Which Custom 8's to pair with LiquiFire / Sentient ?

[SDK2]

Hi folks,
so i need to equip an HSH Axe that will be used from Hard Rock , to (British) Heavy Metal , (YJM/not so much but still) NeoClassical.
I have a couple of pickups available in my other guitar which i can use:

0) Parallel Axis Original - PATB-1n (H, Neck)
1) Jason Becker Perpetual Burn (H, Bridge)
2) Vintage Hot Stack Plus Strat - STK-S7 (S, Neck/Middle)

I definitively want to try in the neck one of :

3) Sentient (H, Neck)
4) LiquiFire - DP227 (H ,Neck)

for the middle i was also looking at:

5) YJM Fury - STK-10n (S, Neck/Middle)

In a previous thread of mine it was mentioned that 1) wouldn't pair well with 3) or 4). Although noting stops me from trying when i get the rest of the pickups. so i was looking at this thread for new possible bridge pickups to pair with 3) or 4) and found these:

6) Crazy 8 - More distortion flavor. Has more sizzle (NOT fizzy) and more cutting presence. This is the best choice for players that like the Distortion type pups. This would be the last choice to use clean
7) Custom 8 - is more PAF/Vintage Flavor. Has a bit of a "squishy" attack with note bloom. This one I could just slam an A chord and hear the tubes clip. This would be the one to use if you want to occasionly cop a brown type of tone. ( NO, its not Brown sound pup!) Im just saying in has that paf natural tone.. This has the warmest clean.
8) Alternative 8 - more crisp flavor. This is clean and precise, but NOT sterile in any way.. Big, present sound all thru the range. This one would be great for guys who use lots of effects and this would probably be preferred by players who like Dimarzios.
Plenty of presence and tone , but very clear. Sounds good clean.

Any thoughts on what will be good pairing? I currently leaning towards something like:

A) Custom 8 - YJM - LiquiFire / Sentient
B) Custom 8 - Vintage Hot Plus STK-S7 - LiquiFire / Sentient

I definitively wan to have some versatile. I think the Sentient may be too close to my Parallel Axis Original Neck that i currently have paired with the PB, therefore i think the combo A) with Custom 8 - YJM - LiquiFire may pair really well
Thanks !!!

 

[aimingforangels]

Re: Which Custom 8's to pair with LiquiFire / Sentient ?

Hi folks,
so i need to equip an HSH Axe that will be used from Hard Rock , to (British) Heavy Metal , (YJM/not so much but still) NeoClassical.
I have a couple of pickups available in my other guitar which i can use:

1) Jason Becker Perpetual Burn (H, Bridge)
2) Vintage Hot Stack Plus Strat STK-S7 (S, Neck/Middle)

I definitively want to try in the neck one of :

3) Sentient (H, Neck)
4) LiquiFire - DP227 (H ,Neck)

for the middle i was also looking at:

5) YJM - STK-10n (S, Neck/Middle)

In a previous thread of mine it was mentioned that 1) wouldn't pair well with 3) or 4). Although noting stops me from trying when i get the rest of the pickups. so i was looking at this thread for new possible bridge pickups to pair with 3) or 4) and found these:

6) Crazy 8 - More distortion flavor. Has more sizzle (NOT fizzy) and more cutting presence. This is the best choice for players that like the Distortion type pups. This would be the last choice to use clean
7) Custom 8 - is more PAF/Vintage Flavor. Has a bit of a "squishy" attack with note bloom. This one I could just slam an A chord and hear the tubes clip. This would be the one to use if you want to occasionly cop a brown type of tone. ( NO, its not Brown sound pup!) Im just saying in has that paf natural tone.. This has the warmest clean.
8) Alternative 8 - more crisp flavor. This is clean and precise, but NOT sterile in any way.. Big, present sound all thru the range. This one would be great for guys who use lots of effects and this would probably be preferred by players who like Dimarzios.
Plenty of presence and tone , but very clear. Sounds good clean.

Any thoughts on what will be good pairing? I currently leaning towards something like:

A) Custom 8 - YJM - LiquiFire / Sentient
B) Custom 8 - Vintage Hot Plus STK-S7 - LiquiFire / Sentient

I definitively wan to have some versatile tone therefore i think the combo A) with Custom 8 - YJM - LiquiFire may pair really well
Thanks !!!

I have a Perpetual Burn and a Sentient in my Carvin and I really love the tones I get out of it.

I also have a custom shop bridge that’s basically an overwound perpetual burn with an alnico 8 base and a custom Black Winter/‘59 hybrid if you’re looking to spend some cash

Food for thought


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[SDK2]

Re: Which Custom 8's to pair with LiquiFire / Sentient ?

Your Perpetual Burn/Sentient is it well balanced? I was left with the impression that the Sentient may overpower it and you will have to play with the Volume knob all the time.
Your Perpetual Burn Alnico 8 , do you have a recording somewhere one can hear? How would you describe it compared to the original Perpetual Burn?

 

[aimingforangels]

Re: Which Custom 8's to pair with LiquiFire / Sentient ?

I don’t find the sentient over-powering the Perpetual Burn. It’s not an obvious match up like the Jazz or ‘59 neck would be, the tone profiles are different. I think it works though. I don’t play cleans a lot and I’m sure there’s a better pair if that’s what you’re going for. The Perpetual Burn is relatively high output and maintains all the articulation you’d want for neoclassical type metal even under high gain without sounding thin. Truly an under-rated pickup. Very versatile. Pair that to the Sentient which is also a relatively bright sounding pickup in turns of neck position and they just kind of fit together.

I don’t have a recording of my custom shop yet. I literally received it 2 days ago but I’ll try to get something uploaded soon.
The best way I can describe it is to tell you to watch this:
https://youtu.be/4tYaiF9q9SM
Then watch this:
https://youtu.be/_I1SjomQqEk
And try to blend the two in your head.

It’s like a higher output Perpetual Burn with that distinctive coloring you get from the Alternative 8. Very brutal. Very in your face.


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[SDK2]

Re: Which Custom 8's to pair with LiquiFire / Sentient ?

Did you do any compare video by chance?

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Which Custom 8's to pair with LiquiFire / Sentient ?

Funny, I'd say the Custom 8 is one of the best pickups out there for a Van Halen tone. In specs it checks all the boxes for later Lee Roth albums, and in practice it works just as well.