Jackson SL2H Soloist Pickup Swap Advice Needed

[JACKSONLEFTYFREAK]

Hey guys, I am going pickup shopping for my Jackson Soloist, and I don't even know where to begin. I have favorite pickups for many guitars that I own, but for some reason I haven't found a great pickup for the Soloist yet.

My SL2H originally came with the JB/59' config, however, I HATE the JB, so I switched it out. I tried the EMG 81/85 arrangement (sounds great in my DK1!), and I don't like that either in my Soloist......I'm trying to give my Soloist some more "meat" but at the same time keeping the sound nice and clean. Believe it or not, the EMG's didn't do that.

I was considering using a DiMarzio "Breed" which sounds INCREDIBLE in my Jackson PC1. It's meaty and clear as hell. It just sounds great. That's one possibility. Another possibility is the Seymour Duncan Screamin Demon, which (contrary to popular belief) sounds great in my Kamikaze and one of my Baretta's.

Anybody have any advice? I can't stand the JB and the EMG's didn't work out for me regarding the Soloist.

Thanks guys.

Michael

[Spivonious]

I've always heard that if you don't like the JB, you should get a Custom, but I like the JB. It's got serious snap.

[Foulacy]

or a Custom custom!!

[Cuthbert]

or a Custom custom!!

The CC is GOOD, personally I used it with a Alnico II pro at the neck.

Anyway, it depends a lot by what the owner wants and the type of music he likes, I can suggest may configurations:

1)Vintage hard rock: Alnico II pro and CC.

2)Late 70s metal: Dimarzio super 2 and super distortion.

3)Early 80s over the top: two X2N.

4)Blade factor II: Bill Lawrence L-500R and XL.

There are MANY good PUs around, almost all of them better than the hated JB!

[markD]

my sl2h has the custom 5 and the alnicoII pro. i love it!!

[JACKSONLEFTYFREAK]

Thanks a million guys for all of the advice you've given me

I'm going to now take the pickup advise you gave me and try to do some homework on those models. Then I'm ripping those EMG's out! (and throwing out the JB! Yuck!)

[DonP]

LOVE the JB / 59 in my Soloist. Ever thought it might be your amp or rig?

Besides the point. From your statement

I'm trying to give my Soloist some more "meat" but at the same time keeping the sound nice and clean.

and how you seem to prefer DiMarzio's, I'd say Super Distortion and PAF Pro.

Screamin Demon was a good suggestion, as well as the Custom flavor of the month.

Since you said keep it clean, I'd not suggest the Duncan Distortion.

Since you said you want more meat, I'd avoid the Full Shred.

You described what you don't like about the bridge, but didn't really mention what was wrong in the neck. The 59 in my soloist is very clean, so was it too weak in output?

When you get down to it, each person has different taste based of the bands they like, what type of rig they are using, the guitar (woods, neck type, scale, bridge, etc). As you found out already, it's going to be a long process of trail and error trying to find the right match.

[mustaine-who?]

As

As soon as I read "beef"....I thought of the SD PATB-3. Don't let the name fool you...its a killer PuP. I've had a SD Distortion, Screamen Demon, Full Shred, Steve's Special, EMG 81, PATB-1, PATB-2 in my jacksons, and the PATB-3 is thick yet articulate, very even sonically, and has nice attack.

Perfect match!

[JACKSONLEFTYFREAK]

LOVE the JB / 59 in my Soloist. Ever thought it might be your amp or rig?

Besides the point. From your statement and how you seem to prefer DiMarzio's, I'd say Super Distortion and PAF Pro.

Screamin Demon was a good suggestion, as well as the Custom flavor of the month.

Since you said keep it clean, I'd not suggest the Duncan Distortion.

Since you said you want more meat, I'd avoid the Full Shred.

You described what you don't like about the bridge, but didn't really mention what was wrong in the neck. The 59 in my soloist is very clean, so was it too weak in output?

When you get down to it, each person has different taste based of the bands they like, what type of rig they are using, the guitar (woods, neck type, scale, bridge, etc). As you found out already, it's going to be a long process of trail and error trying to find the right match.

