WRMG Desperate PUP Recommendation!!

[ACHIEVEPERFECTION]

Hi guys, i am relatively new to this forum and i have a serious problem. I have two imports - a DK2S and a WRMG. The WRMG is the older model (basswood body, had HZ's but replaced them with 81/85). As far as playability, they are pretty much the same (same neck).

As for the sound.. I really really like the jb in the dk2s (combined with the alder body). It is my main guitar so every amp is set according to that guitar. On the other hand i never really liked the wrmg sound. I hated it with the HZ's. When i replaced them with the 81/85 combo it was bearable BUT a couple of months later i bought the DK2S and almost never touched it again. So, i tried it again recently, and everything sounded like $hit. Cleans had way bass (the 85 in the neck is very woofy and boomy) while played on the bridge (81) they were very sterile. As for the distorted sound, the 81 was kinda fizzy and lacked character. For rhythm it didn't sound good and for leads it was so and so - but still worse than the jb.

Today i swapped the pups - 85 bridge/81 neck - and it sounds a bit better but again the guitar lacks serious character. It is very very dull and flat sounding. Also the bass is there on the 85 but it sounds less open and defined than i like. I tried it with all my amps: marshall 6100lm, lee jackson xls 1000, engl powerball, peavey 6505 and randall warhead X2, along with eq's: furman pq3, pq4, mxr kfk 10band and mxr 6-band. The amps were also boosted were needed with a Bad monkey and a home-made treble booster. But i always came to the same conclusion - i prefer amp distortion to pickup distortion. I even like my washburn wi64dl w/stock pups better than the wrmg! I don't know if it is the pickups or the basswood - maybe their combination. So, do you have any pickups to recommend? I think i would prefer mid-to-high but not very high (like emgs) output pickups with a tight bass response and a full sound with definition that fit well to basswood. Any ideas? Thanks a lot, i am a bit desperate about that guitar

PS. I play all kinds of metal music - heavy,metalcore,thrash. I want it to be a metal guitar but i want to get rid ot that emgs.
PS2. I connected the afterburner that was stock to the 81/85 when i installed it, but i never use it - way fizzy and noisy.

[Wylde06]

I didnt like the HZ's that were in my WRMG either, so I put the in the Distortion set (SH-6 b/n) Im sure someone else can give you some better advice, but I like the Distortion in mine.

[Rich#6]

I would put a dimarzio x2n in the bridge and a super 2 in the neck.

[KBRR]

If you liked the results of the JB, try putting one with the warrior and go from there.

[Medisinyl]

Well, I don't have really comparable warriors as mine are WR1s, but one now has EMG 81/85 and the other has a nickel covered TB-10 in the bridge and a Seth Lover in the neck. I'd say the TB-10 has more bite, power, and clarity than the EMG 81 (though the guitar with the TB-10 has a Tremol-no in it). The difference is night and day. It might be too shrill without a nickel cover, but coming from the factory that way, they seem to be very scarce (only seen the one I got on eBay).

So I'd suggest a TB/SH-4 JB--covered or open you probably can't go wrong.

[_koppen]

try blackouts before you deiced.
You can just swap them out.
the diffrence in the sound of the emg's is just that the blackouts give the guitar a warm sound and a character.
really try

[wilkinsi]

Found the same thing with the 81/85 in a DK1. My money is going on the Blackouts at the end of the month.

[Wylde06]

try blackouts before you deiced.
You can just swap them out.
the diffrence in the sound of the emg's is just that the blackouts give the guitar a warm sound and a character.
really try

*edit*


nm...

[ACHIEVEPERFECTION]

Hi guys. Thanks for all the answers so far!

@Wylde06: This is an option i would consider. Sure i'll check them out in a guitar store.

@Rich#6: I have little experience with Dimarzios but i think the X2n would be way powerful and scooped. I don't know about the neck.

@KBRR/Medisinyl: I think that would be my final option. I know it is tried and tested but i would like my guitars to be a bit different from each other. I just want them all to have certain qualities without being the same.

@_koppen/wilkinsi: That would be an interesting option since it is really easy. In what ways do you thing the blackouts would be different from the emgs? What makes them better in your opinion?

