Author Topic: Great lead tones? (Read 3637 times)

downrodeo · « **on:** June 03, 2006, 08:59:25 AM »

I was wondering what combo of humbuckers would give me the best distorted leads and crunchy chords combined with good cleans? The emphasis is on leads and soloing. I have a pair of Nailbombs and they're really good (though the tech messed up the wiring and have to have him rewire the switch...oh well) but do I want something else for my other guitar? Like a Miracle Man/Cold Sweat combo or something else?

indysmith · « **Reply #1 on:** June 03, 2006, 11:54:47 AM »

I'd try the Mule combo myself - they'll cover anything you throw at them. LOTS of dynamics, going from clean to Metal depending on your pick attack (well - perhaps not quite, but you get the picture). What guitar exactly are we talking about here?

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #2 on:** June 03, 2006, 11:55:50 AM »

All depends what style you play really :roll: :lol:

A classic PAF type of 'bucker is gonna give you the best cleans maybe upto 'hot-PAF' territory. I'd say you're looking at...

* Mule
* Riff Raff
* VHII
* Blackdog

They will all give you great rock lead tone too but maybe not quite enough for metal. It's always a tradeoff - I use a Miracle Man in the bridge position of my LP at the minute as it got an amazing overdriven tone and an acceptable clean tone for the 1% of clean playing I do with the LP (I generally use my Tele for anything clean)

:twisted:

downrodeo · « **Reply #3 on:** June 03, 2006, 03:59:24 PM »

Well, I always love a sweet distorted lead tone, and this guitar is an LTD MH-301 (very good guitar for the price) and is basically a superstrat with floyd rose. I'm very into progressive metal and fusion stuff, so I really do need a great distorted tone that can bring a lot of metal-like crunch if need be. I also love playing clean ( I know, I'm a freak). So what do you guys think now?

TwilightOdyssey · « **Reply #4 on:** June 03, 2006, 04:06:44 PM »

Oftentimes, the best TONE is not the most DISTORTED one. Distortion masks a lot of the natural tone of the guitar itself, as well as compressing the dynamics out of it.

Fortunately, most of Tim's pups, even the really high output ones, have great clarity for clean stuff. Some are tighter, darker, more compressed, more open, etc etc.

A Miracle Man/Cold Sweat would be a great metal setup, while still being able to do good cleans and a nice, balanced middle position.

For a more PAF-ish sound, as HTH pointed out, you would want to go with an alnico-based pickup, and something with more dynamics and less drive. You might want to consider something like a Black Dog/Cold Sweat setup, or a Riff Raff/Cold Sweat setup. My notes attributed the basic tone of the Riff Raff as "Classic'. To me, it's got the quintessential 70s rock humbucker tone! The VHII is more open and a set of VHIIs makes for a really well-balanced, versatile set that you can do metal with if you dig in hard enough. The Black Dog is also on the brighter side with a really clear midrange cut.

downrodeo · « **Reply #5 on:** June 03, 2006, 04:41:15 PM »

So, TO, basically what I want is killer distortion in the bridge and jazzy-smooth cleans in the neck. I would also like (if possible) to be able to get that smooth Petrucci lead sound from the neck or middle position.

TwilightOdyssey · « **Reply #6 on:** June 03, 2006, 05:11:16 PM »

You might wanna do something like a Miracle Man + Stormy Monday combo then, or Miracle Man + Riff Raff.

maliciousteve · « **Reply #7 on:** June 03, 2006, 05:11:29 PM »

HOLY DIVERS!!

downrodeo · « **Reply #8 on:** June 03, 2006, 05:19:24 PM »

Stormy Mondays or Riff Raffs? Would those balance well with the MM, or should I get something like a VHII or Abraxas? I do like a good neck distorted solo tone too.

Searcher · « **Reply #9 on:** June 03, 2006, 06:28:24 PM »

How about a mule, rather than a Stormy Monday in the neck?

PhilKing · « **Reply #10 on:** June 03, 2006, 07:05:17 PM »

Quote from: Searcher

How about a mule, rather than a Stormy Monday in the neck?

Jazzy smooth cleans = Stormy Monday in my book. Having guitars with both of them in the neck positions, I think that it will be a better pick than the mule. It has an almost Fender sounding clean. Tim used to have one with a Miracle Man bridge in his Forster LP, so I know you could go with pretty much any of the pickups that have been recommended.

downrodeo · « **Reply #11 on:** June 03, 2006, 07:34:23 PM »

Awesome input guys. I'm really excited!

downrodeo · « **Reply #12 on:** June 06, 2006, 03:33:23 AM »

So, would a Miracle Man-Stormy Monday combo give me a good all-around tone with jazzy cleans, strong leads and crunchy chords? I am also considering a Holy Diver or Nailbomb in the bridge. I just hope that neck position leads would be strong enough while providing that sweet clean sound. Eh? or Nay?

Author Topic: Great lead tones? (Read 3637 times)

TwilightOdyssey

TwilightOdyssey

maliciousteve