Pickup Decision Help

[wilkinsi]

Toneboobster says "Y'all better go with the JB!" I would tend to agree on this.

[FunkyApocalypse]

What tonal change is the OP trying to achieve? Without knowing that, all of these rec's don't mean a whole lot.

Decrease in output (not a dramatic decrease), and a more complete tone. The 81 has just worn off on me.

In regards to the Custom line, I have been looking more into them. Might try the CC or the C5.

[xenophobe]

What tonal change is the OP trying to achieve? Without knowing that, all of these rec's don't mean a whole lot.

Well, he likes EMGs. I love them. I just gave him options. If you love EMGs and the Super Distortion, it's safe to say you'd probably like the SH-5 and the D Activators.

And yeah an EMG 85 in the bridge is wonderful.

The JB needs to die a slow death. If I had one, I'd hammer it to pieces

[toejam]

Decrease in output (not a dramatic decrease), and a more complete tone. The 81 has just worn off on me.

In regards to the Custom line, I have been looking more into them. Might try the CC or the C5.

The C5 is a little scooped in the mids. I didn't care for it all that much in my old alder Charvel Star, swapped it with a Tone Zone. The C5 sounded a little better in my old Hamer Special FM that was mahogany with thick maple top.

[Newc]

Depends on your personal playing tone as well. Some people have a naturally bright or naturally darker tone - two people playing the same axe and same rig will have two different tones.

If the SL Pro is "bright" to you, you might consider the Screamin Demon, as Lynch had one in his all-maple guitars. IIRC the Full Shred was for Vivian Campbell's mahogany short-scale Nightswan.

I hate to hear a JB while I'm playing it, but like to hear it during the playback of a recorded track. For a solo tone, it fits in the mix very well. I just hate that it doesn't seem to have the balls I'm used to when playing it "live", especially for rhythms, but then years of playing by myself have left me with EQ setups that walk all over the bass freqs, so the JB sounds choked and nutless to me compared to the Custom or Distortion.

And the 81 is not exclusively for Metal. If you can play straight rock of any style, you can get a decent tone from an 81. It merely requires you to adjust your EQ and work the guitar's volume and tone knobs.

[FunkyApocalypse]

I agree with the opinions JB; it's a good pickup but overrated in IMO. I had it in my old Pro, sounded eh, and it sounds eh in my DK2M. I have heard it sound great in a couple RR3s and a SL2, but little other than that.

@toejam: I'll keep that info about the C5 in the back of my mind if I ever get a mahogany guitar

@Newc: I've never seen it from that kind of perspective (bright v. dark playing style) for tone, but it does make a lot of sense. My Pro does seem a little brighter to me, so the SD is seeming a little more logical. And it's not that the 81 is exclusively metal for me (I've gotten some nice reggae tones a couple times), but it's been the bridge pickup of my last 3 main guitars, I need some fresh air

[Chad]

Decrease in output (not a dramatic decrease), and a more complete tone. The 81 has just worn off on me.

In regards to the Custom line, I have been looking more into them. Might try the CC or the C5.

Cool. If the guitar is inherently bright, I'm gonna also jump on the EMG85 bandwagon. That pickup is less aggressive sounding than an 81 and works great in Floyd guitars and/or bright guitars. I believe the output is actually a hair higher than an 81, but it doesn't seem so. Anyway, while the guitar is wired for actives, I'd try picking up an 85 used (they can be had for $50+/-) and see how it works out.

As far as passives, another I'd look at is a Duncan PATB-1. Excellent in bright guitars. Splits great and should blend well with the singles.

I love Customs, but the SH-5 high end can be a bit shrill in bright guitars. Custom Custom has a real sweet high end, but is pretty weak in the low end. Actually, it has so many mids that it makes the highs and lows seem overly subdued. Out of the Customs, I'd go for a Custom8 (shop floor custom build or swap magnet yourself).

59' is great if you really want to drop in output. That pickup would blend very well with singles.

I've never tried a Full Shred bridge or a Demon, but I'd think they'd be rather bright and possibly too thin in that guitar. Full Shred is loved by guys who detune a lot. The lows of a lower tuning work well with that pickup's very bright and focused attack. The Demon can apparently be rather bright in some guitars, but I've heard it works great at high volume.

[VitaminG]

in a similar vein to the Tonezone (which I love) is the Dominion (which I love more). No one ever talks about them, possibly because they're new or maybe because they are a signature pickup and people assume they can only do one thing.

My Japanese Fusion Plus was always a lovely playing guitar, but the combination of swamp ash, Floyd and Jackson J50/J80 set always felt "hollow". It always seemed to be wanting for midrange & was just unsatisfactory playing live. Add the Dimarzio Dominion set, it now sounds as sweet as it plays. The pickups split nice too. fwiw, my band plays pop to classic to hard rock. This guitar can play the entire gig now. In fact, last couple of gigs it did.

[FunkyApocalypse]

@Chad: I might try the 85 out, no harm in doing so. I actually have a PATB-2 in the roads that I wanted to try to throw in, but I had realized it'd make the Pro even brighter lol

@VitaminG: I am intrigued by the Dominions, as I've never heard much about them. Do you have any sound clips?

[VitaminG]

no, sorry. I don't have any clips

[Newc]

You could also go with an 89, which is a stacked hum-cancelling single and a straight single under the hood, and can be split for single-coil tones all around. Should also be a direct swap with the plugs.

Wire the 2 singles to their own battery, though, and the 89 to its own. Really makes the SAs sparkle for some reason, in my experience.

[wilkinsi]

I have both of those pick ups. The full Shred is kick ass and just like the Demon except a little bit hotter. The full shred is 14.6 k and the Demon is about 10 K. They're both fantastic pick ups with Alnico V bar magnets that are great for pretty much any style you want to play. The main difference between the two pick ups is that the Demon has a little more bass and highs than the full shred while the full shred boasts a little bit more output. I honestly love both of them and I think either one is a great choice in an alder guitar body. Just a quick heads up; some people hate pairing the Demon with a Maple fret board. They say it's too bright. I haven't had this problem in my experience because I have it in an Ibanez RG 1550 ML and it screams in the basswood body and sounds just fine with the maple board.

Left handed pickups cost more y'know?

[xenophobe]

Cool. If the guitar is inherently bright, I'm gonna also jump on the EMG85 bandwagon.

And I love the 85 in mahogany. It gives a nice rumbling growl or deep brooding sound that's very pleasing for technical death metal. You need to bump the higher frequencies a little, but not in any complex way.

The 85 is also great if you're plugging direct in a tube amp. If you're plugging into a rack, the 81 is hands down the winner because it's basically designed to be processed.

[toejam]

I also love the 85 in mahogany... got it in the bridge of my Les Paul Studio "vintage mahogany" which is all mahogany, even the top. And I've got an 81 in the neck.
I've got the 85/60 combo in my Jackson Dinky HX that's got a poplar body, and it also sounds great.

[Chad]

I also love it in mahogany....if the mahogany is bright. A recent Schecter I got has a mahogany body & neck with a Floyd. Very bright guitar. Tried an 81 in the bridge...too thin sounding. Switched to an 85 and it sounds huge and perfect. I put the 81 in the neck and actually like it better than I liked the 85 in the neck.