Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Plutonia on September 09, 2012, 05:45:40 AM
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Hello Bare Knucklers,
Soon I am buying 2 Epiphone Les Paul Standards and an Epiphone ES-335 or 339. I already have decided to put Riff Raff in 1 LP, either Emerald or Rebel Yell in another LP, and for the ES I want a very retro early '70s tone. I am guessing I want an Alnico II type of sound with a low output. I am looking for the distortion tone from that low output pickup that matches Steve Hackett's pre-1975 lead tone. Martin Barre's tone in Jethro Tull is another close one.
Unfortunately, all these alnico II pickups here have no sound file examples that I can find that show the distortion tone. And since its not just the magnet and the DC resistance that colors the sound, I really don't know what to shoot for. The sound I want is very open and contains a fair amount of harmonic swirl in the attack, followed by a smooth sustain. I want the tone of the ES to shine through the pickup, without the pickup being so hot it obliterates the woody resonance.
So any recommendations? Are there other sound files available that shows these low output pickups in more aggressive circumstances? I really would like to hear them on the 'Modern Metal' example, since that really shows a lot of the character of the pickup. Riff Raff is astounding here - awesome growl. I think it sounds better than the hotter pickups which can cover up the sound of the guitar itself.
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Can't remember what Steve Hackett sounded like but when I think of Martin Barre the solo in Aqualung always springs to mind - fat with a lot of bite. I imagine that one of your LPs with a Riff Raff in the bridge would get you very close to that sound. It's going to be harder to get that sound with a 335. For an early 70s tone with a 335 I would imagine the Mule would do it easily.