recommend me a replacement PU for my Soloist

[Blazphemer]

ok so i was gonna switch the bridge PU(SD Pearly Gates) on my US Jackson Shannon Soloist(because hasnt got the power and tone i want, i sounds great but its just not for my style), and was inclined to replace it with a JB or a Duncan Custum.(only tried the JB, got the custom recommended)


i have a JB in a Mahogany Ibanez and i like how it sounds great both clean and hi-gain.

The soloist is Neck-through(Maple), body wings made of poplar.
Ebony fretboard.

what about Dimarzio?
Super Distortion?
Tone Zone?

what can you guys tell me about the Dimarzio's i mentioned?
how are they compared to the SD's? arent dimarzios considered "shredders PU's?
how do they sound clean?

let me know what you think... feel free to recommend any PU you think might work well with the guitar

 

[ranalli]

Re: recommend me a replacement PU for my Soloist

Well it depends on what kind of sound you want. I never liked most of the Duncans in my soloist....the bright top end of the Duncans and the bright snappy ebony just made everything too bright and not beefy enough....but the sound did cut a knife.

The Super Distortion sounds great in a soloist becaues it's a darker pickup that's fairly beefy to compensate for the bright soloist. If the bass isn't tight enough on the Super Distortion definitely try a Super 3...that's actually my favorite in that guitar cause it's got some nice strong beefy mids, a tight bottom end, and slightly rolled off treble so you don't get the ice-pick effect with the ebony fingerboard.

The Tone Zone is VERY mid and bass oriented...some people like it but it's a little too loose and warm for my taste even in the soloist.

And Dimarzios aren't shredder pickups at all......don't know where you heard that....probably here...LOL.

 

[Blazphemer]

Re: recommend me a replacement PU for my Soloist

*bump*

 

[Travis]

Re: recommend me a replacement PU for my Soloist

In my Charvel 650xl (which is the exact same as your Soloist minus the rosewood fretboard) I've got a Hot Rails, Cool Rails and Distortion. That thing is a tone monster. All other guitars I own/play are measured next to it. It is a shred machine, but can be tamed for other genres as well.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: recommend me a replacement PU for my Soloist

I personally prefer the Duncan Custom in my soloists, gives that extra thump and sizzle to bring out the Neck-thru on one hand and clear up the tone a bit on the other. Tone is beefy and aggressive, think of a 150 pound St. Bernard with the face, attitude, and teeth of a Pitbull:saeek:

The JB also works well, particularly if you´re going for a more "Old School" Tone (General Thrash or Hair Metal). I personally find the custom more versatile and more aggressive, the JB sounds "loose" in the bass end to me and nasal in the mids.

The Distortion I´ve always felt sounded better in Student series, or Charvel Model 5s and 6s, than in ebony boarded USAs or Professionals, the Rosewood tames some of the brightness. Although Model series or 86-89 USAs with the internal preamp and the Duncan Distortion are ultra-high gain, literally enough output to force the low gain imput of a 2203/2204 into near Mesa-like clipping, forget pedals and clean tones :headbang:

The Clip below is a Duncan Custom in an Alder/Maple/Rosewood Dinky Reverse with a V-Trem, tonally quite similar to my USA soloists, and with the same pickup. Rig is in the Sig

 

[Blazphemer]

Re: recommend me a replacement PU for my Soloist

thanks for the replies so far

im kinda still leaning towards the Custum or the JB

a Distortion would be too bright in my guitar right?

but does anyone have something to say about the tone zone?

 

[JammerMatt]

Re: recommend me a replacement PU for my Soloist

I agree with Zerb,

I went from JB to Custom to Distortion, and back to JB. I'm in an old-school (80's metal) state of mind these days, and the JB just has those old school harmonics happening that I love. I thought the Custom sounded nice also. To my ears the Custom had a little better, more distinctive and clear lead tone, and had a tighter crunchier sound than the JB. The Distortion lived up to it's name. I've heard some say that it gets somewhat compressed, and I would agree with that, and it's a cool sound for some applications. It ended up a tad too shrill for me. I went back to JB, raised the strings a few turns, and it opened up alot compared to the original LOW string setup.

-Matt