Mark V pickups?

[BrentSSL]

I have an x2n in my explorer and a Blaze in my seven string are these pups to thin for the mark five ?What pickups might help give me a smoother fatter sound with the Mark V? I would like to avoid actives also.

 

[John BNY]

The burstbucker pros in my Gibson Les Paul Standard as well as the humbuckers in my Carvin custom both provide thick, warm tones. I haven't tried other PUs.

 

[barryswanson]

EMG's sound great?

 

[LesPaul70]

I have an x2n in my explorer and a Blaze in my seven string are these pups to thin for the mark five ?What pickups might help give me a smoother fatter sound with the Mark V? I would like to avoid actives also.

I can sort of relate to this. The V can sound thin/shrill. However, I'm not sure if this is (only) a pickup issue. The first thing to try would be to tweak your V settings, then try a different (bigger) cab.

Not saying that the pickup couldn't be at least a contributing factor. The X2N is a bright pickup, and with an amp like the V, which has stinging highs (esp. with the stock 6L6s), the result can be rather unpleasant on the ears.

Fortunately, there are lots of good pickups on the market today. Ever since I put Bare Knuckles in my Gibsons, I stopped looking for other alternatives. And never looked back. 100% happy with them. Very high quality handwound pickups, lots of models to choose from, and they all offer much better clarity than what you get from factory-built Seymour Duncans or DiMarzios. (Just make sure you don't pick a particularly trebly model.)

And there are other quality manufacturers on the market as well. I'm sure our fellow board members can recommend some.

EMG's sound great?

EMG HZ don't, I'm afraid. He didn't want active pickups.

 

[Bluestoned1]

Arcane Triples (HB)...solid!

 

[Ytsejammer777]

I think the Crunchlab/Liquifire combo is a pretty good option. I'm also liking the SD Sentient/Pegasus combo in my 7 string at the moment.

 

[elvis]

Not to burst your pickup exploration, but turn the knobs on the V. You can get pretty much any tone out of pretty much any pickup. I run everything from stock teles to metal-fied 7-strings through my amps, and the V is the most capable of tuning them to whatever style I want.

I will say that CL/LF are very powerful and huge-sounding.

 

[BrentSSL]

I have an x2n in my explorer and a Blaze in my seven string are these pups to thin for the mark five ?What pickups might help give me a smoother fatter sound with the Mark V? I would like to avoid actives also.

I can sort of relate to this. The V can sound thin/shrill. However, I'm not sure if this is (only) a pickup issue. The first thing to try would be to tweak your V settings, then try a different (bigger) cab.

Not saying that the pickup couldn't be at least a contributing factor. The X2N is a bright pickup, and with an amp like the V, which has stinging highs (esp. with the stock 6L6s), the result can be rather unpleasant on the ears.

Fortunately, there are lots of good pickups on the market today. Ever since I put Bare Knuckles in my Gibsons, I stopped looking for other alternatives. And never looked back. 100% happy with them. Very high quality handwound pickups, lots of models to choose from, and they all offer much better clarity than what you get from factory-built Seymour Duncans or DiMarzios. (Just make sure you don't pick a particularly trebly model.)

And there are other quality manufacturers on the market as well. I'm sure our fellow board members can recommend some.

EMG's sound great?

EMG HZ don't, I'm afraid. He didn't want active pickups.

I am running a Mesa rectifier 412 that I think has v30's but I am suspicious it has c90's in it. I also have been having trouble dialing in a good tone that sounds good in person the thing tracks like a beast when I record but I can get a decent tone when I am in a room jamming with a band it just doesn't sound think its very midrange thin and scratchy I had the same issue with the triaxis I used to have.

 

[BrentSSL]

EMG's sound great?

Yes they do but none of my guitars have them and switching them all over would be too much money

 

[mesa metal]

the x2n to date is dimarzios highest output pickup @510 and sometimes can sound a little mushy,,depending on your settings...and guitar woods,tubes etc.
im running tone zone bridge and paf in the neck,in my jacksons,,,,,and seymour duncan nazgul/sentient in the strictly7 guitar,,as mentioned above the crunchlab/liquifire is a great combo too and im gonna try that next.......i respect the opinions of everyone here on the board,,,but emg's sound horrible in a mkv
sorry..

