pickups

[D]

im gettin ready to replace my factory humbuckers with some seymour duncans

will this improve my guitars sound and tone?

what improvements can i expect from this?

[Butch Français]

what guitar and pickups is it you have?

[Miz]

Yeah, like Kiedis said, what is you're guitar, and how much did it cost?

And, what sound are you going for?  And do you use a lot of effect pedals?

[D]

my guitar is a yamaha i use alot of effects etc

it cost around 450.00 bucks

im savin up to buy a more expensive guitar later on

but this one does the job

i want a crunchier tone by the way better sustain

[Miz]

Well, if you use a lot of pedals, then it might be an idea to get active pickups (EMG's NOT the SD live wire).  I don't really think much of relying on a battery though, so it depends on how much signal loss you're getting when you send your guitar through all the pedals.

Pickups won't do that much to increase natural sustain...unless you have really high ouptut pickups at the moment, which are really close to the strings.  If your pickups are too close to the strings then it'll kill your sustain, so you might want to try lowering them to see if it does anything.

You can obviously get artificial sustain using high gain amps and stuff, but you often lose clarity.  The Duncan Distortions are designed for high gain but whilst still keeping good definition, and the Invader was designed for ultra high gain, still keeping definition...however a lot of people find that they don't have enough highs.  But, if you're guitar has a maple neck and an alder body or something, and is naturally quite bright, then they might be perfect.

The JB has a lot more treble response, and seems clearer to me, less beefy, more crunchy if you know what I mean.

Most people say that the JB is the best all round bridge pickup, and I think i'd probably agree with that, but really it's down to what kind of sound you like.  I think SD used to have sound clips of the pickups on their website...not sure if they're still there, but you might wanna check it out.

Oh, about sustain.  I'm assuming your guitar has a trem...since it's a yamaha...would I be right?  Is it a locking one (w/ locking nut etc..) or is it a non-locking fender style?  And do you use it much?

If it's a locking one...it's probably (seeing as it's on a yamaha...no offence intended) pretty soft metal, with will contribute to lack of sustain...and the only thing you can do to remedy that is replace the trem (with a high quality one, preferably German made Original Floyd, not licensed).

If it's a non-locking, it's probably also quite soft metal...so you might wanna replace it...depending on your budget.  I'm not sure about compatability, but the USA made Wilkinson trem's are pretty decent.

If it's non-locking, and you don't use it much, then you could get one of those string bar things that you see behind the nut on Ibanez's locking trem's.  They are basically to increase the break angle over the nut...which increases sustain.  Now, on a non-locking trem, it'll make it a complete bitch and will probably be incredibly hard to get to return in tune, but it will increase the sustain.


Oh, and if you're daring, and know a very, very good guitar tech, you could do what Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top did, and get you're Floyd (if it is a locking trem) set into bowling ball resin.  It makes it heavy, but apparently does wonders for the sustain...

sorry for the essay...lol.  Hope I helped/made sense!

[D]

thanks dude!

very imformative

i think im just gonna buy a new guitar

ive had that damn yamaha since i was like 17 and i think its time to retire it and get a new one!

so instead of puttin money into pickups im gonna save up and get a good esp guitar or something nice

thanks for all the help!

what guitar would u suggest?

[Oddy]

i recommend buying something off ebay,

i bought my first guitar off there and found a real bargain. If i became a famous rock n roll star i would still use this guitar.........well maybe not on stage........but in recording and stuff.....i love it. Came with dimazio and gibson pickups all for only $650 australian.

considering what i could have gotten brand new...........i am more than well off now.

so second hand guitars aint bad...........u could find some good epiphone lp standards and customs second hand. i hear those are good guitars to eventually hot up with new pick ups and get them close to a gibson.

good luck

[Miz]

eBay is dangerous.  Oddy got a good deal and didn't get screwed.  But not everyone is so lucky.  People use eBay to scam people.  You might think you're buying a mint PRS, but when it turns up there might be a crack in the neck or something.  People sometimes take off all the hardware like the tuners, bridge, pickups etc.. and replace it with really shit parts, then sell you a guitar for a grand, and pocket the parts which you can't buy through PRS and sell them for a huge profit.

And then theres the issue that you can't play the guitar.  You don't know how the neck feels, and you don't know how the guitar sounds.  Granted, it's not as critical as on Acoustic guitars, but each guitar sounds different.  You might get two Gibson Les Pauls, made one after another, from the same tree, with identical parts, but one might sound like shit, and the other like pure gold.  You don't know until you've played them.

How gutted would you be if you bought a $2000 guitar and then found it was too heavy, of the neck was too fat or it sounded like crap?


I suggest you play everything that takes your fancy.  Go into as many music shops as you can (because most don't have a great variety) and play as many guitars as you can.  If you want to buy a certain ESP like the Viper or whatever, play every guitar of that model they have, cos they may sound completely different.

I personally would recommend a second hand guitar, because as long as it's structurally sound, then you are getting a better deal.  Guitar's are generally overpriced and a second hand one will take the price down.  Scratches in the finish will take the price down too, but will not do anything to the sound of the guitar, so you're getting an even better deal.

What kind of price range are you looking at?
And are you looking for something kinda traditional like a strat shape or something wierd like BC Rich's?
And are you looking for something with a trem or a hardtail?
And if you want a trem, do you want locking or non-locking?

[D]

im wanting an esp viper

it will probably be around christmas time b4 ill be able to purchase one, im lookin between 500 and 700 dollars, nothin to extravagant cause im poor!

musicans friend has great deals but like u say u dont get a chance to play them b4 hand, but they have a great 45 day return policy, so if i get it and dont like the sound i can just send it back and try again

thanks guys

any of u that have heard my songs do u like an esp would fit the style of my playin?

[Oddy]

yeah i wouldnt have bought mine if it was international.........luckily the guy lived in nsw..........but yeah that is the first and last time i'll buy something off the internet......my luck has been used all up.  I would never recommend paying large sums of money over ebay. Mine was $650 AUS......if crap it wasn't really a big loss(well for me it probably is).And if i had ended up with a crap guitar it woulda been nothing better than what i coulda gotten brand new.......because i couldnt find anything second hand. But yeah im not ever gonna take my chances again. Ebay is only good when you find a perfect deal that you pretty much know what it is.......and the seller isnt lying. I shoulda said when i recommend it..........that i mean be damn damn cautious too. High risk high return. anyway.

Yeah but second hand is the way to go........but i dunno how common the esp viper is so it may be a lot harder to find.

I suggest try every guitar at the music store........you may aswell.........and try them out til you get thrown out (like i did........fuck u Allans Music ). You might find something that you like better than the viper.

I've heard 2 of your songs.................most esp guitars are made for heavy and nu metal.........i cant remember your songs well but i dont remember them being particularly heavy (awesome songs though  ), welcome to reality is more heavy like black sabbath.....not..........uh slipknot.

But then again, even though their geared towards metal you could still play anything with them..........i mean kirk hammet uses one and black album isnt heavy by today's standards at all. It could suite great.....i dunno depends how you play it.

Oh yeah and i don't know too much about esp.....maybe someone else could give better advice.

[Miz]

If you're gonna buy an ESP i'd say the Eclipse is the best.  I mean, it looks the best to me...but I guess it's all a matter of taste.

I'd definitely recommend getting a second hand guitar, rather than getting one over the net.  It may only be marginally cheaper than a new one online, but you can actually play it and know what you're getting, and know how it sounds.

I personally think ESP's are overpriced for what they are.  Dean's and Jacksons are waaaaay better value.

And I wouldn't worry about image too much.  I mean, if you like it, and it feels good, then go for it.