What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

For the neck, the 59 (neck, or bridge if you need a little more punch) will work with either of those, as will the Full Shred (neck).

I might look into the Full Shred neck. I thought about going that route. Typically I'd go for the 59, which is initially what I plan on doing, but to do something different, I might look into the Full Shred. Is there any clips that you would recommend? I can't seem to find any good ones that represent the neck version the way I've heard it been described.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

for that guitar and for the style you're playing, I can suggest the JB or the FS or even the 59/C. the only caveat is that the 59/C won't have quite as much gain if you're looking for those screaming piercing high notes that sustain like you are used to from the JB. but it's a versatile pickup that's groovy. the FS will be that range between the JB and the 59/C. the 59/C and the FS will clean up a little nicer than the JB in the bridge slot, unless you wire up the JB to a switch to make it parallel, which is better in my opinion. then again, I tend to wire the neck pup to split for my clean tones and get better luck with that setup.

when the 59n wasn't doing it for me any more, the FSn really got me back in the right direction. I stuck with that until I tried a polished A4 mag in the 59n and I've been going back to those. for the stock versions, the FSn is a not as muddy and has a bit more bite in the highs than the 59n, and the FSn cleans up very well.

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

for that guitar and for the style you're playing, I can suggest the JB or the FS or even the 59/C. the only caveat is that the 59/C won't have quite as much gain if you're looking for those screaming piercing high notes that sustain like you are used to from the JB. but it's a versatile pickup that's groovy. the FS will be that range between the JB and the 59/C. the 59/C and the FS will clean up a little nicer than the JB in the bridge slot, unless you wire up the JB to a switch to make it parallel, which is better in my opinion. then again, I tend to wire the neck pup to split for my clean tones and get better luck with that setup.

when the 59n wasn't doing it for me any more, the FSn really got me back in the right direction. I stuck with that until I tried a polished A4 mag in the 59n and I've been going back to those. for the stock versions, the FSn is a not as muddy and has a bit more bite in the highs than the 59n, and the FSn cleans up very well.

Can the Full Shred do GOOD cleans though? I've liked what I've heard distortion wise, and it's a very tight pickup which would be perfect for me, but I heard the cleans are a tad sterile. I've also heard that the leads aren't as rich as say a JB would be.

The JB is what I have currently, and I like the JB, but I'm looking to chart into new territory, while still retaining my sound. I could just swap another JB, but I'm wanting to go a little outside the box this time.

I like the 59/Custom idea, but like you said, I might not get enough output like I'm used to getting. Although, I have an amp that can get me plenty of output, so that's not a huge issue for me.

 

[alteredbeast]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Believe it or not, I've come across very nice sounds with Emg select series pickups.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

I considered doing Blackouts but I need to do more research on them. I've heard mixed things about the Blackouts. I've played on them before, but not enough to have an opinion on them. The Mustaine livewires interest me, but I'm not so sure about going with signature pups, mainly because I'd like to create my own sound and not replicate someone else's, while Mustaine is a huge influence to me on guitar.

I'm really digging the distortion from clips I've heard, and I've heard a couple solutions as to what I can do to clean it up for cleans. I have the JB in my current guitar, so I pretty much know what I'm getting with that, and I do love the JB.

My main deal is to try something new and a little outside the box, while still retaining the tone I prefer, and maybe improve upon it, if possible.

The Mustaine Livewires set is just an active version of the JB and Jazz. Personally, I cannot stand the Jazz in the neck position, but an active version of the JB could have advantages, especially if you have multiple effects pedals or long cables.

The JB and Distortion do share a lot of characteristics and similar output levels, but do have a different response and feel. I prefer the Distortion, but do like the JB. Picking the Distortion as a bridge pickup will be a good choice; it has a very good response with a Mark series amp.

The SD webpage has links to sound clips for most of the humbuckers. I prefer the newer Keith Merrow videos, but many of those do not focus on neck pickups. The Full Shred clips sound better to my ears than a 59n, but many do prefer the 59. Personally, I like Alnico II style pickups for the neck position. In my main guitar I use a Distortion and Alnico II Pro. In another one of my guitars, I have a Dimebucker and Alnico II Pro.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Can the Full Shred do GOOD cleans though? I've liked what I've heard distortion wise, and it's a very tight pickup which would be perfect for me, but I heard the cleans are a tad sterile. I've also heard that the leads aren't as rich as say a JB would be.

The JB is what I have currently, and I like the JB, but I'm looking to chart into new territory, while still retaining my sound. I could just swap another JB, but I'm wanting to go a little outside the box this time.

I like the 59/Custom idea, but like you said, I might not get enough output like I'm used to getting. Although, I have an amp that can get me plenty of output, so that's not a huge issue for me.

sounds like it might be a good idea to go with the pups you are familiar with and let the guitar be the difference. then you can know more about the characteristics of each guitar and what they can do. and then down the road when your ears have broken-in to that factor, you can make a choice based more on what you know about the guitar. just an idea.

