Need very specific pickup advice

[bman5150]

Long time lurker on this forumm. Too much great gear advice not to finally become a forum member. Here's the deal:

I own a cheap strat-style swamp ash bodied, floyd rose equipped guitar with a hardrock maple neck and rosewood fretboard. It's a Laguna 524 if anyone recognizes that brand and model. It has two humbucker pups with a coil tap tone control and a volume control. I've added a brass tone block to the FR and now have the guitar playing reasonably well. However, the stock pups are absolute garbage, so I started researching on this forum some thoughts/advice on reasonably-priced replacement bridge pups. I ended up settling on the DiMarzio Air Zone, partially because it was supposed to be good on FRs and provided some compensation for the flabbiness bass response on many FR guitars. Well, mission accomplished because it sounds pretty darn good - especially considering how inexpensive this guitar is. It sounds like a $800 guitar instead of the $200 I bought it for used.

Now to my question...I also own a 1989 Washburn strat-style guitar with a FR trem. Same exact woods as the Laguna. It currently has S-D '59 PAF (think it's the SH-1) installed in the bridge position. I can't say I've hated the pickup - it was better than the active EMG I had in it years ago. However, after hearing the DiMarzio Air Zone in my Laguna, I can't help but think I need something else now for this guitar. The bass response has always been a bit flubby, and it doesn't seem hot enough even at higher gigging volumes. I like the overall gist of the tone it provides but something is missing. It's also not trebly enough - I have to crank the treble on my Peavey Classic 30 to get it to respond correctly and have full dynamics vs. the Laguna where I have to roll it back a little.

Can a few folks recommend some replacement bridge pups for my Washburn? Of course, I love EVH's brown sound so I'm trying to stay close to this area. I do not play metal at all - this guitar is strictly for classic and modern rock. I know I could go out and get another Air Zone but that would be no fun to have two guitars with the same pups! If I wanted a slightly hotter '59-like bridge pup from S-D, what would you guys suggest?

And if you got all the way to the end of my very first metroamp forum post, all I can say is THANKS!!!!

[toddbartush]

In honor of your very first post, I'll reply with my very first post.

I hot rodded a Fender Squier a couple years ago and built it with a Van Halen focus in mind. I settled on the '59 as well but the guitar was missing something. I switched it out for a JB instead and I couldn't be happier. I do play a fair amount of metal, and the JB works well for that, but it's very versatile in my opinion. Also it's very responsive to the volume knob, whereas I found the '59 to sound very weak when I rolled off the volume.

By way of comparison, I have a Dimarzio Evo 2 in my Ibanez RG, and the JB is way "tastier" than that. Has a lot more character. Better articulation and more interesting overtones.

FWIW, I'm intrigued by all that I'm reading about the Dimarzio Super Distortion. I'm thinking of putting one in my Les Paul. If you check out the threads regarding that pickup, you might also stumble upon a recommendation.

Hope this helps a little.

-Todd

[Rich_D]

It's a loaded question. Just start reading bman....gl hf

[Marshall SL12301]

for a hotter PAF or duncan 59 tone get a TB-5 duncan custom or a blues saraceno trembucker.
The blues trembucker is a slightly more refined 59b with added punch(read mids) and output(not as much as the custom)
The custom sh ot tb5 is a balls to the walls PAF on steroids tone,punch like mike tyson in his prime and very Van haleny sounding through a plexi and a strat with a fender trem. works great for floyds too but get the TB-5 version
I recommend the custom overall

[rgorke]

The pickup also depend on what you are running the guitar into vis a vis effects and amp.

A lot of this is experimentation with running all your gear together and tweaking from there. All the lists of suggested pickups are great places to start.

[MrBeasty]

If you after a EVH sound then I would get an official pick-up: I'd go for an EVH Wolfgang pick-up or a Frankenstein.

I am not a big fan of Duncans. Their magnets types and their "perfect" winding technics just make dull pick-ups (IMHO). That said the Duncan Blues Saraceno Trembucker is an awesome pick-up.

[dirtycooter]

My advice is this-don't swap pickups till you try it in a much more evh sounding amp. That classic 30 open back combo-hmmmmmm.......go run it through a Vintage Modern marshall or somethings in that respect at a music store (free experiments are the best tone learning tools-exploit it it saves money) with a green back loaded 4x12 to get an approximation of things better. The closer the gear used to what you're after helps in deciding on little tweaks. You can't yell at the batter if you aren't even in the ball park-get what I am sayin?? I hated one pickup with alnico 2 in my good rig that more evh geared, but i loved the pickup goin through a randall solid state head for other tones other than evh. Night and day difference and it depended on what you were plugged into.
or if your stuck with that amp for now-try a bunch of different guitars at the shop into that amp and check out their pickups.

[Marshall SL12301]

I have to agree with dirty cooter you will need a much more VH sounding amp for the pup to matter

[stef]

dsd
duncan custom

[MARCO]

If you want the EVH Brown Sound without paying out the nose for a pickup do yourself a favor and get a High Order 9K Alnico II pickup.

I A-B'd this pickup with a Seymour EVH 78', a Duncan Custom Custom and a 59' and the HIgh Order won hands down. It cleans up[ nice, it growls EVH and sounds lively and dpongy all in one pickup and their under $80. I think the guys name is Jeff Gay. Google high order pickups


Best money I spent.

[Marshall SL12301]

If you want the EVH Brown Sound without paying out the nose for a pickup do yourself a favor and get a High Order 9K Alnico II pickup.

I A-B'd this pickup with a Seymour EVH 78', a Duncan Custom Custom and a 59' and the HIgh Order won hands down. It cleans up[ nice, it growls EVH and sounds lively and dpongy all in one pickup and their under $80. I think the guys name is Jeff Gay. Google high order pickups


Best money I spent.

I have a few of his pu's including the 8.7K alnico II paf MARCO is suggesting.
I think his pu's are outstanding in both tone and build!
$70 for a handwound to your spec's cant be beat and jeff is a great guy!

[fivecoyote]

+1 to the new amp and DSD based on your description. Get a good amp and so much gets better...not necessarily easier!

[bman5150]

Thanks for all the pup advice. Definitely have a starting point now. Does anyone think the DSD will sound thin on my FR-equipped guitar?

Also, I don't have any immediate plans to buy a more VH-sounding amp. I like my C30 and 5150. Neither sound like some of the awesome Marshall clones I've heard on this website (particularly the 50W Metro kit) but for now my Peaveys work OK for me. Maybe I need to swing by Burton then next time I'm in Michigan!

I think I should probably have said that I'm looking for a more musical pickup vs. one that is total VH. I generally like the tone I get from the S-D '59 PAF but it's just not hot enough for my particular gear and guitar.

What do you guys think of the Suhr/Doug Aldrich pickups for my application?

[Marshall SL12301]

Does anyone think the DSD will sound thin on my FR-equipped guitar?
I think I should probably have said that I'm looking for a more musical pickup vs. one that is total VH. I generally like the tone I get from the S-D '59 PAF but it's just not hot enough for my particular gear and guitar.

The DSD will absolutely not sound thin in your guitar but
In this case go with the duncan SH or TB-5 custom, it is a 59 with more balls and very musical