The neverending search for the perfect pickup

[Alex]

This is probably as much a rant as an inquiry.

A while ago I bought a Gibson Voodoo LesPaul in very good condition. I knew from someone that the stock pickups did not work too well in that guitar. I refitted the guitar with a spare Miracle Man I had. It sounded great, but the treble end was a bit spikey and thin. However I wanted something more vintage, softer, something quite different to the EMGs in my ESP Eclipse.
So I ordered a Holy Diver. It somehow did not work. It was very smooth and soft somehow, quite Hi-Fi with almost no character.
Luckily the Holy Diver works great in my baritone...
So I then got a DiMarzio AirZone, thinking it was not gonna be great but at least maybe something different for a while. Surprisingly it sounds great. The sound is big and the top end is round, smooth, plus the pickup is quite dynamic.

So I should be happy, shouldn't I?

But... I'm not!
First of all it is still quite powerful, strangely. Second I have the odd feeling that it masks my playing mistakes. The guitar has never been the most dynamic anyway (fat neck, lots of wood). Whenever I switch to the ESP and the EMGs I realize how sloppy my playing has become (all the little details become more audible). Similarly, the Black Dog helped my SG a lot become more "transparent".

So am I just nitpicky and I will never find the perfect pickup? Should I just keep the AirZone and not bother. Or go back to the brute Miracle Man?

Or... continue my search and try something new, lower powered, hoping it will be clearer without a spikey and thin treble end?

Thanks for reading!

[dheim]

...or do your les paul and yourself a favour and buy some warpigs!
that's what i'd do in your place...

[Alex]

But that is a high output pickup again!

I'm thinking more of either a Black Dog again or a Mule...

[Roobubba]

But that is a high output pickup again!

I'm thinking more of either a Black Dog again or a Mule...

Les Paul? Mule?

Can you say "Yeah!!"?

Roo

[dheim]

But that is a high output pickup again!

I'm thinking more of either a Black Dog again or a Mule...

well, yes... but it's voiced very differently from a MM, and - at least in my opinion - it's extremely versatile... i'm a warpig fan, nothing to say!

[WezV]

the voodoo's are ash rather than the typical mahogany/maple combo of your average LP - so it probably doesnt make to much sense to focus on stuff normally suggested for traditional LP's

personally i would go with nailbombs in that, ymmv

[gwEm]

As Wez says, these guitars are made of (supposedly swamp) ash. I would try Mules, or something else with low gain.

[dheim]

As Wez says, these guitars are made of (supposedly swamp) ash. I would try Mules, or something else with low gain.

you would or you wouldn't?
wez was suggesting a hotter pickup because ash is not enough "powerful" to work with low output coils, i think...

[gwEm]

As Wez says, these guitars are made of (supposedly swamp) ash. I would try Mules, or something else with low gain.

you would or you wouldn't?
wez was suggesting a hotter pickup because ash is not enough "powerful" to work with low output coils, i think...

i'm sure wez is suggesting nailbombs for their EQ characteristics. clearly low output coils work in ash from the many fender models available.

i'm suggesting mules since they will be less compressed - seems like alex was complaining of too much compression, and swamp ash can be compressed in tone itself.

[Copperhead]

MQ!!!!!

[Alex]

I'm a bit worried about the Mules being muddy with gain, especially on the low end.

It's quite frustrating....

SG + Black Dog = Instant WIN
Baritone + Holy Diver = Instant WIN
ESP + EMGs = Instant WIN


Voodoo + any pickup so far = always not what I wanted or expected!

I know it has a more swamp ash sound, but it is still tonally closer to a LesPaul than to a Swampash-Strat, obivously, with a fat mahogany set neck.

[Keven]

the voodoo sounds alot like my schecter. it's swamp ash, and pretty thick and bulky, with a maple fretboard and maple neck however, so it has quite a bright and snappy attack and it's very resonant acoustically. I have a black dog for that one and it balances out perfectly, even the clean tone on the bridge is sweet and shimmering, not aggressive at all...

[dheim]

it should sound very good with Cold Sweats in... if you don't know what to do with it i have the perfect solution... sell it to me!  :P

[Dr. Vic]

I'm a bit worried about the Mules being muddy with gain, especially on the low end.

It's quite frustrating....

SG + Black Dog = Instant WIN
Baritone + Holy Diver = Instant WIN
ESP + EMGs = Instant WIN


Voodoo + any pickup so far = always not what I wanted or expected!

I know it has a more swamp ash sound, but it is still tonally closer to a LesPaul than to a Swampash-Strat, obivously, with a fat mahogany set neck.

Rebell Yell ? Don't know if it can be a good match with that slice of ash but if you think the voodoo LP has "something" of the LP standard tone, then you may have a look at them : trust me they are tight, you won't get muddy and they have plenty of agressivity too (with less output than the one you already put in).

good luck !

[Zaned]

it should sound very good with Cold Sweats in... if you don't know what to do with it i have the perfect solution... sell it to me!  :P

I wouldn't pair this guitar with the CS. It's got a lot of bite, and that combined with a swamp ash body is pretty far from 'lower powered, without spikey or thin treble' :)

I would probably go to the vintage section. Maybe even Alnico II, stormy Monday? 

Or if you want Alnico V, Black dog?

-Zaned