Pickup for downtuned RG

[sleepyone]

I'm trying to decide in between Steve's Special and D-Sonic for a Drop C tuned RG320. I'm looking for a NOT STERILE sound, as clear as posible, I want to get rid of the muddiness I get with the infinity pups. Styles I'm playing go from Nu rock (mainly rythm work) to metal-core (lots and lots of riffing). I want the pickup not to be as compressed as an Evo, but to still have a clear attack and definition, and if possible I want it to "scream" as much as possible. I'm affraid the D-Sonic may be a little bit sterile, so i'm leaning towards the Steve's...

Amp is a Soldano SLO100 copy, LOTS of midrange, LOTS of definition, maybe the Steve's Special midscoop balances great w/the amp...

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR A NECK PICKUP ALSO? I was thinking Air Norton (the obvious choice...) but I'm affraid it may be a little too much bass (heavy strings downtuned + a pickup that seems to have a lot of bottom end). HFH is out of the question, Paf Pro or Evo neck seem to be the other alternatives

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!

[reguv760]

hey man! I think you'll know my response regarding the D-sonic so i'll chime in on the neck...
I still have the Paf Pro on my VBK tuned to C and it handles well for solos... recently installed one on a friend's S2020x which is tuned to dropped C and it "warmed up" the rhythm/chording tone work. Either way, can't go wrong with that pickup in the neck position!
Haven't tried an Evo neck other than the ones stock on a VWH...

Reg

[Gurj]

A Bill Lawrence XL-500 would work well when tuning down to C. Think Dimebag Or a SD JB would also do the job.

[markyperfection]

one of my bands plays in c (standard tuning down a major third) and my current favorite pickup combo is the steve's special with a d-activator neck pickup. the ss is very punchy and clear, lots of definition with no sterility to my ears. the d-activator neck is a good match in terms of output, and is a very bright pickup (but still warm enough and fat sounding) which does very well with the thicker strings and lower tuning that other neck pickups might turn to mud.

you're definitely right about the ss complementing a mid-heavy amp.

this setup works very well for me, and with you being in a similar tuning with i'm sure similar amounts of distortion it'd probably work well for you too.

[sleepyone]

Originally Posted by judasbane

hey man! I think you'll know my response regarding the D-sonic so i'll chime in on the neck...
I still have the Paf Pro on my VBK tuned to C and it handles well for solos... recently installed one on a friend's S2020x which is tuned to dropped C and it "warmed up" the rhythm/chording tone work. Either way, can't go wrong with that pickup in the neck position!
Haven't tried an Evo neck other than the ones stock on a VWH...

Reg

hehehee thanks for always chiming in, all your input is always GREATLY appreciated man!!! Your video is one of the reasons I'm considering the D-Sonic thing is I don't know why but I "feel" that the SS will be more suitable for me, for my style, and also for my amp
Regarding the Evo neck I do have an S470 in standard tuning w/a pair of Evos and it sounds KILLER, but thing is I think I might as well go with something different to complement the SS or the DS, I know an Evo neck will do the work but I'm afraid it can get a little muddy w/lower strings and also don't want it to play it safe hehehehe I just want to try something else

D-Activator neck sounds like I will be getting too close to something I just never liked...active pickups...interesting option still if it doesn't sound that sterile...

[losgatosrg350dx]

active pups would definetely STERILIZE the tone, but thats becasue i can hear a difference between active and passive

and im a fan of passive now

[markyperfection]

Originally Posted by sleepyone

D-Activator neck sounds like I will be getting too close to something I just never liked...active pickups...interesting option still if it doesn't sound that sterile...

that's the cool thing about d-activators; they sort of ape the screaming tone of an emg 81 but it's a completely passive pickup so they are completely devoid of any of the ugly compression of active pickups. they are very dynamic with miles of passive headroom and pretty starkly contrast active pickups when played side-by-side. if you roll back the volume, they clean up as well as any other quality humbucker, but if you floor it and dig in hard they scream and sing instead of clipping and farting in the way that every emg i've ever played did. i try not to think of it (the d-activator neck) as an active-imitator but instead just a bright, hot neck humbucker that works well with pretty hot bridge pickups.