Pickup suggestions please!

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Offline littlebadboy

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Pickup suggestions please!
« on: September 24, 2019, 10:05:30 AM »
Hello! First of all, I am a newbie!

I have a PRS S2 Standard 22. It has a mahogany body and neck with rosewood fretboard.  The 85/15 S stock pickups are good, but I think they are not for my style of playing.  I was thinking of the Seymour Duncan Custom 5 bridge and Jazz neck, but I haven't tried DiMarzios yet! So, I thought of giving it try!

May I ask for DiMarzio suggestions? I play mostly metal or Hard Rock like my demo in the link below. I do heavy chugs or palm mutes.  My current ones go chak chak than chug chug.  But, I still want it to be somewhat versatile for other genres if it comes up.  I was looking at the Dominion bridge and Gravity Storm neck.

My rig is not much, I use a Boss GT-100 into a Headrush FRFR108.

Thoughts will be appreciated!  Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9eaDnUTCYM
« Last Edit: September 24, 2019, 02:56:42 PM by littlebadboy »

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Offline DarthPhineas

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #1 on: September 24, 2019, 11:00:44 AM »
The Dominion is a good pickup. Consider looking at the full set.

Other options to consider can include the Illuminator set and the Titan set.

Going down to the tuning, the D Activator set might be a consideration, but based on the models you suggested you were thinking about, the D Activator set might not have as much body to it. Give it a look anyway.
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Offline littlebadboy

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2019, 11:43:59 AM »
By the way, I am on drop D tuning forever.  I use a Digitech Drop to go lower.

The Dominion is a good pickup. Consider looking at the full set.

Other options to consider can include the Illuminator set and the Titan set.

Going down to the tuning, the D Activator set might be a consideration, but based on the models you suggested you were thinking about, the D Activator set might not have as much body to it. Give it a look anyway.

Thanks!

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Offline HarlowTheFish

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #3 on: September 24, 2019, 01:57:46 PM »
The Dominion is a good call. I'd suggest the Transition set if you want something a little more controlled, a Norton/Air Norton if you want something more old-school, or the Gravity Storms if you want something more modern - I will say though see if you can find a blue floral JEM to try them in, 'cause they're kinda different-feeling to play and have a pretty unique sound.

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Offline littlebadboy

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2019, 12:04:16 AM »
Thanks all!

Too many choices makes it more confusing!

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Offline HarlowTheFish

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2019, 01:25:35 AM »
Well, give us a couple of things to help you narrow it down:

Vintage, modern, or in-between?

Aggressive or controlled?

Bright, warm, or dark?

Hot, middle-of-the-road, or low output?

Middy, even, or scooped?

Smooth or crunchy?

Punchy or more laid back?

Do you want tightness from the pickup or from your picking technique?

Do you want something that will saturate nicely with a light touch or something that you need to play hard to push?

Are cleans important?

Do you play lead/rhythm on the neck, bridge, or both?

Are coil splits important?

The more information you can give us on what you're looking for, the more specific we can help you get.

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Offline littlebadboy

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #6 on: September 25, 2019, 06:22:53 AM »
Thanks HarlowTheFish!

Truthfully, I don't know how to describe tone using all the adjectives you mentioned above!

Would sound examples do? I mainly use bridge for rhythm and chugs. I use Neck for cleans and do some bluesy things too. I use the middle position of an HH occasionally. I don't use the splits much but I like having that option especially with the neck to get that close to single coil tone.

Sample of what I play, but I want more aggressive rhythms:
https://youtu.be/VlapvL1p6YA

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Offline HarlowTheFish

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2019, 08:00:03 PM »
Okay lessee. . .

The Dominion is probably gonna be a pretty good fit. Check out any of the post-2012 Lamb of God albums to hear Mark Morton playing them, and they're in Drop D too.

The Transition set would work but if you want a more aggressive sound you'll have to pick pretty hard, so YMMV depending on your picking technique.

The Norton/Air Norton would be a pretty good combo that would cut through the mix well. Someone here on the forum has a sig saying that the Norton makes your guitar sound like a mongoose on meth flying a fighter jet, so I doubt you'd have problems with it. The AN is a good contrast because it's a lot warmer, with some really jazzy cleans and a midrange that would work well for bluesy stuff.

The Gravity Storm set I think might work for you, but again, I wouldn't recommend getting a set without trying them out first. The blue floral JEM came with them, if you can find one near you.

