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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ Passing Some Personal Advice/point Of View On Guitar Pick Ups

Posted by: Marc_Maiden May 4 2009, 04:41 AM

hello my friends!

i would like to share some personal information and tastes i have come to find when selecting and or playing with pick ups!


When I started guitar, I was of course, into heavy music like Iron Maiden and such. But I was also new at guitar, and did not know much about pick ups. I did my own research, and saw what the pros played, and i just picked the ones they used.


the first pair I bought in my early days was a Dimarzio Super distortion for the bridge, and PAF pro in the neck. (this is what Adrian Smith from Iron Maiden had used) I thought it sounded really cool! I was a happy metal playing kid, hated by the neighbors, and occasionally my family smile.gif anyways, because I did not know much about sound (how it works, what frequencies do ETC) the super distortion ended up being too much for me, and the PAF pro too little.

Then, a few years later, I was starting to get into "tone" meaning I decided try out other pick ups, and came across an idea where id go to guitar center, buy a pair of pick ups, try them, then return them.... (it works smile.gif )


heres what ive had:
Bridge: (D for Dimarzio, S for Seymours, GF for GFS, GS for Gibson)
D evolution
D super distortion
S JB
GS USA flying V pick ups
GF crunchy rails
GF power rails

Neck:
S 59
D evo
D PAF pro
GS USA flying V
GF Crunchy Rails
GF power rails


Ive also playing EMGs, and other higher output pick ups.


so after trying all those, and using the knowledge about tone and sound that I have now,
I decided that medium-low output is the way to go. no matter where you go, what forum, what store, there will always be the famous question "what pick up is good for metal"

the answer: ANY PICK UP

metal can be played even on a telecaster : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvKgb4QmGSs&feature=related


what happens when you get really high out put pick ups? you start to lose tone! To this day i still dont know why "higher" out put pick ups are preferred. maybe someone here can give me insight as to what makes a high output pick up better for metal?

is it because it gives you a boost in gain? is it because they are hotter? well look:

as I said, more output in your pick ups = less tone
however:

gain can come from your amp if you so need it,
if you need something to cut through the band, tweak your eq, that is one of the main reasons why its there


so my advice of the day:

leave the gain to your amps/pedals, and keep your pick ups for tone! that is what sends your tone to the amp which amplifies it a different way (or models it then amplifies it)

either way,


use your amp for gain,

your fingers AND TONE/VOLUME knob for dynamics, and it help increase tone, many people dont use them enough!!!!!

your heart to create the mood

and remember:

Metal/jazz/rock/classical.... they are all a type of music, not a guitar, not a pick up, not an accessory.

the sound comes from how you play.


right now I currently have in my main guitar:

D PAF pro in the bridge
D blues bucker in the neck

i get a really warm, smooth sound with the PAF pro, and cleans almost sound like a neck pick up would! with gains, i can really awesome sounds and tones using my amps eq

the blues bucker is essentially a single coil that has a "dummy" coil to preserve a "stratish" tone. I can do amazing blues sounds with the volume knob turned down, and i can do shred noodly stuffs with that and the gain of my amp turned up!

anyways, I encourage you to bring your own views and beliefs here! tell me what you think!

Posted by: sted May 4 2009, 07:52 AM

Cool post mate!

I am completely with you on this, the high output pup obsession is utter nonsense, you are limiting your scope for tone so much that really your axe turns into a one trick metal show pony! It completely winds me up the way guitar companies exploit metal fans with some of the worst made gimmick ridden guitars ive ever seen.

If you buy a quality instrument then chances are you will have quality electronics in it, if you are heavily into the subtlties of tone then by all means investigate different pick ups, chances ae you will prefer a lower output pickup rather than a higher output one. I watched gary moore on friday night and i dont think he even uses an effect pedal ,all his tone is Les Paul, Marshall, fingers! The tone he gets is simply outstanding, why? Because he can play! not because he has dimarzio-funktastic-badger-death-super pups in his guitar.

Look at Jeff beck, he never uses pedals, just a strat and a marshall, he is widely acknowleged as one of the best players ever, the way he manipulates the volume, tone and whammy is unbeleivable, he doesnt even use a pick anymore!

I suppose my point is this, just stop farting about with gimmicks and play! cool.gif

Posted by: Xuestor May 4 2009, 05:25 PM

I prefer low output pickups aswell, It let's the guitar shine through rather than the pickup... As for metal, a important thing is to have a tight bass punch, which might be why people prefer hotter pickups for this, as they tend to have a much tighter bass-sound. low output and vintage pickups are rather spungey and loose.

Posted by: Guitarman700 May 4 2009, 06:12 PM

I have a pair of Seymour Duncan blackouts in my jackson, and i think they sound really nice, not just for metal, but also for jazz and blues. Remember, Tone is subjective, The myth that high output pickups kill tone is just nonsense in my opinion.

Posted by: Marc_Maiden May 4 2009, 07:08 PM

i have to agree with you that tone is suggestive,
maybe you are right,

i def like blackouts over emgs, they have a lot more life for sure

Posted by: Frederik May 4 2009, 07:19 PM

Thanks biggrin.gif gotta get myself a decent guitar soon. though my tone is surprisingly smooth on this below 100$ washburn the sustain is no where to be found

-Frederik

Posted by: TreyDeschamp May 4 2009, 07:27 PM

Thanks for this post it really is helpful. As I am looking at buying a new Schecter C-1 ATX FR I was also thinging of saving up money and going all out on the best pickups. I think the whole "high output" pickups thing is just a chleche(I know I didnt spell that write), with metal guitarists. I'm going to actually use this advice when trying out some pickups. How do you try out pickups at guitar stores? Is it just playing with a guitar that has the ones you want to look at or what.

