The difference between crunchy and dirty

[paddok]

Hey all, in quest for the perfect tone again, ive been searching for something. It seems to me its pretty easy to get a crunchy sound right from my EMG 81. But Ive come to realize that Im looking for just a plain ole' dirty sound.

I have this feeling that active pickups are giving me way to crisp and clean of a sound, despite being bogged down with lots and lots of gain.

Is there a good passive pickup out there, that when distorted with just sound... well trashed ? Almost like each indevidual note will not be perfectly crisp and clear but will just be dirty.

maybe im talking out my ass, but I do believe this is what im looking for if im not describing it correctly.

I was thinking of picking up a beat SL1 and putting new pickups in it. I feel like a single coil and a humbucker together will give me the tone im looking for, im just looking for the right pickup. I think EMG's are too clear and too defined.

Is there anything that just sounds more raw ? [img]graemlins/drool2.gif[/img]

[Firebird V]

Re: The difference between crunchy and dirty

Duncan distortion... Screamin Demon has a raw sound to my ears.... Go to the seymour duncan site and listen toi pickup sound clips.

www.seymourduncan.com

That should let you make some good solid choices.

[paddok]

Re: The difference between crunchy and dirty

I really do like the sound of the duncan distortion. Are there any other pickups in the same league ?

[toejam]

Re: The difference between crunchy and dirty

You can get the tone you're looking for with EMGs... just lower the gain on your amp or use your guitar's volume control.

[paddok]

Re: The difference between crunchy and dirty

I see, I will have to try that. The one problem with the Mesa Studio .22 that ive been playing through recently is it just doesnt seem to like bass at all, it gets rather ripply and muddy i guess when the bass is more than 1/2 way up.

Could this be a speaker or a tube problem ?

[toejam]

Re: The difference between crunchy and dirty

I think the Mesa amps are a little heavier on the bass and should be lowered to taste. Maybe keep all the controls at zero and then just adjust little by little from there.

[Newc]

Re: The difference between crunchy and dirty

Yes, EMGs will get a decent "dirty" sound, but I've found that passives are far more expressive at lower gain settings.

Newc