SD pup for Sterling JP50

[NJC]

I was wondering if you guys could help me pick a a good pup combo to go in my sterling by musicman jp50. The stock humbuckers are okay but I want to upgrade them to some SD's. Im not a huge fan of dimarzio's and I have a SD distortion in my tele custom and that sounds great.

I need something in the bridge that can handle everything from hard rock to super heavy stuff (like djent). I was thinking another distortion but it can sometimes seem a little shrill and Im not sure how it will sound in a basswood body.

In the neck i want something that will give me really good cleans and smooth lead tones.

I play almost all styles of music so I want it to be versatile, but as I said a good hard rock/metal tone is the main objective.

Im also thinking of getting white ones as I think they look pretty cool!

I play through a (new) Laney LH50, orange open back 2x12 with a tc nova system in front of the amp.

 

[NJC]

Re: SD pup for Sterling JP50

There's nothing wrong with prog metal. haha

But djent isn't my main concern, just a really good quality high output pickup thats going to give me a good heavy tone, and sit well with a basswood body.

I would but the crunch lab is just REALLY LOUD and dimarzios don't seem to have the same natural sound and saturation that you get from seymour duncans.

 

[Shadow1psc]

Re: SD pup for Sterling JP50

Crunchlab loud? I have a Crunchlab/Liquifier combo in my RG 470, and it's not louder or hotter than most. It's very balanced, which is why I assume JP loves it. I -love- the Crunchlab because of the clarity all the way down to power chords, and it djents well.

Not to say there isn't a SD option, but the Crunchlab/Liquifier really turns that Sterling into something closer to a standard JP model. If you're not going for that sound and bought the guitar because it was a good deal or you like the playability/whatever, and you think the Crunchlab is too loud, why not go JB/Jazz?

 

[NJC]

Re: SD pup for Sterling JP50

I've seen on a few forums that people find it loud. The other thing is that dimarzios are a lot more expensive and harder to get a hold of in the UK than SD. But maybe I should just invest in the pickups that JP uses.

I had thought of the distortion/jazz combo. I hear JB's really don't like basswood haha

 

[Shadow1psc]

Re: SD pup for Sterling JP50

How many of those posts were from people that had the blade towards the bridge? That's the key, and something I researched before buying them. You can install the pickup either way, and it definitely sounds louder with the blade towards the bridge (and you get a little bit closer to that ice pick sound), but I (along with most people and JP himself) leave it with blade towards the neck, and it's perfectly balanced IMO.

I could probably give or take the Liquifier; Don't get me wrong, it's great, and it's cleans are especially amazing. You can get some nice pinch harmonics out of it too, it just seems... I guess safe is the word I'd use. It didn't automatically wow my pants off like the Crunchlab did, but I certainly don't dislike it. I'm not getting that mystical JP tone out of my leads, but that could be my own gear/settings shortcomings.

 

[NJC]

Re: SD pup for Sterling JP50

They didn't say but that could be why. I was originally going to just get a black crunchlab and leave the stock neck pup as it's not too bad, alot better than stock bridge, but i wanted something different. Wondered if anyone had any experience with seymour duncans in this type of guitar.

 

[Shadow1psc]

Re: SD pup for Sterling JP50

It's a solid guitar; Really well built, under the radar player that instantly benefits from a good set of pickups, and that is really just dependent on the sound you want. If you wanted a similar Duncan, I think your best options are some of the more expensive (comparable in price to the Crunchlab, at least in the states) stuff like the SH-6 and the Alternate-8. Alternate-8 sounds great to my ears.

It's just really hard to pinpoint without actually trying some pups. We can get you in the ballpark, which I think for your money is going to be somewhere between the SH-6 and Alternate-8. I really like the Dimebucker too, and that's not to say I'm a huge Pantera or Dimebag fan, but the pickup when dialed in to preference can really give you what you want in a high gain bridge.

 

[NJC]

Re: SD pup for Sterling JP50

yeah, its a great guitar. luckily it was introduced while i was searching ebay for the old OLP JP guitar. Yeah the SH-6 (TB-6) distortion was my first choice as I have that in telecaster custom. not a huge fan of the dimebucker. Anybody tried the SD custom in basswood guitar??