what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

Juanhanglo

New member
First off I love the full shred. So much so, that I miss the clarity and tightness when I play my guitars without them.

What I am looking for is/are pickups that are mid to higher gain that have clarity, articulation, and are tighter than the usual suspects. I liked the steve's special when I had one. I have a norton that I love.

I have heard that the bill and becky L500 series fit the requirements. True?
What else?
They will be going into a hardtail strat and a carvin holdsworth hardtail.

extra points for neck pickups.

thanks guys
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

DiMarzio Dominion bridge will give you this for sure. I've got a custom shop IM1 with a few differences that will give you this as well.
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

Not really similar in tone but what you are describing: articulation, high-gain, clarity does sound like the Duncan Distortion. It's still pretty tight, though the Full Shred is probably the tightest pickup I've played.
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

It might be too obvious but the JB fits your criteria preatty well too. Higher output, similiar EQ specs. It's a go-to "have to try" pickup.
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

I've heard the crunchlab is a better full shred. haven't got my hands on one yet just the D sonic. personally the Full shred with double ceramic is even better than the A5.
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

The Screamin' Demon is another pickup with a tight bottom end. It's the perfect pickup if you have a woofy guitar and want to tame the lows and low mids (like my Gibson Explorer).

The way I look at the Demon and the Full Shred is if a guy wants a really tight bottom end but wants one on the PAF side of the spectrum, go with the SD, but if you want a more modern tone go with the FS.
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

Full shred is the end all be all as far as surgical precision is concerned. I've never played a tighter pickup. The distortion is also tight in that it tracks tightly but the precision of note attack is shifted a bit on theEQ of the DD. With the FS, the note attack seems to be exactly the same place as the note. It's got a really nice open sorta vocing in that regard. With the DD, the note attack seems to be limited to fallinto that "screaming upper mids" portion of the DD's sound.


Also the crunchlab is pretty tight as well and has a somewhat similar openness along with somemore meat in the lows/low mids, but I feel like it lacks a bit in the personality department...as if it's a bit too clinical in the way it gets its sound.comparing the FS to the CL i'd say that the FS is like an arrow shot at a target with a hand-hewn bow made of oak. The CL is like a scientist finding the exact center of the bulls eye then building a robot to press a dart into the middle.
 
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Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

hand-hewn bow made of oak

Oak is not a traditional bow wood. There are many "hand-hewn" bows made of: osage orange, yew, lemonwood, horn, or bamboo. I'd use one of those in your analogy.

I did make a bow out of red oak once, though...it shoots fine.

:naughty:
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

As far as tightness/ articulation/ clarity is concerned the FS wins hands down out of everything I've tried in the Duncan Line.....I guess my next pick would have to be the

Dimarzio D'Activator. Although it is most definitely hotter than the FS, the DA is extremely tight but the voicing is not the same as the FS IMO. The DA has sustain that just

seems to never let up yet every note can be heard loud and clear. The DA's EQ is very even....there really isn't a frequency that dominates. It's a bad@ss pickup.
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

Oak is not a traditional bow wood. There are many "hand-hewn" bows made of: osage orange, yew, lemonwood, horn, or bamboo. I'd use one of those in your analogy.

I did make a bow out of red oak once, though...it shoots fine.

:naughty:

I made a bow out of oak as well, it shot well but it's draw strength was insane.
 
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Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

I find the Full Shred to be the most DiMarzio-esque pickup of the SD line. It has a lot of the 'clean' character I admire about DiMarzio pups but still has a hint of vintage character in there in terms of the way that notes in a chord blend together. I know I'm not explaining myself that well, but I can't really put my finger on it. If you've got an amp with some serious gain and need tight, percussive sounds, the FS delivers for sure. In terms of other pickups that are similar, if I was going to pick out of the SD line, I think that the Jazz has many of the same characteristics.
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

I find the Full Shred to be the most DiMarzio-esque pickup of the SD line. It has a lot of the 'clean' character I admire about DiMarzio pups but still has a hint of vintage character in there in terms of the way that notes in a chord blend together. I know I'm not explaining myself that well, but I can't really put my finger on it. If you've got an amp with some serious gain and need tight, percussive sounds, the FS delivers for sure. In terms of other pickups that are similar, if I was going to pick out of the SD line, I think that the Jazz has many of the same characteristics.

I know what you mean. I was wondering what was was available from other pickup makers that is articulate and clear though not necessarily bright.
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

I find the PATB1 awesomely clear and articulate as well.
 
Re: what pickups are in a similar vain to the full shred

As far as tightness/ articulation/ clarity is concerned the FS wins hands down out of everything I've tried in the Duncan Line.....I guess my next pick would have to be the

Dimarzio D'Activator. Although it is most definitely hotter than the FS, the DA is extremely tight but the voicing is not the same as the FS IMO. The DA has sustain that just

seems to never let up yet every note can be heard loud and clear. The DA's EQ is very even....there really isn't a frequency that dominates. It's a bad@ss pickup.

My Ibanez VBT700 came stock with D'activators and I agree that they are well balanced, and they are tight sounding, but the over all tone is just plain blah vanilla to my ears. They're not very vibrant, IMHO.
 
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