new guitar: educate me on pickups

  • Thread starter Thread starter CyanJaguar
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CyanJaguar

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Hi guys,

I just picked up an ibanez black guitar because it was black and had humbuckers. I love the playability of it. I want to transform it to my all metal guitar, so I want two pickups, one for chunky, heavy rhythm and one for piercing solos.

Can you recommend some good humbuckers?

ps, Its a lefty guitar. Will I just have to put it in the other way round or is there more to it than that?

THANKS
 
what kind of metal? people will probably start screaming "EMGs" but I personally dont like them, so if you think of going that rout make sure you go by a music store, and listen to a guitar with a set of them before you run out and spend all that $$ personally I like lower output-warmer sounding pickups and let the amp, distortion pedal, or what ever else you use, do all the dirty work. I like to think of that as a little known secret, but I'm sure a lot of people will say otherwise. its all a matter of taste.
 
CyanJaguar said:
ps, Its a lefty guitar. Will I just have to put it in the other way round or is there more to it than that?

THANKS
Click to expand...

This is from the Seymour Duncan website-

Q- Do you make pickups for left-handed guitars?

A- Lefty pickups only apply in staggered pole piece pickup models. All of our Staggered single coil pickups are available in Left Hand Stagger at no extra charge. Other than that, there is nothing about a lefty pickup that is different from a righty.
 
ez_willis said:
This is from the Seymour Duncan website-

Q- Do you make pickups for left-handed guitars?

A- Lefty pickups only apply in staggered pole piece pickup models. All of our Staggered single coil pickups are available in Left Hand Stagger at no extra charge. Other than that, there is nothing about a lefty pickup that is different from a righty.
Click to expand...

Bro,

thanks a bunch for the info.
 
wiresix said:
what kind of metal? people will probably start screaming "EMGs" but I personally dont like them, so if you think of going that rout make sure you go by a music store, and listen to a guitar with a set of them before you run out and spend all that $$ personally I like lower output-warmer sounding pickups and let the amp, distortion pedal, or what ever else you use, do all the dirty work. I like to think of that as a little known secret, but I'm sure a lot of people will say otherwise. its all a matter of taste.
Click to expand...

thanks for that info. I had not thought about it. I think I will get a list of the ones I want and go into GC to try them out. God I love having a GC 1 mile from my house.
 
semour duncan invaders are great for chunk rythm and screaming leads. You can set you gain on your amp on 10 and roll your volume knob to dial in what you need for each song. I love them. They make a neck and a bridge pickup, so maybe look to get one of each.

I agree that the EMGs are not that great. A little brittle for me, but hey maybe you'll like them. I would at least check them out. I always hated while i was on stage playing, thinking, "is my battery fresh??" so I just chucked them and got rid of the battery. Just a mental thing on my part.

I would think a ibanez left handed guitar strung upside down may be difficult to play lead below the 12th fret due to the cut of the body. I guess im thinking the RG models, but maybe the newer ones are evenly cut. Hope it works for you.

metalJ
 
Does anyone like the Dimarzio Humbucker from hell? I listened to the demo on their site and I like the clarity of it.

Anywhere where I can hear EMG clips?
 
If you like the clarity of the humbucker from hell I would tell you to go for a medium output pickup instead of one with really high output, look on the manufacturer's chart and (besides tonal choice) look for a pickup with 110-150mV output. I believe that getting a clear signal from the guitar and boosting it up afterwards with a preamp or pedal is the best choice, but if your singal is dirty coming out of the guitar you will never get a clear sound(CLEAR, not clean), if that's what you are looking for.
 
IMO, EMG81 is good for chunk rhythm when it's put on bridge and you could choose EMG85 for neck. it's usual combination. you could hear the samples of them by two webs below.

http://www.emginc.com/displayproducts.asp?section=Guitar&categoryid=6

http://www.emginc.com/displayproducts.asp?section=Guitar&categoryid=6&catalogid=2


You can also keep thinking about Seymore Duncan, I used some 'SD' pick-ups, I tought you could try the combinations of: Neck: SH-1'59 or jazz, Bridge: TB4 or invader.
you can find samples of them on http://www.seymourduncan.com/website/main.shtml (buy the way, does anyone can tell me if you can go into the page?? I can't!! I'm not sure that I 'm in trouble or they are.)
 
i've never been a fan of EMGs myself. they sound a bit dry to me. but depending on what rig you have that could be a good thing.

i used a dimarzio super 3 for years.
 
ez_willis said:
here are some samples, not on an ibanez though.

Here are some Seymour Duncan samples.

If you go here and hover over the humbucker section, it will give you a bunch of Dimarzio humbucker samples.
Click to expand...


Dude,

Thanks a bunch for the links. Now I am more confused than ever :D Ithink I really like the dimarzio d sonic for the bridge and the emg 25th anniversary 81 on the neck.
 
CyanJaguar said:
Dude,
Thanks a bunch for the links.
Click to expand...

No problem. I put a seymour duncan model '59 in the bridge position of a squire strat and am real happy with it's sound, I don't know if that helps or hurts. It's good that you're looking at all your options though, it will pay off when you get pick-ups you are happy with, and not regretting that you rushed into something you're not happy with. Good luck.
 
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