Pup suggestions please! Help!

[SpaceCadet]

I'm working on building my own guitar from scratch and I'm trying to decide which exact pickups to use in it. A 22 fret maple neck/fretboard.

The design I had in mind was for it to be a light-weight rocking-out guitar for some real muddy, heavy blues/rock. Old school kind of stuff. So I want real power but nice and warm tone that isn't going to sound too overdriven. I want it to be able to turn nice and clear through an amp when I choose.

I'm thinking about a single coil in the neck pos. and a hum in the middle. No bridge pickup. There's only going to be a single volume knob - and no pickup selector. So I'm going to just run both pickups at once.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

Welcome to the board, Space ....

I think you're idea is totally spaced, too! I really think you'll be selling yourself short by not using the bridge pickup. It is by far the most-used pickup. I wouldn't have any clue how to advise you, as I don't know what you're looking for ... your concept is totally alien to me!

 

[Sequanselar]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

Bridge is most used, but that doesn't mean it's the best. I've seen a lot of Jazz guitars with only a neck pup. I think it's a great Idea, especially for that situation...*nods* yeah it'd be cool.

 

[SpaceCadet]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Yea, bridge is certainly what people use the most. But to tell you the truth, I don't ever really use it. I play mostly a Godin SDxt and I mostly use the 2 position, sing/hum - neck/mid. It's IMO the best position for bluesy kind of stuff. Clearer tone that way.

So really, I'm looking for a good pair of pickups that will be nice, dark and bluesy mixed with the clearer tone of the neck and middle.

Thanks again!

 

[joelap]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

So really, I'm looking for a good pair of pickups that will be nice, dark and bluesy mixed with the clearer tone of the neck and middle.

A clear sound? Go with the Jazz for the humbucker. I have one in the neck position of my Ibanez and it sings. Probably a good bet for the style your going for. I'm not gunna speak for the single neck spot, since I haven't dealt with too many of them. Maybe the little '59 would work? Don't quote me on that though.

Quite an interesting idea however...

 

[7th Hell]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

Dude!

Why limit yourself to just one sound? Why don't you weld the tuners locked while you're at it! I think you should keep your design open to pickup options. 1 vol is cool- lots of custom guitars have this. No toggle? What happens if you have to play a cool sitarish intro for a song? What happens if you want to crank it and kill em with a super/death/heavy-ass solo? That hum middle and single coil neck is not gonna do it. My advice is to build a guitar that you're gonna play in any situation- not just a one trick pony!

As far as pickups, you can't go wrong with SD's vintage rails- they're hum-free! As for a good humbucker (middle?), how about the Screamin' Demon? Lots of crunch but not too overdriven. Another gripe- I personally HATE the middle position pickup! When I'm rocking out, my pick always seems to catch on the top edge of the pickup! I'll go so far as to say that if a guitar has a middle pickup on it, chances are good that I'd pass on it! Good luck, and happy building! Be sure to post links with pics of your FrankenGuitar!

 

[Sequanselar]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

Tell that to Eddie Van Halen and a hell of a lot of Punk rockers. it makes the player the source of tone, not the instrument. Which is cool.

I am tempted to build a guitar (or at least mod one) to be like that one. and last time I played blues I never though of a superdeathheavy-ass solo. But I guess that might be my own interpretation of blues. Oh well, different strokes, different folks I guess.

Middle pup is an awesome pup. I used to use it ALL the time because I got wicked overdrive out of my amp with it (mind you my old old amp was a cheap, burned out kareoke machine).

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

Tell that to Eddie Van Halen and a hell of a lot of Punk rockers. it makes the player the source of tone, not the instrument. Which is cool.

We're not knocking the middle pickup; it roxx! We're advising to keep your options open. As for punk 'rockers'? They're too busy looking cool to spend time learning how to solo in the 1st place; and EVH's classic pickup tone is the bridge, not the middle pup.

 

[SpaceCadet]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

it makes the player the source of tone, not the instrument. Which is cool.

I am tempted to build a guitar (or at least mod one) to be like that one. and last time I played blues I never though of a superdeathheavy-ass solo.

Thanks man, glad there's an open-minded guitarist around

Anyway, I'm kind of building a one-trick pony - that's the point. I'm building a specialized guitar for a style that I really enjoy playing. The reason I want to make sure I've got my pups well chosen is so that I've got the widest range of tone possible from a guitar that's restricting me. When you're restricted into a box like that you've got to think a lot harder as to what you actually want to do, and it promotes creativity.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions so far - keep 'em comin' friends.

 

[Sequanselar]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

We're not knocking the middle pickup; it roxx! We're advising to keep your options open. As for punk 'rockers'? They're too busy looking cool to spend time learning how to solo in the 1st place; and EVH's classic pickup tone is the bridge, not the middle pup.

GEH!!! You entirely missed the point!

Eddie has a One trick pony. No matter WHERE the pup is, it's ONE PUP!!

 

[SpaceCadet]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

bump

 

[Artie]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

I kinda like the idea of a simple and clean design like that.
(In fact, I'm working on one myself right now,
that'll be nick-named "Hikki" for that very reason.)

I might even take it a step farther - one Phat Cat at the neck,
might do what you want, and be the epitomy of "simple and clean".

Just a thought.

 

[Maggot]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

I like your idea, even though I only play the bridge pickup myself - a Strat single coil, supposedly another no-no. You might want to have two separate volume knobs so you can have multiple types of heavy ooze. Maybe a '59 and a Quarter-Pounder? Or how about two Phat Cats, reverse wound? Or one pickup that slides back and forth on a rail so that you can position it as required!

 

[Lightning]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

I took the JB out of the neck of a guitar cause I couldn't find a good sounding bridge pickup that had enough output to keep up with it. Sir Cadet, you have eliminated that problem. JB in the neck split (best single coil I've ever heard) can give you any thing from early Winter to whats that guy's name, CoCo Montana. I actually considered just having a JB in the neck. Also considered a hybred of a vintage coil and a JB coil so I could get it to balence with a bridge pickup. I know nothing about single coil pickups...Does Seymour make a single coil 8k #44 gauge pickup?

 

[midnite_man]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

If it's versatility you're after, how about SSL-1's or Alnico Pro II's in the neck and middle, and a Custom Custom in the bridge, split?

 

[SpaceCadet]

Re: Pup suggestions please! Help!

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'm definitely gonna check out each and every one.

Thanks again