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

The Mustaine Livewires set is just an active version of the JB and Jazz. Personally, I cannot stand the Jazz in the neck position, but an active version of the JB could have advantages, especially if you have multiple effects pedals or long cables.

The JB and Distortion do share a lot of characteristics and similar output levels, but do have a different response and feel. I prefer the Distortion, but do like the JB. Picking the Distortion as a bridge pickup will be a good choice; it has a very good response with a Mark series amp.

The SD webpage has links to sound clips for most of the humbuckers. I prefer the newer Keith Merrow videos, but many of those do not focus on neck pickups. The Full Shred clips sound better to my ears than a 59n, but many do prefer the 59. Personally, I like Alnico II style pickups for the neck position. In my main guitar I use a Distortion and Alnico II Pro. In another one of my guitars, I have a Dimebucker and Alnico II Pro.

Do you think having an Active with a passive pick-up would affect anything? Just curious on how that would go. Being as how the Active would most likely have to be powered by a battery.

Do you think the distortion would be too bright for the guitar? Since it is an Alder body with a Maple neck. But it wouldn't react any differently than a JB would then in that regard I suppose? Because the Distortion might be what I might go for. I saw a clip not too long ago of someone doing cleans with it, and it actually sounded pretty good. I did notice they had some chorus on it though, which I was eventually gonna buy a chorus pedal for cleans anyway. And, they also demonstrated it being coil splitted, which made it very Fender-esque, which I'm definitely not opposed to at all. That was my main concern was the cleans on it. But I figure if I back the volume knob off a little, throw some chorus on it and adjust the EQ, I could definitely get some usable cleans.

I wish there were more vids focusing on neck pick-ups. Someone should start something like that. I would be extremely interested in the differences between all of the neck pick-ups. It would definitely make this process a whole lot easier.

 

[EET_FUK]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Do you think having an Active with a passive pick-up would affect anything? Just curious on how that would go. Being as how the Active would most likely have to be powered by a battery.

Do you think the distortion would be too bright for the guitar? Since it is an Alder body with a Maple neck. But it wouldn't react any differently than a JB would then in that regard I suppose? Because the Distortion might be what I might go for. I saw a clip not too long ago of someone doing cleans with it, and it actually sounded pretty good. I did notice they had some chorus on it though, which I was eventually gonna buy a chorus pedal for cleans anyway. And, they also demonstrated it being coil splitted, which made it very Fender-esque, which I'm definitely not opposed to at all. That was my main concern was the cleans on it. But I figure if I back the volume knob off a little, throw some chorus on it and adjust the EQ, I could definitely get some usable cleans.

I wish there were more vids focusing on neck pick-ups. Someone should start something like that. I would be extremely interested in the differences between all of the neck pick-ups. It would definitely make this process a whole lot easier.

You can't mix passive and active because actives need different pots, switches, etc.

As I said earlier I do think the Distortion might be too bright in that guitar, but your tastes are different than mine.

I have to ask, why not just use your neck pickup for clean tones? That way you wouldn't find yourself having to choose between distorted tones or clean tones out of one pickup. I personally prefer clean tones from the neck pickup anyways.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

You can't mix passive and active because actives need different pots, switches, etc.

Nope you can do it. My Warlock says so. EMG81 and a Dimarzio SuperD happily together. There are some trade offs but it can be done.





For the OP I would want to hear the guitar acoustically before I decided too much on pickups. The rest right now is academic.

 

[EET_FUK]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Nope you can do it. My Warlock says so. EMG81 and a Dimarzio SuperD happily together. There are some trade offs but it can be done.

View attachment 45584



For the OP I would want to hear the guitar acoustically before I decided too much on pickups. The rest right now is academic.

Wow, I stand way corrected. That's really awesome dude! B*tchin' guitar too!

Agree on the acoustic thing too.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Being a very general statement, active pickups are low impedence, so act as a buffer in the signal chain. This can help with long cable runs or multiple effects pedal situations where a passive pickup would be loaded down. If you're adding pedals to your chain with a passive pickup, make sure you have a decent buffer, or at least a high quality buffered pedal to prevent signal loss.

I don't think the Distortion would be too bright, but I use mine with a maple neck through guitar with a rosewood fingerboard and a 550k potentiometer to keep the highs intact. If it's too bright, you could always use a lower value volume pot, but I doubt that will be necessary.

But, as the previous posts state, get the guitar and try it for a few weeks before doing a pickup swap. You may find that you're happy with the stock pickups!

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Being a very general statement, active pickups are low impedence, so act as a buffer in the signal chain. This can help with long cable runs or multiple effects pedal situations where a passive pickup would be loaded down. If you're adding pedals to your chain with a passive pickup, make sure you have a decent buffer, or at least a high quality buffered pedal to prevent signal loss.

I don't think the Distortion would be too bright, but I use mine with a maple neck through guitar with a rosewood fingerboard and a 550k potentiometer to keep the highs intact. If it's too bright, you could always use a lower value volume pot, but I doubt that will be necessary.

