Here's what I've considered:
Moving the PAF pro to the bridge
Duncan custom or custom 5
Duncan Slash bridge or the set
Duncan Perpetual Burn (maybe too high gain?)
Dimarzio Norton
Dimarzio Air classic
Dimarzio 36th anniversary bridge or set
Steve's Special
Mo Joe
EMG Hot 70s
Thanks all
Howdy,
Welcome to the forums. First off, there's not a lot of people that tried AZ in mahogany guitar and thought "bright", my experience with it was it's pretty undefined in the low register but smooth in the mids. It definitely had less highs then, say, a Norton (which, IMO works wonders for alt/indie rock sound in a mahogany axe), and much less then a Paf PRO on the bridge - which, honestly, is pretty bright. Steve Special is a pretty mid scooped and bright pickup, I personally wouldn't use it for the stuff you want to play, except if you plan on boosting the mids.
In terms of bridge:
36th anniversary will work with anything really, but you're gonna trade some output in the process (or rather, some mids). You'll also have to dig in a bit more to get the same attack/spank out of them, as they're more sensitive to picking differences. They have a very melodic mids, but they don't exhibit the cocked waah sound the many DMZs do (ToneZone perhaps being the most obvious and, in extent, it's aired version). 36's a kind of modern take on PAFs by DMZ, with light picking hand sounds vintage with heavier playing sounds punchier and more authoritative. Would definitely works wonders for alt rock (or rock of any kind).
IMO, it's not worth the added money to go for Slash siggy, when you can get A2Pros cheaper, specially used (Slash siggys are harder to find), when it's essentially the same pickup. By fiddling with the eq, adding some mids, taking some presence and adding a touch gain, the A2Pros sound pretty much like Slash, at least to my ears. They're good pickups, surprisingly versatile, and probably the closest Duncan to 36th anny, or at least to my ears. Having both in a, practicly the same guitar, for few months I sold the Duncans and kept the 36th anniversary.
Custom family pickups are super versatile pickups, but I'd personally steer clear of ceramic custom if you think AZ is bright. A2 or A8 would probably be more up your alley in that case.
I haven't tried perpetual burn from Duncan (well, majority of their custom shop pickups, really) so can't offer you much help there.
I tried EMG Fat 55s and Hot 70s, and while they were pretty good pickups, I didn't personally care that much for them. They have that certain broad frequency curve quality which makes them sound a bit bland, without a character. This is of course my opinion. I liked the Hot 70s more (it's a ceramic bridge from Super 77, a SuperD copy, if you will, and a Fat 55 neck, which is a pretty overwound PAF kind of sound), then the "Fat" 55s, probably because the bridge actually resembled a SuperDee, in a louder, more even, without a fuzzy top kind of way.
In terms of EMGs, I really liked 58 on the bridge (something between a loud p90 and an big paf sound), 60A (very similar to mini humbucker sounding, just bigger) and an 89 which is a splittable 85/SA, however does sound a bit different to 85 as it's tighter and has a touch more upper mids. That said, honestly, if you feel AZ is a "too high output", any EMG will feel way over powered.
Now in terms of the qualities you mentioned... the only "higher output" pickup I'd steer you towards is the Titan, it's open, clear, vocal, modern in voice and warm enough for any kind of rock.
Neck:
I'd stay with Paf Pro on the neck, or if you want a sweeter clean tones, and don't mind a small loss of output, 36th anny, as that thing really delivers and matches nicely to any style of playing, style of music and to pretty much any bridge pickup.
HTH,
Cory
Show Posts
Since they are both in 6 and 7 string , they should be JPs? At least they are super high gain since they are in 7 string.
