What's your favorite humbucker for a swamp ash body?

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alan67

alan67

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Hmm, I thought I posted this...couldn't find it afterward though. Anybody try an Aldrich in a swamp ash body?
 
Is it a bright Ash body?

If so, I'd definitely stay away from an Aldrich.

Maybe a Duncan Custom Custom?
 
It doesn't seem to be overly bright- the guitar is on the heavier side and the pickups in it now sound kind of muddy
 
Bare Knuckle Crawler sounds perfect to me in Ash. I had settled on that after trying a bunch of other models. Also the Alnico Black Hawk works really well but is more Metal , less versatile.

As far as Duncan or others go I cant say for sure but in general Alnico magnet pickups seem to work better. Ash is already very clear and tight on the lowend ,with a nice presence to the sound. Not saying a ceramic can't sound good in Ash I just think Alnico is a better place to start, seems to balance out nicely.
 
Depends on the style you're playing really.

Since ash has pronounced bass and treble frequencies, some might say that a pickup with extra mids will mix very well.
Personally I have swapped several pickups on different ash bodies and I can tell you there's no rule.
Currently my fav strat has a heavy ash body loaded with an Anderson HN3. Previously I had a Van Zandt TrueBucker PAF style (which I modified it and put on the neck) on the same body.
I prefer the ceramic on the bridge position rather than the PAF.
 
I have about 5 guitars that are made of ash, PAF style work the best for me, the Duncan '78 is the best sounding combo, plenty enough gain and lots of mids!
 
I have a double creme Dimarzio Super Distortion on the bridge in my CHarvel guitar with an ash body and it sounded great. I have a Dimarzio double creme 36th PAF on the neck of the same guitar and it sounded like shit.
 
I had a Suhr Custom Standard with a solid 2-piece swamp ash body and an Aldrich pickup. That was one of the best sounding guitars I've had. Amazing. Unfortunately, I didn't like the color and sold the guitar.

I just picked up a Suhr Andy Wood that came with a DSH+ bridge. Replaced it with an Aldrich and it just smokes. Outstanding pickup. The AW is mahogany/ maple but my point is the pickup has sounded amazing in both bodies.
 
JohnRageOn":3pikikmv said:
Depends on the style you're playing really.

Since ash has pronounced bass and treble frequencies, some might say that a pickup with extra mids will mix very well.
Personally I have swapped several pickups on different ash bodies and I can tell you there's no rule.
Currently my fav strat has a heavy ash body loaded with an Anderson HN3. Previously I had a Van Zandt TrueBucker PAF style (which I modified it and put on the neck) on the same body.
I prefer the ceramic on the bridge position rather than the PAF.
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The first three sentences here seems pretty spot on :)

Not speaking from experience with Ash, but I've got a solid walnut neck though and got conflicting advice. Some said walnuts bright, some said it really dark, some said walnut was notoriously loose in the low frequencies. I put a Dimarzio Dominion in it sounded great, just not quite hot enough for me, swapped that for a BKP C-pig in it sounded amazing, then went 180 and put a Painkiller in it and it fuckin slays :rock: Put Rebel Yells in it last week still sounds awesome, like the Dominion though, not hot enough for my taste.

I am eventually picking up a swap ash Kiesel and did as much reading as I could on swamp ash and the majority seem to agree it tends to be somewhat laxed in the mids, So when I finally pull the trigger on one I'm going with MIDS, MIDS, MIDS!
 
There is a huge difference in tone between SWAMP ASH and ASH. One is bright and the wood is heavy the other has a Smooth bottom end, smooth high end with slightly scooped mid range and very light weight. I would stay away from any pick up with a bold mid range (like a jb) or anything that is bright (bill lawrence l500 type stuff)...I run a tone zone in my SA guitar and it sounds great, but it really depends on what tone you are after
 
Yep. I like bright tones with aggressive in your face mids typically.
 
thenine":2dnld2md said:
Suhr uses Aldrich's in their Neon Drips which are ash
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I don't think they're all Ash. Some are Alder, if memory serves.
 
jcj":j4a42o2s said:
thenine":j4a42o2s said:
Suhr uses Aldrich's in their Neon Drips which are ash
Click to expand...

I don't think they're all Ash. Some are Alder, if memory serves.
Click to expand...

True, but both had Aldrich pups installed.
 
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