Pickup upgrades.

Dude no offence but I really wouldnt want to follow kirk hammetts sense of tone. I think he has HORRENDOUS TONE!!! :


@ disturbed - Dude why dont you try Bill Lawrence L500XL???? Kick ass pup!!!

 

Dude this is a guitar with an EMG 81/S/85 config. You will have a minor problem coz the emg actives will work well with a 3 way switch(saw this on their website). THe 370Dx has a 5 way switch so you will have two dead spots. Thats a huge problem for live situations!!

 

His tone is mainly due to how he EQs his over all settings. His ESP, Mesa Boogie Tri Axis and those EMGs can do a lot of good things too. With such a setup, you can even make it sound similar to John Petrucci. Anyway his tone is not all that bad as you think. Might not be to your taste but look at the incredible note clarity he gets. It's not as easy as you think and I am sure you will understand that. Inspite of the heavy Wah usage, the solos still stand out note by note.

 

Dead spots in pickup switching are a big plus if you how to use them. You can do pretty cool things with it. I have heard Randy Rhodes use it. Van Halen used to do that too. If you are Tom Morello fan, you know how important is a dead spot. If you saw the Uriah Heep show, the guitarist was using a Dead Spot as a tool. Infact I was thinking of keeping 1 position dead in my Les Paul copy.

 

I think everyone can achieve his own tone with EMGs..you don't 'have' to sound like anyone. People with tones as different as Hammett, Lukather and Gilmour play on their single coils and I dont think they sound at all similar. Similarly, Hammett and Wylde dont sound the same through the 85.

 

Guys I was just joking!!!! oh man this forum is so freakin uptight!!! I was just pulling ronnies leg with the KH thingy.

We've had discussions(spanning over hours ) on KH's sense of tone and I was just kinda reminding him of it.


PS- You guys are so stressed out!!!

 

yeah ...i love that piclkup....Dimebag's pickup..hahahaha

@abhijinath
dude ..Hammet doesnt use a EMG 85..
all of his ESP KH series guitars have 81 on both bridge and neck

 

:shock:
COme of it man. You are saying we should incorporate dead spots just coz the guitar gods do it. Well reality check- i dont think Disturbed(no offence) or any of us here is a guitar god.

Almost all guitar makers hold the fact that they have no dead spots on their guitars as a matter of pride!! No matter what anyone says or does, dead spots are bad for your guitar!!(especially if your not van halen,morello or rhandy rhoads)

 

^None taken bro, i'm ANYTHING but a guitar god. I must say, i'm really happy that all of you are taking this trouble to help me out, thank you first of all. So after reading through all of your suggestions and advice, how about this configuration? EMG 81/85 Hammett set and a EMG SA in the middle? Would that suit the guitar? It's all active and well, is there any potential problem that could arise?

 

Chintan, those dead spots are not the same as these dead spots. The dead spots you're referring to now are dead spots on the guitar, where certain notes don't sustain properly. What Ronnie is talking about is empty pickup switching positions. What Tom Morello does is keep one pickups volume on 0 and one on 10 and then plays stuff while toggling between the tow; it sounds like a DJ scratching. You can emulate the same thing using a 5-way with 2 blank positions, like the situation you have described on the RG.

 

As someone pointed out, KH doesnt have 81/85, he has 81/81. 81/85 would be the ZW set. But yeah, there doesnt seem to be a problem otherwise...should be fine and volume-calibrated etc

 

i think James Murphy also uses the 81/85 set...or is it 85's only ??

 

hey guys,

again a very "active" pickup thread ..

well disturbed ..since you are lookin into the EMGs..and since u want metal..mite as well go with the KFK set ...thts kerry's signature set EMG81/85 along with a 20db boast..it tht doesnt settle your metal frenzy ,..then nothin in the world can !!!

regardin kirks tone ..come on guys..kirks tone is nice ....he may be killin it wit his stupid crybaby ..but the tone he gets from those EMGs are not bad at all..

and ron ..u cant get petrucci's tone with EMGs....i il say its very very difficult . ...the main problem bein .he wz always a "passive" user ..

regardin the tonal versitility ...EMGs in this region is a big no no ...even if you get a 81/60 set ..the cleans wud sound bad ...the tone from the EMGs is only good for metal and nothin else ..so if you want a all in out metal tone ..EMGs are for you ..

well..if you want a versaltile tone and really high output setup den ..

bridge-dimarzio X2n ( for super heavy riffs ..metal al de way )
single- SD hot rails ( harmonics galore )
neck - PAF joe ( for the nail bitin tone)

but this is a passive setup ..I think its a good alternative to the EMGs you are thinkin of gettin

you may need to play around the eq till you get the sweet spot ..but tht configuration wud be killer man..now if I only had the money

 

im actually going to go with satch attack on this - he has reccomeneded a really good setup.

i own the 03 model of the rg370dx - i am fine with the pups on it - i get enough of a range of sounds and tone to be satisfied. plus my gnx3 also helps me achieve the souds i want. i have differnet pups from you though. i did try a guitar with the infinity pups that i think are on the 05 model and thtey didnt seem bad at all, but i guess its just your personal choice here.

 

@sharadh: A lill late here, but why do you want 3 pickups(at once)?? Lottery lag gayi kya? :

 

@satchattack: Thats not true at all...aboutEMGs only being for metal. Its just that they are more commonly used in metal. Steve Lukather, Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler and David Gilmour use EMGs, and somehow none of them seem to play metal!!

 

Dude, the dead spot the manufacturer talks is different. He is talking about no deadspots in the fretboard which means each note on the fretboard is pickup up well without one note drowing and the other not popping out. Check out my Parker and you will understand how good it's balanced. And deadspot they refer with respect to the pickups is when the strings vibrate between the pole pieces, there are some places where the volume could be less and these spots are called dead spots with respect to pickups. You are confusing a lot terminologies. What I meant is just a vacant switching position which can be cool to use. You dont need to be a Van Halen to use that. Now that you have inspired me to do it, I will get it done on my Les Paul and I will show you how cool it can get. Not leaving a Blank Switching position in not a thing of pride. It's just a cool mod to your guitar.

 

Incidentally you odn't need a blank switching position to do that Tom Morello thing. If you have two volume knobs you can set one on 10 and one on 0 and then use your standard 3-way toggle with the same effect. I presume your LP would have a similar knob config.

 

Nope. My LP has only one volume knob and no tone knobs too. It's customized : .

 

Of course I know what dead spots we are reffering to here. Why else do you think I said the 5 way switch on the ibanez will lead to dead spots. My point(as i see no one has got) is that dead spots(referring to the pups) is of very limited use. You rather get a proper three way pickup selector to be on the safer side. But if you really really want a deadspot do what abhijith has said^^^

Do not take chances is the moral of the day.