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The Pickup Place / Re: I need help with an HSS ESP 24 fret guitar!

« on: January 25, 2016, 10:31:22 AM »

Thanks Stephan,
The Cruiser bridge in my Strat sounds warm and bright at the same time.  I guess I'd call it very "Full" sounding, with lots of sustain.

In the ESP, not much has sounded good in the neck position so far.

I did stop by a local music store that was going out of business and picked up a pair of DiMarzio single coils from an old Parker Nitefly.

Yesterday I put this combination in the ESP.  So far it sounds great, but I need to try it with my band next weekend.....
Fast Track 1 - neck - Much more Strat like than the Chopper
DiMarzio/Parker single coil - Middle - Really punchy, but very Strat like
Tone Zone - "Half Air" mod - it seems a lot brighter now, which I don't like, but it's not nearly as aggressive as the stock TZ was.


If I hate the Fast Track, I'll look for a VV Heavy Blues.  Does it stay bright enough in the neck position?

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The Pickup Place / Re: I need help with an HSS ESP 24 fret guitar!

« on: January 24, 2016, 12:56:16 PM »

This is the guitar: http://geartunes.s3.amazonaws.com/gear/images/20130731-IMG_0782_02_990x660.jpg

OVERVIEW

The LTD Elite ST-1 Duncan employs a bolt-on construction at 25.5” scale, and has an alder body with natural binding. This guitar features high-end appointments including quilted maple tops, Gotoh tuners and a Floyd Rose bridge. It comes with Seymour Duncan JB (bridge) and Classic Stack Plus (middle and neck) pickups, a maple fingerboard and chrome hardware.

Made in Japan by ESP Luthiers
Unlike ESP's other LTD models that are manufactured in various areas of Asia like Indonesia and Korea, the LTD Elite line is made in Japan at the same manufacturing facility as the rest of our high-end ESP models.In fact, the same experienced and qualified luthiers who create and build our critically acclaimed ESP Standard Series are those who are making LTD Elite. You can rest assured that these luthiers are among the worldʼs finest, and will simply not build a guitar or bass without the highest attention to detail and quality.

Made in Japan with an alder body, bolt-on maple neck and Floyd Rose bridge.
FEATURES

    Bolt-On-Neck Construction
    25.5” Scale
    Alder Body
    Quilted Maple Top
    Maple Neck
    Maple Fingerboard
    42mm Locking Nut
    Thin U Neck Contour
    24 XJ Frets
    Chrome Hardware
    Gotoh Tuners
    Floyd Rose Bridge
    Seymour Duncan Custom (B) / STK-S4 Classic Stack Plus (M & N) pickup
    Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone, 5-Way Switch

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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 / Re: I need a hotter Fast Track 1 for neck position

« on: August 26, 2015, 08:30:16 PM »

Thanks guys!
I have a Chopper in the middle of a 90's Ibanez 540R.  I'll pull it out and try it in the ESP.  If I don't like it, I'll order the Satch Track.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Pickups For PRS SE Floyd Custom 24

« on: August 26, 2015, 12:45:03 PM »

Not on your list, but......

When I had my SE Floyd, I had a set of Duncan Parallel Axis pickups in it.  That was a damn fine sounding guitar!
It needed a level and dress, and I didn't want to deal with it, so I took advantage of Musician's Friend's 30 day money back guarantee.

PATB-1n - Neck - Very nice sustain, really nice harmonics, just the right amount of bass and treble to really sound great clean or distorted

PATB-1B - Bridge - Incredible sustain and harmonics!  It's bright, but not like a JB or Duncan Distortion.  Lots of bass too, but never muddy.

I have this same set in my Ibanez JS1000 and they just flat out rock!  I can cover anything from Blues to Santana to Faith No More to Foo Fighters with these pickups.

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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 / Re: Injector Neck with 500k pots?

« on: August 11, 2015, 11:07:59 AM »

Right on, thanks guys!

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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.