Drop C flub!? Silly action.

[Heavymetal2000]

Two part question.

Due to currently have 3 guitars laying around I figured I'd set my KE3 up for Drop C and lock it in.

I tuned it up, locked it, fine tuned it again and its sitting pretty atm in tune but sounds like absolute shit.
Its flubby, its fuzzy, and looooooose.

I got some fret buzz and neck issues that I'm partially attributing to the problem but even with those issues the guitar absolutely rocks in Drop D, E standard, and Eb.

Do I need .11s or bigger?
I've tried boosting the signal heavily to clean it up and it's still not great.

Using an SD JB in the bridge, (no neck pup), 10s for strings, floating bridge (jt580), 2004 KE3 body, 2004 Warrior X series neck.

Neck issues: firstly last time I put the neck on the guitar I was off center a touch so my Low E is closer to the edge of the FB at the first fret then at the 12th etc.
Fixing that this evening but my action is all kinds of knackered.

I've made multiple adjustments to the truss rod and I still feel like I'm not getting the results I want. I have fret buzz from the 8th fret up on the low e, a, d strings, no dead frets but the buzz gets worse towards the pickups. the action on frets 1 to 8 is high and uncomfortable then it gets lower as I move up the neck.
I'm almost ready to bring it to a luthier but I'd rather learn myself and not spend 100$ on a set up.

Any suggestions?

[xenophobe]

Ditch the JB. It sucks in normal tunings and is even worse with lower tunings. Try a pickup that is more flat or scooped. EMG 81 or a Super Distortion are good for lower tunings. Or any other number of boutique pickups.

[Heavymetal2000]

I actually picked up the JBa long while ago due to Will Adler using it exclusively at the time in his ESP and Lamb of Gods tone imo is exquisite. I am aware that the technique applied by Will is a big factor, nut my question would be, how can that pickup so d that good but suck? I'm genuinely curious.

If you could recommend other pickups that aren't active that go hand in hand with high gain metal (Rythm primarily as I suck at lead) and can cover E to Drop C?

[Nightbat]

If you're currently sporting 10-42(or 46)'s
Then yes, I do suggest to go thicker, 12 or 13's

[Heavymetal2000]

Yes, I am currently using 10-46's on both my KVX10 and KE3.
The 10s on my V in drop D and Eb are great, and I'm actually enjoying the sound of the stock hb 103b enough to leave it be.

[Number Of The Priest]

Personally I find 10-46 to feel good in standard and practically perfect in E-flat.

I remember having 10-46 on my 1996 KE3 many years ago and recall it was very loose when tuned to D-standard. My 2009 KE3 is currently strung with 10-52 in D-standard and it still feels a bit loose. I can't imagine either the 46 or 52 string dropped to C and being sufficiently taut.

My next step is to either try 11-54 or 12-56 tuned to D-standard and see which I prefer. Maybe one of them will be suited for your drop-C.

11-54: https://ca.ernieball.com/guitar-stri...-string#P02627

12-56: https://ca.ernieball.com/guitar-stri...-string#P02626

[Heavymetal2000]

Ordered a set of beefy's, hopefully that does the trick.
Gotta figure out this action issue as well on the Kelly. More research tonight.

As for pickups, any suggestions?
How do folks feel about Bill Lawrence pickups? I have a buddy who was instantly interested in buying my JB when I mentioned I may try something new.
Probably just get him to buy a used pickup that I decide on and just swap the JB for it if I want.

What pickups offer the best rhythm articulation and clarity for modern metal, chugga chugga and metalcore genres.

Lots of palm muting, power chords etc...

[Heavymetal2000]

Guy online has a new unused 10 year old l500 r for 75$ I'd be interested in trying it.
Thoughts?

[Startingline]

Definitely go 11s or 12s for tuning that low.

[xenophobe]

I actually picked up the JBa long while ago due to Will Adler using it exclusively at the time in his ESP and Lamb of Gods tone imo is exquisite. I am aware that the technique applied by Will is a big factor, nut my question would be, how can that pickup so d that good but suck? I'm genuinely curious.

