Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

[NeroRoxXx]

so what's up! my first post here, i've been saving money for big investment, upgrade the electronics of ALL my guitars, not too bad because it's 3 guitars i bring out to shows, a gibson les paul classic antique (main guitar) epiphone les paul custom backup and an epiphone double neck, anyways (if you dont wanna read the story of why i'm doing this skip this part ) I HATE when i string brakes... not just because i gotta change guitars but because each one of my guitar has a 100% different sound that the other one this maybe a good thing to some but to me it sucks, specially because i gotta change my setting on the amp including VOLUME, GAIN and EQ, to me that's a problem, the gibson has a really nice sound (57 classic pickups without the covers) and i set up my amp to work with that guitar's pickups, the epiphone les paul has a brighter tone and it's also lower in output (epiphone covered pickups) and the double neck... oh no! it's incredibly LOUD!!!!!!! it has epi uncovered pickups on the 6 string, the 12 string... the output is REALLY LOW!!! and they have a cover, the electronics on the epis totally suck so that's another thing, the pots are scratching and the toggles are going bad... now to the questions


i decided to go for ALNICO II PRO pickups on all my guitars, the main reason because i like slash's tone and i like lower output pickups and they seem to be my best bet, now, i heard an interview with slash talking about the goldtop model he has out, he said he loved the sound of the neck pickup with the tone pot rolled down for songs like sweet child omine, that's something i'm really interested in because i do that alot and i want an even better sound, i found LUXE bumblebee caps online and i was thinking about using them but do any of you know what caps slash used on that goldtop? also what are the best value pots for the alnico II pros? what value pots does slash use on his signature guitar? ALSO can i use regular switchcraft toggles that are meant for gibson les pauls on epiphone les pauls?

 

[dr. ad]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

good questions; i wouldn't change out everything though. i've not tried them, but have heard that the 57 classics are pretty sweet; putting an A2P set in your epi LP would likely get your LPs' tones closer, and more manageable in the event of changing guis mid-set.

epis have a rep for crap stock pickups and wiring. don't know what to tell you re the doubleneck dude

where are your strings breaking? as much as i love modding guitar electrics, it won't stop your strings breaking

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

welcome to the forum! Just a suggestion.. Alnico II pros are sweet! Id recommend that you try a guitar with them in or only mod one first to make sure you like them, before going for all at once.. I put AIIps in my LP and I LOVE the neck one, the bridge one didnt have enough output for my liking. Granted, I dont gig out, so I wasnt able to play cranked. Im not trying to discourage you, again, they sound great, just trying to give you a helpful suggestion..

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

Welcome to the forum!

One quick question. Did you put the 57 classics in the Classic? If not then it actually has a 496R 500T set. That is the stock set up. This also explains why the pups sound SO much hotter than the Epi.

I would advocate changing pots, caps AND pups in all three guitars. First I'd do the Classic. I'd get a set of RS pots, with 2 Superpots for my volumes.I'd get a set of Luxe Caps (fantastic quality) if I wanted the vintage look, orange drops if I wanted something good, but cheap. The other option is an entire RS wiring kit. I got a set of RS pots for my CU24 put in last week and the taper is amazing. If you don't want to throw down the money for the superpots at least get 4 500k pots. I'm thinking Gibson is still using 300ks in the Classics, one reason is to tame the 496/500T set. The 500ks will give you more quack and slightly more output with the A2Ps.

For the Epis I'd do the same thing if I was wanting each guitar with A2Ps. As for what comes in the Epi Slash Sig...I'm guessing just a regular ceramic cap.

If you want to go with vintage LP specs go with a set .022mF caps on every guitar. It gives you a very useable range of tones.

The Switchcrafts should work, you might want to check if there is a metric and standard model. Don't be surprised though if you have to enlarge the hole a bit.

