greg.delta
New member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
I have a Custom 5 in an SG and I'm not a huge fan of it
I have a Custom 5 in an SG and I'm not a huge fan of it
What pickups do you want to try right now?
- Thread starter Rex_Rocker
- Start date
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
I'd think that is the Custom Custom...more true mids. It doesn't have the high mid thing that the Custom or JB has. Everything is shifted down. So try an A2 in your pickup.
I'd think that is the Custom Custom...more true mids. It doesn't have the high mid thing that the Custom or JB has. Everything is shifted down. So try an A2 in your pickup.
greg.delta
New member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
It's tough to describe...I like high end, I've run a trebly tone since I started playing. The thing is the custom in my strat sounds good, but it's lacking (I think it sounds 10/10 in a tele though). In a strat it sounds...blocky and cardboardy...it's got like a honk to the high end that just doesn't work in my strat.
I have a JB in a les paul that I love, and I might just go with that in a strat, I only hear good things about a JB in a strat bridge. It's trebly sure, but it also has nice full-bodied lows without being too beefy
It's tough to describe...I like high end, I've run a trebly tone since I started playing. The thing is the custom in my strat sounds good, but it's lacking (I think it sounds 10/10 in a tele though). In a strat it sounds...blocky and cardboardy...it's got like a honk to the high end that just doesn't work in my strat.
I have a JB in a les paul that I love, and I might just go with that in a strat, I only hear good things about a JB in a strat bridge. It's trebly sure, but it also has nice full-bodied lows without being too beefy
Faber_FDM
New member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
Sounds a lot like the SH-14 to me. Or maybe the 59/Custom?
Sounds a lot like the SH-14 to me. Or maybe the 59/Custom?
greg.delta
New member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
JB?
The best tone I've probably ever got was a les paul with a JB in the bridge but I'm unsure how it would be in a strat
In the les paul it got a nice...well, Jeff Beck truth/beck-old style tone
JB?
The best tone I've probably ever got was a les paul with a JB in the bridge but I'm unsure how it would be in a strat
In the les paul it got a nice...well, Jeff Beck truth/beck-old style tone
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Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
Try a Gibson 498T with an Alnico 8 magnet!
Or... maybe just a Custom 8?
Try a Gibson 498T with an Alnico 8 magnet!
Or... maybe just a Custom 8?
David Garner
New member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
So they come with a bit of a learning curve, or at least they did for me. I looked into these, the Fender CS 69s, etc., and the one critique people had is they are thin and bright. Good news -- they aren't. At all. Bad news -- at first they were all bass and just very, very dark and uninspiring. I did a couple of things to help. I'm running the Strat into a Dirty Little Secret set on Super Bass mode, and I had it at 18 watts, the idea being it mimics a 100 watt model and would therefore give me more headroom. That wasn't a good thing. I dropped it to a 9 volt outlet and it works much better. So it doesn't really like that particular pedal on that particular setting. Second, I had a hybrid (heavy bottom/light top) set on it. It didn't like that very much either. Third, oddly, and contrary to the video with Danny Young playing (which sounds unreal with him tuned down to D), when I tune down to Eb it sounds bad. So I had to keep it in standard tuning (which is most of what I play anyway). That was a surprise. Fourth, while they have some sparkle to the top end, the overall tone is best described as woody and dry. It is not really chimey or delicate. These pickups are more in your face than a 60s or 50s set. At least any of the ones I've used. Last, on my guitar at least, they have a very, very narrow sweet spot as far as height. On the neck, it's literally a spot. A quarter turn in either direction and you lose it. The middle and bridge have a little more leeway, but not much. They like to be set higher than you'd think, but not quite at Fender's spec.
