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I just wired up another one of my guitars with an Invader today, and I'm freakin' LOVIN' it!

I've had prolly 10 Invaders now, Including a couple neck position pups, and I keep comin' back to 'em for a reason.

There are a couple things to remember with the Invader:

If you think it's quot;tooquot; dark, try soldering in a .001 capacitor between the 1st and 2nd lug of the volume pot - Seriously gives the Invader a whole new Feel, I've done it in 2 guitars.

#1 best pickup for Cookie Monster Metal - I Love CookiesIf you play Metal or want to play metal, I say go for the Invader. I've used it for everything from Standard tuning to Drop B in both the bridge and neck positions with nothing but excellent results.

Rock On ~ Kac

How do you think it would go with a basswood body, floyd rose and a maple fretboard?

I wanna put some balls into my RG. Been considering the Custom, the Air Zone, the Invader and some others...


Originally Posted by ChileanGuyHow do you think it would go with a basswood body, floyd rose and a maple fretboard?

I wanna put some balls into my RG. Been considering the Custom, the Air Zone, the Invader and some others...

Mines in an RG, basswood with floyd (rosewood board though), and i love my invader, it's fat, dark, warm, this thing just sounds HUGE for riffin' and chuggin', really pushes the amp which i also quite like, it gives a distinctive tone, and nothing else ive heard can quite get that 'invader' darkness.

As soon as I read this, I got an impression that the invader users are freaks that are hidden in bushes and are finally crawling out of them. Don't ask.

Well, the invader is THE pickup for a FAT tone (I tried to record directly with the my guitar, and it blew up my soundcard [Never happened with any other guitar], therefore it is very fat). I have it in an alder fat strat, and I pissed off my band member because he has a Gibson LP and it's not as fat. The tone on this thing is thick. The palm mutes sound as if a person tried drinking water as fast as they could. This is one bad-assed pickup. In terms of distortion, there's no pickup that can sound better than this bad boy. Despite the fact that it is dark, it's suitable for lighter stuff.

Recently I've been playing drop d and drop b music and I can say with much confidence that the invader is the best pickup for any form of hard music (hard rock, metal, etc). It's perfect for punk rock, too. It can get those power chords much better than any other pickup, and riffing with this makes the riff sound HUGE.

This is THE pickup you must own if you're not playing anything softer than Rock. Jazz/Blues players might have problems, but the invader is known for distorted cleans (Which I don't have due to great EQing ) so it might be good for overdriven blues. The cleans are very nice once you tweak them. They have a unique sound, which is always a plus. Soloing with this pickup is very, very rad. It sounds pretty thick, but there's times when it might buzz, but proper practice takes care of it. I'd recommend this pickup to be installed in any guitar that is very light. It will instantly thicken your tone by over 100%. I am also recommending this pickup for anyone who wants a fat tone, or to the metal heads who think the distortion/EMGs is/are the best pickup(s) for metal.

P.S: Kac, I'm curious how that experiment of yours sounds.


Originally Posted by A Skater

It's perfect for punk rock, too. It can get those power chords much better than any other pickup, and riffing with this makes the riff sound HUGE.

Agreed, i didn't mention that i don't actually play any metal! People tend to think the invader is a 'metal only' pickup but that is far from the truth. I play medium-gain punk rock, i don't play through a high gain amp, my gain doesn't tend to go over 5 and i don't use any pedals, so the invader isnt only for saturated distortion.(although it also does that great) It just produces a huge, thick, rock tone.

Buy one and enjoy!

ive had a love/hate relationship with the invader since i first got it 2 1/2 years ago. sometimes its huge and just awesome sounding, and other times it seems muddy and grainy. its been on my good side for quite a while though

hell yeah! invader is a jem. Split the coil, and it's even more versatile. I'm using it on my Ibanez S540. Bliss!


Originally Posted by ex-250ive had a love/hate relationship with the invader since i first got it 2 1/2 years ago. sometimes its huge and just awesome sounding, and other times it seems muddy and grainy. its been on my good side for quite a while though

Do the mod that KAC suggested. I reccomened it to him becasue my views on the Invader were about the same and it seemed to do the trick!


