Pickup for ash guitar?

[the rossness]

Last week, I got a Sterling James Valentine guitar on a whim. It played pretty good in the store and wasn’t expensive, so I took a chance and got it. It’s a swamp ash body, roasted maple neck/fingerboard, vintage trem. I’ve never had an ash guitar before and want to upgrade the pickups. What are your favourite pickups for a swamp ash guitar?

 

[japetus]

My first questions would be, what do you not like about the pickup in it, and what style of music are you playing?

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Have a DD in an ash/maple topped Mayo and it kills. Also had a BK ceramic nailbomb in there and it sounded great as well.

 

[PAULYC2]

I have two northern hard Ash fiddles with Duncan Customs in them, love them for the EVH thing.

 

[jeff5]

My Ibanez is ash and it has a Tone Zone. I like it a ton, it is bassy but balances out the treble of the Ash nicely.

 

[scottosan]

Depends what woods you are used to. If find ash to be a little scooped, so prefer pickups with mids.

 

[the rossness]

My first questions would be, what do you not like about the pickup in it, and what style of music are you playing?

It came stock with a Hum sized tele pickup in the bridge and a muddy hum in the neck- just not my thing.

I play Lynch/ Ratt/ Priest type stuff.

 

[Stradazone]

Here is a Jalen '78 pickup on a ash guitar, lots of mids and just enough output for the music style you mentioned

 

[sytharnia1560]

lots of comments here about ASH guitars but ASH can sound very very different to SWAMP ASH. They can be similar if you have a light weight bit of ASH but if it is heavy then tone wise it will be very different

Swamp ash generally had nice "firm" bottom end and slightly scooped tone and is very resonant so really it all depends on what you like in a tone as most pickups will sound great with it. I have a tone zone in mine because it adds a bit more bottom end in there

 

[the rossness]

Has anyone ever tried the Suhr DSH+? I can’t find much info or clips of it?

And would an A8 magnet work well with ash? I’m thinking “lots of mids”.

 

[sytharnia1560]

Has anyone ever tried the Suhr DSH+? I can’t find much info or clips of it?

And would an A8 magnet work well with ash? I’m thinking “lots of mids”.

A8 will give you back the mids for sure and also give you the "power" of a ceramic pickup. I put one in one of my JB's and it sounds great. Makes the tone fatter with more punch. Just take into account it kind of makes everything increase in "gain" for lack of a better word