What to do?

[che_guitarra]

I posted on this a while back, but i've done nothing as I had only recently purchased my Jackson, and have been giving it time to settle in so I could cement my thoughts.



Basically, I bought the Jackson DK2S on the premise it could replace my Fender HR Strat as my go-to hi-gain axe. I specifically got this Jackson as the sustainiac system is a peach, the neck profile is much more agreeable than my slightly chunky strat neck, fret access is much better... and heck, i've always wanted a "can't get any blacker" Jackson.

But, I hate to say it - my Jackson is being shown up by the Fender in two ways:
1) It sounds better... the GFS Crunchy PAT sounds a bit more lively and sexy than the JB when I lay down my 12-bar rock, and the cleaned up tone works better for me as well.
2) Harmonic ability of the GFS blows the JB out of the water.


You could assume i'm a metalhead having bought this axe, but not so much. I like my 80s/90s metal, but first and foremost I want this guitar to be a rocker, and I play through Fender tweed amps almost exclusively... not Marshall stacks.


What would you guys do? If I switch over pickups will the goodness translate into my Jackson? I'm not sold on getting rid of the holy JB in favour of a $30 GFS pickup... but my ears don't lie - I prefer the Crunchy PAT.

I can always keep my black Fender I guess, but even so - I want the Jackson to be harmonics king in my collection.


Hmmm....

[stevesmith1987]

In my experience pickups aren't the total deciding factor in the way a guitar sounds.

Every guitar has it's own character and pickups are meant to compliment those characteristics. So that JB may sound amazing in a different axe, but not so much in the jackson.

I had a set of the crunchy PATs in a Agile AL-200 and I didn't like them, so I swapped them for a set of Dragonfire screamers and it sounds great now. I put the crunchy PATs in a Epiphone G-400 and they sounded great in there.

You could also try changing the Pots, the Capacitor or the magnet in the pickup. I put a cermaic magnet in a JB it turned into a shred machine. The crunchy PATS have a ceramic magnet in it and your amp may very well like it's voicing better.

Anyway I hope that helps.

[che_guitarra]

The Jackson is alder... I don't really know what the Fender is. Based on other MIJ superstrats of this vintage it could be alder, basswood or poplar. It's also body mount vs pickguard mount I guess.

I actually didn't know the C Pats were ceramic, but yeah GFS info backs that up

That being the case - can it be said ceramic pickups generally offer more lusty harmonic response than alnicos?

I'm just surprised that pinch squeals and harmonic notes are 1000x easier to fetch out of the strat/Crunchy than the Jackson/JB (due to the wrap JB's generally get).

[DonP]

To be honest I love the JB in my Charvel Aqua and also in my SL2H, but not in my DK2. I went with an Invader.

Oh, and you need an ebony fretboard for blacker than black. That rosewood isn't cutting it. I probably have 5 guitars with rosewood and black bodies. Probably the most common color combo out there LOL!

[dr. ad]

your only option is to swap bridge pickups, and hope that it's "the pickups in the specific guitars" and not just the guitar that's the problem...

[stevesmith1987]

The Jackson is alder... I don't really know what the Fender is. Based on other MIJ superstrats of this vintage it could be alder, basswood or poplar. It's also body mount vs pickguard mount I guess.

I actually didn't know the C Pats were ceramic, but yeah GFS info backs that up

That being the case - can it be said ceramic pickups generally offer more lusty harmonic response than alnicos?

I'm just surprised that pinch squeals and harmonic notes are 1000x easier to fetch out of the strat/Crunchy than the Jackson/JB (due to the wrap JB's generally get).

It depends on your amp I think. My Marshall likes alnico voicing and my Hughes and Kettner likes ceramic voicing.

[uOpt]

The GFS is ceramic, right? If you happen to like ceramic you'll never be happy with a JB.

The Fender also starts out different with more meat in the body, and maybe a different tremolo (block).

[dominus]

TB-5 Custom if you want to stick with Seymour Duncan.

If you want to experiment a little, get a Duncan Performer HB-108 Detonator. Try it stock, then try it with an A8 magnet.