Suhr Aldrich Pickups= Awesome!

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M@tt C

M@tt C

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I've cycled through a ton of pickups in various guitars, but until now I had never tried the Suhr Aldrich.

I'm a party rock cover band guy doing everything from classic rock, hair band, funk, and even some modern country so I'm not trying to nail one tone. But, responsiveness to rolling off the volume and a good versatile 'base tone' is critical for me. Give me my fairly gained up 1987x, some key pedals (lead boost, delay, modulation) and a guitar set up like that and I'm good to go.

I have a Knaggs SSC with the custom wound lower output Bare Knuckles (not the Rebel Yell), and it always felt like they just didn't have enough push for me. So, I went pickup shopping.

I've been aware of the Aldrich for a long time but never tried it, so based on what I knew about the pickups I ended up getting a set. (BTW I am a huge fan of his tone and playing!).

Well, the hype is real. What a fantastic pickup!

Balanced, articulate, crunchy, with a sweet top end and some great harmonic content. As advertised they clean up exceptionally well with gainy amp which is super impressive considering how high the DCR is. To me they sound much more like a hot PAF than a modern high-output pickup.

Bottom line, the Aldrich is a truly exceptional pickup that's super versatile and plain ROCKS!

Great job, Suhr!
 
How do they compare to a Duncan distortion?

The DD is just about the perfect pickup for me. I’ve been interested in an aldrich set though just not sure.
 
I had a DiMarzio Al DiMeola bridge pickup and didn't like it, so I traded it for the Aldrich bridge model.

The Aldrich blew my mind. I think it's one of the best pickups ever made.

I can do anything with it. It has never failed to impress me.

It's that good.
 
glpg80 said:
How do they compare to a Duncan distortion?

The DD is just about the perfect pickup for me. I’ve been interested in an aldrich set though just not sure.
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The DD is a great pickup. Many people get great sounds out of it but it's so compressed that it doesn't work for me.
 
Ryan990 said:
A Suhr Aldrich in a LP Custom is perfection
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Yep.

I have an Aldrich bridge model in my '87 Kramer F-3000 (not the cheaper Focus 3000). It kicks butt when dirty, sings when clean. If you have a Floyd Rose equipped guitar it's a great choice.

Another thing: the Aldrich does a great job in parallel and split.
 
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Aldrich worked perfectly in my Les Paul. Doesn't feel as hot as the DC reading would suggest but has enough power to hit the amp hard, cleans up fine too. I've got it paired with the Dimarzio 36th anniversary neck pickup and I feel like I can do pretty much anything with that Lester.
 
Great pickups…especially in a mahog body!

I’ve got them in both of my Les Paul Axcess guitars in the bridge.

Have not tried the neck version yet though. Not sure how that sounds.
 
Someone had recommended the Suhr Aldrich humbucker trem-spaced for my Charvel model 5fx some time ago but I don't know that much about Suhr pickups?
 
Charvel1975 said:
Someone had recommended the Suhr Aldrich humbucker trem-spaced for my Charvel model 5fx some time ago but I don't know that much about Suhr pickups?
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Suhr makes several varieties of pickups- all are very high quality. John is somewhat of an electronic evil genius/ mad scientist. All his stuff is great.

The Aldrich is the hottest humbucker they make. it clocks in at 17.5k, but really comes across as a hot PAF instead of a modern high gain pickup. Clear, fat, sweet, and lots of harmonic content. Super responsive to rolling off the guitar volume.

Alnico 5 magnet, 4 conductor wiring, splits really well due to the output, and is available in a 50mm or 53mm version.

It's a great rock pickup that's very, very versatile.

Check it out:

Suhr Aldrich Link
 
I like the Aldrich, personally, but I feel it benefits from either no tone control or 1 Meg pots on a Les Paul.

JohnnyGtar said:
The DD is a great pickup. Many people get great sounds out of it but it's so compressed that it doesn't work for me.
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Each to his own, I personally don't find the Aldich any less compressed. I don't see how it could be. It's higher DCR, and I bet higher inductance too.
 
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Rex Rocker said:
I like the Aldrich, personally, but I feel it benefits from either no tone control or 1 Meg pots on a Les Paul.


Each to his own, I personally don't find the Aldich any less compressed.
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What are the Benefits of No tone Control or 1 Meg Pot with the Aldrich?
 
Never played one but I know they were like the best thing going on here for awhile. A few years back anyway….
 
M@tt C said:
I have a Knaggs SSC with the custom wound lower output Bare Knuckles (not the Rebel Yell), and it always felt like they just didn't have enough push for me. So, I went pickup shopping.
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Ever think of trying the RY ??

They were my Les Paul "epiphany" pickups (and are still installed on my top players). But super stoked you love the Aldrich so much - no need to change if everything you want is now happening.
 
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