I am at a total loss.....

[Guitarzan]

Well I bought a new guitar today.

LTD GL-500T, got it for $200. Needed LOTS of TLC, and I cleaned it up.
Except for some rusty spots on the parts, it looks fantastic, Great condition.

Now, the pickups are duncan designed, and are rusty, so I kinda figured I'd get new ones  :D . But I am at a total loss as to what to get.

I'm after the 80's tone, but I want it to be able to "blues" it up.

any help would be appriciated.

I'm also going to get around to show you guys some before and after pics of the guitar too  

[gingataff]

For the 80s sounds maybe a VHII or Holy Diver, or for more output a Miracle Man? I'm sure Ben can give you a good idea of how these will sound in your axe as its the LTD version of his ESPs.

[blue]

i'm no expert ( and i am coming off 8 hours solid drinking ) bu t i suspect the holy diver could legitimately claim to BELONG to that guitar!  it is pure 80's rock< and so is the Holy  Diver!  

it looks fantastic by the way, i hope you have tight leather jeans!! :)

[OD-Black_Fire]

Doesn't the Holy Driver have a huge mid range output, making it good for that early 90's Iron Maiden "Powerslave" kinda tone?

[blue]

didn't powerslave come out about '84?

[Guitarzan]

it looks fantastic by the way, i hope you have tight leather jeans!! :D

Yeah but you should have seen it before!!! At one point I had a toothbrush, WD-40 and some Baking Soda!

For the 80s sounds maybe a VHII or Holy Diver

I already have a VHII, and If I would get my act together I could actually play it some. So far I have 4 guitars in pieces, and 1 with a set of strings on it, but the Pups are rusted through.



How does the Holydiver compare to the VHII? I was thinking about that one, or possibly the Rebel Yell.

ARGHH!!! Too many BKP's and not enough Brains/Cash/Guitars!!! :lol:

[blue]

Yeah but you should have seen it before!!! At one point I had a toothbrush, WD-40 and some Baking Soda!
ough.

i don't quite know what you mean, but it sounds kinky!!

[OD-Black_Fire]

didn't powerslave come out about '84?

You are right. I failed. $%&#.

[blue]

didn't powerslave come out about '84?

You are right. I failed. $%&#.

it's a hollow victory, i've never even listened to it!  i do like the sleeve though!! (12" vinyl of course! )

never been a big iron maiden fan, although i've always loved "phantom of the opera", and who doesn't like run to the hills and number of the beast?

[Guitarzan]

I'm more of a Hair metal kinda dude. I also like Eddies tone on some of his heavy blues songs like "The Full Bug" from Diver Down.

Also Slash's Snakepit has some good guitar tones. But they're heavier metal.

*Yawn* time for bed. Got lots of playing tomorrow  :D

[Crazy_Joe]

Hooooly Diiiver you been down too long in the midnight seaaa.

Well that is my recomendation, Holy Diver is perfect for 80's tones.

[TwilightOdyssey]

I'm more of a Hair metal kinda dude. I also like Eddies tone on some of his heavy blues songs like "The Full Bug" from Diver Down.

That rosewood fingerboard changes the game a bit, instead of being 100% maple.

If by 'hair metal' you mean Dokken, Ratt, Rough Cutt, Cinderella and other glam-inspired hard rock, I would look at these pups:

For classic Lynch, go with the Miracle Man.

For more of a DeMartini thing, go with the Holy Diver.

DeMartini's tone is drier, not as gainy, and has less attack than Lynch's. This is comparing something like Out Of The Cellar to Under Lock And Key.

Neck pup should definitely be the Irish Tour.

Okay, compare the VHII to the Holy Diver:

Totally different pickups! The VHII is brighter and emphasizes the upper mids/high frequencies. The Holy Diver has more midrange and lower mid growl to it.

Note: DO NOT assume that throwing a VHII into that guitar will give you the tone from the Screamin' Demon pickup!  The Demon came into production after Lynch left Dokken and it will not give you that classic Dokken tone. For that, use the Miracle Man. The VHII is nothing like the Demon ... for that kind of tone, I would use a Riff Raff and a modern sounding amp.

ps - nice guitar!

[TwilightOdyssey]

Well that is my recomendation, Holy Diver is perfect for 80's tones.

Not really. It's perfect for a particular 80s metal sound. There are other pups that will give you a wider range of vintage metal tones than the Holy Diver.

[Guitarzan]

Okay........

So I've herad about the VHII and Holydiver. I must say that I am more of a general Metal type dude. I typically stay in the Van Halen/GNR end of the spectrum. I'm almost tempted to just get the Holydiver to see what it's like. I also think I'd like the lower mids, as we're going to cover some Velvet Revolver.

Although a while back, Tim did recommend to me a Crawler. And I don't mind paying a little extra for my tone.

Sorry if I confuse anybody, I'm not a very good explainer

[Searcher]

Van Halen and Guns 'n' Roses aren't really considered metal by today's standards--more hard rock, really.  If they're more of the tone you're after then I'd also recommend the Crawler.