Humbucker Recommendation...

[Lumberjack]

Hello guys! Long time lurker and first time poster here...

I have a little problem with my Warmth Super Strat build. The body is made out of maple with a quilt maple top and the neck is made out of pau ferro with an ebony fingerboard. It's a HSS pickup configuration Strat with a floating floyd rose system.

I've tried the 2 x SD SSL-1 + SD Screamin Demon pickup combo, and those pickups sounded weird and lifeless to me. I don't think that the pickups are to blame 100% for this lifeless tone, but hey, I can't change the wood anymore and I gotta work with what I have. So, is there a good Humbucker pickup that you can recommend me for that particularly difficult wood combo? I'm usually playing Blues/Classic Rock/Hair Metal with this guitar, with emphasis on the latter, so a hotter humbucker might be the way to go and I was thinking that an unoriented alnico 5 might help, too. What do you guys think?

 

[neilli]

I've had consistently good results with the EMG 85. I have those in an all maple guitar with an ebony board and it sounds great to my ears.

 

[sytharnia1560]

I have an all maple guitar and lifeless is the last thing I would call it. I run dimarzios in it ...sds1 in the neck and an airzone in the bridge. All the guitars I have heard with demons in have sound a bit meh

 

[MrDowntown]

Disclaimer: I'm a EVH homer

Frankenstein /evh bucker is a great pup
or
Dimarzio SD

Question....does your maple top have a bunch of lacquer (uber shiny finish)? Wood can't sing with a blanket of varnish IMHO.

 

[Lumberjack]

Disclaimer: I'm a EVH homer

Frankenstein /evh bucker is a great pup
or
Dimarzio SD

Question....does your maple top have a bunch of lacquer (uber shiny finish)? Wood can't sing with a blanket of varnish IMHO.

It has that standard Warmoth glossy body finish... I think the only solution would be a high output humbucker, to diminish the effect wood has on the tone as much as possible.

Do you guys have any boutique pickup recommendations?

 

[sytharnia1560]

Do you guys have any boutique pickup recommendations?

stay away from them

 

[blueballs]

SD Distortion, was Lynch's go to pick up for YEARS in maple bodied strats and I'd say he did fine with them.

 

[sahlomonic]

The Screamin' Demon I think was developed for a bright guitar such as his Kamikaze, and the one you built from Warmoth. Maple body and ebony fretboard is a bright combo for sure, and the Demon would more or less counter it. A good PAF style would be good with that guitar, even any of the EVH pickups (Peavey, Dimarzio Tone Zone, EVH Wolfgang), maybe even a Pearly Gates.

 

[Badronald]

Suhr Aldrich. Killer. Huge, fat and warm.

 

[Jay Strange]

Suhr Aldrich. Killer. Huge, fat and warm.

Hows the bottom end? Is it fat and punchy??

 

[longfxukxnhair]

Suhr Aldrich. Killer. Huge, fat and warm.

+1

Absolutely beautiful sounding p'up. Great tone and balance. The way every note rings out is amazing.

 

[Steinmetzify]

EMGs. Gotta EQ amp for em though.

For boutiques, hit BKP and try a Black Dog, Holy Diver and a Painkiller.

You can always email Tim or Ben at BKP and tell em what you're working with and what you need out of a pickup or set. They always do me right.

 

[Anonymous]

Tom Anderson H2+

Awesome , versatile pickup

 

[Zabra Hexx]

EMGs. Gotta EQ amp for em though.
For boutiques, hit BKP and try a Black Dog, Holy Diver and a Painkiller.

I've had consistently good results with the EMG 85. I have those in an all maple guitar with an ebony board and it sounds great to my ears.

I second that.