what pickups should i put in my guitar? (seymour duncan)

[smokeythebear94]

So i got this lado super falcon neckthru beautiful guitar except i find the pickups are kind of weak but also squeak alot i had it set up not to loong ago maybe 5 weeks ago feels GREAT just pickups sound kinda ****ty but it is a 30 year old guitar so meh. just wondering what pickups i should replace them with i like a fat chunky warm distortion for grunge rock and heavy hard rock like smile empty soul puddle of mudd alice in chains and nirvana. what pickups should i put in it i have SD'S in my les paul which sound grreat but i dont know the model since i bought it like that.so yeah based on my description what do you think>?

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/a...1&d=1274236448

[Jessie Sammler]

It might be worth putting some effort into finding out what pickups are in the Les Paul. Maybe the same pickups would sound great in the Lado, too. Or the guys here could suggest something that would give you a similar sound in the Lado, even though they might be different pickups. If nothing else, it would be a educational and could be a starting point.

[MojoMonster]

From what I can tell the Lado is maple/mahogany neck thru or is it maple/walnut?

And any idea about the wings?
And dang that's a lot of knobs and switches.
Edit: I found a description of the controls.

3-way p/u selector, Master Volume, Tone, Active Pre-amp boost w/volume control, 5-way Passive tone control, mini toggle to turn on 5 way tone control, Coil tap, Phase switch.

Is that accurate?

I'd start with something low to moderate output... Seth Lovers, '59's, APII's.

If that doesn't cut it, I'd look at some magnet swapping.

From there I'd move to higher output if there's still something missing.

I'm thinking something like a PG neck and either a JB or a Custom Custom, Custom 5 or Custom bridge.

If the wing wood is maple you will want to "tame" the tendency for a trebly tone with warmer pickups.
If the wings are mahogany you can pretty much do what you want and it should all sound good.

And try to get 4-connector for everything so you can keep the split options... which means Custom Shop versions of the Seth Lovers and '59's, btw.

Good luck.

MM

[LtKojak]

So i got this lado super falcon neckthru beautiful guitar except i find the pickups are kind of weak but also squeak alot i had it set up not to loong ago maybe 5 weeks ago feels GREAT just pickups sound kinda ****ty but it is a 30 year old guitar so meh. just wondering what pickups i should replace them with i like a fat chunky warm distortion for grunge rock and heavy hard rock like smile empty soul puddle of mudd alice in chains and nirvana. what pickups should i put in it i have SD'S in my les paul which sound grreat but i dont know the model since i bought it like that.so yeah based on my description what do you think>?

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/a...1&d=1274236448

This is a very beautiful instrument, just right up my alley!

Please, post some photos of the back, to make a better educated guess we need to see the woods up close.

[bagouser]

Holy Solder Poisoning, Batman! Look at all those switches and knobs!........
I'm not sure if you would still be able to use all those controls, but based on the sound you said you wanted, try a Custom (Present Mids) or Custom 5 (Scooped Mids) in the bridge and a Jazz neck (cool), Full Shred neck (warm) or Distortion Neck (warmer) depending on your taste.......

[tone4days]

i hate to throw out the simplest, obvious solution but ... have you swapped out the battery lately? ... there is no way a guitar with an active onboard boost should sound like you describe (i.e. weak) ... it could be that the splits, phase, etc controls are set suboptimally for your preference as well ...

[smokeythebear94]

no the boost is good enough its just its a boost and i cant stop playing with out it freaking out and it makes the sound fatter and i like it but the pickups alone arent really good enough so... yeah

[smokeythebear94]

Mojo its got mahogony maple rosewood through out the body and neck and its controls are correct as you listed and it sounds pretty cool im thinking that its either maple or mahogony but its pretty heavy and it sounds pretty warm cause of the density of it. what would be the best for a fat sound also retaining distortion for the bridge pickup . JB
Custom Custom , Custom 5 or Custom bridge. LTkojak yeah for sure i will man!
Bagouser : what would probably be the warmest heavy grungey sound in your opinion like think warm heavy . and for Tone4days i usualy dont use the battery so yeah

[MojoMonster]

Mojo its got mahogony maple rosewood through out the body and neck and its controls are correct as you listed and it sounds pretty cool im thinking that its either maple or mahogony but its pretty heavy and it sounds pretty warm cause of the density of it. what would be the best for a fat sound also retaining distortion for the bridge pickup... JB, Custom Custom , Custom 5 or Custom bridge.

