Kelly neck, pickups

[bainelaker]

Hey all! Got my new-to-me trans black KE2 today.. real pretty. (I'm in the process of re-buying guitars I had stolen from me a few years ago) Forgot how much I enjoy the Kelly body shape, balance is just right when you get the strap set correctly. About to set it up with some new strings and get the action right.

So, my old Kelly and Soloist were both early 90's models, and the neck profile is obviously a bit different than the newer models. My SL2H has a rounder profile, which I'm assuming is the "standard" USA profile. Does the KE2 have the "speed" profile like the old Mustaine models? It feels really, really similar to the KV1 I had, if a little bit larger.

The pickups have been replaced with a Gibson 490 in the neck and a Dimarzio FRED in the bridge. Interesting tone, not bad at all, but not my cup of tea for a metal axe, so I'm planning on swapping em out tomorrow with a Full Shred / Jazz combo. Anybody try those with a bigger body Jackson and not like the results?

Pics tomorrow, for sure.

[MNash87]

Congrats on the new KE2! I love mine so much now I want another one, lol! The Jazz is probably my favorite passive neck pickup. From my limited recent experience with my new Kelly, I love the sound and tone of the Jazz in the neck. It sounds great in this body. It sounds great clean and doing distorted lead riffs and shredding. Great sustain, great clarity (and that goes for the JB in the bridge too) full-bodied, meaty sound. The wood of the Kelly and it's body shape seem to give the Jazz more "personality" than it has in other, thinner body styles (like my Flying V). Hope that helps.

Mark

[bainelaker]

The Jazz is probably my favorite passive neck pickup. From my limited recent experience with my new Kelly, I love the sound and tone of the Jazz in the neck. It sounds great in this body. It sounds great clean and doing distorted lead riffs and shredding. Great sustain, great clarity (and that goes for the JB in the bridge too) full-bodied, meaty sound. The wood of the Kelly and it's body shape seem to give the Jazz more "personality" than it has in other, thinner body styles (like my Flying V). Hope that helps.

Mark

Thanks for the input!

I might have to try the JB in there, I've got the JB/Jazz combo lying around, salvaged from an ESP, it's normally my favorite pickup. The other guitarist in my current band, though, uses a Strat w/JB into a Marshall, my Soloist into the VHT sounds nearly identical, just a little more gainy. I'm looking for something that's a little tighter and crisper than the JB, with a slightly different upper emphasis, just to get a little more variance in our tones.

The Jazz is going in for sure. I don't need much of a clean sound, but I need my neck-pickup leads to be ridiculously defined, for sweeps and harmony passages. Jazz sounds like it'll be great there.

[MNash87]

You might want to consider a Duncan Distortion in the bridge. I do like the sound of the JB in the Kelly, but I bought a Distortion also to go in it. I like the tighter bass response, emphasized lower mids, and extra treble of the Distortion. We tune down to D standard and I think the Distortion would sound better than the JB for that reason. You also might want to try swapping the alnico magnet in the JB for a ceramic magnet. It would then become a "Distortion Lite" so to speak. They are basically the same pickup (JB and Distortion have the same widnings but different magnets), but the Distortion has a larger ceramic magnet with a spacer in there if I remember correctly.

[fatstrat]

my ke2 kelly has a dimarzio tone zone in the bridge, and a duncan jazz in the neck. they fuckin rock.

[mustaine-who?]

I'm a huge Full Shred fan, tho I've never tried one in a Kelly. Its tight, and has a more modern vibe than the JB, tho its a little light in the low end. I compensate for that by using an EQ in the loop of my Engl.

[RJF]

I'm sure your guys Kellys are alder right? In my alder Kelly I use an EMG 81/85 combo. In my KE1 that is poplar (isn't poplar and alder pretty close tone wise?) I didn't like the stock JB very much at all. I wound up with a Motor City Solution in my KE1 and really like it.

I however really like the JB and Distortion in Korina and Mahagony guitars. The difference between the JB and distortion is that the JB has a tad bit more clarity but is a little looser on the bottom end. THe Distortion is a tad thicker and has more low mid "grunt" in it's natural character, and that grunt is very noticeable playing open power chords on a drop tuned guitar.

I've never owned a full shred but it's got a hair less output than the JB and Distortion and you might want to consider that in your decision.

If I bought another Kelly today and was trying to decide on pickups I'd probably do a jazz/distortion, or MCP Solution pair, or a pair of EMG's. Tough decision but I will say I really like EMGs in an alder guitar.

[MNash87]

bainelaker, please post some pics as soon as you can! I love looking at Kellys. Jacksonite has a trans black one that is really cool. Love that color.

[RJF]

bainelaker, please post some pics as soon as you can! I love looking at Kellys. Jacksonite has a trans black one that is really cool. Love that color.

Ditto! I get tired of seeing pictures of people's soloists and RRs one after another...

I also really like the trans black kellys, always wanted a KE2 trans black (and red) but hasn't happened yet. I wish Jackson would do some trans black kellys that are quilted instead of flame, like the KE1. That has to be the best trans finish I've ever seen on a Kelly.


Oh, as far the speed neck thing, I believe that the King V, Kelly, and Warrior all share the speed neck profile. Or at least they are slimmer than the Soloist and Rhoads models. My CS Korina Kelly has a super slim neck and I have no idea what it is.

[FatalTragedy]

Install a Screamin Demon. Done.

[roodyrocker]

Install a Screamin Demon. Done.

I've had a Screamin Demon in Soloists and Rhoads' before and like it. Never tried it in a Kelly. My Kelly's have a JB in the bridge or EMG's. They both sound good to me. In fact last night my band gigged out and for part of the night I played my string thru Kelly with EMG's and it rocked!
I've had a Full Shred in the bridge of a Rhoads and did not like it at all. Ended up yanking it and selling it. Full Shred and Pearly Gates are two pickups that sound awfully weak to me in the bridge.

[bainelaker]

Pics!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45828961@N08/sets/72157623483448034/

So I ended up throwing the Jazz and TB10 Full Shred in there. Definitely digging them. The lower output of the Full Shred doesn't bug me, my amp is ridiculously high-gain (VHT Pittbull/CL), the clarity and percussive attack were what I was looking for. Sounds great so far, at home, but I won't know until rehearsal at super-loud volumes. But wow, this guitar SHREDS!

[MNash87]

Nice axe! Love the flame in the top! I've really become a Kelly junkie, lol. The Soloist is really pretty too. I love the look of flame tops with chrome hardware, really classy looking. Let us know how it sounds at rehearsal.

[RJF]

Install a Screamin Demon. Done.

For metal, the demon sucks.... at least that is my opinion. Some people think the Screamin demon is a really hot pickup but it's just a hot PAF that ohms out at 10K. I have one that came in my Korina Kelly and didn't have the crunch to it compared to a JB.

[RJF]

Pics!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45828961@N08/sets/72157623483448034/

So I ended up throwing the Jazz and TB10 Full Shred in there. Definitely digging them. The lower output of the Full Shred doesn't bug me, my amp is ridiculously high-gain (VHT Pittbull/CL), the clarity and percussive attack were what I was looking for. Sounds great so far, at home, but I won't know until rehearsal at super-loud volumes. But wow, this guitar SHREDS!

Looks really good. Hope this doesn't step across any lines, but if for some reason you ever decide to let this one go, I'll be interested as I'm not that far from you.