Pickup recommendations

Updated
Pickup recommendations

Hey all!

I got a few questions regarding pickups. I have an ESP Horizon FR 27. When I bought it the previous owner took out the stock pickups which were Seymour Duncan Custom 5 (bridge) and Hot Rails (neck) and put in Blackouts. I want to put a new set of passive pickups in her.  Not a fan of active pickups. It has an alder body, maple neck with an ebony fretboard, and OFR. I play in drop B/standard B. I like the heavy sounds of Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, God Smack and the leads of Fransisco Artusato, Vai, Petrucci, etc.  My other guitar is an Ibanez RG2550 (basswood body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard) with DiMarzio Crunch lab (bridge) and Liquifire (neck). I really like the sound of it.  

 

So, does ESP match the tone of the wood to the pickups they select?

 

What would you recommend for replacement pickups?

 

I've been eyeing the D Activator X, Evo, and maybe a Crunch Lab in the bridge. The Air Norton S, Pro Track or Chopper in the neck.

Thoughts?

 

But, I've also been looking at the Lace Deathbucker for the bridge and the Alumitone single for the neck. Right now I play through a Line 6 Vetta 2 head and a 4x12 with V30’s. Eventually I plan to get a Fractal FX 2 unit with FRFR speaker cabs, if that makes any difference.  Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

M

Pushead

I had a similar issue in a similar guitar.  I have a HSS Mirage and had a ToneZone at the bridge with Choppers in the neck and middle.  I liked the sound of the Chopper in positions 2, 3, & 4, but I wasn't a fan of it on the full neck position.  I also wasn't a fan of the Tone Zone. It wasn't quite as high output as I thought it was going to be and ended up flubbier than expected.

I like the Air Norton (I've had the full humbucker version).  There was a lot of chime in it, which made it different for every other pickup I had in the neck (at the time.)

My experience with the Custom 5 is it's very similar to a JB, but less harsh.  Similar tonal characteristics, though.

If you like how the Crunch Lab in your Iby, it might be worth it to try one in the ESP.  The wood difference may cause it to sound different enough to be interesting.

Shred

I thought about that but I didn't know how the different wood would sound.  Some say it doesn't matter some say it does.  There is a little tonal difference when I strum my Ibanez and ESP unplugged.

M

Brent C.

For the floyd guitar I'd try the SD tb-8, you'll need some sort of noise gate, or just be comfortable with using your volume knob (or knobs), but that thing is a metal monster with great personality.  It's my favorite metal pickup thus far.

Post to Thread