Which pickups have "crushing" mids?

[sinnerx96]

Funny, I was thinking something really similar lol. The painkiller is the only thing that I could think of that would have a more crushing midrange than an 81...Maybe an MCP solution, as well. And I dunno that itd be MORE crushing, just different. Certainly not tighter.

 

Yep.

 

Also, there should be a sticky thread for anyone interested in posting a thread asking for pickup recommendations. Be prepared for people to not read your posts, and just recommend their favorite pickup.

[soilent]

 

Your guitar has an EMG81, yeah? I don't know of many other pickups that would sound more "tight" or "crushing" than that pickup. Unless I'm seriously misunderstanding your use of those words. Otherwise, I have a very hard time understanding how someone could think a {censored}ing SH-5 would sound more tight and crushing than an EMG81. I wonder sometimes what goes on in some people's minds in pickup threads. I could see a painkiller being something you might be interested in. It has a huge high-mid bump with throaty and gurgly mids that really cut, but it might not sound as tight as the 81 in the lows. But, I'm suspecting that your guitar just doesn't have the same resonance as your friend's. If so, there's not much you can do about that.

 

 

 

I think it's just a matter of the pickup's natural EQ. The ones I'm looking for seem to have a nice upper-mid spike, whereas my EMGs sound more flat or maybe even a bit scooped. His guitar has a basswood body and mine has a mahogany body just FYI.

[sinnerx96]

I think it's just a matter of the pickup's natural EQ. The ones I'm looking for seem to have a nice upper-mid spike, whereas my EMGs sound more flat or maybe even a bit scooped. His guitar has a basswood body and mine has a mahogany body just FYI.

 

The pickup you have seems to have a nice upper mid spike. In fact, it does.

More so than most other pickups mentioned here. It's also most likely to have the tightest lows.

 

If the EMG81 sounds scooped to you, then it's definitely your guitar. That pickup has a lot of sharp high-mids and highs. Like I said before, I don't know if there are many other pickups that would sound more crushing and tight than the EMG81. Not many of the pickups mentioned here are contenders. Maybe the Painkiller. And that still depends on what you mean by crushing. Also, there's a good chance that if the EMG81 isn't tight enough for you, than the Painkiller won't be either.

 

Your friend's guitar being basswood and yours mahogany, doesn't really mean much. Both woods have certain tonal tendencies, but there can be lots of crossover from guitar to guitar. Which is why I said that it could be that your friend's guitar is just more resonant in the upper mids than yours.

 

Of the ones mentioned so far, the Painkiller will give you more of a cutting throaty high mid spike. But keep in mind that there's a chance it won't be as tight in the lows. That's probably one of your best bets as far as pickups to try from what you're saying.