another pups discussion

[damas]

Hi!

last week was the first time that our gig was recorded pretty well. i have two guitars an ibanez with 2 V7 pus and a yamaha erg 121. two songs were played
in onother tuning (G#), so i took my yamaha(tuned down) and played.......after i listened to the recording i was able to hear how crappy this guitar sounds compared to the ibanez. since i dont have money i thought best thing to do is buying new pickups for the yamaha. till now the guitar sounds muddy as hell even at low distortion levels (amp is some kind of a rectifier). im searching for an absolute tight and good sounding pu (for heavy, thrash, hardcore...), but who does not .so i wanted to ask if someone could help me out, maybe somene owned this guitar. ive read pretty often that the sh6 is an absolute killer also the seymor duncan jazz pu. i also hate emgs, a friend of mine plays them (81s).

so which one would probably sound good in this guitar?

 

[carvedones]

Seymour Duncan or Dmarzio. (since you hate emg)
The jb is a great pup.

 

[Metal Overload]

try the JB

 

[MetalJonesy]

i uprgaded my yamaha pacifica to a seymour duncan duncan distortion in the bridge, and i love it!!! i also customised the crap outta the geetar too

 

[damas]

thanks for the fast reply(s)

which position is "better" for the jb? neck position?(prefered by many player, or so i heard
could someone tell which of the duncans is tighter in the bass area? jb or distortion?

@metaljonesy: looks great!

 

[MetalJonesy]

the jb is a warmer pup to the distortion due to the alnico magnet. most rock bands use the jb, tend to use it in the bridge, dave mustaine used to use it in the bridge, and countless other artists. I got the distortion as it has the ceramic pickup which i prefer. The duncan distortion also adds more mids. Its a slightly less 'hot' version of say an emg 81, without the piercing high end

http://www.seymourduncan.com/comparetones/pickups/34

thats comparing 3 pickups i own in different guitars, the dimebucker is in my razorback, and that really has the high end kicked up, i really prefer the duncan distortion to that, and between the duncan distortion and jb, summat like that youd want to try yourself, depends on your playing, the style of music your'e playing and tone you want.

If that link works and you see the three pups, then there are sound samples of the jb and distortion in the bridge position.

you can still get the distortion sounding warm though, http://myspace.com/seventhhell (the southern sludge demo) the fizz that ppl have been saying about that mix is due to my actual amp tone and the shit quality myspace does to decent songs!!, not the pup

 

[Chryst Krispies]

What kind of wood is this guitar made out of? That will have a significant impact on the pickup selection that you make.

 

[MetalJonesy]

in the yamahas, same with mine, i believe it to be agathis, so even though being a cheaper material than say to mahogany or alder, the actual overall tone is more balanced, and and doesnt emphasise specifics (like the mahogony has a warmer fuller, low-mid range umph to it)

 

[nwright]

I'd go Duncan Distortion over JB in that guitar, personally.

 

[pifos_2]

sh4 is great indeed.

but ya know, in G#, it should still sound muddy.

 

[MetalJonesy]

ahh never read the bit about tuning, then in that case it suggest the duncan distortion for sure to clear things up in your tone when you get to such low tunings!!

 

[AmirH]

Actually, I'd stay away from the jb for that tuning, and I don't care for the distortion. I think your best bet from Duncan is probably a fullshred. A custom could work well too and is beefier overall- but tuned to G you might not want the extra low end. My personal favorite duncan is the jazz bridge but most metal heads stay away from it cuz its relatively low output- insanely clear and versatile pickup though and would work great for low tunings. I think you're most likely to dig the fullshred though.

 

[t-rave]

the distortion does not clean up well at all..but you probably don't care about that!

 

[Chryst Krispies]

Do you really play in G#????

That's a bit ridiculous.

 

[Force666]

Do you really play in G#????

That's a bit ridiculous.

I could see it on a 7 string......you should get a seven string.


Or if the Ibanez sounds so great.....get another v7....

 

[damas]

thanks for the tipps and for the link!

this shit helps, or so i think (when it comes down to comparing). it sounds like the jb or the fullshred is my bet. the jb sounds pretty clear (at the sample tuning), so does the fullshred (but with more output and a highpass )
the sound system here is a fucked-up-pile of shit so i have to wait till im at home and then compare another time.

hmmm...yeah it would be probably much easier to get a 7string-4000$-version of an ibanez, but i dont have the money the v7s sound ok, but not THAT great (and the ibanez is in C)

think i will go for the two pups. this tuning IS ridiculous but it rocks

and thanks again!

 

[AmirH]

Trust me bro- you don't want the jb in that tuning. I don't even use it in guitars tuned to standard cuz the low end is way too flubby. Needs the right axe, a TS, and the right player to work for most extreme metal. By right player I mean some guys aren't bothered by the lack of definition in lows so they play tight regardless- I personally can't stand it. Was the first passive pup I bought, followed by fullshred which does what you're after waaaay better (though I will warn you it has less, not more output than the jb- but still more than enough). Also have played the custom, 59's, and have owned a parallel axis trembucker, alnico 2 pro, dimebucker, and currently using a set of jazz's as I mentioned. You will be happiest with the fullshred or custom, or something from a different company. DSS3 has tried a lot of the duncan line as well, though he prefers emgs- but I'm sure he would agree the jb isn't the right pup here.

 

[Metaltastic]

I totally agree on the flubbiness of the JB; I've really wanted to try a full shred, and the fact that it's still alnico is another plus in its direction.

EDIT: Has anyone tried the SH-5 Duncan Custom, by the way? I haven't heard much about it, but it looks like it might be cool...

 

[damas]

oh fuck.

it looked (or sounded) like the jb is a little "flubby" (or at least more bassy) compared to the fullshred but not much. the samples sound like the fullshred has MORE output. are the other parameters (like gain volume and so on) even the same (regarding to the duncan page, compare tone)? sry i was to lazy to read the whole duncan page. it sounds like both of you have experienced some crappy sound with the jb and i think you dislike the same sound as i do. K, then the new heart(s) should be a fullshred!

by a different company you mean emg? damn......and how do the emgs sound compared to the fullshred (are they tighter in the bass area and how about the attack)? and what are the "best" emgs?

yeah i know, many questions. still...thanks in advance!

 

[MetalJonesy]

well for emg comparison, the whole reason i picked up the duncan distortion is that it has very similar properties regarding tone as the emg 81. Its just not as hot, id go with these guys, the fullshred, duncan custom, or my preferred choice, duncan distortion.

as the emgs dont have pole pieces, just the ceramic magnet (in the 81) and alnico magnet (in the 85), they have less individual string pick attack to them, well thats how they feel when playing, however you get guys like zakk wylde shredding and notes sounding clear. ive found them to compress the signal somewhat. While the nominal output is the same as the 85, lower noise ratio gives more gain opportunity, so, ultimately the emg 81 is loudest of all emg pickups. My esp has an emg81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck, great pickups but a bit noisy, the 81 is very clear sounding, brilliant for clarity on those complex riffs, and the 85 has alot of warmth to it lending itself nicely to reallyu rich cleans, ideal combination. but id stick with the passives!