Pickup swapping fun - Dimarzio and Duncan brighter guitar

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kapo_Polenton
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Kapo_Polenton

Kapo_Polenton

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So I've been hunting for a tone in my head (aren't we all) and just haven't been satisfied with the sound of a lot of pups in my michael Kelly patriot. I find it leaning more towards the brighter side and as such , I love the tight low end but not always so crazy about the high end which can tend to lean towards bright. So the hunt began. Maybe some of this will help you guys out:

In the bridge mainly:

Duncan SH-5 : Seemed like it was missing a gear. Wished it was a bit more powerful and found it very stiff and the high end piercing almost.

Dimarzio Air Zone : Much better but still, the high end wasn't to my liking. It is really hard to get a thicker top end in a pup.

Duncan SH-11 custom custom: Too much bass! way too thick. I almost find there to be too much of a diff between soloing and going back to lower string riffing. A big dissapointment because I thought this was going to be the one.

Duncan JB with A2 magnet swap: Much better than the SH-11. More detail for rythm, nice top end. The only problem? Retains some of that mid honk from the JB and that's all I can hear. Also , because of the A2 mag, some of the rudeness that I like about a regular JB is lacking. That cut is what makes it seem like it has more gain I think.


So where to go now?? I thought regular duncan Alnico II's were actually voiced nice and raw , they just need more gain. Any of the shelf pup do that? I love the way they are voiced but i have one guitar with them in and i want this guitar to have more balls. Maybe a DSD next?
 
Your Patriot is all mahogany or maple top? If you are having a problem with the high end of the SH-5 the DSD is not likely to solve that problem for you especially if you plan to split it. The SH-5 is pretty high in output, add to that the ceramic magnet and it's hot. I would be curious if this would not help or if the aging process would mellow things off too much for your needs? https://www.seymourduncan.com/2011produc ... zz-set.php Have you tried the SH-14?
 
I'm more of a Dimarzio guy so I'll focus on the Air Zone. You said it was good but high end was not thick enough. Air Zone has a B/M/T curve of 8.5, 8.5, 5.0 and output of 323 mV. So, what you're probably looking for is a pickup that slides up towards the higher frequencies without losing the bottom end. A Super Distortion MIGHT work but I'd be more inclined to try either The Breed bridge or either the D-Sonic or Crunch Lab and play with facing the solid bar towards the neck and see if that warms it up enough for you. Beyond that, I default to Super 3. Excellent pickup.
 
Thanks for the suggestions.. I actually have an old Super 3 (bright green lol) kicking around in a drawer. I might actually give it a go... what the hell, on the hunt now so why stop. The air zone honestly is awesome until I get past the 12th fret and then i need more beef. I looked at the breed as well but afraid that i may not like the low end. It is this feeling that i am right on the edge and very close to the tone i seek but not quite there. I have a daker strat that sounds amazing with a regular JB but in a brighter guitar, the mid honk fatigues me after a while.

The patriot is maple top..
 
You may want to try a Rio Grande BBQ bucker. They're one of my favorites. Nice warm highs.
 
MCP Detroiter. It's not as hot as some of the ones your mentioned, but it will beef up a guitar. It has an awesome top end too; it cuts through no problem, but still manages to be sweet without any icepicks.
 
fearhk213":3qxhvkcg said:
MCP Detroiter. It's not as hot as some of the ones your mentioned, but it will beef up a guitar. It has an awesome top end too; it cuts through no problem, but still manages to be sweet without any icepicks.
Click to expand...

MCP's are another favorite of mine! Detroiter's are great! I also really like the Afwayu's for more modern tones.
 
I almost want to try a bunch of pups from GFS to get an idea on what flavour i like. I could prob get 3 for the price of one duncan! Seems like a cheap alnico II bucker for the neck (considering i play it 15% of the time) would be more cost effective than blowing 75$ on a 59 or slash alnico II.

Hey you guys with the duncan 59's, have you compared them to a PAF pro? I have a PAF pro and found it cut way too much. I also have a dimarzio 36 anni that quacks way too much. Would a 59 be nice and in the middle?
 
I put an Andy Timmons sig Dimarzio AT-1 in the bridge of my American Deluxe Strat and I love it!

DSCF1545.jpg
 
Is that AT-1 a JB with slightly less mid honk or more like a JB with a 250k pot?
 
That's a hell of a lot of pup options!!! How about this.. you are a self proclaimed pup addict, what are your top 5:

- pups for a brighter guitar
- pups for darker guitar
- higher gain pup
 
Ive had way too many to ever remember a top five. Also way too variable as bright/dark really doesn't cut it.

Its not that I dont want to help you but feel giving you an opinion on how a pickup sounds in my guitar seems more detrimental than helpful considering your guitar will not match my guitars EQ exactly even if they are the same guitar .

without specific scientific testing on the guitars natural EQ spectrum and then the EQ curve the pickup will have, the best way is just experimentation as we already do.

when I do however stumble onto a winning combination i never change it or try another pickup in that guitar. It IS quite like finding a needle in a haystack, the pickup that naturally suits your particular guitars EQ.

I use mostly high output pickups.

Ive been using a Smits Chainsaw which is an Alnico 8 PAF 10K DC in a darker guitar lately. The most dynamics from a high output pickup intended to shred ive ever heard. it is the PAF for modern metalheads, totally killer.
 
The Duncan Custom 5 works great. It is the only stock pickup that I have retained in one of my J Customs. I've had many in my other guitars. This one just works nicely all around.
 
yeah i see your point about experimentation..

I liked the custom 5 but found it a tad thin and tight for my needs. Also wanted more output from it. I like the output of the JB and SH-11, that is perfect for me. Now to find that voicing. Then when you consider going from guitar to guitar it just gets more complex because two pieces of alder can sound so different!
 
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