 

[elvis]

I am running a Mesa rectifier 412 that I think has v30's but I am suspicious it has c90's in it. I also have been having trouble dialing in a good tone that sounds good in person the thing tracks like a beast when I record but I can get a decent tone when I am in a room jamming with a band it just doesn't sound think its very midrange thin and scratchy I had the same issue with the triaxis I used to have.

If you do have C90, it still shouldn't sound shrill, just with a bit more wideband response.

If the cabinet is not modified, look at the power rating. C90s will give 4x90W=360W handling. V30 will give 4x60W=240W. If it IS modified, then I recommend using an Ohmmeter on the jack(s). It may be miswired or the speakers may be unexpected impedances, so you may be mismatching the amp's impedance.

Are you using the GEQ? The V in my experience sounds really mid-honky without it in the gain channels. What are your settings?

I can get a stock tele to sound like a metal guitar without shrill overtones.

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

Gota tweak the amp. Also remember that the frequency of a guitar is vocal. Too much bass or a tone that is too thick will get lost in the mix when playing with a band. Bass frequency is the the bass players job.

 

[BrentSSL]

I wish i had too many lows my sound is toppy and hard on the ears so I played through an orange cab today and the difference was huuge not sure why i know they have v30s too I think its my cab rectifies played through it had a little bit more mid-range than I was used to hearing through it but I played through a Marshall cab also today and is more of the sound that I've been getting from my Mesa cab then the shouldn't the Vintage 30 Mesa cab some closer to an orange cab with vintage 30s then a Marshall cab with g12s

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

Mids are good and highs to a point. I use two 2X12 vertical mesa cabs. I have no problems with tone. I do have an issue with some very high scratchy sounds when I open up the volume all the way on the guitars. I am hopefully getting that corrected with a mod here in a couple of weeks. Apparently there is a mod for the Mark V and I'll let you know how that works out. I use Telecasters mainly, well all the time right now. I have a few guitars with Humbucker pups and for me with this band they are just too boomy. The band I work with covers everything and my Telecasters do the job very well. One thing, neither of them are even close to being stock. I have a Blond 52 reissue and the neck and body wood are the only things that are stock from when I bought it. The other is a 3 pickup tele I bought piece by piece and I can say it is a tele but that is about it. I have never heard another telecaster that sounds like either of mine. I ride the volume pot hard all night long. I can play all night and never even change the channel on the amp.

I use one MXR Carbon Copy delay pedal all the time because it thickens up the sound. I use two MXR Carbon Copy delays on the clean channel. I have been getting into the Tweed here lately on the clean channel. I only use the EQ on channel 3. Channel 2 is lots of fun and has great tone for leads with the guitar volume up and a very nice sparkly clean with the volume on the guitar down. Channel 2 and 3 are set to the same volume level. One kind of important thing, my band is a three piece so I don't have to fight with another guitar to be heard.

Open up the main volume on the amp to at least half then dial in your sounds. When I play live if I need to bump the volume up I bump the main volume first. The amp seems to come alive when the main volume isn't holding the pre amp back. I played an outdoor October Fest at http://www.mojavered.com and by the end of the job my main volume was about 3/4 the way up but the channel volume was barely cracked. The amp was singing, sustain was incredible and it wasn't too loud either. Nothing but complements from the crowd when we were done. Everyone stayed for the 4 hours we played. But it is very good beer.

 

[thunder100]

I had a Fender Jaguar (MIJ) with Dragster Pickups-->Mark V hated them you could do whatever you wanted-->harsh trebbyl ( a HB !!).Sold the guitar

I like articulate defined sound,rather then an undifined sound (noise) cloud and think that the low output pickups do that better with a Mark V ( its better to bost in the amp rather then at the pickup as you cut part of frequency)

Other then this I have a variety of SC and HB guitars Mark V can do all of them.Best HB are from my PRS Santana III (by way) and best SC ase in the G&L Legacy.For shredding best are the Gotoh double rails in a G&L Invader

my 2 cents on that

Roland

 