Thanks Marc.

Posted by: Marc_Maiden May 4 2009, 07:46 PM

yes, i try to find guitars with the pick ups i want to try in them,


the problem with that is you get a lot of generic stuff like the seymour duncan jb/59 combo or EMGs 81/85


this website: guitarfetish.com has many good quality pick ups for relativley less expensive than others, ive used them before...they have something for everyone, including colors etc..

check out these sound clips: www.myspace.com/projfate

most were recorded with the GFS crunchy/power rails which i loved a lot


dimarzio.com has a really cool feature which helps you find what you are looking for, also they tell you what players play what so if you are trying to emulate a sound, that helps as well and they have sound clips and such

Posted by: Muris Varajic May 4 2009, 09:50 PM

Nicely explained Marc, cheers. smile.gif

Posted by: Marc_Maiden May 4 2009, 10:06 PM

QUOTE (Frederik @ May 4 2009, 11:19 AM) *
Thanks biggrin.gif gotta get myself a decent guitar soon. though my tone is surprisingly smooth on this below 100$ washburn the sustain is no where to be found

-Frederik



sustain can come from many things other than pick ups


your wood is one,
your string gauge,
your type of bridge
the way your tuners are layed out (strat style or gibson style
your amp

but of course, your pick ups do help in this one

Posted by: ZakkWylde May 4 2009, 11:15 PM

High output does not kill your tone, it compresses the signal so you have to dial back the gain of your amp to get the real tone out of your pickups...

I prefere using high output pickups to get the amount of gain I need out of my Marshall instead of using a lower output pickup and an additional overdrive pedal to get your tone. If your amp is a high gain amp then you won't need a high output pickup, if you already have one then just dial back the gain so that the tone won't get killed in the distortion.

Sure lower output pickups have more dynamics, they clean up better and you can get all the characteristics of your guitars tone but on the other hand those pickups aren't really tight in their response, they get really muddy when you are downtuning your guitar and they get fuzzy and stingy when they are driven too hard.
It also is a tonewood question; a low output pickup just doesn't cut through thick mahagony body guitars (>you loose your heights)

Posted by: Marc_Maiden May 4 2009, 11:24 PM

cool response zak


i see where you are at, makes sense from that point of view, especially for down tuning! and even cutting through! i agree though, mahogany def needs some higher output pick ups to get through that dense wood

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 5 2009, 12:19 AM

Nice topic Marc, thanks for sharing the experiences! smile.gif

Posted by: ruben_mcn Aug 5 2010, 02:47 PM

Cool Topic .. Do you think that the Gfs Crunchy Pats would be good for a vintage v 100 lemon drop ???

Here are the specs of the guitar :

Vintage® V100 ICON Series
Body: Mahogany
Top: V100CS Flame Maple
Neck: Mahogany – Set Neck
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Scale: 24.75"/ 628mm
Frets: 22
Neck Inlays: Pearloid Crown
Tuners: Wilkinson® Deluxe WJ01 Chrome
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic
Pickups: Wilkinson® Double Coil x 2 (N) MWVC (B)MWVC
Hardware: Chrome
Controls: 2 x Volume/ 2 x Tone/ 3-Way Toggle

Posted by: sted Aug 6 2010, 07:30 PM

Nice Necro bump dude! laugh.gif

Posted by: fkalich Aug 6 2010, 08:57 PM

Agree. Focus should be on fingers for most of us, other stuff can just be distractions. If I ever feel that I play with artistry, I will worry more about something like pickups. But not important at this time. You can get just fine tone with the pickups that come with a good guitar.

Posted by: Marc_Maiden Aug 7 2010, 05:05 PM

when I used Crunchy Pats, I used them in a mahogany bodied guitar...let me find my old music myspace, you can hear a sample of them in a recording (not a good one, one thats is like 4 years old haha)

listen to desert rose: http://www.myspace.com/projfate


QUOTE (ruben_mcn @ Aug 5 2010, 06:47 AM) *
Cool Topic .. Do you think that the Gfs Crunchy Pats would be good for a vintage v 100 lemon drop ???

Here are the specs of the guitar :

Vintage® V100 ICON Series
Body: Mahogany
Top: V100CS Flame Maple
Neck: Mahogany – Set Neck
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Scale: 24.75"/ 628mm
Frets: 22
Neck Inlays: Pearloid Crown
Tuners: Wilkinson® Deluxe WJ01 Chrome
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic
Pickups: Wilkinson® Double Coil x 2 (N) MWVC (B)MWVC
Hardware: Chrome
Controls: 2 x Volume/ 2 x Tone/ 3-Way Toggle


Posted by: ruben_mcn Aug 7 2010, 06:54 PM

It sounded Cool to me smile.gif but I think I will go for the Poboy´s Alnico pro II

Posted by: Mudbone Aug 10 2010, 06:53 AM

So why do people choose high output pickups such as EMGs? Two words: chugga chugga tongue.gif Metal has alot of palm muting between notes and low output pickups do get somewhat farty. Although I have to agree, low output pickups can do metal, just not as tightly as high output pick ups, as ZakkWylde has said.

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