But, as the previous posts state, get the guitar and try it for a few weeks before doing a pickup swap. You may find that you're happy with the stock pickups!

Well, it'll be a little but after I get the guitar, but if it does come to the point that I'm not satisfied with the stock pups, I can refer back here. Like I said, this is just to throw ideas around. But I do plan to swap pickups though, because I'm a Seymour Duncan fan more than I am an EMG fan. But that's just me.

 

[jtougas]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

I agree that it'd be a good idea to get a pair of what you know (the 59n/JB combo) to put in, and see what you want to change. Alder will be brighter than the basswood to begin with, but even that's a broad generalization.

The fun of working with biologicals.

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

I agree that it'd be a good idea to get a pair of what you know (the 59n/JB combo) to put in, and see what you want to change. Alder will be brighter than the basswood to begin with, but even that's a broad generalization.

The fun of working with biologicals.

Well, I thought about doing that, but I wanted to do something a little different this time. While I love the JB/59 combo, I thought maybe I could get a new range of sounds with different pick-ups, while still being able to achieve the tones that I know and love.

It may sound confusing and scatter brained, but that's what's been going in my head ever since I started this process.

 

[jtougas]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Right. But until you hear how *that guitar* reacts to those pickups, you don't know what *that guitar* needs different than the one you already have. And the easiest way to do that is to put in known values - the pickups you're already used to. Then, you can listen to, see what needs to be changed to make it sound like what you want.

"Hmm, I'm happy with the neck, but the bridge could cut a little more" or "Wow, the bridge sounds fantastic, but the neck is a little muddy."

 

[Lucy Diamond]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Holmes, try a Black Winter.

Every time you say "chimey clean" I just hear you say Black Winter.

Also...You will have no problems getting cleans from the distortions. In fact the odd thing about The Distortions is that they are really clean sounding pickups and if you are sloppy and maybe don't really know it yet, The Distortions will let you know. The SD Distortion bridge through my Mesa Mark IV actually taught me to play much better than I thought I was. Totally crazy pickups.


Black Winter Feedback Thread

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Holmes, try a Black Winter.

Every time you say "chimey clean" I just hear you say Black Winter.

Also...You will have no problems getting cleans from the distortions. In fact the odd thing about The Distortions is that they are really clean sounding pickups and if you are sloppy and maybe don't really know it yet, The Distortions will let you know. The SD Distortion bridge through my Mesa Mark IV actually taught me to play much better than I thought I was. Totally crazy pickups.


Black Winter Feedback Thread

You know, I've actually been interested in the Black Winters, but I wasn't sure about them yet. Whether if they would be too over the top for me, or whatever. I heard at first that it's basically a Distortion on steroids. Which in a sense is good, but I wasn't sure about cleans, and I didn't know if it was gonna be too saturated, or what have you. The truth of the matter is, I didn't have enough knowledge at the time to truly figure out what they were all about.

I'm glad you said that about the Distortion because I've gotten so many mixed things about the Distortion, it's ridiculous. I can't seem to find the truth about them, and so far, that has seemed to make the most sense to me. I know, I know, "Try them out and make your own opinion on them!" yadda yadda yadda, but I've been trying to get a general idea and jotting some notes down and such, and I just haven't gotten consistent info. I hear they'll be too bright, I hear they'll be perfect, I hear that it can do cleans, then I hear it can't, etc.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Holmes, try a Black Winter.

Every time you say "chimey clean" I just hear you say Black Winter.

Also...You will have no problems getting cleans from the distortions. In fact the odd thing about The Distortions is that they are really clean sounding pickups and if you are sloppy and maybe don't really know it yet, The Distortions will let you know. The SD Distortion bridge through my Mesa Mark IV actually taught me to play much better than I thought I was. Totally crazy pickups.


Black Winter Feedback Thread

Agreed, the Distortions through a Mark IV (or a Mark IV circuit in a Triaxis) have great definition. That combo will definitely uncover any flaws in picking or fretting technique.

If you're still worrying about the cleans on the Distortion, just watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXIVKfIuoBA

The guy covers the clean range of the pickups at about a minute into the clip.

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Agreed, the Distortions through a Mark IV (or a Mark IV circuit in a Triaxis) have great definition. That combo will definitely uncover any flaws in picking or fretting technique.

If you're still worrying about the cleans on the Distortion, just watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXIVKfIuoBA

The guy covers the clean range of the pickups at about a minute into the clip.

Those are actually really good cleans when he backs off the volume knob. Wow. Very cool.

I'm really leaning towards the Distortion now. Although Lucy mentioning the Black Winters, that may be something to look into. They've kinda caught my eye ever since they came out. Plus the font they used for 'Seymour Duncan' on the pickup is on all levels of badass.

 

[jumble jumble]

Re: What bridge pick-up should I get in my soon to be 'New gutar'?

Nope you can do it. My Warlock says so. EMG81 and a Dimarzio SuperD happily together. There are some trade offs but it can be done.

How is it wired?