NGD: Bright and snappy 1990 ESP. Pickup Recommendations?

[chaosmonger]

Cheers guys
I recently got a 1990 ESP Horizon... lovely beautiful guitar.

I just did what i do with my other guitars: just put a Duncan JB in the bridge (I love the JB, tried a lot of PUs and always come back to it), but this time it seemed not to work as good as expected.

Turns out the guitar is really snappy (maybe the ebony fretboard?) and doesn't have that much low end or gain (Yes, with the same pickups it fells like it has less gain... it happened to me before). I think the body might be made of alder or some other bright wood. Construction is neck-through.

Of course the snappy character makes the guitar really clear and cutting, but I still feel like I'd like more beef to the sound, even if it is at the expense of a bit of clarity (because no matter what, the guitar will still cut given its nature)

I tried a Duncan Distortion, but I definitely cannot gel with ceramic pickups (fizzy top end)... so I'm in the search of a warmer, fatter, hotter JB.
I considered a magnet swap (alnico 8), but i'm not paying 50 dollars for shipping (for a 4 dollars magnet!!)... I also thought of the Tone Zone or the Dimarzio AT-1... so, what would you recommend?
Thanks in advance!

 

[keennay]

I got really excited when I thought I was looking in the Classifieds section.

I'd try any of the following:

• Suhr Aldrich
• Seymour Duncan Custom 5
• Seymour Duncan Full Shred
• Seymour Duncan Invader

In fact I have the first 2 for sale if you're interested, black 53mm.

 

[mooncobra]

I got a horizon and it is AWESOME with the Duncan custom 5, works very well with my horizon!!

 

[justinashouri]

hey, i dunno if this is late for the thread but i had a horizon before the ltd elite & esp standard split. the original duncans r awesome, i also had some bareknuckles installed with the push - pull and they sounded great too!

 

[RockyStar]

Screaming Demon....it works very well in that type of guitar. Thanks me later.

 

[Rex Rocker]

I'm thinking Tone Zone too. I personally find it *loosely* close to the JB, just fatter and more low-middy rather than high-middy.

 

[mchn13]

SD invader. Dmz x2n.

 

[jabps]

I'm thinking Tone Zone too. I personally find it *loosely* close to the JB, just fatter and more low-middy rather than high-middy.

I would second the Tone Zone. I personally loved the JB in my old late 80's ESP Horizons but they had the locking trems. Believe the Tone Zone might work with that string through...probably why the JB is a bit much. Tone Zone is a great pickup.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Another vote for the Tone Zone

 

[metalmaniac93]

MCP Afwayu especially the underwound version should do it. This pickup rocks in maple NT guitars.

 

[chaosmonger]

THANKS FOR THE INPUT GUYS!
BTW: Any idea on how the Dimarzio Breed compares in terms of gain to the JB?
I think I already know about the tonal differences, but I really need something hotter or at least equally hot as the JB.

 

[justinashouri]

the esp is beautiful!

 

[Fuego]

I just put in an Emg 57/66 set in my custom shop Horizon. Ash body,maple neck ,ebony FB. They sound really good. Active clarity and punch. Passive feel and tone. (Pretty much). Yours may be ash too. A lot from that era are. Brighter than alder but has a nice midrange. Mine is from around '95.

 

[glip22]

Before you remove the pickup try playing around with the pole pieces. Raise up the g the most, the D second, then the B, a little on the A, a small turn on the High E and low E. Lower the pickup to the high side of the line at 3/32 on the Low E side with the low e fretted last fret. Set the High E on the 3/32nd line. See if that helps. If it does you can tweak a little from there. I know exactly what type of sound you are referring to with losing gain.

 

[chaosmonger]

I tried a Dimarzio Tone Zone, and so far it's working really good on this guitar. It goes to show that there's no perfect pu. I tried the TZ on my other guitars in the past and I always found it too dark, muddy and dull. In this guitar it does the trick. Still gonna try a dimarzio breed i'm gonna borrow from a friend to check if i'm missing something, but right now I'm really happy with the sound of the guitar ;-)
Thanks for all the input, guys!

 

[Qweklain]

I tried a Dimarzio Tone Zone, and so far it's working really good on this guitar. It goes to show that there's no perfect pu. I tried the TZ on my other guitars in the past and I always found it too dark, muddy and dull. In this guitar it does the trick. Still gonna try a dimarzio breed i'm gonna borrow from a friend to check if i'm missing something, but right now I'm really happy with the sound of the guitar ;-)
Thanks for all the input, guys!

I have the same sentiments toward the Tone Zone. I played it in a few lower-tier guitar that were typically darker woods and hated it. Then I played it in a few Ibanez's and a couple other brighter-bodied guitars and it kicks ass. Honestly, I have had Breeds and Tone Zones in a few different guitars (ESPs and Ibanez's when I played 6ers) and I will tell you from my experience, if you like the way the Tone Zone sounds, you will probably feel like something is missing when you try the Breed. The dynamic response is just not the same IMO and the Breed always felt lacking.