If you could recommend other pickups that aren't active that go hand in hand with high gain metal (Rythm primarily as I suck at lead) and can cover E to Drop C?

Probably heavily eq'd or processed. I found the JB to be fine for normal tunings and playing slow chuggy chords or solos, but when dropping the tunning getting a lot of flub, nasal or booming from the high punch midrange boost. The lower the tunings the less tight the pickup would sound. Playing mostly epic or technical death, it was just not a tight sounding pickup for my intended uses and being a Charvel Jackson guy for the last 30 years or so, I've had to completely re-eq my gear just for that or other mid heavy pickups like the Invader or BL-500s and I just couldn't get a compatible eq to switch between EMG 81 or 85 bridge or Super Distortions... (or the SH-5, D-Activators, Live Wires, etc...).

[DonP]

Yes, I am currently using 10-46's on both my KVX10 and KE3.
The 10s on my V in drop D and Eb are great, and I'm actually enjoying the sound of the stock hb 103b enough to leave it be.

Yes! Just like you I use my ears not my eyes or internet opinions and love the HB103 set in my KE-3/DK-1

For the issue with the JB, yes, it could be a pedal or EQ. A Tube Screamer, SD-1, etc or an EQ first in the chain to trim the bass before hitting distortion. The funny trick with distortion is that you want the gain to increase for the mid to higher frequencies, but you want the bass to come through almost clean so less gain.

[Heavymetal2000]

Probably heavily eq'd or processed. I found the JB to be fine for normal tunings and playing slow chuggy chords or solos, but when dropping the tunning getting a lot of flub, nasal or booming from the high punch midrange boost. The lower the tunings the less tight the pickup would sound. Playing mostly epic or technical death, it was just not a tight sounding pickup for my intended uses and being a Charvel Jackson guy for the last 30 years or so, I've had to completely re-eq my gear just for that or other mid heavy pickups like the Invader or BL-500s and I just couldn't get a compatible eq to switch between EMG 81 or 85 bridge or Super Distortions... (or the SH-5, D-Activators, Live Wires, etc...).

Ok, so then the wilde L500 R is not going to help me much either for lower tunings?

If I consider active and passive pickups, what would you suggest for a bridge pickup that would primarily suit drop C (I doubt I'll go lower as I dont play anything beyond that.)
But still be acceptable if I wanted to use drop D and Eb as well?

I'm not limited to SD pickups so brand is not an issue really.

Also, my Kelly literally spends 100% of its play time on the bridge pickup and I've opted to run without a neck pickup.
Are there any mods that would let me use the neck pickup route for the battery and somehow cap it so it appears as if theres a pickup there?

Yes! Just like you I use my ears not my eyes or internet opinions and love the HB103 set in my KE-3/DK-1

For the issue with the JB, yes, it could be a pedal or EQ. A Tube Screamer, SD-1, etc or an EQ first in the chain to trim the bass before hitting distortion. The funny trick with distortion is that you want the gain to increase for the mid to higher frequencies, but you want the bass to come through almost clean so less gain.

Definitely no complaints from me regarding the hb103b in the V.
I'm not sure if the woods make a big difference? The V is poplar while the KE3 is Alder.
The Kelly has the JB in it and has since very shortly after I acquired it so I dont remember what the stock pup was like much now in it.

But I 100% enjoy the hb103b and cant see myself changing it anytime soon. Has a great classic rock and older metal/thrash feel to it.

[toejam]

Definitely 11s or 12s for that tuning. And a good pickup for it, IMO, would be a Duncan Nazgul or DiMarzio D-Activator, maybe a Duncan Custom.

The JBs don't seem to do well tuned lower than Eb.

[Heavymetal2000]

Perfect, thank you for the suggestions!
Gonna look into them and hopefully listen to them tonight for a bit of reference.

[toejam]

Good luck in your quest!