the big leagues (humbuckers only)

renegadetele · April 25th, 2007, 01:53 AM

so i put a project guitar together with some gfs pickups and i'm pretty satisfied with it overall, but i cant help but wonder if about what better pickups could do for me.

as is, the guitar has an alder telecaster body, bloodwood (very similar to maple) neck with a brazillian rosewood fingerboard, with two humbuckers (a vintage 59 in the neck, and a bigmouth in the bridge). I'm after a Shawn Lane/Greg Howe/Eric Johnson type sound...something with tremendous clarity that's not afraid of gain, but still sounds natural. Now I know none of them play tele's, but i don't want to sound exactly like them. I just want some elements of their sounds.

I've been looking into the Air Classics (Shawn Lane and Greg Howe use them) and the EJ sigs, and the breed by dimarzio, and I was also thinking about the carvin holdsworth pickups too (I'm a HUGE Holdsworth fan). Is there anything in the duncan department that i should check out? How about other manufacturers?

As far as the Dimarzio super distortions, tone zones, and air zones, any opinions? Idealistically, i'd love to have something that could do the bone crushing thing as well as the fire breathing scream machine thing as welll, so help me out here. I know there are some pickups out there for me...but i'm trying to get pointed in the right direction without all the marketing hype that clutters the manufactureres sites.

JohnnyCrash · April 25th, 2007, 02:53 AM

It's always the "what if's" and curiosity that gets us guitar players buying more and more gear :)

I've had success with both DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan pickups. Have not tried the Carvin's.

I think if you like the sound, stick with it. If you don't like the sound, find out why and look for pickups that specifically address those issues.

Some clarity issues I've even resolved with low output ceramic magnet pickups. You'd be surprised at where you'd find your target tone... I've gotta Asian made "$15 special" that sounds incredible for what I use it for.

renegadetele · April 25th, 2007, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

It's always the "what if's" and curiosity that gets us guitar players buying more and more gear :)

I've had success with both DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan pickups. Have not tried the Carvin's.

I think if you like the sound, stick with it. If you don't like the sound, find out why and look for pickups that specifically address those issues.

Some clarity issues I've even resolved with low output ceramic magnet pickups. You'd be surprised at where you'd find your target tone... I've gotta Asian made "$15 special" that sounds incredible for what I use it for.

that was helpful man, thanks

April 25th, 2007, 01:53 AM	#1 (permalink)
renegadetele Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New York City Age: 22 Posts: 176	the big leagues (humbuckers only) so i put a project guitar together with some gfs pickups and i'm pretty satisfied with it overall, but i cant help but wonder if about what better pickups could do for me. as is, the guitar has an alder telecaster body, bloodwood (very similar to maple) neck with a brazillian rosewood fingerboard, with two humbuckers (a vintage 59 in the neck, and a bigmouth in the bridge). I'm after a Shawn Lane/Greg Howe/Eric Johnson type sound...something with tremendous clarity that's not afraid of gain, but still sounds natural. Now I know none of them play tele's, but i don't want to sound exactly like them. I just want some elements of their sounds. I've been looking into the Air Classics (Shawn Lane and Greg Howe use them) and the EJ sigs, and the breed by dimarzio, and I was also thinking about the carvin holdsworth pickups too (I'm a HUGE Holdsworth fan). Is there anything in the duncan department that i should check out? How about other manufacturers? As far as the Dimarzio super distortions, tone zones, and air zones, any opinions? Idealistically, i'd love to have something that could do the bone crushing thing as well as the fire breathing scream machine thing as welll, so help me out here. I know there are some pickups out there for me...but i'm trying to get pointed in the right direction without all the marketing hype that clutters the manufactureres sites.

April 25th, 2007, 02:53 AM	#2 (permalink)
JohnnyCrash Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lost Angeles and Orange County Posts: 7,128	It's always the "what if's" and curiosity that gets us guitar players buying more and more gear :) I've had success with both DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan pickups. Have not tried the Carvin's. I think if you like the sound, stick with it. If you don't like the sound, find out why and look for pickups that specifically address those issues. Some clarity issues I've even resolved with low output ceramic magnet pickups. You'd be surprised at where you'd find your target tone... I've gotta Asian made "$15 special" that sounds incredible for what I use it for.