Luke

 

[ozzynotwood]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

so what's up! my first post here, i've been saving money for big investment, upgrade the electronics of ALL my guitars, not too bad because it's 3 guitars i bring out to shows, a gibson les paul classic antique (main guitar) epiphone les paul custom backup and an epiphone double neck, anyways (if you dont wanna read the story of why i'm doing this skip this part ) I HATE when i string brakes... not just because i gotta change guitars but because each one of my guitar has a 100% different sound that the other one this maybe a good thing to some but to me it sucks, specially because i gotta change my setting on the amp including VOLUME, GAIN and EQ, to me that's a problem, the gibson has a really nice sound (57 classic pickups without the covers) and i set up my amp to work with that guitar's pickups, the epiphone les paul has a brighter tone and it's also lower in output (epiphone covered pickups) and the double neck... oh no! it's incredibly LOUD!!!!!!! it has epi uncovered pickups on the 6 string, the 12 string... the output is REALLY LOW!!! and they have a cover, the electronics on the epis totally suck so that's another thing, the pots are scratching and the toggles are going bad... now to the questions


i decided to go for ALNICO II PRO pickups on all my guitars, the main reason because i like slash's tone and i like lower output pickups and they seem to be my best bet, now, i heard an interview with slash talking about the goldtop model he has out, he said he loved the sound of the neck pickup with the tone pot rolled down for songs like sweet child omine, that's something i'm really interested in because i do that alot and i want an even better sound, i found LUXE bumblebee caps online and i was thinking about using them but do any of you know what caps slash used on that goldtop? also what are the best value pots for the alnico II pros? what value pots does slash use on his signature guitar? ALSO can i use regular switchcraft toggles that are meant for gibson les pauls on epiphone les pauls?

I havent broken a string in about 8 years, sounds like u break strings alot, maybe u should try and figure out why.

As far as the pickups go, I have found the A2PRO to be very scooped, nice high's, but a little too much bass. I have a few guitars, and I wouldnt have them all having the same pickups, I think you would have a guitar that sounded great, then the rest would be "not quite as good as the first one".

For fast tone/volume/EQ changes, can you just mark out on your amp what settings are best for each guitar, (or at least write them down and stick the paper in the side of ur amp), then you wont have to figure it out every time.

Also, slash's tone is awesome, but you'll probably need an MXR eq with the mids cranked into the right marshall to get close. I would also say his tone is great "in the mix", on its own, i think it has no balls to it.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

epis have a rep for crap stock pickups and wiring. where are your strings breaking?

I have some Epi's, and I can assure you that the stock Asian-made PU's are crap. There's your first problem. You need to get American or European-made PU's in all you guitars. Look for used ones on eBay, they usually go for around half price.

You can put the same PU in 5 guitars, and it can sound different in every one of them, due to the wood. So going with one PU in everything may give you similar tones, but don't expect them to be identical.

I am one of the biggest string benders on this forum (I bend constantly, and use deep vibrato bends) & I break a string every year or so. Something is wrong with your set up; string gauge, saddles, something.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

I havent broken a string in about 8 years, sounds like u break strings alot, maybe u should try and figure out why.

I'm gonna guess a saddle burr.

As far as the pickups go, I have found the A2PRO to be very scooped, nice high's, but a little too much bass. I have a few guitars, and I wouldnt have them all having the same pickups, I think you would have a guitar that sounded great, then the rest would be "not quite as good as the first one".

I have to disagree. The the A2P has a good low mid bump and not so many lows. The highs have that bell-like quality like the Jazz.
They are all going to be pretty different different sounding due to woods and hardware.

Also, slash's tone is awesome, but you'll probably need an MXR eq with the mids cranked into the right marshall to get close. I would also say his tone is great "in the mix", on its own, i think it has no balls to it.

Honestly I'd say a Marshall in and of itself will get him close. The Marshall is going to supply a goodly part of the mids. As for his tone sounding great in the mix, I figured that's what's important ya know? Cranking the EQ only really seems to help if you're in you're practicing alone. :friday:

Luke

 

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

I havent broken a string in about 8 years, sounds like u break strings alot, maybe u should try and figure out why.

As far as the pickups go, I have found the A2PRO to be very scooped, nice high's, but a little too much bass. I have a few guitars, and I wouldnt have them all having the same pickups, I think you would have a guitar that sounded great, then the rest would be "not quite as good as the first one".

For fast tone/volume/EQ changes, can you just mark out on your amp what settings are best for each guitar, (or at least write them down and stick the paper in the side of ur amp), then you wont have to figure it out every time.

