Alternatives to Suhr Aldrich?

Rex Rocker

Rex Rocker

Well-known member
Toying with the idea of swapping pups on my Les Paul. I'm enjoying the JB in my LTD. Kinda want something along the lines of a slightly hotter, tighter, and meaner JB, but not as different as a Duncan Distortion is. Kinda want something in between a JB and a Distortion leaning more towards the JB. I want something Alnico 5 in the 17K range.

So I know the Aldrich is sorta that. What else should I be looking at?

Anyone tried the Alex Skolnick Duncan? Maybe a Suhr SSH+ as well? I know the Tone Zone is kinda that as well... but can a Tone Zone handle downtuned Metal being in a Les Paul? Probably not, right?
 
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I didn’t get along with the Aldrich at all. I also tried the Skolnick and it is ALL mids.

Not sure if it fits, but I absolutely love the Brandonwound Buford T in Gibsons. It’s essentially a vintage Dirty Fingers with a set of slugs instead of double screw rows. Extremely sensitive to height/screw adjustments and can be more vintage or scream depending on how you adjust.
 
Rex Rocker said:
Toying with the idea of swapping pups on my Les Paul. I'm enjoying the JB in my LTD. Kinda want something along the lines of a slightly hotter, tighter, and meaner JB, but not as different as a Duncan Distortion is. Kinda want something in between a JB and a Distortion leaning more towards the JB. I want something Alnico 5 in the 17K range.

So I know the Aldrich is sorta that. What else should I be looking at?

Anyone tried the Alex Skolnick Duncan? Maybe a Suhr SSH+ as well? I know the Tone Zone is kinda that as well... but can a Tone Zone handle downtuned Metal being in a Les Paul? Probably not, right?
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I have an Aldrich in my Les Paul Classic again after like 10 or so years without an Aldrich in a Les Paul. It is a great pickup but not blowing me away like it did back years ago.

I have a JB in two guitars and it is familiar territory. I have a 2nd Degree Blackbelt and a Tonenerd Whiskey. All of them are great pickups.

I remember loving.the Duncan Distortion I had in an SG years ago but haven't had it in so long.
 
I've had the Aldrich and the JB in the same guitar.

The JB sounded better lol

Idk about people saying the Aldrich is a darker, smoother JB or something

Lol no. It's drier and has both more highs and more lows. The JB sounds smoother and just flat out more fun to play in standard.
 
Admittedly I’ve never tried in a Les Paul (because I don’t own any LP’s), but the Tom Anderson HF3 or HF3+ is similar to the Aldrich as far as high output and pushing top-end. I love them. The H3 and H3+ are good too, a little less on the high-end than the HF but still good bite.
 
I’ve never played a JB, but I have an Aldrich pair in my LP G0, and it sounds great and they’re just keepers for life in that guitar for me. I love Aldirch’s tone though too.

It replaced a Motor City Afwayu in the bridge, which I thought was really muddy and too hot, and I like hot pickups. And I always felt burtbuckers were weak.

Maybe I need to try a JB/59 or JB/Jazz then too. Been thinking about getting an Explorer clone built, may be fun to put JBs in it…but the plan so far was another pair of Aldriches. I’ve generally been a Dimarzio guy and not liked the Duncans I’ve tried. Had a Custom Custom in a LP and hated it due to the brittle metallic pick attack it picked up.
 
changeofaseason said:
I’ve never played a JB, but I have an Aldrich pair in my LP G0, and it sounds great and they’re just keepers for life in that guitar for me. I love Aldirch’s tone though too.

It replaced a Motor City Afwayu in the bridge, which I thought was really muddy and too hot, and I like hot pickups. And I always felt burtbuckers were weak.

Maybe I need to try a JB/59 or JB/Jazz then too. Been thinking about getting an Explorer clone built, may be fun to put JBs in it…but the plan so far was another pair of Aldriches. I’ve generally been a Dimarzio guy and not liked the Duncans I’ve tried. Had a Custom Custom in a LP and hated it due to the brittle metallic pick attack it picked up.
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Yeah, if you thought the Custom Custom was brittle, I doubt you'd like the JB or most other Duncans. The Custom Custom has got to be one of the smoothest most well-behaved pickups in the Duncan line.
 
Huge Aldrich fan. Have them in my Les Paul Custom as well as several of my Suhrs. Infinitely prefer it over a JB.

The SSH+ is similar, but has a honky midrange that I don't care for.
 
Why not do an A8 magnet swap in a JB or a Duncan Distortion? Literally the only difference between the two pickups are the magnets. An A8 is a half way in the middle.
 
Is the Aldrich actually hotter than the JB, though? The specs seem to suggest it is, but I've read mixed opinions.

