Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

[toejam]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

I've got the EMG chrome 25th anniversary 81 set in my mahogany Hamer. That thing rules!!!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] I like the 81 in the neck better than an 85. I usually prefer the 85 better in the bridge, but the 81 sounds pretty chunky in the mahogany body. My favorite Jackson Dinky which is poplar has the 85 in the bridge and 60 in the neck. [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

[straycat]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

I'm debating what to put in My 92 fusion H-H.I've got DiMarzios and Duncans and 2 EMG 85s just haven't made up my mind.I put a J-80 in the neck and a J-90 in the bridge and it sounds pretty good I even tried a set of vintage schaller golden 50s which sounded fine but no balls!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Newc]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

I never liked the JB in the bridge of anything - try a Custom or '59. Believe it or not, the '59 has some nice warm crunch to it (ask lerxscat - that's what was in the Kelly I sold him [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] )

Also you might try adjusting the height of the pickups you have now. While EMGs are recommended to be as close to the strings as possible, passive pickups' tonal characteristics change based on how close they are to the strings. Move the hotter/louder Armstrongs down some - maybe 1/8" to 1/4" lower.

Newc

[BillM]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

How does the custom compare to the JB in terms of distortion and output?

[Soloist1]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

Originally posted by BillM:
How does the custom compare to the JB in terms of distortion and output?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">About the same. Maybe a bit higher output. It doesn't get flabby like the JB can though. To my ears my JB would get kind of dull sounding. The Duncan Custom seems to have JB qualities but is never dull sounding. It may give some the impression that it's brighter than the JB. But I think its actually the fact that it has a cleaner tone. And I don't mean clean like an absence of distortion. It just is more clear of unwanted noise.

[BillM]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

How about the custom and JB compared to the Dimarzio X2N? I want to get the most aggressive (aggressive, yet it still needs to sound great) sound I can without going to active pups.

[ February 11, 2004, 11:39 AM: Message edited by: BillM ]

[Soloist1]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

I'm not a Dimarzio fan so I couldn't really tell you.

[Inazone]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

Newc, I ran into the exact same thing in my Soloist Pro, which had a Duncan Custom in it -- it sounded really dark. I replaced it with a Full Shred, and sent the Custom to someone here on the forum (I forget who), who couldn't even get it to work, no signal at all. Maybe it was just a fluke, or maybe there's some trick to getting a good sound out of the Custom?

[JACKSONFREAK]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

Orcording to Duncans website the Cusotm is an over wound PAF type of sound. Think Paf Plus or Dimarzio Paf Pro. Although the Cusotm is a ceramic magnet which gives it the clearer high end bite and a good midgrange. The Jb is an Alnico magnet with a hotter output than the Custom. I like the Custom Custom a bit better with its creamier midrange and hotter output.
The Custom i have in my SD strathead sounds awesome and is perect in that guitar. Great harmonics and clearity plus a desent output.
Gil

[Newc]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

The USA SLS I just got has Evolutions in it, and I really like them. I've got a couple of SuperDs and they just don't compare to the Duncan Distortion (not as smooth, kinda muddy), but the Evo sounds like the Custom but with better highs.

Newc

[toejam]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

Originally posted by BillM:
How about the custom and JB compared to the Dimarzio X2N? I want to get the most aggressive (aggressive, yet it still needs to sound great) sound I can without going to active pups.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Then the X2N is for you!!! [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img] The JB is lower output than the X2N. The X2N blows away active pups... and I'm a big EMG fan, too. The first aftermarket pup I got in the early '90s was an X2N to put in my old Kramer. It's now going into my Warrior with a Super 2 in the neck.

[Newc]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

I'll have to try a Custom in an Alder body, but the one in my mahogany Archtop Soloist (NASL) has a dark tone to it - almost like the Tone knob is stuck about halfway, or the neck pickup's on [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

Could be my hack wiring job coming back to haunt me, too [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

But seriously, I like the Custom better in the bridge than the JB, even though it doesn't sound as bright as the JB. The JB-bridges I've had took more work to get good harmonics from - from USA Soloist to USA Dinky, I had to really work the string to get the harmonics I wanted, but with the Custom, they seem to come more easily.

Is there a Duncan with the same output level as the Custom, but with slightly more highs and a little less lows? The mids are fine, it just needs more high-end.

Newc

[Soloist1]

Re: Alder/poplar pickup suggestions please...

If your Custom sounds like that Matt then something is wrong. lol It's a brighter sounding pickup than the JB. And it really doesn't have much in the way of low end. I can EQ low end in, but running it straight through an uneffected or externally EQ'd amp should sound like a clear and bright higher output JB. The harmonics definitely are easier to acquire with it. Maybe body wood does matter for the custom. All I know is that it sounds awesome in Alder. In a few months I can let you know how it sounds in a maple topped swamp ash axe.