I'd personally say avoid the Titan because it's a pickup that needs you to be super on top of your picking technique, so if you want aggressive, much like the Transition, you need to play hard all the time. It's also maybe a little thin for the kind of tones you seem to be looking for. As for the Illuminator set, I just find it kinda flat unless you have a very specific rig like JP and it's generally underwhelmed me outside of a JP sig EBMM into a Mesa amp.

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Offline littlebadboy

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #8 on: September 28, 2019, 12:04:49 PM »
I used the pickup selector of DiMarzio website and it got me more confused.  I put in the parameters such as my guitar's type of wood among other preferences and it did not suggest the Dominion at all!  It suggested the following:

For more output bridge:
Super Distortion
X2N
Igno

For warmer/fatter:
AT-1
Super Distortion
Super 3

Any thoughts?

As I mentioned earlier, I want pronounced and heavy chugs/palm mutes and angry distortions.
« Last Edit: September 28, 2019, 12:08:11 PM by littlebadboy »

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Offline HarlowTheFish

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #9 on: September 28, 2019, 08:02:33 PM »
I think of those the X2N would work, but it's a pretty wild pickup to play. The others, for my money, I don't think would be as aggressive as you want. The Super Distortion I find kinda muffled on the treble, and the Super 3 is super midrangey and honky. The AT-1 is IMO way too tame for what you want, and the Igno is super new and most people here haven't tried it - I'm pretty big into Polyphia's music (the Igno is Scotty LePage's signature pickup) and again I don't know if it would work for you.

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Offline Guitar74

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #10 on: October 01, 2019, 11:43:06 AM »
I have a PRS S2 Standard 22. It has a mahogany body and neck with rosewood fretboard.  The 85/15 S stock pickups are good, but I think they are not for my style of playing.  I was thinking of the Seymour Duncan Custom 5 bridge and Jazz neck, but I haven't tried DiMarzios yet! So, I thought of giving it try!

I personally don't like the custom 5. It can get thin very quick. Even on a warmer guitar I have I have found it to be the case. On the Duncan side of things, I have tried a JB (can get shrill quick and to my ears and being that I have it in two guitars, sounds better with a 250k setup than a 500k for controls). The Full Shred (Articulate and kind of a medium output articulate and tight). PG + Kind of a full sound, not terribly high on output, but distorts nice (overwound Pearly Gates with an a5 magnet vs the a2. Some claim it is shrill but I have found it to not be the case in my Big Apple Strat with a rosewood fretboard).

I have used the X2N and I have never found it to be dark or bright. Kind of balanced, but BRUTAL on the amps input. Do NOT expect chimey cleans from it full on. BUT, parallel and split sound very good clean to my ears.

How much available preamp gain to you have? The reason that I ask is that if you DO have a good amount of preamp gain, then maybe a moderate output pickup might be better suited for you. I used to use nothing but high output bridge pickups, but found that the versatility and articulation of a moderate output pickup works better for me. And by the way, I also do a lot of high gain stuff. Check out my instrumentals at www.acadams.bandcamp.com

Anyhow, the moderate output thing is just a suggestion. Don't pigeon hole yourself into thinking that you absolutely need a serious high output pickup. You may find just the opposite.
If you're having one of those days where everyone is on your case and is just getting on your nerves, it's probably not everyone else

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Offline littlebadboy

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #11 on: October 09, 2019, 11:12:07 PM »
Thank you for all your suggestions! I have decided to order a D-Activator X set. Woohoo!

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BluesJam

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #12 on: October 13, 2019, 11:56:19 PM »
Cool... that like an active pickup sounds.  It should give you a lot of bark and punch.

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Offline Dioxazine

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #13 on: October 18, 2019, 02:50:13 PM »
I used the Custom 5 in my Les Paul when I had it and I loved it. The Alnico 5 magnet got rid of the brittle high end. Great pickup for metal.

I would not recommend the Jazz. Especially for metal. For Jazz. Yes. For metal. No.

I put in a Duncan Distortion in the neck position that worked quite well for me.

I have since gone back to playing a Stratocaster.


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Offline greenlion

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Re: Pickup suggestions please!
« Reply #14 on: October 19, 2019, 10:43:22 AM »
Mahogany body.... chug chug..?  Sounds like you need an Invader Bridge. Its not as over the top as people think.