Thoughts?
 
Rex Rocker said:
Is the Aldrich actually hotter than the JB, though? The specs seem to suggest it is, but I've read mixed opinions.

Thoughts?
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They're around the same ballpark, really.

I've had an Aldrich that measured 18k and one that measured 17.8k

And I've had a JB that measured 17.5k, and quite honestly they're right in the same ballpark. The same base even, I'd say.
 
glpg80 said:
Why not do an A8 magnet swap in a JB or a Duncan Distortion? Literally the only difference between the two pickups are the magnets. An A8 is a half way in the middle.
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In some ways yes, but I also find A8's have some of their own distinct character that I don't care for. Something about its midrange I really don't like and find less musical and the highs ime can sometimes be rolled off in a way I don't like. Huge lows though that can be cool. I've done before a bunch of magnet swaps in a few examples of the same exact pickups with ceramic, A8, A5, A4, and A2. I could find some things I liked about all of them except the A8's never agreed with me
 
braintheory said:
In some ways yes, but I also find A8's have some of their own distinct character that I don't care for. Something about its midrange I really don't like and find less musical and the highs ime can sometimes be rolled off in a way I don't like. Huge lows though that can be cool. I've done before a bunch of magnet swaps in a few examples of the same exact pickups with ceramic, A8, A5, A4, and A2. I could find some things I liked about all of them except the A8's never agreed with me
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This isn’t your thread though and that’s the great thing about tone - one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

I find A8’s are super warm and indeed higher output than A5. I tend to prefer the bite of ceramic though.
 
glpg80 said:
This isn’t your thread though and that’s the great thing about tone - one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

I find A8’s are super warm and indeed higher output than A5. I tend to prefer the bite of ceramic though.
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Of course it’s not my thread. It’s opinions on different ideas about pickups, which the op asked for in making this thread. It’s not that I didn’t like some pickups despite having A8’s in them, but that I much preferred them with something else when I swapped them out. I found them super thick and rolled in the highs, which can be desirable and I guess interpreted as warmth, but to me for warmth I found A2, 3 or 4 to have that more as their forte IME when compared. I think of warmth as a sound that is sort of woody or more pretty. I also often like the more crisp ceramic sound. He might like A8’s as you said since we all have our preferences, but based how he describes the sounds he goes for in other threads he’s made I would predict more likely not. I just don’t think their midrange voicing or lows lend themselves as naturally to melodic death metal imo

More to the OP’s criteria, the Wagner Murkat/Fillmore or Tone Nerd Roxy in some ways are from what I understand meant to be like tighter, more articulate JB’s (not hotter really IME) and I do in many ways prefer them to the JB or Aldrich, but if you want me to tell what I feel is really a lot better than all this stuff IME I would be a broken record again about vintage Bill Lawrence L100’s, Dirty Fingers, Mighty Mite 1400, and Schaller’s. Jackson J90 isn’t bad either. I still have an early vintage JB/59 set and to me didn’t hold up as well vs those pickups when compared in the same guitar(s). Not as tight, fast tracking or articulate as the others, for my taste kinda bloated midrange and although the JB has some nice growl in it that I like, a few of those others still did a bit better there to me. JMO, YMMV as always

I think guys should step out a bit more of this limited box of only trying Duncan’s, Dimarzio’s or BKP’s and also only celestion speakers. There are other great colors to explore
 
Rex Rocker said:
Toying with the idea of swapping pups on my Les Paul. I'm enjoying the JB in my LTD. Kinda want something along the lines of a slightly hotter, tighter, and meaner JB, but not as different as a Duncan Distortion is. Kinda want something in between a JB and a Distortion leaning more towards the JB. I want something Alnico 5 in the 17K range.

So I know the Aldrich is sorta that. What else should I be looking at?

Anyone tried the Alex Skolnick Duncan? Maybe a Suhr SSH+ as well? I know the Tone Zone is kinda that as well... but can a Tone Zone handle downtuned Metal being in a Les Paul? Probably not, right?
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For lower tuned metal in a Les Paul (24.75” scale) I would personally want something more articulate and faster tracking than a JB. Besides the pickups I mentioned in my post above, Lundgren M6’s really IME are perfect for this, but they are scooped and not as natural of a fit in voicing imo if you’re playing more melodic death metal type stuff, hard to say though. Definitely an opposite flavor in many ways of anything JB
 
Rex Rocker said:
Yeah, if you thought the Custom Custom was brittle, I doubt you'd like the JB or most other Duncans. The Custom Custom has got to be one of the smoothest most well-behaved pickups in the Duncan line.
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I actually find the JB kinda dark. It definitely has a rolled off high end in my opinion, where it peaks out is the upper mids IMO.
 
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