software

Hey everybody - I need to tap into your knowledge base here.

I'm thinking about trying a different bridge pickup in my main guitar. I'd like a lot of varied responses so I'm not going to really describe the different models I'm considering - I want to know what you think.

First, my situation:

I play lead in a horrorpunk / blackmetal / indierock / hardcore band. I need a lot of versatility, because often times we'll kind of switch styles right in the middle of a song. I need good, chimey clean tones and very tight, girthy distorted rhythm tones. I'm currently using a Duncan Custom right now, but I'd really like something that's not as scooped-sounding.

Now, my gear:

My guitar is a strat-style warmoth creation with a solid pau ferro neck and stainless steel frets in Gibson scale. The body is alder with a bocote top (just worry about the alder - the top is pretty thin). It has the hipshot contour trem, not a floyd or anything.

My live rig consists of a Mesa Road King through one Genz Benz G-Flex 2x12 cab. The only pedal I use right now is a tuner. I have the amp set up for fender-ish cleans and monster distortion. The distortion is somewhat recto-voiced but I'm using blend of 6L6's and EL34's so some of that EL' midrange urgency is in there. I figure if the pup I get sounds good in channels 1 and 4, it'll work great in 2 and 3 as well.

Given the stuff I have and the music I play, what can I get as a good all-around pickup (not super-hot) to cover a whole bunch of territory and still give me monster chunk a'la Killswitch Engage, Norma Jean, etc.?

Your suggestions and advice are hugely appreciated.

Soso,

If you are wanting to stay around the same resistance of the Custom, but want more mids I'd go with the CC.

A 10K A5 pup would be real nice, unfortunately in the Duncan line is the Screaming Demon, but with its aggresion it might be just what you need.....

The other option is the JB. That pup has been discussed ad nauseum.

Luke


Originally Posted by sosomethingI play lead in a horrorpunk / blackmetal / indierock / hardcore band.

funny, that's a new one on me. L500XL pickup. it's the only place you can get the real deal .

I'd go with exactly what Luke said, any one those three choices would all give you what you're after

if you get the CC all you hav to do is switch out the magnet with the custom. If the CC doesn't work you could put in an A5 magnet and get the C5.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Alcino II Pro might just do the trick. It's not really hot at all, but it will certainly be aggressive enough with your rig (there's enough people out there using this for heavy rock and metal - Slash being one of the most notable). The advantage is the Alinico II magnets and lower output will make it quot;singquot; a bit more for the clean stuff. If you need to go hotter the Pealy Gates and Seth Lover models achieve this still using the Alnico II magnets.

Bottom line, though, is you'll need to see what works for you. You can make an educated guess, but you might not be right on the first try.

Disclaimer: Not sure if the Pearly Gates would be too quot;brightquot; sounding with that alder body or not.

JB! this is the KING of versitlility
yeah she is hot but can be sweet as well depending on YOU.

I think you're looking for a CC.

Call me crazy, but the cleans you get out of the Dimarzio Super Distortion are surprisingly good. It's actually lower output than the JB, too. I'd give that a shot. Also maybe consider the SH6 Distortion - higher output but similarly voiced.

custom custom!! i have one in a strat and i play a punk/metal mix and it does it real well...nice thick palm muted sounds and cuts through great.

-Mike

invader?