones complement each other very well and, since they are quite different, keep us from having a hard time being heard separately...
Personnaly, that's the tone I like to play and feel comfortable/inspired to play with...
I also use low-output pick-ups (Pearly gates in my main guitar and '59s in my semi-hollow)... these pick-ups just complement the amp very well. I tried a custom in the bridge: sounded very nice but the tone just feels "fuller" with lower-output pick-ups...

 

[Bad Fish]

Re: Possible pickup advice

Surgeon, thanks a lot.

If I went for the JCM 800, do you think I could stick with the Vintage SG and get a new pickup (the 59 perhaps?) and i'd be pretty much sorted?

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Possible pickup advice

Surgeon, thanks a lot.

If I went for the JCM 800, do you think I could stick with the Vintage SG and get a new pickup (the 59 perhaps?) and i'd be pretty much sorted?

In my humble opinion, I think you'd be all set. I know opinions will vary but I really think that would do it nicely...

Also, keep in mind that there are cheaper ways to achieve that kind of tone without going the JCM 800 way (if you find these too pricey)... A lot of people here can suggest nice amps that will be in the ballpark of the tone you're looking for: Traynor YCV40/50, Peavey valve king, etc... that could be a whole other topic but there was also a thread in the Amp section of the board that was called "marshall clones" or something...just do a search, it should not be too far back, maybe a week or 2... a lot of great info in that thread if you don't wanna go directly for the Marshall...

It's too bad I'm not equipped to record clips, I could post some of my set-up to give you an idea... But, like I wrote earlier, I can really get a nice crunchy Rancid-ish tone out of my rig...

Feel free to ask if you need anything else, you'll find there are a lot of great, helpful guys around...

*edit*: When you grab a hold of me... tell me that I'll never be set free... I'm a parasite, creep and crawl I step into the night... 2 pints of booze... tell me are you Bad Fish too... *are you a bad fish too*.... -sure hope your name has to do with this song...- :smack:

 

[Bad Fish]

Re: Possible pickup advice

Haha, yeah, had that song stuck in my head when I was choosing a screen name. Particularly the backing vocals *are you a bad fish too?*. Good stuff.

You've been really helpfull though. I appreciate it. I'll take a look at the marshall clone thread too.

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Possible pickup advice

Haha, yeah, had that song stuck in my head when I was choosing a screen name. Particularly the backing vocals *are you a bad fish too?*. Good stuff.

You've been really helpfull though. I appreciate it. I'll take a look at the marshall clone thread too.

My pleasure...

 

[remingtonbo2001]

Re: Possible pickup advice

I have a Marshall 250 DFX, 2 Celestion Vintage 30's. A friend of mine made some minor adjustments to increase headroom, as well as slightly increasing the amount of amplification. The total cost was under $600, although the labor my friend put in was absolutely free. Anyways, I would recommend the following if you wish to stick with your MG50. I'm in college, so I am fairly familiar with the term broke. I have a Presonus Tube Pre (12AC7 GT) ($100), Samson Optical Compressor ($100), Behringer Virtulizer Pro ($100), Tech 21 Double Drive ($100). I also have a BBE Sonic Stomp, but I rarely use this in conjuction with the Optical Compressor. I am still evaluating the product. Anyways, our band has a strong punk influence, no not pop-punk, just punk. We have moved further away, more into Alternative, Texas Folk, Punk. An odd combination to say the least, but it is working out well, and honestly, different from anything that is out there at the moment. I spent an entire week surfing the web looking for similar bands, with a similar sound. Nothing so far. Anyways, I'm off topic. The setup mentioned above should help your tone immensly, IMO. I have an Orange 30 AD, but I love my Marshall. Solid State is not very flexible, but even with the small addition of a quality Tube Pre, you should be able to achieve a more satisfying sound. Go with the Custom Custom. This is what is in my guitar. A very warm, smooth clean, with a modern/vintage distortion. I find it unique, with a touch of punk. :bigok: