Pickups for a Jackson Pro Dinky(stone finish)

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Glynchfan1

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I love this guitar, but half the time it sounds dead(brand new strings and setup within past month). Thinking I might want to change pickups but not sure what to put in there. I'm a Lynch/80s fan but I do like metal as well. Curious of any suggestions, and why if possible. Considering actives(suggested by my tech) thinking the finish might kill the wood,but want to hear what you guys say. I always get killer advice on here. Thanks!!!! JoeV
 
After several years I went back to EMG and couldnt be happier. The finish shouldnt mess with the tone on them.
 
That's what my tech said as well and makes sense. All about the pickup and not so much the wood with actives. I'm just not a huge fan, I had them in my ltd ec-1000 and never gelled. But if that's what it takes to make it scream, I might just do it
 
Well try a couple of passives. Maybe a Duncan custom or JB?
At least you know how the EMG'S are already. :thumbsup:
I had one of them Stone Finish ones back about 93?
Cool guitars.
 
Thanks for the suggestion mailman, your always great for advice!!!! I love the guitar. I was in a big trading kick and it stopped with that and a Burny lp. I'm set for what I've got just gotta mod this babas a little
 
Thanks Casey!!! I've had my eye on bare knuckle for another guitar for awhile. But will look again to see if anything would work for me in the Jackson
 
Glynchfan1":1fj5y88g said:
Thanks Casey!!! I've had my eye on bare knuckle for another guitar for awhile. But will look again to see if anything would work for me in the Jackson
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I've got a Rio Grande Crunchbox I'm about to put in my Agile LP, along with a GFS Mean 90 for the neck. It's been a long time since I've had the Crunchbox in a guitar, but I did use it in my semi hollow for a bit. It didn't work out for me at the time, but it wasn't the pickups fault. My semi-hollow is an all maple body, and it's bright as all hell. I love how it plays, but I just can't get it to sound decent no matter what I try.

The Crunchbox is a great pickup. It's not a super high output pickup, think around a Duncan JB. I'm not a big fan of super high gain pickups (outside of EMGs, which I do enjoy for very specific uses). The Crunchbox has really nice, chewy mids that helped me cut through the mix in the country band I was playing in at the time (despite the fact I had no clue how to play country music :lol: :LOL: ). I found it very versatile, even doing high gain modern metal stuff in my semi-hollow. Not a guitar you'd think would be dishing out the progressive death metal sounds, but it sounded good to me, aside from the brightness/harsh highs that the maple guitar brings. I've tried 3-4 different pickups in that guitar, and I just can't get it where I want it. I think you'll dig it.

I'll post some clips up of my LP with the Crunchbox in it when I get it all put together next week. I'll be using Amplitube right into my MacBook.

Also, check out GFS pickups over at guitarfetish.com . They don't get talked about very much (probably because they aren't "boutique"), but I really like the Crunchy Rails and the Mean P90. I've heard good clips of their single coil offerings too. The best thing about the GFS stuff is, if you don't like it, you're only out ~$30 :D
 
Thanks Casey!!! I'm definetly gonna check out the Crunchbox, Ive been looking at the gfs earlier, like you said, if it doesnt work its only $30ish. I was concerned about having to route for a battery, but saw EMG offers an exteral power supply. Thats prob the route Id go if i do emgs, but gonna check out Rio Grande, Bare Knuckle, and a bunch of other stuff before I pull the trigger
 
I heard alot of good things bout the Rio Grands myself. Just never had a chance to check one out. But nothing but great reviews. :rock:
 
Thanks mailman!!! I like the clips i just heard on the site, but gonna do some looking around youtube tomorrow. Thanks again to both you guys, I appreciate the input big time!!!!
 
Forgot to mention I have the GFS Crunchy Rails in my semi-hollow now. It's been in there for a few years. Sounds really good, aside from the harsh highs of the maple body. It reminds me of a Bill Lawrence pickup, if that is helpful at all. It's a high output monster in comparison to the Rio Grande

I'll embarrass myself and share a clip of me playing it through my old single rec from many years ago. It'll be a good laugh. Artcore w/ the GFS Crunchy Rails into a Digitech Bad Monkey (clean boost), Series 1 Single Rec. 7 Band EQ in the loop, and the cab is my old Avatar Contemporary 1x12 loaded with a Vet30. Recorded with my iPhone 4, at pretty low volumes. Check out the other videos to hear some higher volume stuff. Also, my world record run of Donkey Kong Country 3, some Street Fighter matches, and a lot of Vampire Savior matches if you're into that kinda thing :D

I miss that rig :cry:

I can't get the embed function to work for whatever reason, but here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpnndGS ... 2C5C2CD4D3
 
I had a PAF Pro in one of those and it sounded great, which was a surprise cos I didn't like those in my old Jem..
 
Have you tried an EMG 85 in the bridge? I suspect your ESP has an 81. I hate the 81 but love the 85. Might be worth a try. If your ESP has an 85 in the neck, unplug it and try it in the bridge.

Another active option is the Dave Mustaine sig Livewires from Duncan. I love those too.
 
i put a custom 5 in my jackson dk2 and it was like the guitar came to life. instant increase in punch and articulation. almost like removing a blanket covering my amp.
 
I'm a big fan of Motor City pickups. I have Detroiter and Afwayu sets and like them both a lot. The Afwayu is hotter and has more low end. I also have 2 guitars with Rio Grande pickups. 1 is setup with a Muy Grande strat set, and it's a great sounding guitar. The other has a BBQ bucker, which is kind of a mid output paf type pickup. Very warm sounding, so it would be great for a guitar that sounds a bit thin.
 
Wow!!! Thanks everyone!! Jack, that's a great description!! I thought it was dead strings before but it's just "dull" sounding. I've got some looking into to do thanks everyone for the suggestions!!!
 
Glynchfan1":2wuazsdd said:
Wow!!! Thanks everyone!! Jack, that's a great description!! I thought it was dead strings before but it's just "dull" sounding. I've got some looking into to do thanks everyone for the suggestions!!!
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it really-really-really brought the guitar to life. my jackson has and alder body with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard. i assume it is the perfect combo for the custom 5. instantly sold me on the pickup. it was almost percussive in the attack. just a night and day difference.
 
you never mentioned what FB wood it is, Maple or RW ??

block the trem and disconnect the tone control

you'll be amazed at the better tone


FYI, if your using stock jackson pickups then yes your tone
would benefit from a pickup change


all of my axes are old jackson professionals, btw
 
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