So after getting some stuff dialed in this afternoon, the great news is they sound a whole lot like that video I mentioned above. Even with 9s in standard tuning. They are very punchy, they hold up remarkably under gain and unlike a lot of Strat pickups, they still have that hollow Strat tone under a fair amount of gain. Clean, they are very articulate and clear. Maybe too much for some folks. Someone who doesn't like the tone might consider it sterile. I consider it punchy. Very jazzy and sweet, but not in a harmonic way. Just a nice, balanced tone. The bridge, shockingly given how much people seem to hate the 69 bridge, is my favorite Strat bridge pickup I've ever played. It is better than the Apache bridge, which is superb. I have no tone control wired to the bridge, so this is kind of a big deal. If you balance this pickup instead of slanting it -- I think I have the bass side a hair higher than the treble -- it sounds incredible. Ratty, nasty, raunchy. It will do that La Grange intro tone all day. The middle is nice but nothing really remarkable compared to other middle pickups I've played. The neck is also incredible. Once I got it dialed in, it just sings with gain, clean, fuzz, whatever. It rings like a bell and punches like a mule kick.
I've never owned a set of late 60s pickups before, so a lot of this was a surprise to me. I think you probably have to listen critically to recordings to hear the difference between these and the 50s and early 60s winds. Robin Trower to my ears has it on Bridge of Sighs. He used an early 70s model I think, which should have roughly identical pickups to these. The best way I can describe it is the bottom end has a harder landing than other pickups. There is like a thump, almost a clunk, when you drop a low E (or when you are punching a low E while playing the Hendrix chord). Very plunky and with a harder edge to the tone. I love it. It's what I heard on the SD video that made me want to try this set, but I couldn't put my finger on it at the time.
Honeymoon period, grain of salt, all that. But my initial impression is these are phenomenal. Well worth the money.
So they come with a bit of a learning curve, or at least they did for me. I looked into these, the Fender CS 69s, etc., and the one critique people had is they are thin and bright. Good news -- they aren't. At all. Bad news -- at first they were all bass and just very, very dark and uninspiring. I did a couple of things to help. I'm running the Strat into a Dirty Little Secret set on Super Bass mode, and I had it at 18 watts, the idea being it mimics a 100 watt model and would therefore give me more headroom. That wasn't a good thing. I dropped it to a 9 volt outlet and it works much better. So it doesn't really like that particular pedal on that particular setting. Second, I had a hybrid (heavy bottom/light top) set on it. It didn't like that very much either. Third, oddly, and contrary to the video with Danny Young playing (which sounds unreal with him tuned down to D), when I tune down to Eb it sounds bad. So I had to keep it in standard tuning (which is most of what I play anyway). That was a surprise. Fourth, while they have some sparkle to the top end, the overall tone is best described as woody and dry. It is not really chimey or delicate. These pickups are more in your face than a 60s or 50s set. At least any of the ones I've used. Last, on my guitar at least, they have a very, very narrow sweet spot as far as height. On the neck, it's literally a spot. A quarter turn in either direction and you lose it. The middle and bridge have a little more leeway, but not much. They like to be set higher than you'd think, but not quite at Fender's spec.
So after getting some stuff dialed in this afternoon, the great news is they sound a whole lot like that video I mentioned above. Even with 9s in standard tuning. They are very punchy, they hold up remarkably under gain and unlike a lot of Strat pickups, they still have that hollow Strat tone under a fair amount of gain. Clean, they are very articulate and clear. Maybe too much for some folks. Someone who doesn't like the tone might consider it sterile. I consider it punchy. Very jazzy and sweet, but not in a harmonic way. Just a nice, balanced tone. The bridge, shockingly given how much people seem to hate the 69 bridge, is my favorite Strat bridge pickup I've ever played. It is better than the Apache bridge, which is superb. I have no tone control wired to the bridge, so this is kind of a big deal. If you balance this pickup instead of slanting it -- I think I have the bass side a hair higher than the treble -- it sounds incredible. Ratty, nasty, raunchy. It will do that La Grange intro tone all day. The middle is nice but nothing really remarkable compared to other middle pickups I've played. The neck is also incredible. Once I got it dialed in, it just sings with gain, clean, fuzz, whatever. It rings like a bell and punches like a mule kick.
I've never owned a set of late 60s pickups before, so a lot of this was a surprise to me. I think you probably have to listen critically to recordings to hear the difference between these and the 50s and early 60s winds. Robin Trower to my ears has it on Bridge of Sighs. He used an early 70s model I think, which should have roughly identical pickups to these. The best way I can describe it is the bottom end has a harder landing than other pickups. There is like a thump, almost a clunk, when you drop a low E (or when you are punching a low E while playing the Hendrix chord). Very plunky and with a harder edge to the tone. I love it. It's what I heard on the SD video that made me want to try this set, but I couldn't put my finger on it at the time.
