Classic Rock conversion

[Telerocker]

Black Dog is quite a middy middy pu and, and as several users stated here, less versatile then a Mule. If you're guitar has a bright tone by itself, a BD would be a good choice. If you need to freshen things up, you could opt for an AV Mule. You can order that one on request.

[Twinfan]

What type of guitar is this poplar one?  That will have a big influence over what's going to work well for you  :)

[ztikmaen]

What type of guitar is this poplar one?  That will have a big influence over what's going to work well for you  :)

Well it's only a humble beginners guitar that im looking to hotrod but after some more thinking I am now unsure whether or not I want to put the pickups into the polar one or the higher quality basswood one. The only thing that I don't quite like about the basswood one is that it's been routed for a Floyd rose bridge so it doesn't sound quite as solid. Couple this with the basswood and it sounds quite light when played acoustically. But I guess I can't hear too much affect on the sound when playing through an amplifier... (After playing my poplar guitar again, I realized that it had some intonation problems, most likely the result of a somewhat warped neck. I am seriously considering two different pickups for the bridge and the neck positions. I'm thinking something like the Emrald for the bridge and the Mule or Crawler for the neck? I don't much like the Crawler's bridge pickup though and I want some of that extra owed in the bridge that the Emerald provides (although the Mule sounds just divine!). I wish I could mix the Emerald and the Mule together :O Also I have a single coil in the middle so any ideas for that one?

[Twinfan]

Err, what models are we talking here?  Post up the names/numbers so we know what we're looking at...

[ztikmaen]

Err, what models are we talking here?  Post up the names/numbers so we know what we're looking at...

Ibanez GSZ120 (Poplar)
Ibanez RG370DX BK (Basswood w/tremolo that I don't use)

[Twinfan]

Cheers!  So both are bolt on necked guitars, with similar woods used and maple necks.  Essentially, they're superstrats - one with a floating bridge and one with a hardtail.

With that in mind, and the fact that you're looking for fatter sounds than these guitars traditionally give, I'd go for a matched set of the pickups with good mids:

In order of power..

Black Dogs
Abraxas
Crawlers

If you want to go a bit hotter, and cover more hard rock tones too, you could also look at:

Holydivers
Nailbombs

My own thoughts?  I'd go for Crawlers or Holydivers if it was me.

[Telerocker]

I'm with Twinfan for the most of it. These guitars ask for fatter mids, like I beefed up my swampashstrat, which is quite percussive due to the ebonyfretboard, with a Crawler. Never had such a good humbucker.
So my faves would be:

- Mules or Abraxas
- Black Dog
- Crawler
- Holy Diver

[Twinfan]

Mules don't have mids - they'll be stupid bright in a strat-type.  Fine for stratty things, but not if you're looking for fatter rock tones.

[HTH AMPS]

Abraxas all day long.  Here's how they sound...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDQ2twawdIk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e-vNNMyWMU&feature=related

[ztikmaen]

Cheers!  So both are bolt on necked guitars, with similar woods used and maple necks.  Essentially, they're superstrats - one with a floating bridge and one with a hardtail.

With that in mind, and the fact that you're looking for fatter sounds than these guitars traditionally give, I'd go for a matched set of the pickups with good mids:

In order of power..

Black Dogs
Abraxas
Crawlers

If you want to go a bit hotter, and cover more hard rock tones too, you could also look at:

Holydivers
Nailbombs

My own thoughts?  I'd go for Crawlers or Holydivers if it was me.

Wow! You've been doing some homework :D Thanks for that advice man. Since I'm going 50/50 with the pickups (possibly with a single thrown in which may be a sinner buy the looks of it), maybe I could get a more middy and strong bridge pickup and a more balanced and clean neck one? I usually use neck pickups for my cleaner stuff or fuzz tones so I'll need good note definition when clean and overdriven. But what do people think about the EMERALD! xD lol  personally think it sounds pretty nice but then again I need other opinions. Thanks so much guys, I feel guilty for getting so much help lol

[BigB]

maybe I could get a more middy and strong bridge pickup and a more balanced and clean neck one?

That would be a good description of the Crawler set  8)

[ztikmaen]

Oh and Ill give you guys an outline of what I currently like.
Bridge:
Emerald
Black Dog
Maybe an Abraxas

Neck:
Crawler
Mule

I don't really like the Crawler's bridge all that much... Neck's nice though
Also, note that I don't get any heavier than heavy-ish rock. But mostly the hardest I get is classic rock so don't worry about chugging or shredding tones. Cleans are important to me too

[Telerocker]

That's right. Mules have more treble then Abraxas. But I heard the Mule in my friends strat and it sounds quite good, I must say. Comes down to the amp too. Even Tim suggested a Mule for my strat, but I favoured the Crawler. Which is a good choice, so is a BD and a HD.

[Twinfan]

Emeralds are awesome, no SERIOUSLY awesome in my McCarty Korina, but I think you'll want something a bit fatter.

If you're not digging the hotter pickups, why not go for a Black Dog set, or a Black Dog bridge and a Mule neck?

I always go for matching sets, but the choice is yours!

[ztikmaen]

Emeralds are awesome, no SERIOUSLY awesome in my McCarty Korina, but I think you'll want something a bit fatter.

If you're not digging the hotter pickups, why not go for a Black Dog set, or a Black Dog bridge and a Mule neck?

I always go for matching sets, but the choice is yours!

Hmm that sounds like a pretty good idea. I'm glad you realized that the more modern pickups aren't really my thing :D
What sort of configuration is the sound clip for the Humbuckers done it? A les Paul into Marshall or something? It would be nice to know. The Emeralds sound oh-so-nice in the clip but then again I don't know how they would fare in the basswood guitar. The cleans in the Emeralds, Mules, and Black dogs sound really nice IMO. The black dogs sound quite mid/upper endy, the Emeralds sound, well, "open and clear" as the description so well states (with enough thickness in the bridge), and the Mules sound very classic and balanced. Oh and the Crawler neck sounds great too.
The reason why I'm thinking of getting two different pickups is:
a) My budget will only stretch to one at a time (probably bridge first)
b) Also I use my Bridge and Neck for very different applications. I hardly use the Neck pickup for any overdriven solos so clean tones are important. And I hardly use the bridge fully clean so I want creamy lower midrange for that thick overdrive sound. I'll probably want an alnico 5 in the bridge and a 4 in the neck. Is there anything like an Emerald and a Black Dog put together (bridge pickup)?
Also the most "brutal" thing I play is probably things Jack White/The Black Keys. So I don't do shredding or chugging but I do do old school Fuzz. Keep in mind that I run through a Fender Hotrod Deluxe so I may need something meaty but still classic/traditional-ish