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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ Sound Advice
Posted by: besip Apr 14 2009, 02:02 AM
OK I'm have 2 Guitar here
1. My cheap Esp ltd Viper 50 with •ESP LH-100 humbucking pickups
2 My new jackson Sl2 with 2 Humbuckers: Duncan JB and '59
I'm injured 3 month allready so don't pay attention pls for my bad playing
I playing here over My Vox Amp and Digitech Df7 pedal with same setings on bridge pickups on booth guitar
The thing is i like the Cheap Esp bridge pickup sound better for ne like the sound on my Sl2..To me sound on Esp more powerfuel and cutting{treble} like the sound on my Jackson
what is you advice to sound more like the Esp do??? Change pickups on my Sl2??? or just try to play more with the setings knobs??? or just try to put the pickup a little down-up???? or i blame my self and the jackson pickup sound better???
Posted by: skennington Apr 14 2009, 02:15 AM
NOOOO don't change those pickups, there a nice set. Sounds like the SL2 is a tadge out of tune. Throw it on a tuner and make sure you are good. Add a little more bass and back down the treble one click and see how it sounds to you. 
Posted by: besip Apr 14 2009, 05:33 AM
i'm will check it tomorow
it's late night allready thanks for replyoohh i'm forgot there is always 1 more solution buy more guitars to get more sounds
but there is always Money issue 
Posted by: Carlos Carrillo Apr 14 2009, 05:45 AM
one jackson Sl2 with 2 ESP LH-100 humbucking pickups!!!!!!! 
Posted by: besip Apr 14 2009, 05:50 AM
heh i'm belive there is better Esp pickups around
for sure i'm be find better pickups like those one they are gonna be maybe the cheapest Esp ever..but i'm like the sound with power chords on them on my cheap Viperi'm not sure if they be sound good on the Sl2
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Apr 14 2009, 02:23 PM
I think you answered your own problem pretty good Besip - you gotta play with these pickups and settings a bit in order to find a good sound. If you don't find the sound you like after a while, just replace the pups, but that should really be the last resort. First try everything possible with your current setup and don't rush things. Take your time to find the tone you like on both guitars.
Posted by: 29a Apr 14 2009, 02:49 PM
I do turn down the lower mids quite a bit when playing with the jb. And even then my tone is far less scooped than yours. First try to match the amp settings, if that doesn't help, get emgs or duncan blackouts. I suppose it's a jackson USA so the additional expense for the new pickups should be small in comparison to the price of the guitar.
Jonas
Posted by: Marcus Siepen Apr 14 2009, 04:42 PM
I agree with Ivan, before changing the pickups you should play around with your settings first to see what you can really get out of that guitar, only in case you can really not get a satisfying result you should consider new pickups.
Posted by: besip Apr 14 2009, 11:59 PM
ok thanks all to your reply guys i'm will be play more with this knobs
but anyway if somebody has good ears and know just by listening the demo hot to move the knobs to get the same sound on my jackson like on my Esp i'm will gonna appreciate that
1 again thenks for yours reply to me
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Apr 15 2009, 01:33 AM
No prob Besip, anytime mate
Posted by: Sircraigery Apr 15 2009, 04:50 AM
Listen to your favorite guitar song, and try to match the sound as close as possible. One you think it's close, try experimenting more... I'm the same way, takes me forever to tweak it right.
More Treble - more attack.
More Mids - sustain longer (also helpful if you can't seem to get the guitar loud enough - add mids).
More Bass - of course, more raw power into the tone.
Keeps these 3 knobs in mind when your comparing sounds of your amp and your stereo. I don't think of them as "hmm, needs more treble" I think of it as "needs a sharper attack" -> which leads to more treble.
Your amp sounds how it sounds, you can't adjust it to sounds like triple rectifier from the EQ alone. But if you can properly master the EQ, you'll be surprised how even a cheap amp can sound great. (I have no idea what kind of amp you have.... this is also for other people reading who might have a cheap one)
Personally:
I'm not one to scoop my mids much at all, I leave that knob from 11-1 o'clock, and play with treble and bass from 12-2 o'clock. A hint of reverb and I'm good to go.
Edit: To answer your question, I like the sound of the Jackson a bit more. Try playing with the tone knob on the guitar if your trying to match them more. It's probably just a mater of different cap's (which make the tone filter) on each guitar.
Posted by: besip Apr 15 2009, 06:15 AM
Vox Valvetronic AD30VT-XL
thanks for you replly i'm will take something from that
btw-i'm not sure but 1 guy tell me the Sd is probbaly stronger like the Esp Pickups so you have to cut of the gain a little to feel the powerfuel sound...i'm not sure if he's right i'm was always thing stronger pickups=stronger sound???
