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Topics - Monsta-Tone

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The Pickup Place / I need help with an HSS ESP 24 fret guitar!
« on: January 24, 2016, 12:50:21 PM »
I have an ESP LTD Elite ST-1.
It's a great guitar, but I'm still searching for the right pickups.
Up until yesterday, I was using a Chopper in the neck and a Tone Zone in the bridge.
  Chopper was just a hair too hot and dark
  Tone Zone sounded great, nice and thick with lots of power.....but the mid range hump always sounded like my Wah pedal was on.


I re-installed the factory pickups yesterday and once again, they are a huge disappointment.
  Duncan STK-S4 in the neck and middle
  Duncan Custom in the bridge

I swapped the bridge magnet with an Alnico II and like the Custom Custom much better!
The neck and middle pickups just have no personality though....


I love the way this guitar plays.  It also has tons of sustain, which I like, plus the Floyd (even though it's an FR1000) is amazing.

I tried the "Pickup Picker," but it always comes up with Injector neck (which I absolutely did not like in any guitar I tried it in) and Tone Zone.


Here are the guitar specs:
24 fret maple neck
Maple fretboard
Alder body with 1/4" thick maple cap (might be a thin laminate, I can't tell)
Floyd Rose trem
25.5" scale

My setup:
Guitar --> Fractal FX-8 --> Mesa Triaxis --> Mesa 20/20 power amp --> 2 1x12 cabinets loaded with Cannabis Rex speakers

What I'm looking for:
Great all around tone with lots of versatility.  I'm not trying to nail anyone's tone.
I play in a cover band.  We play everything from James Brown to Chili Peppers to Rage Against the Machine.
I have a Cruiser Bridge in the neck position of a Strat and it is freaking wonderful!  I did not like it in this guitar though due to the 24 fret position........
I fully understand that this guitar will not sound like my Strat, but I'd like to get as Strat like neck and middle tone as I can with a semi-hot humbucker bridge pickup that can handle high gain as well as mid gain tones.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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The Pickup Place / I need a hotter Fast Track 1 for neck position
« on: August 26, 2015, 12:34:47 PM »
Hey guys,
I have an ESP ST-1 (LTD Elite version)
It's a great guitar, but I'm still searching for the right pickups.

Guitar specs:
Maple neck
Maple fretboard (24 frets)
Alder body
1/4" thick maple top
HSS pickguard

Stock pickups:
2  Duncan STK-S4 (middle was ok but too hot, neck was wimpy and over powered)
1  Duncan TB-5 Custom Trembucker (way too bright)

Current Pickups:

Duncan Hot Rails - neck (great sustain, ok harmonics, nice output, maybe a little too hot, too dark)
Carvin AP11 - middle (sounds phenomenal!  really low output compared to the other pickups)
Duncan TB-11 Custom Custom - bridge (ok, but a little too bright still, low output)

Previous set of pickups:

DiMarzio Fast Track 1 - Neck (sounded perfect but needed more output and sustain)
DiMarzio Injector Neck - Middle (sounded pretty good, not nearly as good as the AP-11 though)
PRS Original Dragon Treble - Bridge (sounded like thunder!  Very dark and brooding with incredible sustain and harmonics)


So far, I've really liked the Fast Track 1 in the neck.  I just wish it was hotter and had more sustain, but still sounded like a Strat when clean.
From what I read, the Chopper is the hotter FS1, but it also has more bass, which may not be what I want.
I did not like the Injector in the neck.  It just seemed to be missing something that the Carvin AP-11 has.  The AP is a little hotter, and has much more organic warm tone to it, especially with cleans.  The AP, however, does not sound nearly as good with distortion.

What do you guys suggest?
The set that will stay in there is:
Slightly hotter FS1 - Neck
Carvin AP-11 - Middle
PRS Dragon (or Tone Zone) - Bridge

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The Pickup Place / Injector Neck with 500k pots?
« on: August 10, 2015, 07:38:12 PM »
I have an ESP ST-1 (the LTD Elite model) with Duncan STK-S4 in the neck and middle.
The middle position sounds ok, but I don't really like the S4 in the neck.

I'm really thinking hard about an Injector for the neck position.

Has anyone here tried them with 500k pots?

I'm looking for lots of sustain, Strat-like cleans but hotter (like the Carvin AP-11), great overdriven/heavy distortion tones.
I don't really care about vintage Strat tones, just great single coil tones that are dead silent with lots of sustain and girth.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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