Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

[thejoanz]

Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

I have a esp ltd ec401vf set up in drop A# in which I’ve recently installed a Nazgul in. I had this pup previously installed on a Ibanez rg (same tuning) and absolutely loved it. Nice thick tone with a nasty attack. Cut right through. Came across the 401 and bought it and sounds nothing like the Ibanez for obvious reasons. I’ve had many ec bodies but didn’t get too low with the tuning. I’ve tried the invader, full shred, blackouts, jb and Pegasus. All sound great in standard to drop c. Anyway you get the idea. Any recommendations on getting that attack for a low tuning on a mohagony body without the mud? Black winter possibly?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Welcome to the forum!

Well, if you tried the others, the next would be the Black Winter, which seems to do well at many tunings. I'm surprised the Nazgul or Pegasus didn't work.

 

[thejoanz]

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Welcome to the forum!

Well, if you tried the others, the next would be the Black Winter, which seems to do well at many tunings. I'm surprised the Nazgul or Pegasus didn't work.

Hey thanks for the reply! I haven’t tried the Pegasus with a drop a# tuning yet. It’s in one of my guitars though so I’m gonna swap it over soon and compare. I just don’t think it’ll have the attack and aggression I liked from the nazgul. But yea in this guitar the nazgul is way too muddy.

 

[chris effect]

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

I have an EC1000 with a nazgul and I absolutely love it. I also have the EC black metal as well, with the blackened black winter and I love it too. The black winter is probably tighter, the nazgul feels hotter & more aggressive. Both in D standard / drop C.

If I had to pick, I'd probably say I like nazgul best for what play. I want to try a distortion in one of them and give it a go because I really like the duncan designed distortion in my Viper.

Edit, just read you didn't like the nazgul for drop A. I'd go with a distortion or black winter!

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Coryd]

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

I recently just got a Duncan Custom for my Jim Root tele which is mahogany. This pickup is now my fav pickup! I've gone as low as G# and the Custom stays fairly tight and clear.

What style of music are you mainly playing?

 

[thejoanz]

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

I have an EC1000 with a nazgul and I absolutely love it. I also have the EC black metal as well, with the blackened black winter and I love it too. The black winter is probably tighter, the nazgul feels hotter & more aggressive. Both in D standard / drop C.

If I had to pick, I'd probably say I like nazgul best for what play. I want to try a distortion in one of them and give it a go because I really like the duncan designed distortion in my Viper.

Edit, just read you didn't like the nazgul for drop A. I'd go with a distortion or black winter!

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input. I’ve played the nazgul in drop c in the 401 before I switched tunings/strings and liked it (didn’t love it). I did get the chance to dial in a good di tone for it but just could not clear up the tone through my amp. Hopefully I can try the Pegasus this weekend and let y’all know.

 

[thejoanz]

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Actually listening back on that Keith merrow comparison I did find myself liking the custom one too. The mahogany body with a bolt on might sound different from a set net though right? My rg sounded great. I recorded this with it. - http://www.reverbnation.com/open_graph/song/30337118 so you get an idea of what I’m playing

 

[bloughlin16]

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

I have a esp ltd ec401vf set up in drop A# in which I’ve recently installed a Nazgul in. I had this pup previously installed on a Ibanez rg (same tuning) and absolutely loved it. Nice thick tone with a nasty attack. Cut right through. Came across the 401 and bought it and sounds nothing like the Ibanez for obvious reasons. I’ve had many ec bodies but didn’t get too low with the tuning. I’ve tried the invader, full shred, blackouts, jb and Pegasus. All sound great in standard to drop c. Anyway you get the idea. Any recommendations on getting that attack for a low tuning on a mohagony body without the mud? Black winter possibly?

I have the Omega in my main guitars with my band (one is a mahogany 6-string tuned to Drop B, the other a swamp ash 7 tuned to Drop G#), and I definitely like how it sounds in the mahogany guitar the best. My bandmate also has it in several guitars, and his favorite is his mahogany RG with it. It is definitely not lacking in the pick attack department, though it's a little lower output than the other suggestions here.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

I have a Pegasus in my Ibanez RGA121H (all mahogany body) and I really like it; however, the Pegasus is more tame than most other bridge pickups and from what I gather you're looking for something that is much more 'aggressive'. I'd second the Omega suggestion, sure its not overly hot, but its got a snarly/aggressive attack, super tight tone, and has great string definition. It's a little pricier than most other production Duncan's though.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

Re: Which Duncan’s for ESP LTD mahogany?

I'm getting ready to drop a set of either D Activtors or Titans in mine. Probably the D activators. The seem to be more balanced by their b/m/t, and my guitar sounds rather balanced acoustically.