DKMG and DKMGT tone

[shredhed]

Hey all,

I have a DKMGT that I got right before Christmas '05. I liked it so much I bought a DKMG (for the FR) about a month later. Once I got the Floyded one I cased the first one until a few days ago.

Man the tone on the "T" model is amazing! It has such a bottom and pinch harmonics are almost effortless. I got some "Big Bends...Sauce (you gotta try some - it works) 95% of tuning instability is gone. I'm in love with this guitar.

But it doesn't have a FR so when I want to go nuts I grab my Floyd Rose version. It has a brittler tone, more hairy and trebly.

I would like it to sound a bit more like the hardtail one if it's possible. I've thought about blocking it for dive only like VH. I had a guitar like that and the tone was good. But I really don't want to not be able to pull up on the bar.

Any suggestions?

What about direct mounting the pups to the body? I could still use the pup rings to cover the holes.

thanks, bob

[VoiceX3]

Ironic that you posted about this now, because I am in the process of installing pick-ups and a tremsetter on mine. To kick up the tone, I'd suggest changing the pick-ups if you don't want to block the trem. You are right about the tone diffrence with these, I unblocked mine on Friday for a show this weekend and my tone completely changed but I really rememberred how much I like the way it plays at shows. So I went out today and got a tremsetter (to help with D tuning without throwing it completely out, works great on my Soloist and KV2) and picked up the new Dave Mustaine set of active Seymour Duncans. Can't wait till I have it wired up. So, I'd say either block it or just change the bridge pickup.

[shredhed]

Well, I blocked it last night.... I just had to find out. It sounded a bit better on the bottom, and on chords the notes are now more defined. But it was still too hairy.

Then I noticed that my pickups are lower on the DKMGT. I lowered them a bit on the DKMG and I think I'm in the ballpark at least. That trebly tone is pretty much gone.

It's not as warm sounding but it's a lot better.

I was wondering if anyone has noticed a difference between the Jackson FR and an OFR as far as tone? I have a Kramer with an OFR and it isn't as trebly. Is it possible that it's the larger saddles on the Jackson (low pro type)make for more treble?

The reason I think this is that I've noticed that on Les Pauls and now on my DKMGT it seems that the less mass in the bridge the better the tone....?????

Anyway... back to chasing that tone in my head...................

bob

[Monster]

Well, I blocked it last night.... I just had to find out. It sounded a bit better on the bottom, and on chords the notes are now more defined. But it was still too hairy.

Then I noticed that my pickups are lower on the DKMGT. I lowered them a bit on the DKMG and I think I'm in the ballpark at least. That trebly tone is pretty much gone.

It's not as warm sounding but it's a lot better.

I was wondering if anyone has noticed a difference between the Jackson FR and an OFR as far as tone? I have a Kramer with an OFR and it isn't as trebly. Is it possible that it's the larger saddles on the Jackson (low pro type)make for more treble?

The reason I think this is that I've noticed that on Les Pauls and now on my DKMGT it seems that the less mass in the bridge the better the tone....?????

Anyway... back to chasing that tone in my head...................

bob

i have the DK2 with low pro floyd and i get a nice bass crunch from it, i use to use 10-46 for strings and got a nice thicker sound, i then switched to 9-42 and it is a bit thinner but i turned the mids down just a tad bit and raised the bass on my amp and i get that nice sound...

i did block the floyd so i can only dive. i never pull up on it.. also make sure its got a good set up done, a pro set up does wounders.. make sure the strings are also in good shape. if they are factory strings change them i find factory strings dont sound as good as the brand you are use to.. also make sure both guitars have the same gauge string... and brand...

[shredhed]

I changed to my brand a while ago but they're starting to get a little tight. Think I'll change em again tonite. I've always used EB Super Slinkys .009-042. I really like them and don't really want to go up a gauge.

I saw a Boss EQ pedal today in a Sweetwater catalogue. It has 10 physical adjustment sliders for tweeking on the spot, but the best part as I see it is that you can save settings as presets so you could have a preset EQ setting for every guitar you play through it.

I may grab one of those if I don't find a happy medium. The thing is I don't want to have to make big EQ adjustments cause I play both guitars.

I once tried a Wolfgang at a music store. I noticed that VH had them design it so that the baseplate of the FR sat down on the body in a pocket. I wonder if this is better for transmitting the vibs into the body. I may try a shim under my FR when I change the strings tonite.

What about direct mounting the pickups to the body? I'm told that it attenuates the pickups so that certain frequencies are cancelled out. I think I said that right. Does anyone have some input on that?

bob

[wilkinsi]

you mean no bezels right? any difference would be slight i think, because you're only removing a small amount of plastic.

i noticed a sweeter tone from a js-1 which has a fulcrum point ii trem against another brand that had a licensed floyd and the js-1 had a richer, sweeter sound because there's less cavity space to allow resonances to disperse. is this correct?

so despite my stubborn need to have a floyd on every guitar, i'm finally entertaining the idea of possibly going for a fixed bridge guitar such as the dkmgtff if it's still around.

[shredhed]

you mean no bezels right? any difference would be slight i think, because you're only removing a small amount of plastic.

i noticed a sweeter tone from a js-1 which has a fulcrum point ii trem against another brand that had a licensed floyd and the js-1 had a richer, sweeter sound because there's less cavity space to allow resonances to disperse. is this correct?

so despite my stubborn need to have a floyd on every guitar, i'm finally entertaining the idea of possibly going for a fixed bridge guitar such as the dkmgtff if it's still around.

Actually, it's not the plastic per se. I just thought it would look better to have it back on since I didn't want to mount the neck pup that way - I hardly ever use it.

On the different type bridges, I think it's a matter of how much and what type of metal there is. The FR has a lot of mass which I believe is more inclined to resist vibration hence not transfering to the body for that warm sound. That's why I blocked it - to make more contact with the body.

I did direct mount the bridge pickup to the body the other night. It's different sounding now. I can hear each note better on chords and lead notes seem to be more harmonic.

I've been messing with the EQ on my GT6 processor and found that if I take the upper mids (at 1.00kHz) and drop it down 5 or 6 points and boost the high by about the same it sounds really good. Almost Marshallish. It's not the same as the hardtail but who wants every guitar to sound the same anyway -right?

It seems that the FR just has certain characteristics that have to be worked around. I know new pickups would prolly help but that's not in the picture right now.

I agree with you on the fixed bridge thing. I've insisted on having locking systems on all my guitars since the mid '80s. But I just love the sound I get from my DKMGT. to be honest, its my favorite guitar right now cause of the sound it gets. And I only paid $350 at MF for it.

bob

[zebutcher]

I haved got a DKMG-T and i changed quickly the EMGHZ for a couple of EMG 85/81. The sounds was amazing. But with the 85 give to much bass. Its sound great but its too much.

So if you need a balance sound take care if you put a 85, it will be very low tone.