Btw how the gain setings related to the setings knobs when i'm looking for some sound??/ becouse i'm was play almost always with Hi-gain
Posted by: Sircraigery Apr 15 2009, 07:07 AM
I always thought more gain was better until recently. Hearing myself from recordings I realized I sounded more like Slayer than Lamb of God.
Your EQ is really important for power metal. Once you get playing around, you'll find the sweet spot where full gain sounds very similar to half the gain. Along with that, you'll find that half the gain will cover more mistakes, where as tons of gain amplifies even the slightest slip of the fingers.
I use a SD pickup. Never really tried Esp's.
Posted by: kjutte Apr 17 2009, 12:28 AM
Are the pickups in correct height?
Posted by: besip Apr 17 2009, 02:43 AM
not sure becouse i'm don't know what is right height
looks like the Ltd pickups are on higer position like the jackson pickups
i headr booth pickup positions {high-low}have some advantage and disadvantage???
Posted by: 29a Apr 17 2009, 03:37 AM
If the pickup is closer to the string it will have more output because it picks up more string movement. But you'll also have less sustain because the magnets in the pickup dampen the string movement. The sounds also changes a bit so you can experiment a bit with that.
There is another thing to the pickup distance. If the pickups are to close to the strings the guitar begin to sound very weird even when not amplified. That is because the magnetic field of the pickup distorts the movement of the string when it is too close.
That being said, as far as I know, changing the pickup height won't give you the sound of the ltd pickups. I think what you need to do is to scoop the mids a bit more. My ENGL E530 preamp has a "lower mids" knob that would do pretty much what you want I think. Also boost the treble a bit.
I dial in my gain like this: I palm mute the a and e string slightly and increase the gain until the open a string string has got some punch and the e string some chunk. I think this works quite well.
Jonas
Posted by: besip Apr 17 2009, 03:51 AM
Jonas
i got you...i'm was thing that way also..actualy my jackson don't have also good sustain so i'm don't wana put the pickup more high..I really need to learn by my self how to work with the knobs..actualy i'm have on the video the treble maybe on 4 clock mids 7-8 clock {almost 0} and bass 3 clock and maybe i'm have to cut the gain on my amp i'm almost always have gain on full position 4-5 clock
Posted by: Sircraigery Apr 17 2009, 03:54 AM
Jonas
That's a great point, I didn't even think of that! My Ibanez has lower pickups that my Epi LP did, and the sustain of the Ibanez totally blows it away.... I guess could be a lot of the reason why.
Posted by: besip Apr 17 2009, 03:58 AM
huh i'm got this also but my jackson is hi-end guitar has pickups far from the string but the cheap lts still beat my hi-end with sustain
you can fix{try fix your probl nice and easy} but i'm lost
Posted by: Sircraigery Apr 17 2009, 04:03 AM
you can fix{try fix your probl nice and easy} but i'm lost It's normal for a guitar with a fixed bridge to have better sustain. Are you using the same gauge strings on both guitars?
10's will ring a little longer due to momentum. I ask because lots of people have 9's on floating bridge guitars, and others with fixed bridge guitars usually have 10's.
Posted by: besip Apr 17 2009, 04:08 AM
not sure actualy i'm have on ltd ernie ball slinky 9/11 and on jackson some unknow becouse i'm buy the guitar few month ago but i'm wasn't play a lot becouse i'm still injured..actualy i'm wana put on jackson also Erniie ball
i'm know the fixed bridge guitar has a better sustain but i'm have to tell you i'm was see 1 of best sustain guitar on youtube with Tremolo bridge...but i'm not sure what kind of guitar that was..i'm just remeber they compare there the guitar with LP studio and the tremolo guitar was 1000 % better..i'm was really suprise
Posted by: Sircraigery Apr 17 2009, 04:20 AM
Hmm, maybe try taking it in for a pro set up when you go to re-place the strings. I replace my strings every month whether I think they need it or not (cuz they almost always do). I've never had a good one done by a pro, but I did take in mine for him to look at and play, and he said I set it up really well so I didn't bother spending the cash on it (Craig -> uni-student). Once I get some spare cash again (I'm broke because of the Mesa purchase), I'm going to drop it off just to be safe.
I'm kind of out of ideas for you dude haha.
Posted by: ZakkWylde Apr 17 2009, 10:31 AM
Besip your problem is really simple:
Your LTD has ceramic magnet pickups and the Jackson has Alnico V magnet pickups!!!
