amp and pickup relation?

[spacetruckin]

hi everyone,
Just to question, whats the relationship between an amplifer and a pickup in terms of tone? Is it generally considered that with low power, mid gain amps (e.g. a vox ac30) a high DC pickup is necessary?

[TwilightOdyssey]

Everything makes a difference. Just depends on a)what you already have and b)what you're trying to achieve. DC resistance is not the sole arbiter of a pickup's output. Case in point, my VHII has a LOT of push although it's DC resistance is on the conservative end of the spectrum.

[spacetruckin]

Thanks TO
Its mainly because im basing the purchase of my next HSS set (Holy Diver/Irish Tour) on the fact that it is a fairly high DC powered pickup, as my amp (Laney VC30) isnt exactly a high gain plexi. Im a bit unsure the whole thing, as you can see  :(

[TwilightOdyssey]

When deciding on pickups, I will usually play a guitar through my amp for many hours playing all sorts of different stuff, taking note of how it responds when clean, playing crunchy, fully distorted, etc. Then I will make a mental checklist of the things I want to try to eliminate from the equation (woofy bass, depressed mids, hyperactive high freqs) and then I will start looking at pups that I think will work. Sometimes I'll bounce the idea off of Tim to confirm, but most times I just use this method and I've never had bum choice come my way yet!


As for pushing your amp, a pickup (yes, even the infamous ceramic Warpig) will only push an amp so much and in its own fashion. A great sounding guitar/pickup/amp combination is the best way to go, and then boost as necessary with whatever flavour of boost you prefer (OD, treble booster, fuzz, whatever)

Hope you find this helpful.