any Idea what pickup is good for metal tones in adler body?

[CendekiaKartono]

Hi, i'm using a Fender Blacktop Stratocaster with humbucker pickups. I'm not satisfied with its pups and are thinking about changing it.

I'm looking for something articulate, which everyone said the FullShred would be best. but then i notice someone saying that the wood type affects the performance of the pickup.
I've been searching the forum but can't seem to find the info i needed. (or maybe I should look harder)

how will the FS perform on an Adler body guitar?
the neck is maple so it's a pretty bright sounding guitar.

I play mostly progressive DreamTheater-like kind of songs, and sometimes Trivium and Yngwie kind of stuff. So i'm looking something articulate, yet heavy enough for a bright sounding guitar.

if it wouldn't be too much trouble, which Seymour Duncan Pickups would be best?
I'm new to this pickup switching thing, so I desperately need help. thanks in advance =D

[CTN]

the full shred might be a bit thin sounding in a strat.

Consider a TB-4, 5 or 6. That's JB, Duncan Custom, and Distortion, respectively.

You could also try a Duncan Custom with an Alnico 8 magnet (can be ordered as a shop floor custom or you could buy an Alnico 8 magnet from Addiction FX or Mojotone for about $5 and swap it yourself). Bit more of a pain in the ass getting that, but it sounds great in strats.

The JB and Distortion are both pretty articulate, but to my ears, they don't have the same kind of immediate attack that the full shred and Custom have...that attack is what makes them sound more articulate.

That said, the JB and Distortion have a very present upper midrange which screams out a bit (the distortion does this more than the JB), and that helps to add some clarity to the fat bass.

[elelpe]

Is it really a bright sounding guitar or just because it's made from alder and maple and you're saying it's bright? Have you heard the soundsample of FS? Do you really like it? If your strat is indeed bright and you really like FS, just go with it and modify the electronic. I see Blacktop Strat has 1 master volume and 2 tone for bridge and neck pup. Change it to 2 volume, each for bridge and neck pup, and 1 master tone. Then put 250k pot for bridge volume to tame the brightness (hb equipped guitar usually comes with 500k pots). Welcome!

[dvanburen]

JB sounds really nice in alder body guitars

[metalmachine]

Personally I really like the invader in a start. I dont find it muddy at all

[crguti]

JB sounds really nice in alder body guitars

+1.

[AmirH]

JB sounds really nice in alder body guitars

+2

I had a jb in my mahogany schecter and hated it -- it was flabby and shrill. I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. In my alder strat however, it absolutely screams! Beautiful crunch, and the lows are plenty tight.

[darthphineas]

JB

if not, Full Shred.

[Inkstained]

I've been wondering lately, how much can wood really matter with a Strat? I know there's some impact, and different woods ultimately yield different sounds (or so we tell ourselves), but given that the pickup essentially is suspended in a plastic pickguard, are wood types really important?

[DrNewcenstein]

I've been wondering lately, how much can wood really matter with a Strat? I know there's some impact, and different woods ultimately yield different sounds (or so we tell ourselves), but given that the pickup essentially is suspended in a plastic pickguard, are wood types really important?

So then the question becomes, what bridge pickup for my tortoise shell pickguard?

Seriously, the pickup doesn't care if it's suspended in ice, as long as the strings are mounted solidly and the wood is suitably resonant.

[Grindspine]

Duncan Distortion

/thread

[Inkstained]

So then the question becomes, what bridge pickup for my tortoise shell pickguard?

Seriously, the pickup doesn't care if it's suspended in ice, as long as the strings are mounted solidly and the wood is suitably resonant.

But if the pickup is suspended in plastic, then does it matter how "resonant" the wood is? A Les Paul has its mounting rings embedded in the wood.

[zenmindbeginner]

I've been wondering lately, how much can wood really matter with a Strat? I know there's some impact, and different woods ultimately yield different sounds (or so we tell ourselves), but given that the pickup essentially is suspended in a plastic pickguard, are wood types really important?

Wood acts like a comb filter to the pickup. Mahogany is an oily wood compared to Ash and Alder and has a bit less resonance leading to more severe comb filtering, which is why people have such problems with pickups in mahogany guitars. The drier a wood is before cutting and assembly leads to more resonance and mahogany is also harder to dry than ash and alder.

Ash is more resonant than alder and so Alder seems to be the middle ground for all pickups... most pickups sound great in alder.

I would suggest the stock JB and Distortion but would also like to suggest the DiMarzio AT-1 as an alternative to the JB.

The Distortion is like a cranked up JB with lots of new harmonic overtones from the ceramic magnet... it's the sound of George Lynch's classic era in Dokken. Probably one of the best lead tones ever. Very versatile and with LOTS of juice when you need it.

