Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

[audiodog]

Hey guys. I I just picked up the Schecter Banshee and the guitar rocks!! But I got an issue with the Nazgul bridge pup which it came with. Not what i'm looking for, very muddy and almost lifeless. I tried the Ibanez prestige with a basswood body and Tonezone in the bridge, had everything i was looking for except the distortion/power was a bit shy. It was very open, and rang out well.

I would like to emulate the basswood with tonezone. I was looking on this site and found that Since my guitar has Ebony fretboard I should check out the Custom Custom but that pickup is only mid-level distortion/power. I think the JB would work well with the schecter but I didn't want that sound per-say, I wanted to emulate the basswood/tonezone sound as close as possible.

Any suggestions? Maybe I should go with Dimarzio's???? I'm not looking for an ultra hot pickup but I do want one which is considered to be in the lower hot range.


Thanks inadvance!

 

[Big Flannel]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

May I inquire as to what amp you're playing through?

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

Hey guys. I I just picked up the Schecter Banshee and the guitar rocks!! But I got an issue with the Nazgul bridge pup which it came with. Not what i'm looking for, very muddy and almost lifeless. I tried the Ibanez prestige with a basswood body and Tonezone in the bridge, had everything i was looking for except the distortion/power was a bit shy. It was very open, and rang out well.

I would like to emulate the basswood with tonezone. I was looking on this site and found that Since my guitar has Ebony fretboard I should check out the Custom Custom but that pickup is only mid-level distortion/power. I think the JB would work well with the schecter but I didn't want that sound per-say, I wanted to emulate the basswood/tonezone sound as close as possible.

Any suggestions? Maybe I should go with Dimarzio's???? I'm not looking for an ultra hot pickup but I do want one which is considered to be in the lower hot range.


Thanks inadvance!

A cc with an ebony board wont get you a TZ in basswood sound. I think an Alt 8 is a better direction to go if that doesnt get you there then look to DMZ.

 

[Archer250]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

This really makes me wonder if I got a bad Tone Zone...

Anyway, have you thought about the Pegasus? That's supposed to be made for djent, thus supposedly very tight.

 

[Petie]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

Have you considered the Perpetual Burn?

 

[Demanic]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

Black Winter or Distortion.

 

[guitarjunkie986]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

I find it strange that you describe the Nazgul as muddy. While I don't yet have any direct experience with it (I am getting one in the next couple weeks), this is the first time I've ever heard it described as muddy. It is especially strange that you find it muddy when comparing with the Tone Zone in your Ibanez. The Tone Zone is quite low and low mid heavy, while the Nazgul has more highs and high mids.

I also wonder what amp you're playing through. Are you adjusting the settings when switching guitars? A Tone Zone equipped Ibanez will have quite a different sonic signature than your Nazgul equipped Schecter.

Also, have you tried adjusting the pickup height? Perhaps the pickup is too close or too far from the strings. Some pickups are definitely more finicky than others with regards to pickup height.

 

[Archer250]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

I find it strange that you describe the Nazgul as muddy. While I don't yet have any direct experience with it (I am getting one in the next couple weeks), this is the first time I've ever heard it described as muddy. It is especially strange that you find it muddy when comparing with the Tone Zone in your Ibanez. The Tone Zone is quite low and low mid heavy, while the Nazgul has more highs and high mids.

That's the biggest mystery in this thread.

 

[audiodog]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

May I inquire as to what amp you're playing through?

I use a Blackstar stage 100w. Very high gain!

 

[audiodog]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

I find it strange that you describe the Nazgul as muddy. While I don't yet have any direct experience with it (I am getting one in the next couple weeks), this is the first time I've ever heard it described as muddy. It is especially strange that you find it muddy when comparing with the Tone Zone in your Ibanez. The Tone Zone is quite low and low mid heavy, while the Nazgul has more highs and high mids.

I also wonder what amp you're playing through. Are you adjusting the settings when switching guitars? A Tone Zone equipped Ibanez will have quite a different sonic signature than your Nazgul equipped Schecter.

