Pickup change

[EnGl]

Currently my mahogany axe is equipped with Seymour Duncan Dave Mustaine Live Wires.
They are great , powerful but they are getting a bit spongy and muddy in D standard or Drop C so want to try other pickup.
I thought about :
-Seymour Duncan AHB-1
-Seymour Duncan AHB-3

Which one will do better D and Drop C ?
I don't go lower.

Pickup must work well with Frontloaded V30(ENGL Pro V30) and Peavey 6505+ (Yeah I decided to get this model than 6534).

 

[Anonymous]

Ahb3

 

[fluff191]

I say AHB-1. I made a video comparing the two a while back. Decide for yourself!

 

[Anonymous]

SWEET video man....it further solidifies to me that i got the right pickup for this type by grabbing the AHB3. it suits my needs perfectly.

this is a the perfect video though, if you want to have a simple, effective compare and contrast.
i even moved my speaker balance all to one side so i could get rid of the stereo effect. the ahb1 has a tighter and more enhanced hi mid sound. while the ahb3 definitely has a more pronounced and resonant lowmid/low end shelf.

to answer the origanal post though, the AHB3 witha a 6505 is a really nice match for the 5150 amp.

you probably couldnt go wrong with the other though either...it sounds more contemporary to my ears, more like a duncan distortion does.

 

[EnGl]

Thanks fluff I saw this video earlier. It rocks! It's great thing that you did comparision in mix and then with dry track.
I also saw test SUHR DA vs this AHB-3 and well ... I must say that AHB-3 didn't sound like an active pickup !
What is the difference in sound between the AHB-3(whole set) and EMG81/85 ?
I'm asking because I've heard this EMg set and I don't like it , too streile , lifeless , compressed , thin.

 

[EnGl]

Bump.

 

[Anonymous]

i think you answered your own question my friend.

emg, sterile and lifeless to your ears.

ahb3 ? well, what do you think.

personally, buy a set...if you hate them, then you can resell them for just about the same. they pop up here from time to time if you are patient.

 

[EnGl]

i think you answered your own question my friend.

emg, sterile and lifeless to your ears.

ahb3 ? well, what do you think.

personally, buy a set...if you hate them, then you can resell them for just about the same. they pop up here from time to time if you are patient.

You know , I know EMG. But I don't the sound of AHB-3. I;ve got a few questions for you :
1.AHB-3 will be ok in Standard D/Drop C ?
2.Which wood is the best match (excluding mahogany) ? Alder will be also ok ?
3.AHB-3 don't have harshy and fizzy high end like EMG81 ?
4.18v mod do anything to this pickup ?
5.You've heard Dave Mustaine pickups ? If yes , can you compare them to AHB-3 ?
5.This is thought - I hope that this will pickup will stack well with 6505+ and V30 ...

 

[EnGl]

There is another option - SH-5.
Gary Holt used it with his Bernie Rico Vixen and wow ... amazing tone . He played them in D standard and E so ...

But it will be a problem , I will must buy new electronic ( my current is active) , you know - pots , 3 position switch ...
I will threw out my whole set ( SD DM set) and install only sh-5 in the bridge position (I don't use the current neck pickup - I don't like it). And there will be also the unused battery box which will be a bit lame ...

Which one will you pick ? Sh-5 or AHB-3 ?

 

[Anonymous]

i think you answered your own question my friend.

emg, sterile and lifeless to your ears.

ahb3 ? well, what do you think.

personally, buy a set...if you hate them, then you can resell them for just about the same. they pop up here from time to time if you are patient.

You know , I know EMG. But I don't the sound of AHB-3. I;ve got a few questions for you :
1.AHB-3 will be ok in Standard D/Drop C ?
yes sir! fucking thing slays! especially with a high gain, compressed amp like a 5150 type

2.Which wood is the best match (excluding mahogany) ? Alder will be also ok ?
mine is in mahogany, and sounds slightly bright, but i just back the tone knob down a tad. can't say for alder. tone knob is your friend though, and a .047 tone cap to ground off the tone knob.

3.AHB-3 don't have harshy and fizzy high end like EMG81 ?
not harsh and fizzy...id say .... Present. REALLY nice sounding. COULD be fizzy a bit with the 6505, but, again, tone knob is your friend (providing you have the .047 cap in it)

4.18v mod do anything to this pickup ?
nope. didnt notice a difference. we discussed this before viewtopic.php?f=3&t=126590&p=1476668&hilit=ahb3#p1476668 and viewtopic.php?f=3&t=131314&p=1525763&hilit=ahb3#p1525763 re-read those threads...watch the mark day comparison vid between the ahb3 and the aldrich. caapt100 with ahb is VERY similiar to what the tone will be through a 5150.

