Drop C flub!? Silly action.

[xenophobe]

Pickups with a boosted midrange just don't do lower tunings very well. EMG 81 is tonally kind of flat and can be easily eq'd... or anything with scooped mids, or lower mids. I personally love the tone of the Super Distortion for lower tunings. It seems to tighten up the lower you go and they're easy and cheap to find. I personally like the 85 in the bridge, it's dark and growly and the mids don't overpower. Trial and error to find the right pickup, but those are what I like.

[xenophobe]

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

Yeah, it really doesn't. It's designed for hair metal playing standard tuning is what it does best.

[Nightbat]

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.

Yeah, it really doesn't. It's designed for hair metal playing standard tuning is what it does best.

IMO opinion, JB's also don't do very well when upping the gain in standard tuning

[wilkinsi]

Invaders!

[toejam]

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

Yeah, it really doesn't. It's designed for hair metal playing standard tuning is what it does best.

IMO opinion, JB's also don't do very well when upping the gain in standard tuning

They tend to be a little loose and flubby/muddy at times, and I used to take them out of most guitars. They do sound decent in some guitars, though. At the moment, I've got a JB in my recent alder G&L Legacy, sounded fine in E but I just set it up in Eb and it's working out great so far even with extreme gain.

[toejam]

Invaders!

I had a pair of Invaders in an old Kelly XLR that absolutely crushed!

[xenophobe]

I had no issues playing slow chuggy chords, but it doesn't do technical death lead style rhythm very well at ll. It loses definition and isn't very tight... it's very bloomy, honky, nasaly.

And Invader? Usually ew, but sometimes they do sound ok in very hollow sounding guitars. Not my choice in mahogany bodies which I prefer. The 85b.

[Axewielder]

Pickups with a boosted midrange just don't do lower tunings very well.

Odd, those Loomis SD Blackouts have boosted mids and that fucker sounds pretty good with the lower tuning 6 and 7 string stuff.

https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/jeff-loomis-blackouts-bridge?__uuid_ref=5c7f1309acdfd?__uuid_ref=5c7f130 9ace49

[Heavymetal2000]

Pretty sure I'm gonna move the JB to another guitar and swap in something more suitable to my Kelly.

I'd like to keep the Kelly in drop C so it's always ready to rock.
I can get an invader bridge pup for cheap, might be a good starting point before I spend on newer/pricier ones.

I can keep the JB for a dinky once I finally get my hands on one! Found a guy selling a pre 95 dinky pro XL that he may trade for my Ibanez. Here's hoping!

[Jackson8090s]

The EMG 85 in the bridge is gnarly with lower tuning as is the 81 but if you're after passives try the Dimarzio X2N or Super Distortion. Good Luck \m/

[xenophobe]

Odd, those Loomis SD Blackouts have boosted mids and that fucker sounds pretty good with the lower tuning 6 and 7 string stuff.

https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/jeff-loomis-blackouts-bridge?__uuid_ref=5c7f1309acdfd?__uuid_ref=5c7f130 9ace49

I'll repeat it differently so you can comprehend... I can't switch guitars with mid boosted pickups without having to re-eq for them. I can't just plug a mid boosted pickup to my amp if it's configured for the pickups I usually play because it'll sound like ass if I don't readjust. And I hate having to readjust just for one guitar. I like to keep my settings mostly static.

[Axewielder]

I'll repeat it differently so you can comprehend... I can't switch guitars with mid boosted pickups without having to re-eq for them. I can't just plug a mid boosted pickup to my amp if it's configured for the pickups I usually play because it'll sound like ass if I don't readjust. And I hate having to readjust just for one guitar. I like to keep my settings mostly static.

Thanks for the clarification, but let me restate it one more time to clarify further for the benefit of the OP : don't buy a mid-boosted pickup if you plan to play it through Xeno's rig because he doesn't want you messing with his knobs.

[JacksonPyro]

( 1 ) You need to lock that Floyd rose down in tremolo cavity with a block of wood.. or one of those tremolo/bridge locking devises.( most important step )
( 2 ) Start from the loosest point on your truss rod and slightly tighten until you achieve no bow in the neck ... use a string set with a least a low E 60.
( 3 ) The EMG 85 is the best pickup ever for drop C in a live scenario... bedroom volumes/tone doesn't apply because you can fake the clearity of the lows.
( 4 ) I can achieve Drop C flat LOL.... B ... easily on almost any guitar if i follow my this ..my own advise.

The EMG 85 in the bridge is gnarly with lower tuning as is the 81 but if you're after passives try the Dimarzio X2N or Super Distortion. Good Luck \m/

[xenophobe]

Thanks for the clarification, but let me restate it one more time to clarify further for the benefit of the OP : don't buy a mid-boosted pickup if you plan to play it through Xeno's rig because he doesn't want you messing with his knobs.

lol, sorry for the attitude... I had just finished a 51 hour 4 day work week.

You can make any ass pickup sound good with enough tweaking with modern day gear. And the JB is an ass pickup.

[Axewielder]

lol, sorry for the attitude... I had just finished a 51 hour 4 day work week.

You can make any ass pickup sound good with enough tweaking with modern day gear. And the JB is an ass pickup.

It's all good, I know your heart's in the right place.