I'm digging on the RC5 in a JB, but it softens the output a bit which may not be what you are looking for.

[sosomething]

But if the pickup is suspended in plastic, then does it matter how "resonant" the wood is? A Les Paul has its mounting rings embedded in the wood.

You just maneuvered yourself out of your point.

Couple of things:

1 - A pickup "hears" the vibration of the strings within the magnetic field it creates. Guitar resonance impacts tone only as far as it affects the vibration of the strings. In other words, the material the pickup itself is mounted to is nowhere near as important to the overall tone product as what the strings are mounted to.

And here's the kicker..

2 - A Les Paul has its mounting rings screwed into the top of the guitar. A Strat has its pickguard screwed into the top of the guitar. In both cases, the pickup is suspended by screws through plastic. If it mattered, which it doesn't, it still wouldn't... in context.

I hope that helps answer your question!

[Inkstained]

You just maneuvered yourself out of your point.

I wasn't making a point or making a "maneuver." I was asking a question. I know this is the Internet, but not every comment is an opportunity to "score points."

Couple of things:

1 - A pickup "hears" the vibration of the strings within the magnetic field it creates. Guitar resonance impacts tone only as far as it affects the vibration of the strings. In other words, the material the pickup itself is mounted to is nowhere near as important to the overall tone product as what the strings are mounted to.

And here's the kicker..

2 - A Les Paul has its mounting rings screwed into the top of the guitar. A Strat has its pickguard screwed into the top of the guitar. In both cases, the pickup is suspended by screws through plastic. If it mattered, which it doesn't, it still wouldn't... in context.

I hope that helps answer your question!

Yes, it helps. Thanks.

Now -- this is another question, not a "maneuver" -- you're not saying that the vibration of the wood doesn't affect how the pickup "picks up" the string's vibration, are you? The wood affects the strings, but doesn't it also affect the pickup which is surrounded by the wood?

[sosomething]

I wasn't making a point or making a "maneuver." I was asking a question. I know this is the Internet, but not every comment is an opportunity to "score points."

Easy. I'm not coming at you. You were asking a question from a platform of assumption, and I was addressing the platform. That's all. By maneuver, all I meant was that there was a logical misalignment in your own post, and I pointed it out. Happens to us all sometimes.

The wood affects the strings, but doesn't it also affect the pickup which is surrounded by the wood?

Not really.

At least not in a shaping-the-note-fundamental kind of way that we think about tone. Vibration transference from the wood into the pickup itself can create some overtone signal through an amp, but it's nowhere as much as you might think.

You can test this by plugging in your guitar, damping the strings with your hand, and pounding your fist on the top. It'll go "BONG!" through your amp.

But take the strings off and try it again with an unstrung guitar.

Wood does have a huge affect on tone, but that affect is primarily manifested in the tone of the strings, which is then "heard" by the pickups.

[DrNewcenstein]

Pickups aren't like micrphones for vocal or instrument/cabinet miking. They don't hear the acoustic properties of an electric guitar. Even acoustic pickups in the soundhole don't hear the acoustic tone of the acoustic guitar (unless they're made with ribbon/piezo mics? never gutted one myself).

Pickups only know what's going on with the strings directly over them. However, everything the string directly contacts (the bridge and nut) as well as what the bridge directly contacts (the bridge posts and threaded inserts in the case of TOM or the body itself in the case of a Strat hardtail/surface-mounted trem or a Tele bridge), and the wood that the hardware is mounted on affects the string's oscillation frequency, which the pickup responds to.

The harder the wood and mounting hardware for the string (bridge, nut, etc), the brighter the tone coming through the pickups, because the denser materials reflect the incoming vibration from the string back into the string itself. Softer/more porous woods all more of the string's vibration to pass through it, and reflect less of it back into the string, resulting in a darker tone.

If you put a wood bridge on a maple-bodied Strat, the string will sound different than if you used a steel bridge on the same body.

By the same token, if you put a titanium bridge on a Les Paul, it would sound different than if you used a steel or aluminum bridge.

While body wood affects the electric tone, the primary contributors are what the string directly contacts first (nut and bridge saddles).

[Inkstained]

Pickups only know what's going on with the strings directly over them.

...

While body wood affects the electric tone, the primary contributors are what the string directly contacts first (nut and bridge saddles).

This makes perfect sense. Thanks to both of you, sosomething and DrNewcenstein.

[marvelous_seven]

Welcome, fellow Indonesian. Selamat datang dan selamat bergabung!
For bridge position, I say either Duncan Distortion or Duncan Custom will get more votes here based on your musical taste. DD if you tend toward modern side, DC if you tend toward PAF-style.
For neck position, I bet you Jazz will most likely fit your taste.