[OldTelecasterMan]

I like articulate defined sound,rather then an undifined sound (noise) cloud and think that the low output pickups do that better with a Mark V ( its better to bost in the amp rather then at the pickup as you cut part of frequency)
Roland

I found the frequency cut to come in handy as when I backed off the volume was during the vocal part then open it up for leads. It seems to give the vocals a bit more room dynamically. I also do have a volume pedal in the effects loop if I want to keep the tone/drive but lower the volume. So far I have not put any drive or distortion pedals in my rig. Well I have never owned any since my days of "The Dark Side" (digital effects racks, guitar synth, MIDI controllers and pedalboards of the 80s).

 

[kdorsey]

I'm of the opinion that it's in the Mark V if you spend the time to find it. New pups can change a nuance but not a drastic shift.

And, in my experience, my band mix is lacking in top end compared to my setup, solo, in the music cave before a gig. You're competing for those upper mid frequencies with other guitars and vocals where, when listening to just your rig, those increased frequencies sound harsh. If it sounds great before going to the gig, it should sound warmer and less harsh live due to cancelation and room acoustics. That is, unless you play only in gymnasiums. :wink: Use the GEQ and bump up the 770Hz and maybe 2200Hz a little.

Not all V30 cabs are made alike. The Recto 2x12 is the de facto standard and nearly everyone has tried to clone it. But the Orange and PRS pine 2x12 cabs, despite having the cheaper V30s, sound less modern and, IMO, spectacular for non metal/modern rock genre. They defy the V30 standard. Highly, highly recommended to change things up a little.

 

[thunder100]

I found the frequency cut to come in handy as when I backed off the volume was during the vocal part then open it up for leads.

Very true-just not all pickups,depending on the cap values does that

It seems to give the vocals a bit more room dynamically. I also do have a volume pedal in the effects loop if I want to keep the tone/drive but lower the volume. So far I have not put any drive or distortion pedals in my rig. Well I have never owned any since my days of "The Dark Side" (digital effects racks, guitar synth, MIDI controllers and pedalboards of the 80s).

I am also past front pedals.If I really need effects I use the Axe FX with the Mk.V

And I have to EQ differently as I use a old well broken in EVM 12 L in an oak cabinet (Thiele).The oak boost top end a bit

For me ( apart it is in your fingers ) 20% of sound is pickup,40% amp and 40% speaker.But if the first 20% sound **** the remaining 80% can hardly cure that.

So I rather went ( + 30 years-beginning was hard because of affordabilty) for better guitar's WITH better pickups

my 5 cents

Roland

I have a CS Strat and it is (really) great,but my HWY 1 for below a quarter price is not far behind

 

[KiwiJoe]

I have an x2n in my explorer and a Blaze in my seven string are these pups to thin for the mark five ?What pickups might help give me a smoother fatter sound with the Mark V? I would like to avoid actives also.

Smooth and fat? You can't go wrong with a traditional, low-output PAF-style pickup like a DiMarzio 36th Anniversary, Duncan 59, Lollar Imperial, etc. The low windings add clarity and better dynamic range; you can always get more drive if you want by adjusting the amp accordingly. With high-output pups, you're stuck with whatever fixed low-threshold the pups offer. Send a clear, low-output signal to the front end of your amp, and let the amp do the rest.

 

[thunder100]

I have an x2n in my explorer and a Blaze in my seven string are these pups to thin for the mark five ?What pickups might help give me a smoother fatter sound with the Mark V? I would like to avoid actives also.

Smooth and fat? You can't go wrong with a traditional, low-output PAF-style pickup like a DiMarzio 36th Anniversary, Duncan 59, Lollar Imperial, etc. The low windings add clarity and better dynamic range; you can always get more drive if you want by adjusting the amp accordingly. With high-output pups, you're stuck with whatever fixed low-threshold the pups offer. Send a clear, low-output signal to the front end of your amp, and let the amp do the rest.

Totally and fully agree

After all its the Mark V forum and not the Fender Dual Reverb one( with all respect to it played it LONG).Best gain comes from in the Mark-therefore it was invented-->unless you are only in Brutalzz

Roland