Hi,
I've been following this board and reading posts here and there for years
for advice and input concerning guitar gear and tone, and I decided to
finally jump in and participate and ask my own questions. Just like a lot
of people, I'm on the eternal quest for the TONE (very subjective, I know).
I mainly need brige pickup advice now, especially for LIVE playing, and
also recording, and I have a Basswood Ibanez Prestige RG (Bolt-On Maple
neck Rosewood board). I used EMG 81 pickups for most of the past decade,
they worked fairly well with some of my guitars and amps but for some
reason right now I am just not satisfied with them, and ESPECIALLY in that
Basswood guitar. I have tried many Basswood guitars and I like some tone
characteristics but I admit that in general even high-end basswood guitars
lack some deep punch.
Guitar is tuned in E standard, strings are 10-52 (Ernie Ball Skinny/Heavy),
bridge is Edge Pro. I know Death Metal is rarely Tuned in E standard but
that's just our style.
Now my amp: Decimator gate into ENGL E570 rack Preamp (Tungsol and JJ
pre-tubes) into VHT 2150 Poweramp loaded with JJ KT88 (one side with the
original, other side with the Blue).
Cabs: Bottom is VHT Fatbottom (VHT P50 speakers), Top is Vader (older
model) with the Eminence-Vader speakers I think?
Type of EQ/sound to achieve: Saturated higain, scooped mids, lots of bass,
not a lot of treble, loud heavy thick and punchy.
Style of playing: Rythm only, a lot of palm muted low chords and barred low
chords (think tabs like E1-A1-D3-G3 etc), open low chords, no dj*nt or
staccato, some pinch harmonics on low notes.
Examples of tone and style of playing (But keep in mind I only play in E
standard, no drop or lower tunings, just pumping the bass on the amp):
Obituary - World Demise album (same kind of palm muting and fast parts but
a little less fuzzy tone)
Skinless - Foreshadowing Our Demise album - PUNCHY
Mortician - Zombie Apocalypse album -THICK TONE
Also mixed with tones like:
Cannibal Corpse - Scourge of Iron (Torture album)
Merauder - Master Killer album - Sounds agressive and heavy without
sounding brittle.
For the record I'm NOT going for sludge-stoner-fuzzy Tones, BUT I'm not going for modern Tech Death Djent either. and I'm not going for 90s Thrash death speed tones either. My tone is very much in between, very saturated bassy scooped, but E standard tuning, trile picking but nothing technical, needs to sound mean and agressive but chuggy-groovy as well.
I have tried the following in that guitar (still talking about the bridge
position):
- EMG81 : very clicky attack, thin sound overall, for some reason some
frequencies are so overbearing that it makes the pickup sound loose,, and
brittle, sounds like all unusable bass mixed with brittle upper
mids, no body, I even did the 18v mod, it was worse, super twangy annoying
crunchy brittle tone.
- Dimarzio Crunchlab : alright I admit it sounded good but it seemed to
lack sustain and saturation compared to the EMG, but the sound was not as
brittle, I feel like it would have been good if it would have had just a
bit more attack and saturation, otherwise the tone was nicer than EMG,
warmer and thicker, better lowmid bite, but lacks a certain agrissiveness.
- Duncan AHB-3 EMTY Blackout (Mick Thomson Slipknot) : Honestly, I wasn't
expecting much but so far it seems to be somehwere in between the tone of
the EMG and the Crunchlab, it has a warm and full sound and still retains a
tight attack, the problem I find is that it's very flat compared to the two
other pickups, the EMG81 had character in the att*ck (too much and too
brittle but still) while the CrunchLab had more life to it, the AHB-3
doesn't have a strong attack and doesn't have a strong tone, it's like a
thick laser beam, it sounds nice but lacks a bit of attack and lacks a bit
of low mid bite, if that makes sense.
Now, please consider that I also use EMG in an ESP M-II MKII and it sounds
good, same in an old Poplar Kramer, it sounded nice, just not the guitar
feel I like anymore and not exactly the tone I need in this case.