Originally Posted by sunnysideuphell yeah! invader is a jem. Split the coil, and it's even more versatile. I'm using it on my Ibanez S540. Bliss!Haha.. Many times i mis spell that word too.. It is gem not jem.

too much of vai's JEM...


Originally Posted by ChileanGuyHow do you think it would go with a basswood body, floyd rose and a maple fretboard?

I wanna put some balls into my RG. Been considering the Custom, the Air Zone, the Invader and some others...

My Fender HM strat fits those specs, and it sounds awesome! No need for the cap mod there, it does a good vareity of sounds, and Rocks Hard!

How does it sound split and parallel? One of my Warmoth ideas involves a single pickup, maple board, Floyd equipped guitar. I'm not expecting SRV or Hendrix cleans from it, but how about Metallica cleans?


Originally Posted by PFDarksideHow does it sound split and parallel? One of my Warmoth ideas involves a single pickup, maple board, Floyd equipped guitar. I'm not expecting SRV or Hendrix cleans from it, but how about Metallica cleans?

Well it's been shown that you can get pretty good cleans from a regular Invader, I've never experienced it split or anything but full on badassness...

Maybe someone has tried it, I think JB_From_Hell might have, but he doesn't come around much.Rock On ~ Kac

Next time I get an Invader, I'm going to try a quasi mellowing experiment by partially unwinding the inside coil (facing away from bridge) and replacing the ceramic with an Alnico 5 (or 8 if I like them). I figure I'll reduce the the coil from 8.4k to about 5k or so for a 13.4k total.

The stronger coil would be under a brighter harmonic node so the reduced overall resistance stronger bright coil narrower inside coil might give it some of that top end articulation back. But still with plenty of wall-flattening beef.


Originally Posted by ZhangliqunNext time I get an Invader, I'm going to try a quasi mellowing experiment by partially unwinding the inside coil (facing away from bridge) and replacing the ceramic with an Alnico 5 (or 8 if I like them). I figure I'll reduce the the coil from 8.4k to about 5k or so for a 13.4k total.

The stronger coil would be under a brighter harmonic node so the reduced overall resistance stronger bright coil narrower inside coil might give it some of that top end articulation back. But still with plenty of wall-flattening beef.

hmmm.....sounds possibly interesting!!!!!!!

Bump ~ because I'm tired of reading people say the Invader is too bassy or muddy and not trying this mod with the capacitor... it really does help!

~Kac

i've had 4 invaders in various guitars....all have been sold. i'll give your mod a shot next time i feel like trying one.

-Mike


Originally Posted by PFDarksideHow does it sound split and parallel? One of my Warmoth ideas involves a single pickup, maple board, Floyd equipped guitar. I'm not expecting SRV or Hendrix cleans from it, but how about Metallica cleans?mine is split (the pickup that was in there previously was split, and i didnt feel the need to get a new pot). it has no real purpose for distorted stuff, but it makes the cleans a good amount more usable. dont distort as much, sound good

Hey KAC, how will the cap affect the other pickup?


Originally Posted by D-EJ915Hey KAC, how will the cap affect the other pickup?

I'm glad you brought that up. If you wire the cap in like I said between the 1st and 2nd lug of the volume pot, on a guitar with 2 pickups and only 1 volume knob, then both pickups will get brighter...
If each pickup has an individual volume knob then you're fine.

I'm currently working on a way to keep the neck pickup from being effected by this mod on my M-55 which only has 1 volume pot, I may end up wiring it so it has a volume knob for each pickup...
~Kac


Originally Posted by geofreesunhi there
im very interested abt wot exactly u did with ur invader...u mentioned that putting some capacitor between the lugs of the volume pot...can u just elaborate a bit?
i have an invader in my alder body jackson, 10-52 gauge.and i m playing carcass on that axe, so its drop B.wot i encountered so far is not a satisfying sound cuz it is pretty mushy...hope u can help me with this problem~

and where can i buy this capacitors?wots the specification?how did u discover this trick?

Hey geofreesun, I hope this thread helps ya out!