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Hey whats up! I'm new to the board and have a question. My band is influenced by punk, hardcore, and metal. I need a bridge pickup that will give me power, crunch, and clarity all at the same time. Power/distortion for overall good tone when playing either rhythm or lead, I need the crunch for getting down and dirty with palm mutes during heavy riffage, and the clarity when using textured chords. Here is my setup:

SC-500 (made from alder, rosewood fretboard)
5150II w/matching slant cabThe guitar has 3 stock pickups, 2 humbuckers and a single coil. Not really thinking about replacing the single, and I'm definately swapping out the 2 humbuckers. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

JB OR DUNCAN CUSTOM , maybe custom custom bridge...
don´t knwo about the neck
someone will chime in with more options
****ING HAILS!

The Distortion will give you ultimate clarity and crunch under high gain. The Custom is a Distortion-Lite.

The distortion will give you both clarity and crunch but, in my opinion, the Full Shred neck and bridge will out do the Distortion for clarity and be at least on par for crunch, the Full Shred dosent have as much output as the distortion but, it still sounds very crunchy. It should have plenty enough power though.

The custom will be decent but, I dont think its exactly what you are looking for. The custom custom will not have the clarity or crunch you are wanting.

Distortion!

SH-2N Jazz Model neck and SH-6 Duncan Distortion bridge and you're all set.

I think you're probably leaning toward the DD bridge and Jazz neck (a la Old Ghost), but if you want good cleans too you might want to look at the JB. From what I've heard of it (and played it once :P ) it might suit all your bridge needs.

I vote Custom. I played a Kramer with a JB for years, then built a mahogany Warmoth strat and put a custom in the bridge. The Custom was thicker yet had better string definition.

I swapped a PGn for a Jazzn tongiht, and the verdict is still out. I think the Jazz is more what I was looking for in this particular guitar. For your needs, it depends on what you plan to use the neck pickup for: cleans or dirty leads. For dirty leads, I might lean towards the PGn over the Jazz. The PG has more mids (but lacks a bit of cut), and the Jazz more cut (but lacks a bit of body), but I wish there was a pickup out there that mixed the best of those two...

Thanks bros. Now that I can make an educated decision, I'll let you know what I end up choosing.

Distortion or full shred.

He wants metal clarity crunch, Hello? Isnt that the meaning of EMG's in general?

*cough* 81/60 *cough*

I bought a Dimebucker for the bridge and hot rails for the neck. I was REALLY torn between the dime and the duncan distortion. I still might get the DD for the middle pickup.. The installation dude is out until monday, so I'll be able to write up a review once he's done.

IMHO, The Duncan Distortion is the pup you are looking for.

I was leaning towards the DD and he showed me the dime, claiming it pushes distortion harder and still retains clarity. I've done some research on this site and @ Harmony-central, there are mixed reviews. My main thing I guess is being able to play well defined, non muddy chords with kick ass distortion. I figure it I can get that tone for leads will be great [like how a chick with a nice ass automatically has nice legs] Thing that sux is that once its in its in. I might take it back and get the DD. I might not. I hate decisions like this but they must be made.

I think the Dime is a great choice, dude.

I used to have a DD in my guitar, but I took it out for a Dime; that was three years ago and I've been using SH-13s ever since.

If you hate the Dime, then just trade it for a Distortion--simple as that.

JB. The more I swap between a JB and DD, the more harsh the DD sounds. With that amp, you don't need a super highoutput pickup.


Originally Posted by DeadSkinSlayer3With that amp, you don't need a super highoutput pickup.

I agree that you don't need one, per se, but I don't really think it's a question of need. A high-output pickup going into a hi-gain amp sounds way different than a low to medium output pickup into the same amp. Also, look at the dude from Shadows Fall or the guys from Killswitch... they're running EMGs with boost pedals.

Also, the JB is still a pretty hot pickup


Originally Posted by Astheskyfalls[like how a chick with a nice ass automatically has nice legs]

haha i like this kid already


Originally Posted by JB_From_HellI agree that you don't need one, per se, but I don't really think it's a question of need. A high-output pickup going into a hi-gain amp sounds way different than a low to medium output pickup into the same amp. Also, look at the dude from Shadows Fall or the guys from Killswitch... they're running EMGs with boost pedals.

Also, the JB is still a pretty hot pickup

Right, but reading this guys posts, he seems to be picking pickups based on how hard they hit the preamp, which you shouldn't ever do IMO.


Originally Posted by DeadSkinSlayer3Right, but reading this guys posts, he seems to be picking pickups based on how hard they hit the preamp, which you shouldn't ever do IMO.

I do that to a certain extent. My first consideration is always output. Everybody is gonna jump my sh*t for this, but I very rarely even worry about the pickup's eq curve. Honestly, magnet type amp; output are the only things I pay much attention to.