Ceramic pickups have more output, a sharper tone, more attack and more high end then Alnico V magnets, who sound warmer, smoother. You are used to the ruff sound of your old pickups and you became accustomed to their tone and now you have completely diffrent pickups and you miss the old tone.
You can do two things:
1. Get accustomed to the SH-4, it sounds diffrent but it is a way better sounding pickup then the cheap ESP pickups you have, it is just not a straigh out metal pickup more of an allrounder.
2. Get a Seymour Duncan SH-6 for the bridge, it has a ceramic magnet and it will give you the sound youre looking for in your Jackson, it is a screaming metal pickup that will sound 10times better than the viper!
Posted by: besip Apr 17 2009, 12:52 PM
Your LTD has ceramic magnet pickups and the Jackson has Alnico V magnet pickups!!!
Ceramic pickups have more output, a sharper tone, more attack and more high end then Alnico V magnets, who sound warmer, smoother. You are used to the ruff sound of your old pickups and you became accustomed to their tone and now you have completely diffrent pickups and you miss the old tone.
You can do two things:
1. Get accustomed to the SH-4, it sounds diffrent but it is a way better sounding pickup then the cheap ESP pickups you have, it is just not a straigh out metal pickup more of an allrounder.
2. Get a Seymour Duncan SH-6 for the bridge, it has a ceramic magnet and it will give you the sound youre looking for in your Jackson, it is a screaming metal pickup that will sound 10times better than the viper!
oohh you all ready give me same answer when we talk abouth the sustain on my jackson..The answer made sence..i'm know there is lot of profesional metal group who play over SH-4 brutal metal but they have probably diferent Amp like i'm do
looks like i'm have 3 options
1.try to play with the knobs or new equipment if i'm buy some and looking for sound what i'm like
2. change the pickup
3 or buy 1 more axe{for example something like your Epiphone}
thanks for your reply again
Posted by: ZakkWylde Apr 17 2009, 01:05 PM
Those bands play the Sh-4 because they like it's characteristics. It's warm sounding, it does not have very much heights because it has very much output for a Alnico V pickup. If you want a brutal tone out of it you will need a crushing amp with enough distortion.
Posted by: 29a Apr 17 2009, 01:06 PM
Oh only one more!!!Jonas
Posted by: besip Apr 17 2009, 11:54 PM
Oh only one more!!!Jonas
haha
if i'm be have lot of money i'm be maybe don't ask her you right for example Arch enemy use SH-4 the sound is pretty hard and heavy but no so brutal like guys who play over Emg for example
looks like i try save money and buy 1 more axe
i'm like epiphone,,also esp ec 1000 and i'm geting on V styles Ex styles or Dean what is you advice for sounding more brutal..i mean like cut gain add mids???
i'm probably not gonna change those pickups yet for sure becouse i'm crazy and when i do that i'm will start missing the Sh-4
Posted by: ZakkWylde Apr 18 2009, 12:25 AM
Sure get another guitar! A Heavy Metal Beast^^
Heavy sound can't be defined really because the final sound is determined by the whole band! You're guitar tone can be extremely brutal but if bass and drums play weak and untight there will be no heavy sound.
Some Examples:
-Pantera: Dimebag has almost no mids in his tone, a lot of low and high end and way too much distortion. The guitar sound is really brutal sounding but also very thin sounding as the mids are missing. Pantera would be nothing without the extremely tight bass and drums because dimes tone would have no solid base...
-Opeth: The guitar tone is not very heavy, almost a rock tone but they play death metal and sound like it - because of their great drummer
-Lamb Of God: Their guitar tone seems to be pretty brutal, in fact they don't use much distortion because they would loose definition. Their guitartone is only a crunch tone but the two guitarsts play so tight together that their two crunchy sounds add together to one heavy sounding guitar line!
Posted by: Keilnoth Apr 18 2009, 06:30 PM
Youtube is a public place and you are playing metal rock in a pijama ? 
Posted by: besip Apr 18 2009, 10:15 PM
Man i'm 33 i'm not using pijama for few years
If you talk abouth the pants{home pants} not sure if you talk abouth Pyjama????
Btw-anyway why not in Pyjama or Pijama if Pijama isn't Pyjama
specialy metal and rock you can play with any kind of clothes or naked
Posted by: Keilnoth Apr 19 2009, 11:18 PM
Ahah, sorry man, didn't know how to call those home pants. That kind of pants are not really common around here.
Posted by: besip Apr 20 2009, 02:05 AM
btw -thanks for your reply to sound advice question
take easy
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