advice and hello

[painbird]

newbie here, hello to all

 

im going to ask an often asked question. i did do a search and found some help but not enough....yet.

 

i have two guitars that need new pick ups. the strat is the most important though. i love strats but the tone on mine isn't what i had hoped. i have a 50th anniversary with Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pick ups. its way too thin for me. sounds too country. i want a thicker strat sound with better crunch. i did some research and thought that hot rails may work, but then i thought dimarzio had some sweet choices, then i saw GFC and by then i was lost. can anyone offer some advice? im in a band that plays prog metal with spacey and pop breakdowns (due to my writing style) and i play through my friends amp (i don't like it much, fender m80 chorus head. i like tube amps). id like to use my strat in this band but i cant the way it is right now. i own vintage club crate tube head which i love but it lacks the crunch i need for this band. i doubt pick ups will change that.

 

my other guitar is a epiphone les paul. this is what i use in the band. it has a nice tone but its still not 'metal' enough. id like to beef it up but i dont want to lose the warm, round tone it has. do i have any options? id like a fat, sharp distortion (at least for this band).

 

i cant afford a new guitar or amp, at least not yet so pick ups are what i want to do.

[painbird]

just wanted to bump this.. maybe someone new will read and offer some help.

[chqtarzan]

I've been advocate Tonerider for a while, check this:

http://www.tonerider.com/pickups/stratpickups.html strat pups

http://www.tonerider.com/pickups/humbuckers.html humbuckers

 

They've got decent soundclips which exactly express the pups' charectors. I'm happy with the Tonerider humbuckers in my Epi LP BTW.

 

I was told that some dimazio strat pups do not handle distortion well, you might have to do the research to find out if it is true.

[Blues101]

Sorry bubba, but I dont do Metal.

 

But If I was to do anything, the first thing is to get a good distortion pedal,

than go from there.

[sleepeatplay]

Dimarzio super distortion for the epi. Dimarzio would probably be a good choice for the strat as well. Also consider rio grande pickups. google their site and listen to the soundclips. The pickups are cheaper througha dealer than direct, so shop around.

[aschreiber2010]

my dimarzio breed in the neck is FAT ASS and my seymour sh-6 is very sharp and clear,

 

but for your needs i would say something along the lines of a super distortion or a tone zone.

 

sry i don't know too much about strat pups since i did a bitch load of research before i bought my buckers.

[iansmitchell]

Go down to guitarfetish.com and look at their stuff, the quality blows your stock stuff out of the water.

Strat:

Three lil' killers+ superstrat wiring kit.

($100 bucks, and you can go H, H S, H SS, S, SS, H S H, or H H H, with the three on/off/on switches)

Epiphone:

Les paul wiring upgrade

Crunchy PAT bridge

Vintage 59 neck

($80, far better quality pots and caps, better switch, even a jack! The crunchy PAT sounds almost exactly like a dimarzio super distortion, the vintage 59 is similar to the gibson '57, nice combo.)

 

Under $200 shipped, and you won't wanna put your guitars down once you solder them up and plug 'em in.

[painbird]

thanks!

[DaveAronow]

Welcome, dude!!

 

Whoa, wait a minute?

 

Did I read the words "sounds too country"?

 

I didnt really think that was possible.

[iplayanesp]

if I were you I would follow iansmitchells advice.

 

 

what kind of cab do you have?

 

 

 

before i dropped $200 in pick ups i think the best thing would be to get a good overdrive and a good distortion for the Vintage club head, that will improve your sound more than the pick ups will.

[rscornutt]

I have Tex-Mex pickups in my Strat and they do well with distortion. I have also played Several Strats with Texas Specials that sound good too.

 

If I were looking for new pickups the first place I would go would be guituarfetish.com - I have the Crunchy PATs in one of their XV-500s and they are very nice. The cleans are warm and they sound better the dirtier they get. Just remember single coils are not going to give you the same sound as humbuckers. I can get nice meaty tones from mine, but it's not the same as buckers.

 

Go back to using your tube amp and buy a tube screamer type pedal to boost your gain channel. A good distortion pedal running through the clean channel can also give you the sound you're going for. I'm not knocking solid state amps, I own a few. Some are quite good. They can not give the same tone and dynamics as tubes.

[cross.bones]

Do you want "That" metal sound? like the roadrunner records bands, Machine head etc? If you do get EMG 81 neck and 85 bridge.

[painbird]

im not looking for the typical metal sound. i just want a bit more beef. we are in a prog metal type band and i need a thick crunch with a fatter bottom. my tube head is 50watts but my cab is a small stack (2 tens i think). i really, really want to use my head as i dont really like solid state. maybe a 4x12 would thicken me up and new pick ups? i was also thinking about getting the line6 distortion pedal ( i have the delay, dl4 i think and i friggin love it).

 

any more thoughts?

[iplayanesp]

Id look for a used Avatar 4x12 w/ v30s and a metal muff.

[samuraiBSD]

Anyone think a 498t might work in the 'Paul?

 

You really should be looking at the BG Hellabucker. That thing's got some pretty beefy sound to it.

[Geeter]

Welcome

[painbird]

just saw a quick video on the metal muff. that thing is perfect. i do wonder how it will sound with my set up though. i know my cab isn't powerful enough but a 4x12 cab won't be cheap.

[painbird]

btw, thanks for the warm welcomes.

[ThunderSqueak]

Welcome, dude!! Whoa, wait a minute? Did I read the words "sounds too country"? I didnt really think that was possible.

you made me think of this ...

[YOUTUBE]0X69rIzFQDY[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

oh and hi and welcome

[Surfdude]

I still like the Fender Vintage noiseless. A lot fuller sound than the Samarium Cobalt pickups. I had both of them in mine and could really hear the difference. The Cobalt Noiseless ones did not stay on even two days they were that bad.

 

But that is just my experience.

 

Dimarzio or Duncan makes a SC called the Great White Snark, with a n, that I also like as it has a great strat tone and each string is articulated very well and they are not as expensive as the noiseless.

 

Surfy

[iplayanesp]

 

just saw a quick video on the metal muff. that thing is perfect. i do wonder how it will sound with my set up though. i know my cab isn't powerful enough but a 4x12 cab won't be cheap.

 

 

You could always go for a used avatar 2x12 with v30s. They go for roughly $200-$250 used and are GREAT.

[dcindc]

Put a GFS Lil Killer in the bridge of that strat. I'm not sure you'll even need a pedal. They hit the amp pretty hard and a Vintage Clubber is no punk.

 

Regardless, after you do this you will KNOW. For 30 bucks.

[samuraiBSD]

Put a GFS Lil Killer in the bridge of that strat. I'm not sure you'll even need a pedal. They hit the amp pretty hard and a Vintage Clubber is no punk. Regardless, after you do this you will KNOW. For 30 bucks.

 

au contraire...it's VERY punk

[painbird]

i think i will get a lil killer and see how that goes. if i like the one then i will get more. im also going to grab 2 new pick ups for the epiphone.

 

im also looking for a used avatar 4x12. my punk club head can power them, right?

 

is the vintage club head a good head? does it have a good rep? i know i love it.