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New pickups for Explorer


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My Explorer flubs out a bit through my Mesa DR. I want some evil downtuned riffage and some savage djent going on. I would also like to hear each note in high gain full chords. At the moment it is a mushburger.

 

A pickup change is in order. Was thinking of EMG 81/85 set as they seem to cut well and decent $ value. However I have to go passive as I have no interest in routing the body to fit a battery in. Maybe a passive EMG set can go evil?

 

Bare Knuckle recommended a Miracle Man ceramic set to overcome the darkness of the mahogany Explorer and loose nature of the Recto.

 

What about DiMarzio? The Liquifire/Crunch Lab is widely used. Some say this set would not overcome my problem with mud. Any other DiMazios do the trick you think? Their range is big and I wouldn't know where to start. Their online "Pickup Picker" tool recomended the D-Activator in bridge and Humbucker From Hell in neck. Maybe a D-Activator set for metal LPs? Like the EMGs, they are a lot cheaper than the BKPs which is a big factor.

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Im not a fan of the Duncan JB, although I have found it to be excellent for downtunings because its so trebely- but it doesnt have that note seperation youre looking for. I would personally use a Gibson 498T for what you are describing. Great note separation but its still hot enough for the metalz :thu:

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Im not a fan of the Duncan JB, although I have found it to be excellent for downtunings because its so trebely- but it doesnt have that note seperation youre looking for. I would personally use a Gibson 498T for what you are describing. Great note separation but its still hot enough for the metalz
:thu:

Thanks. I never thought of putting a Gibson pup in a Gibson guitar (not being sarcastic, just went past the obvious)

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A friend of mine used to have a '80s explorer with a kahler trem, he had EMG 85s in both positions; this is still the most aggressive guitar I've ever played - it just sounded mean! I'm guessing a lot of that had to do with the big body, it was really resonate acoustically. If this din't have the typical tiny Gibson frets it would be my favorite guitar I'd ever played. So yeah - give the EMGs a shot!

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Was thinking of EMG 81/85 set as they seem to cut well and decent $ value. However I have to go passive as I have no interest in routing the body to fit a battery in.

 

 

If you want to go EMG, a 9 volt will fit in the control cavity of an Explorer, especially with those small EMG pots. No routing necessary.

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Dimarzio Steve's Special is great for hearing all the notes in full chords with gain! That is what they were marketed for. That in the bridge with a Humbucker From Hell in the neck is a great combo. The Humbucker From Hell is not a high gain pickup like the name would seem, but sounds wicked good in all applications.

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Thanks for all the suggestions

 

 

If you want to go EMG, a 9 volt will fit in the control cavity of an Explorer, especially with those small EMG pots. No routing necessary.

Thanks a lot, I thought wrong! I had done some Googling and found threads about routing an Explorer to get a battery in. I think EMGs come in some sort of solderless kit with new pots, so that would make things easy.

 

 

Sometimes I wonder if I should save my money and put it towards a new amp The DR does some things really well (loose and dirty riffing), but seems a bit limited at times and quite undefined in high gain mode.

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Has stock pickups. 500T in bridge and 496R in neck.

 

 

Hmm, that surprised me a bit that you're having flabby flubby problems with those p'ups. Different amp or maybe in this case you could should consider a Jazz in the neck and JB in the bridge. Those are both very articulate p'ups.

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Hmm, that surprised me a bit that you're having flabby flubby problems with those p'ups. Different amp or maybe in this case you could should consider a Jazz in the neck and JB in the bridge. Those are both
very
articulate p'ups.

 

 

yeah tbh if i couldn't get heavy sounds from an Explorer with the 500T/496R into a Mesa Dual Rectifier i'd consider giving up entirely. if i played proper hard heavy metal i'd kill to have that setup

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yeah tbh if i couldn't get heavy sounds from an Explorer with the 500T/496R into a Mesa Dual Rectifier i'd consider giving up entirely. if i played proper hard heavy metal i'd kill to have that setup

Maybe I'm just getting too picky. My LP sounds better than my Explorer though. Some say the Recto 4 x 12 cab mushes things out and therefore some go for a smaller Mesa cab for this reason. Just after more articulate high gain sounds if possible. Plus having fun tweaking.

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