I also have a Mahogany Ibanez with bolt-on maple/rosewood board neck with
EMG81 in it but it's way over the top attack in that set up, I need a
thicker sound and Mahogany with EMG81 is all thick attack, sounds good with
my Randall Cyclone for more Thrash/Speed sound.
I also have a Crate GX130C head but the tones I get from it are outstanding
at low volumes (for recording per example) but at band volume it becomes
incredibly scratchy and mushy, even using a different power amp, I am aware
that thick and heavy guitar tones tend to overbear Power Amps, and also
Overbear Cabinets and Speakers.and mostly sound good through an mied cab
through a powerful PA system, unless maybe you are running Four 4x12 cabs
but I'm not at that level yet and we don't have a truck to carry all that
stuff.
The Basswood seems like it needs a pickup with a Thick Low-Midrange (wide)
attack, rolled off treble while still maintaning some bite, and NON HoNKY
MIDS (Screw you EMGs), it needs to have a wide and punchy attack but still more bassy and
have some bass looseness to it to prevent it sounding too brittle, it needs to
be warm and full, good sustain and compression. Maybe I'm asking for the
impossible?
I heard these could possibly work:
Dimarzio Super3: I have heard they work well in Basswood, Super3 supposedly (some say the opposite), they
have stronger midrange and lower highs while maintaning some bass while
sounding agressive and hot sounding? I keep hearing they were popular for
90's Death Metal but I can't find ANY good Youtube videos of them in a
saturated DM tone setup!!!
Dimarzio X2N: From what I've heard, might work but I'm not too sure...
Seymour Duncan Invader: I have heard they sound best in Mahogany or even
Alder but don't sound good in Basswood for DM, any opinions?
SD Distortion: Honestly don't like the sound compared to the invader...
even if it works better in basswood, I just don't think that's the pickup
for me.
SD Custom: Still not the feel I seem to want
Bare Knuckles PIckups Warpig Ceramic: Well, I have heard from many people
that these can really bring life to Basswood Ibanez RGs, but still haven't
heard any clips! But I could get a used one for a decent price so I.m
considering it.
Any other BKP pickups: don't sound th*ck enough for my taste
Alright, any advice?
I've been following this board and reading posts here and there for years
for advice and input concerning guitar gear and tone, and I decided to
finally jump in and participate and ask my own questions. Just like a lot
of people, I'm on the eternal quest for the TONE (very subjective, I know).
I mainly need brige pickup advice now, especially for LIVE playing, and
also recording, and I have a Basswood Ibanez Prestige RG (Bolt-On Maple
neck Rosewood board). I used EMG 81 pickups for most of the past decade,
they worked fairly well with some of my guitars and amps but for some
reason right now I am just not satisfied with them, and ESPECIALLY in that
Basswood guitar. I have tried many Basswood guitars and I like some tone
characteristics but I admit that in general even high-end basswood guitars
lack some deep punch.
Guitar is tuned in E standard, strings are 10-52 (Ernie Ball Skinny/Heavy),
bridge is Edge Pro. I know Death Metal is rarely Tuned in E standard but
that's just our style.
Now my amp: Decimator gate into ENGL E570 rack Preamp (Tungsol and JJ
pre-tubes) into VHT 2150 Poweramp loaded with JJ KT88 (one side with the
original, other side with the Blue).
Cabs: Bottom is VHT Fatbottom (VHT P50 speakers), Top is Vader (older
model) with the Eminence-Vader speakers I think?
Type of EQ/sound to achieve: Saturated higain, scooped mids, lots of bass,
not a lot of treble, loud heavy thick and punchy.
Style of playing: Rythm only, a lot of palm muted low chords and barred low
chords (think tabs like E1-A1-D3-G3 etc), open low chords, no dj*nt or
staccato, some pinch harmonics on low notes.
Examples of tone and style of playing (But keep in mind I only play in E
standard, no drop or lower tunings, just pumping the bass on the amp):
Obituary - World Demise album (same kind of palm muting and fast parts but
a little less fuzzy tone)
Skinless - Foreshadowing Our Demise album - PUNCHY
Mortician - Zombie Apocalypse album -THICK TONE
Also mixed with tones like:
Cannibal Corpse - Scourge of Iron (Torture album)
Merauder - Master Killer album - Sounds agressive and heavy without
sounding brittle.
