please help with pickup choices for death metal music

[willie]

i am farely new here and have learned some great stuff and would like to get some input on which pickups would be best for me.

now i play thrash/death metal music and use: jackson usa select king v with a maple neckthru with alder body and maple top for my main guitar, my backup is a all mahogony necktrhu kxk v1 thru a triple rectifier, peavey xxx and 2 marshall 4x12 cabs with g12t 75's..i am either going to use a equalizer pedal before my amp or going to use a boss metal zone or super overdrive as a clean boost.

i currently use emg 81's and love them but the low end is a bit loose plugged straigt into the rect and their a bit too starile sounding when using a clean boost and im looking for a change..i am looking for a sound that will be tight, clear, heavy for fast playing ..and be more versatile than emg's and show more of my playing dynamics basically. so i want to stay away from actives and im getting tired of the battery situation lol.

iv narrowed my choices down to seymour duncan sh-8 invader and sh-13 dimebucker, dimarzio x2n and distortion super 3. any help?
thanx

 

[SixVeeSix]

Before you change the 81s out, try lowering them away from the strings a bit. It will lower the output but makes them much less "barky", especially for clean stuff. I would not use an 81 in the neck position, try an 85 or 89. I change my batteries once a year and they are still good enough to run my tuner for a couple of months. You just need to unplug your guitar when you are not using it.

 

[Nitrobattery]

before you rule out EMG's, i'd try running 85's instead of 81's. i'm in a thrash/death metal/metalcore-ish band and i run ibanez rg's loaded with dual emg 85's into a boogie DC-5 and use a maxon OD808 to push the front of the head. the 85's have all of the clarity of the 81's, but have more low end and low mids. the alnico magnet instead of the ceramic magnet makes the 85 a lot warmer that the 81, and i find it cuts through a little better too. it's like having the best of both words...the tone and warmth of a passive pickup, but with the incredible clarity of an active emg. since emg's have quick-connects, i really can't urge you enough to pick up an 85 and try it in the bridge of your guitar. i can almost promise that you'll love it.

here are a few clips if it helps

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=691843

Legion Demo, Emo, Quail, and Boogie DC-5 were all done with 85's in the bridge and neck. the rest were don't with an 81/85 combo in a les paul custom except for the last one which was done with a les paul standard with a gibson 500t in the bridge.

 

[domct203]

+1 for the 85 at the bridge (check my signature). It is alot fuller and punchier, and warmer from the alnico.

The 81 sounds great to me at the neck, the bass is perfect and the mids cut through.

Dom

 

[willie]

thanks guys i will give the 85 a try..

I change my batteries once a year and they are still good enough to run my tuner for a couple of months. You just need to unplug your guitar when you are not using it.

really? they have never lasted that long for me...its like they work for 2-3 months and they allready need a change cuz the tone gets weak.
thanks alot though

 

[SixVeeSix]

thanks guys i will give the 85 a try..

I change my batteries once a year and they are still good enough to run my tuner for a couple of months. You just need to unplug your guitar when you are not using it.

really? they have never lasted that long for me...its like they work for 2-3 months and they allready need a change cuz the tone gets weak.
thanks alot though

Sounds like somebody did not wire the jack as a battery switch. Look at the EMG wiring diagrams online, you need a stereo jack with the ring wired to short to the sleeve and complete the battery circuit. Otherwise it is on all the time.

 

[devilrob1979]

Yeah, I bet that battery only lasted about 3000 hours or so. :roll:

 

[Rocky]

thanks guys i will give the 85 a try..

I change my batteries once a year and they are still good enough to run my tuner for a couple of months. You just need to unplug your guitar when you are not using it.

really? they have never lasted that long for me...its like they work for 2-3 months and they allready need a change cuz the tone gets weak.
thanks alot though

If memory serves EMG suggests NOT using rechargables. I dont remember why though.

I used to use EMG pickups on a couple guitars and the batteries lasted over a year.

 

[willie]

well the battery wasnt completely dead...but the tone started to get weaker and sounded better with a new battery...this was with all my guitars with emgs...they have the right input jacks, and i never used rechargable bataries....i dunno..its not a big deal to get the batteries but i think i just need a chang in tone and would like to check out some passives. im gonna play my jackson with the emg 85 in the bridge this weekend at practice.

 

[wildrat666]

In an alder body guitar the emg 81 sounds weak, the emg 85 is superior on that kind of guitar. alder +emg 81 sounds thin

 

[Botch]

Don't get the Invader, they're muddy and not articulate at all!