..Hi guys..I want to replace the pickups on my custom guitar..I am lookin for Dimarzio Super Distortion at bridge and Duncan Jazz Sh2 at neck. Please suggest any other combo that might work better. I am mainly into thrash metal (Metallica,Megadeth,Slayer,Pantera) but also like to play grunge (Pearl jam), pink floyd, GnR, Led Zep. Plz suggest the combo keeping in mind the gear I am using I am using a custom guitar Body - Indian Alder Neck - Maple Fretboard - Rosewood Roland Cube 15X ampli Boss ME 20 Processor Thanks in advance
Why actives? Just because they're cool eh? @prathmesh: Sounds like a good idea, keeping the hot ceramic pickup on the bridge, and something less hot on the neck pickup so that you can get a nice clean sound when you need it. However I think the SH2 maybe a little too low output for your liking. But right now, off the top of my head I can't think of an alternative, sorry.
The super distortions are more of the 80 Metal type punchy mid range kind of pickups, overall good tonal range. But if you are playing new age metal, I suggest the Tone Zone in the bridge and a AirNorton in the neck. SDs are good but a little on the lower side of cutting tone. If standing in front of the stack you want your hi gain distortion to create a smooth squeal, then Dimarzios are the ones.
High output... aint SD livewires gud? as i gathered frm the reviews they give you a gud organic thick tone with high gain... The neck gives u clean enuf tone fr leads...
..hi guyz...thanks for the reply...i checked the sound of SD Mustaine Livewire..they are pretty good...bt i guess they are specially for megadeth kind of sound..am a HUGE fan of mustaine bt as if now i am lookin for a tone which will suite all kinds of genre...What do you think abt Dimarzio X2N or Evolution..any idea?
The X2N is pretty heavy duty, very hot pup. Evos are what Maiden use on some of their guitars IIRC. Air Nortons as medium output are a decent choice for the neck. You're beginning to overanalyse the situation. Your amp and processor will give you your sound, the pickup is not going to restrict you to sounding like Mustaine, far from it actually. So use a ceramic coil high output pup in the bridge and you could stick with an alnico for the bridge, or go in for ceramic there as well. What you do have to be careful about is not to pick a very hot pup because then you will essentially have no good clean sound. In my experience I didn't really like the clean sound from the active pups on my old guitar. (they weren't EMG though)
The Super Distortion is a super high output pickup and it il suit ya.But i suggest you use an evolution on the neck...I would have suggested the evo bridge ,but you really need a good amp and loads uh eq to get it to sound right for you.Its just too thin sounding.You could also look into the PAF pro on the neck.If versatility is called for ,you cant go wrong with the Sd-evo neck or Tonezone-evo or air norton combination Though i am not a personal fan,if your only goin to play metal you probably should look at the emgs n the livewires.But remember,if you are installing active pups,you need a battery compartment.
Actives are not especially good for using with Solid state and digital gear. With a tube amp they can drive the amp better, so can give higher gain. On solid state and digital you wont get the same result. thats what i hear..
...thanks guyz..bt I would like to knw upto wht extent the wood in the guitar effects the sound. Do I need to consider that when i choose the pups. I am using a Indian Alder body guitar, maple neck, rosewood fretboard....
You amp/processor/effects affect your tone much more than pickups will. Get that sorted out first. The wood plays a small part in the sound of the guitar thru a nice tube amp. It plays virtually no part in the sound thru a Marshall MG. What is your full setup, record some clips in clean and OD/distortion, and tell me what you think is lacking in your sound which makes you want to change pickups.
A processor affects the sound given by yr guitar. The sound produced by yr guitar depends on the pickups n wood in the ratio of 60:40, which increases further if u r using actives, ie, importance of wood decreases. N u'll feel the difference only on a gud amp, odrwise evrything else sounds same.
..thanks guyz...i would really like to sort this out..i want to see where the problem is..well i wll try to record some clips in clean and distortion...plz let me knw how to record sound..I use the same cord (RockCable) tht we use for guitar and connect it to the computer through a converter..Is there any other way to get some clarity?
If your amp has a line out, connect THAT to your computer. (and obviously, connect your guitar to your amp.) Otherwise, just do what you said. Audacity is a good, FREE software to record with. Pickups are very subjective to each guitarist. For metal, its true that active pickups give the distorted sound more clarity and articulation, but apparently their cleans suck. Also, you might not need the high output. A lot of the hype about pickups is just that, hype. It's very likely that if your tone sucks, the pickups won't be the immediate culprit. In fact, an Equalizer pedal might be more worth it and also, cheaper. Look up the Danelectro Fish N Chips. It's only $30 but its amazingly versatile for a LOT of things. (I got mine yesterday!)
Since you are using a Roland amp and a Boss ME processor, why do you even bother about the pickups? Planning to buy a Marshall SuperLead at a later stage?