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Hello
I'm a newbie, both to this forum, and Jackson guitars. Heck, I've only been playing electric guitar for a few months. That being said, I have a strong background in synths and studio technology, esp. computer-based production, and have been a woodwind player for over 20 years. I've gotten my hands dirty with the soldering iron making mods to my synths and samplers, so have a fair amount of experience with electronics as well.
I recently picked up a Jackson DXMG (excellent guitar for the money I have to say), and while I love it's current setup, I'd like to make some modifications to it that would make it more suitable for the kind of music I'm working on (experimental/drone metal). The things I'm considering are: upgrading to active pickups; installing a sustaniac; and possibly even installing a MIDI piezo pickup, although this last consideration might have to wait for the next axe. I should also mention that I'm not thinking that I'll make these modifications myself, but rather plan on taking them to a luthier (any recommendations for luthiers in the Boulder/Denver area would be most appreciated).
For starters, I think upgrading to active pickups will put me closer to the general sound I'm wanting, which is a high-gain metal sound. EMG's Kerry King setup, the 81 & 85 pickups with the PA2 gain booster look like they'll do the trick. Since these are humbuckers, replacing the EMG HZ pickups I currently have would likely not be too big a problem.
The big problem here, of course, is that installing these pickups would leave no room for the Sustaniac Stealth in the neck position, so I'm wondering if it would work to install the EMG P-85 mini-humbucker alongside the Sustaniac Stealth in the neck position. The Sustaniac Stealth web page shows a Les Paul configured in this fashion (albeit with a Seymour Duncan mini-humbucker): http://www.sustainiac.com/stealth.htm
If this works, I'm wondering, would it possible to do the same thing in the bridge position, that is, install the P-81 mini-humbucker alongside a MIDI piezo pickup in the existing bridge pickup cavity?
I realize that even if everything can be made to fit inside the existing humbucker cavities, I'm likely still gonna have to have a hole or two drilled for extra switches/pots/etc., and that I might start having some space problems with the internal cavity where all the electronics are. I'm also wondering if there'd be any potential problems from just having a sustaniac, active pickups and MIDI piezo pickup all on the same guitar, like excessive noise or inaccurate signals from the MIDI pickup.
Any feedback on whether or not it would be possible to do all this would be most appreciated. Buying another guitar at this point and time is not an option, although I'm willing to concede that, at the very least, the MIDI pickup might need to wait for the next guitar.
I'm a newbie, both to this forum, and Jackson guitars. Heck, I've only been playing electric guitar for a few months. That being said, I have a strong background in synths and studio technology, esp. computer-based production, and have been a woodwind player for over 20 years. I've gotten my hands dirty with the soldering iron making mods to my synths and samplers, so have a fair amount of experience with electronics as well.
I recently picked up a Jackson DXMG (excellent guitar for the money I have to say), and while I love it's current setup, I'd like to make some modifications to it that would make it more suitable for the kind of music I'm working on (experimental/drone metal). The things I'm considering are: upgrading to active pickups; installing a sustaniac; and possibly even installing a MIDI piezo pickup, although this last consideration might have to wait for the next axe. I should also mention that I'm not thinking that I'll make these modifications myself, but rather plan on taking them to a luthier (any recommendations for luthiers in the Boulder/Denver area would be most appreciated).
For starters, I think upgrading to active pickups will put me closer to the general sound I'm wanting, which is a high-gain metal sound. EMG's Kerry King setup, the 81 & 85 pickups with the PA2 gain booster look like they'll do the trick. Since these are humbuckers, replacing the EMG HZ pickups I currently have would likely not be too big a problem.
The big problem here, of course, is that installing these pickups would leave no room for the Sustaniac Stealth in the neck position, so I'm wondering if it would work to install the EMG P-85 mini-humbucker alongside the Sustaniac Stealth in the neck position. The Sustaniac Stealth web page shows a Les Paul configured in this fashion (albeit with a Seymour Duncan mini-humbucker): http://www.sustainiac.com/stealth.htm
If this works, I'm wondering, would it possible to do the same thing in the bridge position, that is, install the P-81 mini-humbucker alongside a MIDI piezo pickup in the existing bridge pickup cavity?
I realize that even if everything can be made to fit inside the existing humbucker cavities, I'm likely still gonna have to have a hole or two drilled for extra switches/pots/etc., and that I might start having some space problems with the internal cavity where all the electronics are. I'm also wondering if there'd be any potential problems from just having a sustaniac, active pickups and MIDI piezo pickup all on the same guitar, like excessive noise or inaccurate signals from the MIDI pickup.
Any feedback on whether or not it would be possible to do all this would be most appreciated. Buying another guitar at this point and time is not an option, although I'm willing to concede that, at the very least, the MIDI pickup might need to wait for the next guitar.
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