Suhr Aldrich Pickups= Awesome!

  • Thread starter Thread starter M@tt C
  • Start date Start date
The Aldrich is definitely not a modern pickup but does awesome hard rock and even metal.
 
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. I don't see how it could be. It's higher DCR, and I bet higher inductance too.
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In my experience the Aldrich doesn't respond like a typical hot pickup. Much better dynamic range. DC resistance is not a sure indicator of dynamic response. For example, the DiMarzio HS-3 pickups that Yngwie used to use have a DCR of 23.72 K which is much higher than the DD and the Aldrich, and the HS-3's have great dynamic range and very low output.
 
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 some of the best sounding pickups out there. I have the Aldrich bridge model in my '87 Kramer. I don't think I'll ever take it out of that guitar. GREAT pickup for Floyd equipped guitars. It's got plenty of power on tap but it has excellent dynamic range. It sings when clean, screams when dirty.
 
Dynamic and clarity are maybe the last words to describe Aldrich pickup. With its 17,5ohm it is nowhere in PAF-like clarity and definition. It is very compressed and it is good for slamming inpput of the amp. I tried it in at least 7-8 guitars, mostly LPs and it has 'EMG sydrome' in it. Help some not so good guitars to sound better but does't make any favor to great sounding ones.
 
JohnnyGtar said:
DC resistance is not a sure indicator of dynamic response. For example, the DiMarzio HS-3 pickups that Yngwie used to use have a DCR of 23.72 K which is much higher than the DD and the Aldrich, and the HS-3's have great dynamic range and very low output.
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I understand, and I agree about DCR not being a 100% infallible indication of how a pickup is going to behave. But keep in mind that even if they're unarguably not the same pickup, comparing a Duncan Distortion and an Aldrich's DCR is a bit more apples to apples (not saying that it's 100% apples to apples, just to be clear) than comparing it to a stacked coil design with a radically different construction, coil dimensions, wire gauge, magnetic geometry, etc.

I was just stating my experience. I'm not an expert in the Aldrich, honestly. But the Aldrich struck me as a more or less typical high-mid or low-high output pickup ala JB or Tone Zone. I would compare the Aldrich more to the JB than to the Distortion, personally, but even the Distortion and the JB have a lot in common. I'd personally even say the Distortion comes off (to me) as slightly less compressed than the JB, even if it's higher output because of the stronger (but more open-sounding) magnet.

To be clear, though. I'm not saying you're wrong in perceiving things the way you do. I was just stating that my experience as well as the pickup's specs might sugget otherwise. I don't know the full recipee of the Aldrich to be sure. Suhr could be using different alloys for the slugs and screws or the baseplate, different wire insulation, a radically different winding pattern, or anything that I don't know about. But there's also so much they can do to make a pickup that overwound keep dynamic sensitivity. And also, this is, after all, a discussion forum. I'm not saying I can't be proven wrong either.

:)
 
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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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output-wise they are similar, but they dont have the mid grind of the DD from my experience. the Aldrich is more like a sh5...
 
Rex Rocker said:
I understand, and I agree about DCR not being a 100% infallible indication of how a pickup is going to behave. But keep in mind that even if they're unarguably not the same pickup, comparing a Duncan Distortion and an Aldrich's DCR is a bit more apples to apples (not saying that it's 100% apples to apples, just to be clear) than comparing it to a stacked coil design with a radically different construction, coil dimensions, wire gauge, magnetic geometry, etc.

I was just stating my experience. I'm not an expert in the Aldrich, honestly. But the Aldrich struck me as a more or less typical high-mid or low-high output pickup ala JB or Tone Zone. I would compare the Aldrich more to the JB than to the Distortion, personally, but even the Distortion and the JB have a lot in common. I'd personally even say the Distortion comes off (to me) as slightly less compressed than the JB, even if it's higher output because of the stronger (but more open-sounding) magnet.

To be clear, though. I'm not saying you're wrong in perceiving things the way you do. I was just stating that my experience as well as the pickup's specs might sugget otherwise. I don't know the full recipee of the Aldrich to be sure. Suhr could be using different alloys for the slugs and screws or the baseplate, different wire insulation, a radically different winding pattern, or anything that I don't know about. But there's also so much they can do to make a pickup that overwound keep dynamic sensitivity. And also, this is, after all, a discussion forum. I'm not saying I can't be proven wrong either.

:)
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This is what i've always heard about the Aldrich. That it is meant to be similar to The JB But with better Clarity & a slightly tighter bottom end. I've also heard that most people especially those with Les Paul's end up just putting the JB Back in.
 
Detroit1973 said:
This is what i've always heard about the Aldrich. That it is meant to be similar to The JB But with better Clarity & a slightly tighter bottom end. I've also heard that most people especially those with Les Paul's end up just putting the JB Back in.
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I don't now if "tighter", personally. It's fatter. To me, a fatter pickup is almost always automatically looser.

I don't have a problem with either's the JB's or the Aldrich's levels of tightness granted you use the right boost with either.

I'd say the Aldrich is just slightly throatier and darker.
 
Rex Rocker said:
I don't now if "tighter", personally. It's fatter. To me, a fatter pickup is almost always automatically looser.

I don't have a problem with either's the JB's or the Aldrich's levels of tightness granted you use the right boost with either.

I'd say the Aldrich is just slightly throatier and darker.
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I Have a Brand New Set in Nickel just sitting at my house. I need to either install them or sell them.
 
mchn13 said:
output-wise they are similar, but they dont have the mid grind of the DD from my experience. the Aldrich is more like a sh5...
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Man that’s a hard sell. I’m not a thin scooped mids kind of guy and to keep the top end from getting shrill the mids in the DD are essential. I know the DD is a ceramic magnet JB. It’s just a great pickup.
 
I completely disagree about it resembling the Custom.

I find it way closer to the JB, just, like I said, throatier and darker, but way mid-forward.

I find it doesn't resemble a PAF-type at all, as mentioned previously by someone.

Again, everyone hears things differently. I'm just sharing my opinion/experience.
 
Detroit1973 said:
This is what i've always heard about the Aldrich. That it is meant to be similar to The JB But with better Clarity & a slightly tighter bottom end. I've also heard that most people especially those with Les Paul's end up just putting the JB Back in.
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I don't get that at all personally. To me, the Aldrich was not as stiff, warmer, and more organic than a JB. The reason I even got an Aldrich was because I saw the video of Doug Aldrich with his Les Pauls and wanted that whole tone. I even wanted the amp but couldn't get my hands on one, lol.
 
Anyone have experience with the Aldrich neck pickup?
I haven't heard much about that one....
 
PBGas said:
Anyone have experience with the Aldrich neck pickup?
I haven't heard much about that one....
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I swapped that in as well. Matches really well with the bridge, no mud/ flub. The 'hotter PAF' description fits as well, IMHO.
 
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