Author Topic: Hello everyone (Read 4914 times)

Machek · « **on:** January 31, 2007, 10:57:50 PM »

Hi I'm new here, first post on this huge forum that I've almost finish reading (pickup and player part only...)

I post to find some help:
I've got a wonderfull Gibson LesPaul Smartwood, beautiful guitar, mahogany back, rounded gibbo mahogany neck, mahogany top (sold under the name Muir by Gibson), not so heavy.... a dream axe, but you all know the issue: 490R and 498T...

So you know what I'm after:
I play in a heavy rock little band, and play all heavy rythm part with bridge pickup, the problem is that I find the 498 way to harsh thin and shrill with the tone knob at 10, so I have to roll it down to no more than 4 to get the heavy distorted sound I seek. The problem is that then I got satisfaying big basses (amp: bass@8+), fat chunks, but lose definition, too much treble and don't cut through the mix...

The sound I'm talking about is something like Incubus "Wish you were here" heavy sound, staind also to some extents...more Volume than Gain, more basses than trebles, more Modern than Vintage... very ballsy, thick, in your face sound.

Anyway I was leaning toward a set RY's (love their lead and clean sounds by the way), 'cause they seem to be "the" heavy rock pickup, but I just feared that they would have too much treble, and not enough thickness in the bass, just like the pick up I wanna change.... Is this choice THE choice?

jimm · « **Reply #1 on:** January 31, 2007, 11:05:42 PM »

Macheck,

I have ordered a set of rebel yells on Tims suggestion. I have a les paul standard and also could not stand the 490/498T stock pickups. I also could not stand the duncan 59/jb that i replaced them with. So i am anxiously awaiting the RY. With all thjat mahogany i dont think they will be too bright in your guitar IMO.

jimm

Machek · « **Reply #2 on:** January 31, 2007, 11:16:53 PM »

Thanks for your opinion jimm

But you know I'm kinda disappointed, I sent a song to Tim to get him an rough idea of what I was after, and didn't get a respond, maybe I pushed it too far?....patience has limits... but then I guess he must receive like... hundreds of mp3 from different w**kers such as me every day, so it's really okay.... :D

Punt · « **Reply #3 on:** January 31, 2007, 11:22:23 PM »

Try other pots and caps in that guitar and maybe 50's wiring.
That would solve the tone control issue.
RY are great anyway, I ordered a set too :)

38thBeatle · « **Reply #4 on:** January 31, 2007, 11:26:35 PM »

Welcome from me-I am a single coil player-I am sure the cavalry will arrive with advice and opinions.You are right in that Tim does receive a fair amount of e-mails but so far as I know, he does eventually get to respond.

dave_mc · « **Reply #5 on:** January 31, 2007, 11:27:27 PM »

^ yeah, he should. I pm'ed him at the time he joined Iced Earth (:lol: I hadn't heard, what luck!) and he got back to me eventually.

:drink:

Muzzzz · « **Reply #6 on:** February 01, 2007, 11:57:03 AM »

Hey dude, can you give more song examples?

Not familiar with Incubus or Staind... :oops::oops::oops:

99_not_out · « **Reply #7 on:** February 01, 2007, 12:39:56 PM »

Hey Machek!

For bass response, surely the Warpig? Its not just an all-out high gain monster, it cleans up well and you'll get a meaty bass plus good definition in the higher frequencies. I have a pair-o-pigs in an SG, so prbly not too comparable to a Les Paul, but they sound just like what you're after.

There are some clean / lo gain warpig clips if you trawl through the players forum.

As a final note, the Warpig is the only BKP I've ever used... I love it, so am a bit biased :)

Philly Q · « **Reply #8 on:** February 01, 2007, 01:41:43 PM »

Welcome aboard Machek!

I used to own a Smartwood LP (with curupay top rather than muiricatiera). I now have a The Paul SL which has almost exactly the same construction - thin body, '59 neck shape etc, but no exotic wood top. I don't know about the muir, but the curupay top made the guitar a little brighter, I think.

Anyway, I have a Rebel Yell in the Paul and it sounds very different from the 498T - I noticed the difference immediately. It's brighter (but bright in a big way, not thin if that makes sense) and much more defined. Every note really rings out as the pick hits the strings. Although it's bright, it's not harsh and ragged sounding like the 498T, but it's really in your face - it has lots of "presence", that's the best way I can describe it.