I could see your point regarding questioning my amp/rig. However, I play though a Mesa Boogie Triple Rec (plenty of thickness, growl, etc.) and a not so fancy Boss effects pedalboard (consisting of Metal Zone, Digital Delay, Reverb, and Super Chorus). With this combo, my other Jackson's sound AWESOME (my PC1's and my DK1). I'm only really having a problem with my Soloist. My other guitars also sound really good as well so I don't think it's the amp. The only other guitar I'm having pickup problems with is my Kramer NightSwan with the Full Shred in the bridge (you're right about the Full Shred, I hate it too). Obviously, as you can see, I'm having some issues with Seymour Duncan's. I have a pretty bad taste in my mouth as a result of my unlucky SD journey, which is what made me start to explore DiMarzio's in the first place. After DiMarzio's sounded great in my PC1's and turned my 2 Ibanez's with those crappy stock pickups with no tone into growling, shredding machines, I was sold. I haven't given up hope on Seymour Duncan's though because I like the Screamin Demon (have had good experiences with it in my ESP Kami and one of my Baretta's). Also....I used to have a really crappy guitar that I wanted to experiment with. I put a Duncan Distortion in the bridge (sounded horrible) and a Hotrail in the neck. The Hotrail sounded great! So, I guess it's all about trial and error.

I actually like the 59' so it's not as much of a problem for me. My real issue is with the JB (bridge pickup).

It's true everyone has different taste in music they listen to and play, as well as differences of opinion in the sound they're looking for. As for my taste, I'm basically big on 80's metal. I need my pickup to scream with harmonics, and have a nice thickness to it. That's probably a very general description, but that's the improvement I'm looking for.

Don, you just gave me a lot of great advice, and thanks very much for your help. It was also good to know I wasn't crazy when I had a problem with the Full Shred! I knew the NightSwan is a great guitar, so when I had a huge problem with a super thin sound on a Mahogany body, it just didn't make sense!

I'm going to start getting ready to do the pickup swap on my Soloist in the next couple of weeks. Thanks again to you and everyone else here who's helped me with my decision!

Michael

[JACKSONLEFTYFREAK]

As soon as I read "beef"....I thought of the SD PATB-3. Don't let the name fool you...its a killer PuP. I've had a SD Distortion, Screamen Demon, Full Shred, Steve's Special, EMG 81, PATB-1, PATB-2 in my jacksons, and the PATB-3 is thick yet articulate, very even sonically, and has nice attack.

Perfect match!

Mustaine:

Thanks a lot for the info on the PATB-3! I've never actually heard one in real life, but I'm going to start doing a lot of research on this pickup as well as the other pickups everyone here has suggested to me!

[metalchurch79]

You should give the DiMarzio Breed a shot. It is the perfect 80's pickup in my opinion. It is like an Evolution but it has less bass and more mid focus on it.
The TB12 Screamin Demon is another fine choice, and since you might keep your 59 it would make sense to go with Duncan for the bridge.
I had a KV that was contempable, and i must have went through 6 different sets until I stumbled across the 'right' combo. Which in my case was an EMG81. Sometimes you'll have a guitar that doesnt cooperate with you and it takes a minute to get it right, but once you do it will quickly become a favorite.
The SD Custom is a good one. The DiMarzio Tone Zone is another good one.
You'll eventually get it hang in there, cause it will pay off.

[mustaine-who?]

Go

Go over to the SD forumn, and you'll find a lot good stuff on it. I think they're may even be one for sale for $55 shipped in the classifieds. What I liked about it was the keh keh keh attack, big bottom and mids with no looseness, and highs that weren't ice picky. I was really surprised by it. People tend to want high output PuPs, but your Boogie already has gain in spades...

Mustaine:

Thanks a lot for the info on the PATB-3! I've never actually heard one in real life, but I'm going to start doing a lot of research on this pickup as well as the other pickups everyone here has suggested to me!

[DonP]

Glad to help. The SD forum is a great place as well, but the issue I find is they tend to "shoot off at the mouth" about their favorite pickup without listening to what the person's issue is that is having the problem.

For the record, I use my JB with Marshall amps. I think that be a factor. The type of tones I get range from Saxon to Loudness to Megadeth.

[phill_up]

Has anyone ever found a pickup that sounded really great but didn't mix with the rest of the band? Or found a pickup that didn't impress you that much but when you take it to Jam session it came out and impressed the shit out of you?

I bought a new soloist with a JB in it and barely played it for months. It just sounded Honky, Flabby and loose so it sat. Lucky for me I found out that the poor sound was on my part and now it is my number one go to guitar with CRUSHING tone.

[Inazone]

For me, the JB has *only* worked well for gigging, when played through a cranked tube amp. At low home-practice volumes, and even when recording at moderate volumes, I have never been particularly happy with the JB in any guitar. At two of my last three gigs, I used JBs in basswood Jacksons, and the results were as good as almost every other pickup I've used live. Surprisingly, I never cared for the Screamin' Demon at lower volumes, but was satisfied with it live.

That being said, if you don't like the JB in your Soloist, I'd be surprised if you liked the Screamin' Demon. Not that they're identical, but my complaints about the two are virtually the same - muddy low end and harsh upper mids. In fact, it's only in basswood guitars that I've been able to tolerate either pickup.