If it's mahogany(can you check inside the control cavity?), I'd say PGn and JBb.
If it's maple I'd say PGn and CCb.

Can you take some close up pics of the back neck thru, the insides of the control cavity and maybe the pickup cavities?

MM

[smokeythebear94]

pgn and ccb what do those stand for? and why is it JBb? with the extra b

[MojoMonster]

pgn and ccb what do those stand for? and why is it JBb? with the extra b

Sorry, just pickup shorthand.
Pearly Gates Neck(PGn), Custom Custom Bridge(CCb) and JBb is a JB bridge model.

MM

[ACH91332]

Alice in Chains? Duncan JB or Motor City Afwayu in the bridge.

[smokeythebear94]

i heard the jb doesnt realy have much on the side of bass and a little to trebly
but then again after looking at the people using it and hearing some of the sounds im leaning towards it.

[smokeythebear94]

what would you say would be better mojo custom custom or the jb ? cause ive heard some mixed experiences with it

[MojoMonster]

what would you say would be better mojo custom custom or the jb ? cause ive heard some mixed experiences with it

Honestly?
You won't know until you try it.

That guitar isn't a typical set neck, mahogany body with a maple cap or a bolt maple neck, alder/ash body so it'll really just boil down to what you find sounds good.

You could be methodical and hit eBay or the Trading Post here for the cheapest JB you can find and start from there.

That said, given the woods in your guitar, I'd start with a Custom Custom bridge.

MM

[ACH91332]

Well if you are worried about the JB being spikey that's usually from mahogany. If the wings on that guitar are mahogany I wouldn't worry TOO much because the neck is going to be the larger factor in tone since it is neck through. The strings start and end on the same block of wood and the pickups are mounted on it as well. Jerry Cantrell used to use a JB with his G&L Rampages which are all soft maple bodied with hard maple necks with ebony boards. His tone isnt what I'd call "harsh" but that tone recipe makes you think it would be. I think your safe bet would be the the Custom. If you don't like the Custom you can make it in to a C5, CC, or C8 just from the switch of a magnet or if you still are hung up on trying the JB you can exchange it within 30 days I believe but the downside is you cant mag swap and then exchange.

[Gingrel]

Well if you are worried about the JB being spikey that's usually from mahogany. If the wings on that guitar are mahogany I wouldn't worry TOO much because the neck is going to be the larger factor in tone since it is neck through. The strings start and end on the same block of wood and the pickups are mounted on it as well. Jerry Cantrell used to use a JB with his G&L Rampages which are all soft maple bodied with hard maple necks with ebony boards. His tone isnt what I'd call "harsh" but that tone recipe makes you think it would be. I think your safe bet would be the the Custom. If you don't like the Custom you can make it in to a C5, CC, or C8 just from the switch of a magnet or if you still are hung up on trying the JB you can exchange it within 30 days I believe but the downside is you cant mag swap and then exchange.

Wouldn't it then make more sense to try the JB first, and if you don't like, exchange for a Custom which can then be freely mag-swapped?

[hamerfan]

i heard the jb doesnt realy have much on the side of bass and a little to trebly
but then again after looking at the people using it and hearing some of the sounds im leaning towards it.

There is a new version of the JB, more winding and Alnico 8 magnet. It fills your books: its is stronge, fuller mids and warmer at the same time. It the Alternative 8.

Another thought: since you have 24 frets, you could also use a lower gain Bridge pickup in you neck slot.

[smokeythebear94]

whats the newer version called?

[smokeythebear94]

im thinking the custom bridge because all of you guys are speaking nicely about it the only thing is in its description it says for ''bright guitars'' when i hear that word i think no balls no bottom end chunk just kinda trebly overly spikey.but since you guys think it will go nicely with the woods it seems to kind of make sense. and pearley gates neck any other suggestions for the neck pickup