Charvel/jackson pickups

[James D.]

Anyone know what pickups are in this model 5 ? I haven't gotten the guitar yet, but I'm already thinking of putting in different pickups thinking that they would blow... what do you guys think of them?

[dg]

Stock pickups were both J-80C. Not that bad at all, and they work well with the active electronics. My 2nd favorite Jackson pickup to the J-90C, but if it were mine I'd probably put something like Duncan Custom / 59 in there & call it a day.

Info on the pickups here:

http://www.jcfonline.com/resources/J...l/target2.html

[James D.]

hmm.. i'm tempted to go mighty mite, cause they are soooo cheap.. but yeah.. i'd love to put in a custom and 59.

how are the pots on these old guys?

[1trussell]

The pots on those guitars are set up to run with the active mid boost. They're something like a couple of 50k and a 250k, or close to that. If I were you, I would either keep the Jackson pickups in there with the active mid boost or yank all the electronics and put some Duncans in there. I would stay away from the Mighty Mite pickups. You might as well keep the Jacksons in there.

My personal opinion is this: I would yank the mid boost, replace the pots and set it up with two volumes and a master tone. Select pickups to suit your style.

[Sunbane]

*nods*
Generally, cheap pickups = wasted cash.

[James D.]

thanks for the suggestions!

I've read great reviews about the mighty mite pu's, but i think i'll try em out on another guitar if i do.

I think I'll just keep the mod 5 stock, instead of putting $120 in for new pu's, if the stock pu's/active system turn out to sound cool or unique

[6077dino]

Another vote for ´59 and custom set.

[dg]

Give the stock setup a try. Check to see if the active system is in working order & put a new battery in. One thing I noticed about the J-80C in the bridge positon of my 750XL was that it was very sensitive to the height. It was muddy & had bad definition when I got the guitar, but I tried lowering it a bit thanks to one of the members here and it improved a great deal. You really have to go through everything carefully when you buy a used guitar! A lot of them play like dogs out of the box but just need a good setup & some TLC. Lots of clueless people tweaking axes out there!

[straycat]

+1 I just got a DKMGT in and what a DOG. The neck was cocked in the neck pocket and way too much relief,the bridge was full of gunk.New strings and a killer set up and she is up and screaming.These are great guitars I had never played a DKMGT before just never cared for the arch tops and boy oh boy she is sweet.Trans black looks great too.
So give the stock system a try for a while you might like it.
Model 5s and 6s are such great guitars just as they are.

[bombtek]

One thing that I've noticed about online reviews from the people that bought the products (like the mighty mite p/u's)....those people are trying to justify their purpchase, so of course they are going to sound great to them. Much better to either hear them for yourself, or find a review from someone that had no vested interest in the purchase.

My $.02

[Carbuff]

+1 I just got a DKMGT in and what a DOG. The neck was cocked in the neck pocket and way too much relief,the bridge was full of gunk.New strings and a killer set up and she is up and screaming.These are great guitars I had never played a DKMGT before just never cared for the arch tops and boy oh boy she is sweet.Trans black looks great too.
So give the stock system a try for a while you might like it.
Model 5s and 6s are such great guitars just as they are.

So you liked it with the stock HZ pickups? Did it also have the afterburner boost too. I just got one and Im not really happy with that setup. The HZs in my old dxmg sounded much better. It also lacks sustain big time. Im thinking of ditching that whole setup. Its got a brand new super 9 volt (10 volts) and the boost sounds like crap. It just seems to boost the noise and not the actual sound from the strings. It kinda annoying. Playability is great but the tone really sucks.

[SGplayer]

.....

[James D.]

So you liked it with the stock HZ pickups? Did it also have the afterburner boost too. I just got one and Im not really happy with that setup. The HZs in my old dxmg sounded much better. It also lacks sustain big time. Im thinking of ditching that whole setup. Its got a brand new super 9 volt (10 volts) and the boost sounds like crap. It just seems to boost the noise and not the actual sound from the strings. It kinda annoying. Playability is great but the tone really sucks.

I have a dkmgt too. The neck is sooo incredibly thin. Almost TOO thin for me. The EMG hz's do nothing for me either. I'm looking to sell/trade it.


How come the model 5 in the cat doesn't have the angled controls?

[Sanctuary]

How come the model 5 in the cat doesn't have the angled controls?

Pre-production. Notice it doesn't have pickup covers either?

[James D.]

do the covers affect tone much?