Jackson SL2H Soloist Pickup Swap Advice Needed

[roodyrocker]

Most of my Jacksons which have had the JB switched out have been replaced with the Screamin' Demon. I like that pickup a lot. I did however notice that in some guitars it doesn't work quite as well as in a heavier body. I also have it in my ESP Sunburst Tiger which sounds great but thats a heavier Maple body. The other pickup which is impressing me a lot in the bridge lately is the Dimarzio Tone Zone. Been using that one more and more in my live gigging Jacksons. Had a Full Shred in a Rhoads that I bought used and hated it, just too weak for a bridge pickup. ended up selling that pickup and replacing it with a Screamin Demon at the time

[phill_up]

Had a Full Shred in a Rhoads that I bought used and hated it, just too weak for a bridge pickup. ended up selling that pickup and replacing it with a Screamin Demon at the time

Damn, I have never used a full shred but the name makes me think it would be a hot ass pickup.

[thetroy]

Is the pattern that your bolt-on neck (DK1, PC1) guitars sound good, but your neck-through guitars (soloist) don't?

Maybe you need to adjust your amp settings to fit those guitars.

[metalchurch79]

Damn, I have never used a full shred but the name makes me think it would be a hot ass pickup.

I agree,they should have saved that name for something more worthy. Same as the "Humbucker from Hell", I dont think it's very hot either.
I like the Screamin Demon alot. I'm more of a DiMarzio/Lawrence guy when it comes to passives. And by Lawrence I mean Bill & Becky Lawrence of course.

[toejam]

Same as the "Humbucker from Hell", I dont think it's very hot either.

The Humbucker From Hell was never intended to be hot. It's a bright, almost single coil sound in humbucker housing. A lot of people use it in the neck. If you use it in the bridge, it's extremely bright and will be "hell" on your hearing... seriously.
Here's the spec from DiMarzio's site:

Because a conventional humbucker senses the string at two different places, it cancels some frequencies along with the hum. What if there was a humbucker that cancelled fewer frequencies? It would be brighter and cleaner: almost glassy-sounding. In other words, it would sound a lot like a Strat® pickup, but with about the same power as a PAF®. We created The Humbucker From Hell® primarily as a neck pickup. You won't believe how much it will open up the sound in the neck position of a Les Paul®, and it has an almost acoustic quality in the neck spot of a bolt-on guitar. Why is it called The Humbucker From Hell®? Try it in the bridge position with a bright amp-but put in your earplugs first, and don't say you weren't warned.
Recommended For: Neck position in solid body guitars.
Tech Talk: Okay, we admit it - it's a strange name for a pickup that's not a megavoltage monster, but try it in the bridge position with a really bright amp and you'll get it. What we really wanted was a super-clean neck pickup, because we've heard years of complaints about muddy-sounding humbuckers. This pickup is the cure. With some guitar/amp combinations, it can sound almost acoustic. With others, it's real Strat-like. Aside from canceling 60-cycle hum, it bears very little resemblance to a standard humbucking sound.

[metalchurch79]

Yeah I knew it wasnt hot or even meant to be, but the name gives the impression that it would be.
It should be called the "Humbucker from Heck" instead.

[phill_up]

What we really wanted was a super-clean neck pickup, because we've heard years of complaints about muddy-sounding humbuckers

Or they could have called it "Humbucker from Heaven" :idea:

[Inazone]

The Full Shred is probably misnamed if you are thinking of "shred" guitarists who use powerful, cutting pickups for heavy lead playing, but a lot of non-musicians seem to think of shredding as fast riffing in general. For that, the Full Shred (in the right guitar) is really impressive, but it doesn't have the cutting mids that so many guitarists want. For anything calling for extremely tight low end, it's still my favorite after many years. For playing death metal in standard tuning, I've switched to the Invader, but I intend to revisit the Full Shred for some downtuned stuff.

What about a DiMarzio Drop-Sonic?

[stevoc]

Before you rip out those EMG's maybe you should try the SD Blackouts while the wirings still there. Many say the connectors are the same so it should be a real easy swap...unplug-plug-and go!

Hope I'm not too late, but if you try it let us know how it sounds. I'm interested in one for my DK1.

[1fastdog]

Having played a very long time and having used lots of different pickups I have found Bare Knuckles pickups from England to be the ticket to tone.

I have just had an H-S-S set wound for my Soloist and went with a Crawler and 2 Mother's Milks. Organic tone and no harshness. No mud.

Truly these open up a guitar. They hand wind their pickups, maybe better said, the owner of the company hand winds all the pickups personally, scatter-wound, they use the best wire and correct magnets < depending on the desired sound > and have earned a very good rep among tone fanatics.

The offer a lot of pickup choices depending on your taste and you can call and talk to the guy that will be winding you pickup for a consult.

I might also suggest using pure nickel wrap string rather than nickel plated steels. You get a much less harsh top end and it can keep you from having to eq the amp or pedals for tone balance. Not only that, they won't saw through the frets like nickel plate steels do. . .

Good luck with your choice.

[JACKSONLEFTYFREAK]

I agree,they should have saved that name for something more worthy. Same as the "Humbucker from Hell", I dont think it's very hot either.
I like the Screamin Demon alot. I'm more of a DiMarzio/Lawrence guy when it comes to passives. And by Lawrence I mean Bill & Becky Lawrence of course.

Yeah, guys the Full Shred is probably the worst pickup I've ever had the displeasure of owning. I hate that thing. It's one of the main reasons I went to mainly DiMarzio for my passives as well.

[JACKSONLEFTYFREAK]

Is the pattern that your bolt-on neck (DK1, PC1) guitars sound good, but your neck-through guitars (soloist) don't?

Maybe you need to adjust your amp settings to fit those guitars.

Troy, you have a huge point there. I'm going to start messing with my amp settings a little more to see if I can come up with something. It's one of the only things that can make sense about the difference! I thought about it....my DK1 is literally the same exact guitar as my SL2H, same EMG pickups, same everything, except one is neck thru, and one is bolt on. Yet my DK1 sounds like the gods created it, and my SL2H just sounds.....ok, not impressive at all. That's another thing I'm going to try. Thanks a lot

Michael

[DocNrock]

If you want to know more about DiMarzios, try this site: www.dimarzioforum.com

[King Kabong]

I put a Duncan Distortion in my WR1 and I love it! Huge improvement over the Invader. Very clear attack.

[levantin]

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!

I'd go with the patb-2b in the given circumstances, but what do I know, I love JB's