The right pickup for me- Any advice?

[BozTheK]

Ok here's the deal. I play my stock (in terms of pickups) DBK fitted with breeds through a Marshall TSL. I play lots of 80s glam stuff, and the main sound I am trying to achieve is a kind of "Brown" sound with lots of mid and balanced bass and treble.

That sound is working fine for me right now, it's really fat and chunky. But I just can't seem to get very good harmonics out of it. Some are ok, but mostly pretty poor, no matter how much gain I set. I am happy with the neck pickup, but I think I need a new one for the bridge that will still be an alright match for the neck.

I have been recommended various things- Tone Zone, Norton, Air, JBs, Evos/ Evo2s and FREDs and I feel I need some deeper advice. I tried checking out DiMarzio and Duncan sites, but none of them really gave me enough specific information.

Can anyone please give me some advice? Anything will be helpful.

Thanks

[j.arledge]

i am going to go out on a limb and say you may consider the d-sonic . it has quite a bit of mid range and gets that sort of mid crunch like 80s metal had yet it can also smooth out and has great harmonics .

with a british voiced amp and a tone zone , listen to paul gilbert . the tone zone run through a high gain british amp IS paul gilbert's essential tone to me. Not to say is the only tone you can get out of the TZ .

either one i think you'd find a tone you liked , it would just be how much you wanted to mess with your settings in order to get that tone .

[TheToneZone]

I think the advertising with pickups is as specific as it can get. No two guitars with the same pickups and same amps are going to sound alike, just similiar.

Now I'll recommend the Norton in the bridge and a Paf Pro in the neck slot. That duo screams 80's c0ck rock and both are proven in basswood. Lots of harmonics too.

If you want specifics on why that's a good setup all I can really say is that overall tone is what you're wanting, stand alone or in conjunction with one another and the output of both pickups are optimal for versatility.

mike

[BozTheK]

Ok thanks guys

I might have to do a little more research before I make my decision, but I will give Nortons, ToneZones and PAF Pro's a better look than the others I was looking at. Any more advice is very welcome

[David McCarroll]

I changed the bridge pickup in my Blue Floral to a ToneZone for exactly the reasons you stated - couldn't be happier - I also have another JEM with Breeds, and they are definitely darker and less defined than the TZ - not inferior, just different.

[Jemma_Ann's_man]

the amp you use and the effects you use have a bigger impact on your sound rather than changing the pickups. There's not much difference in tone (just a tad bit) when you change the pickups, depending on whether you get moderate output or high output, passive or active, etc, etc.

when you look at the the dimarzio and seymore duncan pickup websites, they really don't give much information. PURPOSELY.

they just have an advertising gimmick like "what''s the answer to how I could sound better? change the pickups duh"
but that's not entirely true, because they just say that so that people will be buying new pickups, paying to get them installed, because a set of pickups are more expensive than a compresser sustainer pedal
and they usually pay a famous guitarist to advertise the pickups. but when you read what famous guiatrists say about the pickups, you gotta consider that their equipment, such as amps, are probably way better than the average guitarist.
THE AMP YOU USE AND THE EFFECTS YOU USE HAVE A BIGGER IMPACT THAN CHANGING THE PICKUPS.

if you have a P.O.S amp, and change the pickups on your guitar, there's not gonna be a difference because the P.O.S. amp still sounds like ****.

save yourself some cash and disapointment, don't change your pickups right away, instead, do more research, unless you finish the process of elimination.
I wouldn't change my pickups unless it was the last thing neccessary.

trust me, a new distortion box would probably make a bigger difference than changing the pickups. or a new amp.

[BozTheK]

Originally Posted by Jemma_Ann's_man

the amp you use and the effects you use have a bigger impact on your sound rather than changing the pickups. There's not much difference in tone (just a tad bit) when you change the pickups, depending on whether you get moderate output or high output, passive or active, etc, etc.

when you look at the the dimarzio and seymore duncan pickup websites, they really don't give much information. PURPOSELY.

they just have an advertising gimmick like "what''s the answer to how I could sound better? change the pickups duh"
but that's not entirely true, because they just say that so that people will be buying new pickups, paying to get them installed, because a set of pickups are more expensive than a compresser sustainer pedal
and they usually pay a famous guitarist to advertise the pickups. but when you read what famous guiatrists say about the pickups, you gotta consider that their equipment, such as amps, are probably way better than the average guitarist.
THE AMP YOU USE AND THE EFFECTS YOU USE HAVE A BIGGER IMPACT THAN CHANGING THE PICKUPS.

if you have a P.O.S amp, and change the pickups on your guitar, there's not gonna be a difference because the P.O.S. amp still sounds like ****.

save yourself some cash and disapointment, don't change your pickups right away, instead, do more research, unless you finish the process of elimination.
I wouldn't change my pickups unless it was the last thing neccessary.

trust me, a new distortion box would probably make a bigger difference than changing the pickups. or a new amp.

Ok well I think you are being a bit harsh, and I disagree with you. I don't think my amp is a junk heap at all and I know for a fact that pickups DO alter your sound considerably. The differences between a metal voiced, factory scooped sounding pickup and a bright, sweet pickup designed for cleans and jazz are big.

[Ibateur]

Don't think he meant that your amp is a junk heap.

The rest was his opinion.

I would also suggest a TZ/PafPro combination.

[Angelo Guitars]

I too would recommend the Tone Zone.

[BozTheK]

Ok sorry maybe I over reacted a little.

I was just checking up on this thread to see if there were any replies I had not seen last time, and I guess I got a bit defensive. My apologies.

Thank you all for your advice and opinions. I already finalized what I ordered. I got a Paf Pro for the neck (hopefully nail some DLR/ White Snake Vai tones) and a Norton for the bridge (figured that I would get the best of both worlds from the harmonic loaded FRED and the tone zone, that everybody loves but according to DiMarzio might be a bit too bass-y for me).

I sure hope I made the right choices, and if not I can always drop my breeds back in and put these ones into another one of my axes

[bammbamm]

Dimarzio also has a 30 day exchange policy, you can box em back up and request another one, and they'll hook you up. Just to further your tone quest.
I also say Tone Zone, great pup.
I tried the Fred in the neck and wasn't impressed with it.
My stock V1 Ibanez remains king in my RG550.

I'm also thinking about getting another Rg and dropping in a Duncan Demon, I had one in my maple 550 and loved the responsiveness, despite the output being a lil lower.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.
Bamm

[-Rhaab]

Isn't exchange policy for U.S. residents only?

[Ibateur]

That's correct.

[misplacedsanity]

Jemma_Ann's_man, don't come round here talking sense, this is a guitar forum. Now whats this I hear about nitro paint making your guitar sound better?

[sick-boy]

If you're looking for "Brown" sound, don't forget that VH's pup was not some over-the-top, high output pup. You might be suprised by the tone you can get out of "underpowered" pups. Just my $0.02