Good pickups for low tunings

[Hybrid_Child]

I have an Eclipse with EMG 81s, wich I tune down to C. But I'm not really happy with the EMGs, they are absolutely shitty for clean tones, and for distorted tones they sound too dark and too agressive for me. And the fact that they are active doesn't really make everything better... So I want to change them to something else.

For the bridge pickup I'm looking for is something bright and distinct sounding at low tunings, so riffs stand out clearly. And not with too much output so you can get good clean sounds as well. And of course it's got to be a passive pickup.

I've considered the DiMarzio D Sonic and the Bare Knuckle Painkiller... I know these are relatively high output pickups, but I don't know if there are any moderate output pickups designed for low tunings.

What do you think of these options? And do you have any other suggestions?

I play mainly metal stuff

Thanks...

[Rex Rocker]

EMG 81s
too dark

:eek:

can't really help you then... the D-Sonic is not really thaaaat hot... but it's definitely not brighter than the 81... anyway... why do you want a lower output bridge pickup? you can get a medium ouput neck pickup and have it work both for cleans and distortion... or have it work with a bridge pickup for nice cleans...

[Mr Pigwalk]

D-Sonic isn't super hot, but goddamn is it CLEAR. It's not "nasty" enough for most of my Drop B playing, but it does make things very easy to make sense of.

[MikeAmottV2006]

I got a D-Sonic and an Evolution neck in my Amott V. I tune to C and it's a killer combo.

[Hybrid_Child]

Alright thanks for the replies...

The reason why I want lower output is that, when I play with my band I use a Vox Tonelab SE into the clean channel on a Marshall TSL 100. And we play pretty loud, so the amp will be naturally overdriven by the signal comming from the Vox Board, wich is already distorted, and I don't want that. So I suppose lesser output pickups will help.

Does anyone know about the Bare Knuckle or other good choises?

[P.D.]

EMG 85/85 = The Best combination

[TheDevilHimself]

I think the D-Sonic would be the better choice, I guess the Painkiller is very hot. I also have a BK Miracle Man, which is not overly hot, but to be honest the difference to the D-Sonic isn't that big. Both are clear and articulate with low tunings and handle gain well. Both are not necessarily warm when playing cleans.

Also the last Guitar World issue tested the D-Activators and they seem to be great for clean sounds as well (but they're very loud).

[D-EJ915]

Brighter/tight = SD Full Shred

[The Jeeves 3000]

^ One of my favorite pickups besides t3h 3mgz0rzzzz

[Jack&Coke]

I tune to drop-c and I own a LTD-Eclipse, I've played on that guitar for about 3 years in my band and the other day I gave my old Ibanez RG series another shot (since I hadn't played it since I got the LTD) and the Ibanez is now my main guitar; A few years ago I put a Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59 Model humbucker in the neck and a Seymour Duncan CUSTOM SH-5 in the bridge and it is badass. I play through a Peavey 6505+ and a Mesa stack, I'd suggest that pickup combo. It has a good clean (the '59) and a great thick distortion.

[ZephMan13]

Full shred, PAF pro for medium output.

[Sixstringhotshot]

Hot pickups are a terrible idea for low tuning. EMGs work so well for this because they're a boosted low output, and not high output. Most "high gain" pickups will sound like ASS if you're tuning below C.

Lower output pickups are much clearer and have much more percieved high end and attack. Look into PAF Pros or Pearly Gates.

[Metlupass2]

I'm selling a D Sonic. It was the factory installed pickup in my EBMM JP, but I swapped it out. I played maybe a total of 4 hours on it.

65 shipped in 48 us states.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b277/Metlupass2/IMG_0991.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b277/Metlupass2/IMG_0990.jpg

[TheDevilHimself]

Hot pickups are a terrible idea for low tuning. EMGs work so well for this because they're a boosted low output, and not high output. Most "high gain" pickups will sound like ASS if you're tuning below C.

Lower output pickups are much clearer and have much more percieved high end and attack. Look into PAF Pros or Pearly Gates.

I beg to differ... I see no way how you could validate your point.

[MikeAmottV2006]

C is my favorite tuning and I use the D-Sonic, Evolution, and Evo 2 pick-ups. In a big mahogany guitar they all sound awesome, especially the Evolution.

[Robotsatemygrandma]

Seymour Duncan Dimebucker is GREAT for Drop Tunings.

[KH Guitar Freak]

Hot pickups are a terrible idea for low tuning. EMGs work so well for this because they're a boosted low output, and not high output. Most "high gain" pickups will sound like ASS if you're tuning below C.

Lower output pickups are much clearer and have much more percieved high end and attack. Look into PAF Pros or Pearly Gates.

Super 3 is teh suck for drop tuningz??? 8o

[TREVA]

I use d activators 7 in my prestige 1527.
Awsome pups,no muddy low strings.
Evo 7 are good too !

[MikeAmottV2006]

I just posted My Evo2 for sale in the spam thread. It's blue, though. $50 shipped in the US only. Paypal only. Also...this is not as hot as an original Evolution. Also, it has the treble rolled off alot and more mids so it gets a good clean tone, especially when mixed with the neck pick-up. If you are in the US then this is a steal for what I'm selling it for.

[tmoori]

bareknuckle miracle man?

[The Sloth]

From my experience I think it would be best to look at pickups which are lower output and have a good amount of treble. Also I would say that to find the right pickup for a guitar would mean trying a few things.

I'm not a huge EMG fan but to be fair they do cut through very well, when I A/B tested them with my other guitars at the time the had a lot of cut!

I had a Seymour Duncan Distortion in my Baritone, I loved the crunchy sound but it didnt have enough clarity in that particular guitar. I replaced it with a full shred which is much better. It is tighter and clearer and still has an ace chunky sound.

The Bill Lawrence seems to cut through very well too but sounds a bit nasty.

[KdubESP]

Not that I'll ever be able to afford a set, but Bare Knuckle does make some really badass sounding p'ups...The miracle man, as mentioned before, or the Holy Diver may suit your needs. You should check out their site - they have a bunch of clips of their stuff posted. Only bad thing (for the US) is the horrible exchange rate...

[asbloodrunsblack]

try , EMG 85 bridge and EMG 60 neck . , or the EMG which is single coil in humbucker housing , they're good for cleans . if they dont sound great to you i would try the new Seymour duncan blackouts , they're alot clearer but still active ...

[Thrashman]

The 89, wich is more like 2 of them SA's, and sounds just like an 85 when in humbucking mode, and an sa in single mode.

[The Sloth]

I finally got the chance to try a bareknuckle warpig the other day. I compared it with an EMG 81. The EMG sounded so thin and weak in comparison :eek:! I ordered the warpig straight away.

[Thrashman]

EMG 85/85 = The Best combination

how can you say that when you don't even have an 85?:)

[NevermoreMan90]

EMG 85/85 = The Best combination

No. It is not.

[DeathrollJM]

eww 85/85 are you kidding me, thats horrible 81/81 FTW

[NevermoreMan90]

eww 85/85 are you kidding me, thats horrible 81/81 FTW

This I agree with. Dimarzio slays all IMO though.

[DeathrollJM]

This I agree with. Dimarzio slays all IMO though.

yeah i got a chance the other week to play a john petrucci sig and the custom Dimarzios in there completely SLAY, i have never heard a guitar play that heavy, it doesn't look like that kind of guitar, but it sure is

[HateEvent]

Bare Knuckle War Pig and Nailbomb do low tunings well.

Best (EMG aside) I've used however is the SD Full Shred.