Also, have you tried adjusting the pickup height? Perhaps the pickup is too close or too far from the strings. Some pickups are definitely more finicky than others with regards to pickup height.

Yeah I adjusted the pickup height but will find out later today about the sound. But when I first got it, the pickup was kinda high, and it sounded very undefined. Feedback was an issue too but it was kinda high. I'm gonna practice today with the pickup lowered and see how it sounds.

BTW, I'm not looking for a Djent sound. Just wanted to throw that out there.

 

[Spewnz]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

I have spent some time with that same guitar. In standard tuning i found quite the opposite. It was almost TOO clear.

 

[dominus]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

If you're finding the Nazgul muddy, you're definitely wanting something brighter to balance the guitar out. First, make sure the tone knob works. Then grab something brighter.. Distortion, Black Winter, maybe a TB-5 Custom.

 

[audiodog]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

Oh ok. I play in drop C, never tried it in standard

 

[guitarjunkie986]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

I primarily play in Drop C as well. Your Banshee should be a fairly bright sounding guitar, seeing that it's a maple neck bolted on to an alder body. Hopefully backing off of the strings a bit will increase clarity. High output passives don't do too well if they are super close to the strings in my experience.

 

[Inder_Cine_Mann]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

Back off your pickup and raise the pieces. The Nazgul sounding muddy doesn't make sense to me. I have never gotten a muddy sound out of mine. It's a very clear and compressed pickup.

 

[audiodog]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

So I just got finished with practice and the end result is that I turned up the treble on my amp. Otherwise is just wasn't gonna hold a candle. My other guitars were mohagany -distortion pup then - JB in the other guitar so I had the amp set to those two guitars before the schecter. I still don't hear the clarity in the Nazgul though. Not saying it had no treble just not clear to my ears. I guess this pup was designed more geared toward something Meshuggah would play. Just my opinion. I may just get a JB, don't didn't want that tightness it offers. I would get a distortion but I have an ebony fretboard so I don't know how that would fair.

 

[Archer250]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

So I just got finished with practice and the end result is that I turned up the treble on my amp. Otherwise is just wasn't gonna hold a candle. My other guitars were mohagany -distortion pup then - JB in the other guitar so I had the amp set to those two guitars before the schecter. I still don't hear the clarity in the Nazgul though. Not saying it had no treble just not clear to my ears. I guess this pup was designed more geared toward something Meshuggah would play. Just my opinion. I may just get a JB, don't didn't want that tightness it offers. I would get a distortion but I have an ebony fretboard so I don't know how that would fair.

NO NO NO NONNO! If the Nazgul is not as tight as you like, you DEFINITELY do NOT want the JB. That thing is loose in the low ends unless you trim the pole pieces flush with the baseplate. Try the Black Winters.

 

[guitarjunkie986]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

Agreed. Black Winters would work nicely. I have the Black Winter in my Jackson SL2H (Alder Body, Maple Neck, Ebony Fretboard) and it is awesome. I have clips of it, as well as the JB & Custom (all in the same guitar) at the link in my sig so you can get a good comparison.

 

[audiodog]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

Ok you guys seem to be excited for the Black Winter's I see. Question if I may, does it have a low end growl but not over barring when playing in a lower tuning? I need the best of both worlds meaning I play leads too so I need a balance. I really like a nice growl when doing an open string but it has to sound "complete" if I did a chord i.e. good string seperation. I see the black winter has a ceramic magnet, I typically thought I was gonna with a alnico V this time around... what to do , what to do

By the way I band i'm in sounds a bit like 36 crazy fists.

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: Schecter Banshee Alder body with Nazgul in the bridge NOT what i'm looking for

Ok you guys seem to be excited for the Black Winter's I see. Question if I may, does it have a low end growl but not over barring when playing in a lower tuning? I need the best of both worlds meaning I play leads too so I need a balance. I really like a nice growl when doing an open string but it has to sound "complete" if I did a chord i.e. good string seperation. I see the black winter has a ceramic magnet, I typically thought I was gonna with a alnico V this time around... what to do , what to do

By the way I band i'm in sounds a bit like 36 crazy fists.

The Black Winter has a nice tight low end.