Honeymoon period, grain of salt, all that. But my initial impression is these are phenomenal. Well worth the money.
Diego
New member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
There isn't much in the pickup realm I really wanna try these days.
My pickup preferences lie between low and medium output.
The A2 Pro/Screamin' Demon combo is terrific and I'll have it in my Les Paul eventually, replacing my Probuckers which are excellent but a bit vanilla, particularly the bridge pickup which could have a bit more slice in the top-end.
I like transparency and overwound pickups do strange things to the attack and the EQ response.
There isn't much in the pickup realm I really wanna try these days.
My pickup preferences lie between low and medium output.
The A2 Pro/Screamin' Demon combo is terrific and I'll have it in my Les Paul eventually, replacing my Probuckers which are excellent but a bit vanilla, particularly the bridge pickup which could have a bit more slice in the top-end.
I like transparency and overwound pickups do strange things to the attack and the EQ response.
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Cdwillis
New member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
Curtis Novaks WRHBs in the Jazzmaster cover for my JM's bridge position.
Lace Alumitones/Deathbuckers to put in my strat, or maybe some of the single sized Laces, like a Red/Gold/Blue setup because I'm not sure how those Alumitones will react with my fuzz pedals.
Curtis Novaks WRHBs in the Jazzmaster cover for my JM's bridge position.
Lace Alumitones/Deathbuckers to put in my strat, or maybe some of the single sized Laces, like a Red/Gold/Blue setup because I'm not sure how those Alumitones will react with my fuzz pedals.
Ascension
Well-known member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
I also want to try a full set of Psyclones in something. Exploring some different lower gain tones for a change.
I'm in the opposite situation. I have a set of Saturday Night Specials in my semi Hollow Carvin AE 185 with the active module that I also love and want to try a full set of them in a solid body. Have a neck in my Carvin ST 300 with a Hybrid bridge but want some thing different in the bridge as already have a couple other guitars with Hybrids. I pulled the trigger on a Black SNS Trembucker tonight from Mike on Ebay to go in the bridge with the SNS neck so---.
I also want to try a full set of Psyclones in something. Exploring some different lower gain tones for a change.
Nsatke81
New member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
If you want to try the psyclones, the tv Jones pickups, especially the tv classics are really worth a look as well.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If you want to try the psyclones, the tv Jones pickups, especially the tv classics are really worth a look as well.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Clint 55
OH THE DOUBLE THICK GLAZE!
misterwhizzy
Well-known member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
Brobucker and Fishman Fluence Classics. I have some slight interest in trying some of the Bareknuckle range, but Les Paul with a Custom into a Marshall is so close to what I want that I've lost a lot of interest in tweaking and replacing pickups.
Brobucker and Fishman Fluence Classics. I have some slight interest in trying some of the Bareknuckle range, but Les Paul with a Custom into a Marshall is so close to what I want that I've lost a lot of interest in tweaking and replacing pickups.
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
Good to hear. You know, sometimes it is really hard to push past the 'initial impressions' phase. The Custom 5 was like that to me, and I realized I had to re-eq a few things to get things sounding as good as everyone says it is. Some pickups don't make it past that phase (Steve Morse set), because I couldn't get past the fact that what I was hearing was so unlike any tone I've ever heard from Steve Morse.
Good to hear. You know, sometimes it is really hard to push past the 'initial impressions' phase. The Custom 5 was like that to me, and I realized I had to re-eq a few things to get things sounding as good as everyone says it is. Some pickups don't make it past that phase (Steve Morse set), because I couldn't get past the fact that what I was hearing was so unlike any tone I've ever heard from Steve Morse.
Nsatke81
New member
Re: What pickups do you want to try right now?
That steve Morse bridge pickup was confusing for me too. I could only get it to sound good for extreme metal. Then again, maybe it was my rig or maybe it was me.
That steve Morse bridge pickup was confusing for me too. I could only get it to sound good for extreme metal. Then again, maybe it was my rig or maybe it was me.
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