5.You've heard Dave Mustaine pickups ? If yes , can you compare them to AHB-3 ?
haven't played the mustaines in person. can't compare, sorry

5.This is thought - I hope that this will pickup will stack well with 6505+ and V30 ...

you will love it. it's all the metal you'll be able to handle. if you hate it, i'll buy it off you for the price you buy it for? hows that sound? i promise. i play my ahb3 regularly through my 5150 and it slays, as iv'e said before.
as for the v30 speakers...there's a thread about the 5150 amp with mesa cab/v30 speakers at lower volumes.... viewtopic.php?f=3&t=131963

you might want to read that thread. 6505 series amps are one of maybe 3 MUST have metal tones...the others being the mesa dual rec and marshall 800. if you know what you're doing, you wont have any problems with the ahb3 and the 6505/v30 combination. just dont try to play it at low bedroom volumes and expect this great big huge full tone...it's going to have some fizz until you turn the post gains up (channnel volumes) to around 2/2.5 and the amp starts opening up.

thats not a faint of heart setup. thats some true metal tone you'll get, if thats what you're after.

 

[Anonymous]

There is another option - SH-5.
Gary Holt used it with his Bernie Rico Vixen and wow ... amazing tone . He played them in D standard and E so ...

But it will be a problem , I will must buy new electronic ( my current is active) , you know - pots , 3 position switch ...
I will threw out my whole set ( SD DM set) and install only sh-5 in the bridge position (I don't use the current neck pickup - I don't like it). And there will be also the unused battery box which will be a bit lame ...

Which one will you pick ? Sh-5 or AHB-3 ?

i use duncan sh-5 pickups exclusively in my les pauls. i love them in mahogany/maple cap guitars.

in this video, it's what you hear along with my modded 5150 head.

you can check out this vid too, but it's a bit too close the phone, so the microphone overloads a bit in places, but you still get the idea of the guitar/amp tone.

that cab is an old beat up jcm 800 with celestion t75 and gh100 x patterned.

but being that you already have the active electronics setup, i'd try the ahb3 first.

 

[EnGl]

Thanks so much for the answers !

Nice tone !

AHB-3 come with pickup selector or not ? I'm asking cause I don't know If I should keep my stock switch. And what about pots ? 250k or maybe 100k?

 

[Anonymous]

Gah...i hate string noise in vids....this amp was up on 3 or 3.5 on the post too....rumbling the floor....
dumb phone picks up string noise!

in that first vid, you can REALLY hear the low mid growl and the tightened lows (due to the mods i did). i didnt like the stock 5150 bass flub, so i made some circuit changes to reflect the results i wanted. i made a few other tweaks to my amp too, i wanted it to have less honk and more chowmp on the upper midrange....hard to explain, easy to hear.

 

[Anonymous]

if i have a chance today, i'll fire up my les paul with the ahb3 and do a quick comparison between the sh5 and the ahb3 for you with a few of the same songs and see if you can hear a difference....probably will be hard to split the hairs due to youtube conversion, but i'll try.
i have a full schedule today, but i'll try to get it done for you dude.

 

[EnGl]

Wow man , you don't have to
Installing sh-5 will be a little bitch to me due to the electronic swap but this :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYMCnWO9G8E
force me to do it

What about the noise from AHB-3 ? They are quieter than EMG's ?
Well if you have high gain amp you probably want to have the lowest level of buzz/noise/hiss ( call it what you want).

 

[Anonymous]

is gary still running the presonus peq3 between his guitar and amps in this video?

you should probably find out if he is, i know he has done so in the past. you're probably hearing a lot of that in this video if he is.

hard to tell, so many things goin on live in this vid.....sounds like an sh5 to me....but, i can't really crank it as it's 645am here and i have kids and pregnant wife sleeping.

 

[EnGl]

No problem man , I understand it. What about my questions ? :

What about the noise from AHB-3 ? They are quieter than EMG's ?
Well if you have high gain amp you probably want to have the lowest level of buzz/noise/hiss ( call it what you want).

 

[DGW]

There is another option - SH-5.
Gary Holt used it with his Bernie Rico Vixen and wow ... amazing tone . He played them in D standard and E so ...

But it will be a problem , I will must buy new electronic ( my current is active) , you know - pots , 3 position switch ...
I will threw out my whole set ( SD DM set) and install only sh-5 in the bridge position (I don't use the current neck pickup - I don't like it). And there will be also the unused battery box which will be a bit lame ...

Which one will you pick ? Sh-5 or AHB-3 ?

SH-5

 

[Anonymous]

buy both. at this point, the one you dont like return. ahb3 is quiet as can be. no problems there in a properly shielded guitar.