For the record I'm NOT going for sludge-stoner-fuzzy Tones, BUT I'm not going for modern Tech Death Djent either. and I'm not going for 90s Thrash death speed tones either. My tone is very much in between, very saturated bassy scooped, but E standard tuning, trile picking but nothing technical, needs to sound mean and agressive but chuggy-groovy as well.
I have tried the following in that guitar (still talking about the bridge
position):
- EMG81 : very clicky attack, thin sound overall, for some reason some
frequencies are so overbearing that it makes the pickup sound loose,, and
brittle, sounds like all unusable bass mixed with brittle upper
mids, no body, I even did the 18v mod, it was worse, super twangy annoying
crunchy brittle tone.
- Dimarzio Crunchlab : alright I admit it sounded good but it seemed to
lack sustain and saturation compared to the EMG, but the sound was not as
brittle, I feel like it would have been good if it would have had just a
bit more attack and saturation, otherwise the tone was nicer than EMG,
warmer and thicker, better lowmid bite, but lacks a certain agrissiveness.
- Duncan AHB-3 EMTY Blackout (Mick Thomson Slipknot) : Honestly, I wasn't
expecting much but so far it seems to be somehwere in between the tone of
the EMG and the Crunchlab, it has a warm and full sound and still retains a
tight attack, the problem I find is that it's very flat compared to the two
other pickups, the EMG81 had character in the att*ck (too much and too
brittle but still) while the CrunchLab had more life to it, the AHB-3
doesn't have a strong attack and doesn't have a strong tone, it's like a
thick laser beam, it sounds nice but lacks a bit of attack and lacks a bit
of low mid bite, if that makes sense.
Now, please consider that I also use EMG in an ESP M-II MKII and it sounds
good, same in an old Poplar Kramer, it sounded nice, just not the guitar
feel I like anymore and not exactly the tone I need in this case.
I also have a Mahogany Ibanez with bolt-on maple/rosewood board neck with
EMG81 in it but it's way over the top attack in that set up, I need a
thicker sound and Mahogany with EMG81 is all thick attack, sounds good with
my Randall Cyclone for more Thrash/Speed sound.
I also have a Crate GX130C head but the tones I get from it are outstanding
at low volumes (for recording per example) but at band volume it becomes
incredibly scratchy and mushy, even using a different power amp, I am aware
that thick and heavy guitar tones tend to overbear Power Amps, and also
Overbear Cabinets and Speakers.and mostly sound good through an mied cab
through a powerful PA system, unless maybe you are running Four 4x12 cabs
but I'm not at that level yet and we don't have a truck to carry all that
stuff.
The Basswood seems like it needs a pickup with a Thick Low-Midrange (wide)
attack, rolled off treble while still maintaning some bite, and NON HoNKY
MIDS (Screw you EMGs), it needs to have a wide and punchy attack but still more bassy and
have some bass looseness to it to prevent it sounding too brittle, it needs to
be warm and full, good sustain and compression. Maybe I'm asking for the
impossible?
I heard these could possibly work:
Dimarzio Super3: I have heard they work well in Basswood, Super3 supposedly (some say the opposite), they
have stronger midrange and lower highs while maintaning some bass while
sounding agressive and hot sounding? I keep hearing they were popular for
90's Death Metal but I can't find ANY good Youtube videos of them in a
saturated DM tone setup!!!
Dimarzio X2N: From what I've heard, might work but I'm not too sure...
Seymour Duncan Invader: I have heard they sound best in Mahogany or even
Alder but don't sound good in Basswood for DM, any opinions?
SD Distortion: Honestly don't like the sound compared to the invader...
even if it works better in basswood, I just don't think that's the pickup
for me.
SD Custom: Still not the feel I seem to want
Bare Knuckles PIckups Warpig Ceramic: Well, I have heard from many people
that these can really bring life to Basswood Ibanez RGs, but still haven't
heard any clips! But I could get a used one for a decent price so I.m
considering it.
Any other BKP pickups: don't sound th*ck enough for my taste
Alright, any advice?