Also, i ve been considering a couple of other options.
1) Buy an emg 60a or even 60 for the neck. I hear the difference is night and day in the neck instead of 81 or 85.
2) I'll give this one a try tomorrow and see how it turns: The famous 18v mod. It seems to be what i need. It removes the annoying compression and clipping that the emgs are known for (and annoy me that much that i don't want to play my beauty! )and gives them more clarity, warmth, headroom, fullness and more organic tone. Though i am a bit sceptical about it because i think that basswood is not my type - very flat sounding.

[toejam]

@Rich#6: I have little experience with Dimarzios but i think the X2n would be way powerful and scooped. I don't know about the neck.

Also, i ve been considering a couple of other options.
1) Buy an emg 60a or even 60 for the neck. I hear the difference is night and day in the neck instead of 81 or 85.
2) I'll give this one a try tomorrow and see how it turns: The famous 18v mod. It seems to be what i need. It removes the annoying compression and clipping that the emgs are known for (and annoy me that much that i don't want to play my beauty! )and gives them more clarity, warmth, headroom, fullness and more organic tone. Though i am a bit sceptical about it because i think that basswood is not my type - very flat sounding.

The X2N is pretty even sounding, maybe a little bright in some guitars, but I think the 81 is brighter and more scooped. I do love the X2N/Super 2 combo or a regular Super Distortion/Super 2 combo. I also love EMGs, but I usually do the 85 in the bridge with either an 81 or 60 in the neck.
I'm not really a big fan of a lot of basswood guitars, so that might be your problem there more than the pickups, because I've never known EMGs to get woofy or boomy sounding, even when the 85 is in the neck.

[MartinBarre]

If you want to get the distortion from your amp rather than the pickup I'd suggest a lower output pickup, like a Duncan Alnico II Pro (the ones Slash uses) - I have one in the bridge of an Epi Les Paul and it sounds awesome, even under high gain.
Or, maybe a Duncan Custom 5. The added bonus with that is, apparently it's very easy to change the magnets so you can turn the Custom 5 into the more metal oriented Custom just by swapping the magnet.

[laihojrxo]

i'd say try the dimebucker; i tried it, and it is indeed better than bill lawrence usa 500 xl, better than my emg 81. i know dimebucker produces a muddy clean sound, but fck it, i rarely play on clean anyway, so its a disadvantage i dont have to worry about (i would assume that you dont play on clean either). and as for blackouts, i bet that it'll sound about the same as emg. give me a shot if you're planning to sell the body since my fusion ex got cracked after the strap went loose and hit the ground...so now i need a new guitar body (loaded)

[MartinBarre]

The Dimebucker is a pickup I've never tried - I don't think I've seen anyone on the Duncan forum say it's a good pickup so I've steered clear of it. But some people do like it, although it's more expensive than most pickups for some reason.

[Rich#6]

The X2N is pretty even sounding, maybe a little bright in some guitars,

yep, the EQ is even and the super 2 is bright. The super distortion was my second choice. I just put one in my charvel model A. I just put a X2N in my model 6 too(but that's poplar). I have a tone zone in a basswood jackson and it's too bassy.
I have liked the evolution in basswood also.

[ACHIEVEPERFECTION]

Hey guys,

@MartinBarre1: I am a big fan of slash and i will install these on the washburn that is mahogany set-neck when money allows. It is a tried and tested combination and the washburn looks so less meaner than the jackson - i think it would fit perfectly.

@laihojrxo/MartinBarre1: Also, i know the dimebucker and the bill lawrence l500xl work really well on mahogany - they are quite trebly i think. I happen to be a Huge dimebag fan as well so i plan to install an l500xl to a mahogany ML looking guitar sometime (not soon though - damn economic crisis)

@toejam: Ok, about the emgs. I installed the second battery and i have to say i was amazed by the result. The cleans are soooo much better. There really is no comparison. As for the distorted sound, yes it is less compressed, more articulate, organic and warmer. So the guitar now is way better to my ears. But there is still one problem. I don't like it for metal. I can get amazing clean tones, very good hard rock tones (that's something i hadn't accomplished before) - the AB helps a bit here, as it sounds better than the bad monkey (by the way i thought the AB was really terrible - at last i think it's useable!). But for metal, i don't really like the tone. It is like it is missing some frequencies. What helped a bit was raise the mids(!) in my usual amp settings. But again, the bass is not as tight or chunky as i want it to be. Could it be the wood?