Rude pickup?

[Beyond Black]

I’ve got an alder body, maple neck (and Floyd Rose) Flying V that’s naturally got a very smooth, polite tone to it, and I’d like a more rude, aggressive tone out of it. Something hot, with some fuckin teeth. I’ve tried a Manlius Asphalt, Suhr DSH+, and Aldrich. All sound decent, but I’m looking for more aggression and rudeness. Should I go ceramic? What say you?

 

[thegame]

...that’s naturally got a very smooth, polite tone to it, and I’d like a more rude, aggressive tone out of it.

Pickup swaps will only get you so far. A less "polite" pickup will sound much more aggressive in a naturally sounding aggressive guitar than your guitar ever will.

 

[Bad.Seed]

...that’s naturally got a very smooth, polite tone to it, and I’d like a more rude, aggressive tone out of it.

Pickup swaps will only get you so far. A less "polite" pickup will sound much more aggressive in a naturally sounding aggressive guitar than your guitar ever will.

Agreed. Went down this path with a 61 SG Reissue. Even a Wolfetone Marshallhead sounded tame in that guitar.

 

[scottosan]

Go with a pickup with mismatched coils. While not a "hot" pickup on paper, the 59/custom hybrid is nasty because of the mismatched coils. I had Jalen wind me a similar with a Franky slug and a 78 screw coil.

 

[Beyond Black]

...that’s naturally got a very smooth, polite tone to it, and I’d like a more rude, aggressive tone out of it.

Pickup swaps will only get you so far. A less "polite" pickup will sound much more aggressive in a naturally sounding aggressive guitar than your guitar ever will.

Yeah, I get that, but there are still some pickups that are more gnarly than others, and can still help the cause. The ceramic Manlius Custom Hot was pretty nasty. Wish I still had it. Isn’t the Duncan Custom really rude?

 

[skullfxr]

Off the beaten path, maybe a 500t or dirty fingers.

 

[Mailman1971]

I’ve had all the pickups you mentioned in the original post.
When I stumbled on a dimarzio X2n.
Sold!! It’s so rude it will steal your wallet in the middle of the night
I put it in all 5 my guitars.

 

[Beyond Black]

Go with a pickup with mismatched coils. While not a "hot" pickup on paper, the 59/custom hybrid is nasty because of the mismatched coils. I had Jalen wind me a similar with a Franky slug and a 78 screw coil.

That does sound pretty nasty. Got a real gnarly snarl to it. Nice suggestion.

 

[napalmdeath]

I’ve had all the pickups you mentioned in the original post.
When I stumbled on a dimarzio X2n.
Sold!! It’s so rude it will steal your wallet in the middle of the night
I put it in all 5 my guitars.

That it is. Very aggressive, and nasty.

I wouldn't overlook the good old Duncan Distortion, and agree with the 500T mentioned above. Had that in several Gibsons, including a V. It's a flamethrower, indeed. Oddly enough, in the Flying V I had, I changed it for a Distortion, and found it more percussive. It was a beautiful thing in that guitar.

 

[skullfxr]

I could never get along with an X2N. I put it in a half dozen different guitars and just couldn't dig it.

I swear by my 500t buckets.

 

[paulyc]

Another vote for Duncan Distortion, Gibson Dirty Fingers or 500T.

 

[skullfxr]

Dirty Fingers were awesome in my (shitty) 1982 Sonex. If that pick up could make one of those things kick like a donkey, they can make anything rude.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Agreed with the other responses regarding certain guitars just sounding the way they do to a certain extent. I've tried a handful of pups in a 2001 LP studio and it just never got metal enough for me; always just sounds like rock trying to be metal, so it's now just my dedicated classic rock axe.

That said the most rude pups I've tried:
DD
Painkiller
C-pig

 

[Pearly Gates]

Agree with 500T or Dirty Fingers. If you could find a new Dirty Fingers+ that would definitely do the job. Ruder than a 500T at least. Don't have experience with older DF pickups

 

[Beyond Black]

I’ve had all the pickups you mentioned in the original post.
When I stumbled on a dimarzio X2n.
Sold!! It’s so rude it will steal your wallet in the middle of the night
I put it in all 5 my guitars.

I’ve always wanted to try one of those. My buddy has one in a guitar I’ll check out. Thanks Maleman.

 

[skullfxr]

Agree with 500T or Dirty Fingers. If you could find a new Dirty Fingers+ that would definitely do the job. Ruder than a 500T at least. Don't have experience with older DF pickups

The old ones are straight balls to the walls nasty. I have not tried the newer ones.

 

[Beyond Black]

I’ve had all the pickups you mentioned in the original post.
When I stumbled on a dimarzio X2n.
Sold!! It’s so rude it will steal your wallet in the middle of the night
I put it in all 5 my guitars.

That it is. Very aggressive, and nasty.

I wouldn't overlook the good old Duncan Distortion, and agree with the 500T mentioned above. Had that in several Gibsons, including a V. It's a flamethrower, indeed. Oddly enough, in the Flying V I had, I changed it for a Distortion, and found it more percussive. It was a beautiful thing in that guitar.

I tried a DD in a different guitar recently. Sounded cool, had a nice grind to it, but I found it a little light on the lows. Probably like it more in the right guitar.

 

[Beyond Black]

I've tried a handful of pups in a 2001 LP studio and it just never got metal enough for me; always just sounds like rock trying to be metal, so it's now just my dedicated classic rock axe.

Classic rock? So basically you don’t play it anymore.

 

[Beyond Black]

I like what I’m hearing about the Dirty Fingers. May try one of those out.

 

[skullfxr]

I’ve had all the pickups you mentioned in the original post.
When I stumbled on a dimarzio X2n.
Sold!! It’s so rude it will steal your wallet in the middle of the night
I put it in all 5 my guitars.

That it is. Very aggressive, and nasty.

I wouldn't overlook the good old Duncan Distortion, and agree with the 500T mentioned above. Had that in several Gibsons, including a V. It's a flamethrower, indeed. Oddly enough, in the Flying V I had, I changed it for a Distortion, and found it more percussive. It was a beautiful thing in that guitar.

I tried a DD in a different guitar recently. Sounded cool, had a nice grind to it, but I found it a little light on the lows. Probably like it more in the right guitar.

I like the DD in my Ibanez AX Prestige a lot. Nice and nasty.

This is making me GAS f a dirty fingers. Shitttttt.