From your description of a big thick sound with more bass than treble, I think the RY may not be what you want. From reading the forum I think the Holy Diver or maybe the Nailbomb might be more up your street. I haven't tried them myself, but lots of guys here can tell you all about those pickups. You might even try something a bit lower output for those Incubus tones.

(Strange, I love the RY but I always seem to be telling people they won't like it :( . I suppose modern rock/metal sounds are more bassy than I like, I'm much more into 70s/80s hard rock stuff.)

Machek · « **Reply #9 on:** February 01, 2007, 03:16:37 PM »

Thanks you guys!

Actually, I listened carefully to that heavy clip steve recorded,
and I gotta say that I loved the sound of the first heavy rythm part (after that the lead just takes over

).

I figured that by dialing down my tone knob (anyway I never ever play on the bridge pup w/tone at 10) it would smooth the trebles the way I like it... it gives a kinda organic tone... I dunno...

Then I loved the agressive midrange that gives a lot of "R" voicing to it (I mean phonetically, you hear a rolled "R" and that's what I want), and figured that the SM57 alone couldn't give much low freq thickness (I usually record with a shure beta 52 stuck to it, does the trick), so I assumed that it could sound much thicker, well am I wrong?

Thanks again for your time guys

JonnyScaramanga · « **Reply #10 on:** February 01, 2007, 04:53:29 PM »

Following on from our recent discussion on the difference between 500k and 250k pots...

It looks like I'm going to buy a Fender American Deluxe HSS Strat. I believe that these have 1 meg pots as stock, because that's what works best with the SCN Noiseless pickups.

Now, if I just wanted to change the bridge pickup and leave the single coils stock, what would a bridge humbucker sound like with 1 meg pots? Could I order a pickup that was wound to compensate?

Pots never boost treble, do they? I mean, a 1 meg pot is not going to sound any brighter than if the guitar had no volume pot at all. And some people de-wire their pots to get a clearer tone. So in theory, it's fine, right?

To be honest, I'm not convinced pots make as much difference as some people make out (before I joined this forum, someone on another forum actually told me it makes a "huge difference", which I find ridiculous). The difference between a 500k and 250k volume in my current Strat was minimal.

carlaz · « **Reply #11 on:** February 01, 2007, 05:37:47 PM »

Judging by the description of the sought-for tone, I'm not sure the Rebel Yell is right either. You want something a little less bright, I think. My first recommendation would be the Crawlers again, actually. And that's twice recently I've recommended them! I replaced the same Gibson pups in my LP Standard with them, but I don't always blindly recommend Crawlers to everyone or something ;)

Anyway, I think they'd suit. I think the Warpig is too much, actually, for what you seem to want. If not the Crawlers, I'd think about another reasonably hottish Alnico pup, like the Holydiver or even Nailbomb. But when I read the description of what you play and what you want, I immediately thought Crawler ....

Machek · « **Reply #12 on:** February 01, 2007, 06:01:32 PM »

Actually I've been thinking about them, and I heard your clips (JumpGate is excellent), but I thought they would be a bit too vintage-oriented.... but again I never heard them in person.... disliked the clips on the website though... and your std has a maple cap while mine is mahogany....

Anyway I never heard Crawlers doing this modern sound I'm talking about, but I know that they'd suit more than HD or NB, which are a bit too hot, too metal-ish from what I've heard in the players room. They come right after the RY if I ever need that BKP's 14days notice.

Could you try and tell me?
I don't wanna abuse of your time and patience though...

And again: thanks alot guys

carlaz · « **Reply #13 on:** February 02, 2007, 08:03:32 AM »

For a modern sound than the Crawlers, but around the same level of heat -- in that case, I should think the Rebel Yells might well be right on the money after all! :)

For a more metally vibe, I suppose the Cold Sweats could be an option? They're ceramic, though, and I instinctively shy away from cermanic, but that's because I like a vintage-ier vibe than ceramic pups have, so they might work for you :)

(Thanks for the kind words on my dodgy, lo-budget clips :))

Machek · « **Reply #14 on:** February 02, 2007, 04:52:49 PM »

In fact I downloaded all the mp3 you put out and I think they're great,
I loved colour out of space (the heavy-door feeling to it)
I also liked the fact that your clips put rythm work first, unlike a lot of clip that are only free solos... anyway you sound a bit like Morrisson dude!

Oh I finally found some clips with a sound approaching what I've got in mind (loved the prs/variax vid :P ), and I seriously consider Crawlers now!!
Just: how good is the clean? It does very well those thick sounds, but can it produce good enough clean sounds? does it keep a bit of brightness and good articulation/definition for leads?