Also, slash's tone is awesome, but you'll probably need an MXR eq with the mids cranked into the right marshall to get close. I would also say his tone is great "in the mix", on its own, i think it has no balls to it.

A2P's "scooped"........um.......I dont think so.

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

Love the A2P set in my SG . . . sounds perfect to my ears and what i do !



James

 

[uOpt]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

Sweet child of mine is supposed to be a APH neck?

 

[ozzynotwood]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

A2P's "scooped"........um.......I dont think so.

OK, scooped in my guitar, tho tho scoop could be because of alot of other factors (wood, contruction)

 

[The Usual]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

If your primary problem is different volumes in all guitars, then putting the same pups in them all may not solve that problem. Guitars are not created equal in terms of construction. An unplugged SG in most cases, is not as loud as an unplugged LP. A good tele, is a beast! Have you messed around with pickup and pole piece height yet? This can make a dramatic difference. I would first spend a day on this, and see how close you can get all of them.

From a tone perspective, you want to try APHs, to which I say, go for it. But as other's have said, buy one set first, and try them in your loudest guitar first. They are not loud pickups, so you may kill two birds while you test them out. If your pots aren't broken, you don't need to replace them. Get a mulit meter and test the value of them. As long as you are ripping up your guitars, then try the different values on the APH test guitar, so you know what they do to the tone. You may be surpised at how a pot/cap change sounds to your ears, compared to how we say they sound.

Have fun, good luck, and welcome to the rabbit hole. Poor bastard!

 

[elscorcho]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

Thought I'd pass on this suggestion blueman gave me.....

Before you buy new PU's, try a mag swap. The 500T/496R set is a ceramic version of the 498T/490R. I'd put an A8 in your bridge (for more mids), and an A5 in the neck (for clarity), and you'd have some very good sounding PU's. Done it a few times myself.

....worth a shot!

 

[ACH91332]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

No matter what you do getting your guys favorite pickups and electronics never nails the tone exactly its about the whole setup and mostly the amp.

As far as the strings go are you using 9s? Because I'd tear those strings up all the time from my pick attack and aggressive string bends. That's probably part of the reason of why Slash uses 11s which is ridiculous but is a large part of his tone. I moved from 9s to the Ernie Ball skinny top heavy bottoms and I don't have a string breaking issue anymore. You should try 10s if you use 9s.

 

[Thunder]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

No matter what you do getting your guys favorite pickups and electronics never nails the tone exactly its about the whole setup and mostly the amp.

As far as the strings go are you using 9s? Because I'd tear those strings up all the time from my pick attack and aggressive string bends. That's probably part of the reason of why Slash uses 11s which is ridiculous but is a large part of his tone. I moved from 9s to the Ernie Ball skinny top heavy bottoms and I don't have a string breaking issue anymore. You should try 10s if you use 9s.

+1 But pups will contribute. A friend has a LPS with A2P's and through a Marshall it's very "Slash" like. He also uses 11s and a Boss EQ for boost.

 

[El CHupacabra]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

As far as the strings go are you using 9s? Because I'd tear those strings up all the time from my pick attack and aggressive string bends. That's probably part of the reason of why Slash uses 11s which is ridiculous but is a large part of his tone. I moved from 9s to the Ernie Ball skinny top heavy bottoms and I don't have a string breaking issue anymore. You should try 10s if you use 9s.

+1. I think he's just too metal for those wimpy 9's. So, so wimpy they are. Manly men use 11s 12s and 13s. I have 11s on both my guitars.

 

[ACH91332]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

+1. I think he's just too metal for those wimpy 9's. So, so wimpy they are. Manly men use 11s 12s and 13s. I have 11s on both my guitars.

Yea but I play standard tuning. 10s with the heavier strings on bottom work great for me. I wouldn't use 11's unless I was in D standard, Eb would be pushing it a tad for me even.

 

[El CHupacabra]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

Oh please. I use 11s in standard.

 

[dr. ad]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

my style is so ball-tearingly masculine, i actually play 13s in F#

 

[dr. ad]

Re: Slash's sound with Alnico II pros questions

sometimes i use bass strings. when i just can't get enough satisfaction from blasting my quads.