Early 90's Warrior pickups

[Phantom Hawk]

Ya know the early Warriors with the slanted pickups at the bridge ? I always wondered how they sounded, and if you didn't like 'em, it seems you're screwed as far as changing them. How would you go about changing the bridge set up ? Seems nothin' else would fit without doing some chopping on the route. Anyone have info or experience with this ?

Thanks

[dixee6]

you're not thinking of cutting up an early 90's Warrior are you? i hear that they dont make 'em like they used to. its funny you brought this up. sorry i have no info on your question cuz i been dreamin' of a Warrior since late 1991.
good luck. dixeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Phantom Hawk]

Hey, Dixee , nah I don't have an early Warrior to even think about cutting up lol I'd seen one and the thought popped into my head is all. But if I did get ahold of one, it'd be cool to know what my options are.

Chris

[xenophobe]

[Newc]

Duncan JBJrs sound great in those.

I ordered 3 custom Duncans in the Jr format - DistortionJr, CustomJr, and JazzJr. They rock. Of course I sold the guitar so I have nothing to put them in now

Another '90 Warrior I had I put a JBJr in the first bridge slot (closest to the bridge), a Hot Rails neck in the second bridge slot, and I think the original Armstrong rails in the neck. Sounded awesome.

The JBJr sounds totally different from the full-sized JB hum - lots more gain like a Distortion, and some awesome mids.

The Hot Rails had balls galore, being it was a neck model so therefore voiced to accent the lower frequencies.

I had it wired with a Jackson Special 5-way switch so I could have either pickup on by itself, both together, and both split together (one coil of the JB with one coil of the HR).

Joel, I want my Warbird back!

[Phantom Hawk]

Now thats some good info ! Thanks , Newc !

Hey Xeno, do the EMG's sound as good that way as they do in a normal alignment ?

Chris

[xenophobe]

Hey Xeno, do the EMG's sound as good that way as they do in a normal alignment ?

Actually they do. The bass strings get a nice solid crunch and the highs play a bit softer than they would if the pickup was closer to the bridge. I rarely if ever use the neck pickup, so that's lowered all the way down and out of the way.

I think there is some loss at certain frequencies because the poles aren't lined up 100%... It's nothing I can really describe though. After all EMGs are somewhat weak passive pickups that are signal/EQ boosted internally.... So it does have a slightly unique sound.

FWIW, that guitar was ordered like that and owned by Phil Fasciana of Malevolent Creation when he was a Jackson Endorser and was used to record Eternal, Joe Black and In Cold Blood, and was used on the European portion of the In Cold Blood tour as his backup guitar. His main guitar was the Black & Gold Rhoads...

[MountainDog]

I have a Pro that I put an EMG85 in. I didn't want to 'violate' the pickup route (so I could return the guitar to original), but wanted a hum in there. I got very creative by cutting down the mounting ears of the EMG so that it would fit into the pickup route. I was able to leave enough meat on the mounting ear to drill a hole and insert a screw thru it to mount the pickup. I had to slightly sand the sides of the EMG to fit into the route, so its actually nice and tight in there.

I left the original neck pickup in and coil tapped it for single coil sound. I used a 250K pot to kinda blend the passive with the EMG. Sounds great as xeno said.

The 2nd pic is fuzzy, but you can see the left side mount ear cut down and the head of the mounting screw.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/MountainDog/WarriorEMG1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/MountainDog/WarriorEMG2.jpg

[xenophobe]

I have a Pro that I put an EMG85 in.

I left the original neck pickup in and coil tapped it for single coil sound. I used a 250K pot to kinda blend the passive with the EMG. Sounds great as xeno said.

How does the 85 sound in there? Is it 9v or 18v?

[Phantom Hawk]

I have a Pro that I put an EMG85 in. I didn't want to 'violate' the pickup route (so I could return the guitar to original), but wanted a hum in there. I got very creative by cutting down the mounting ears of the EMG so that it would fit into the pickup route. I was able to leave enough meat on the mounting ear to drill a hole and insert a screw thru it to mount the pickup. I had to slightly sand the sides of the EMG to fit into the route, so its actually nice and tight in there.

The 2nd pic is fuzzy, but you can see the left side mount ear cut down and the head of the mounting screw.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/MountainDog/WarriorEMG1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...arriorEMG2.jpg

Dude, that IS tight ! Hell of an idea, though.

[Drake S.]

I have 2 Warrior Pros 1 with EMG 85 , & an S the other with an EMG 81 & a SA in the neck. The 1 with the 81 & SA is still pretty original with the exception of the pups the other I totally customed paint & all. & Joel I want NEWCS Warbird also

[Ozz666]

The stock pups are almost useless.
If you get creative you can get a hum in there without modding the guitar.....only the pup.
and Drake....the Warbird is right at home in good company

[MountainDog]

How does the 85 sound in there? Is it 9v or 18v?

9V
It sounds actually pretty close to an 85 mounted normally. I little softer on the highs like you mentioned, but I never really notice much difference in the Warrior vs some of my 'normal' mounted position bridge 85 guitars.

When I did this, I was more into EMGs at the time, and that along with the fact that EMGs have plastic mount ears, it was easy for me to use side-cutter pliers and trim the ear. You could do the same trimming on a duncan or dimarzio with metal ears, just have to use a dremel cutting wheel or something. The duncans that have the three mounting holes per mount tab would be perfect for doing this. Just trim the left side ear so there is just a little metal left around the 'lower' hole, and trim the right ear similarly but on the 'upper' hole.

[Drake S.]

[quote Drake....the Warbird is right at home in good company [/quote]

One of these Drabicki One of these days !:ROTF: How the hell you been Joel?

[VoiceX3]

The stock pups are almost useless.
If you get creative you can get a hum in there without modding the guitar.....only the pup.
and Drake....the Warbird is right at home in good company

I gotta agree 100%

Those stock pickups weren't good for much other than being a magnet able to hold a shopping list on the refrigerator.