Shopping for new pups, Mark III

[Psyence88]

I've been looking to get new pups for a long time, specifically a SD Custom 5 and a '59. But I'm afraid they will not work with my Mark III.

Currently I'm using a Ibanez S series guitar with stock IBZ pups and they are really bright with my Mark III. It's a mahogany bodied guitar with a maple-poplar neck.

I'm looking for a very tight and aggressive bottom end with a very compressed sounding lead under high gain situations. I was into using vintage style pups for a long while but I don't think it really fits my style of playing anymore(used a set of Alnico II pros for a long time.)

I've read that the SD Custom 5 is a very tight sounding high gain pickup that works well with the '59, but I've also heard that the '59 is a boomy/bassy pickup(not what I want.)

Any suggestions? I was also looking at getting Dimarzio Evos, or a set of Bill Lawrence L-500(lead)... However I've read that they are very trebly, which would suck for me ha.

Thanks in advanced!

 

[dmt]

+1 Bill Lawrence

Yes they are bright, but they are so nice once you dial the amp in.

 

[AustinK]

i really like the jb/jazz set in my mahogany parker. It is really bright but i love the lead tone.

 

[Psyence88]

Thanks for the replies. Is the Mark III voiced as a bright amp? I've only ever played one guitar thru it, my prestige and it's fairly bright.

I think I'm gonna go with a set of Bill Lawrence pups, mainly because I've heard great things about them and they are ridiculously cheap!

 

[carlosasi]

I wouldn't classify the Mark III as bright because it is so versatile. It will let the natural sound of your guitar come through. You can easily dial in or out any tone you want. If you feel your sound is too bright, dial down the Treble a touch and Bam off you go. If you have GEQ even better roll off the top end and you have a completely new amp at your disposal.

The Duncan's are great pickups I have them in my Fender. They are very powerful and provide more feedback and gain than my P 90/ P100 or Burstbucker Pros.

 

[rgx612a]

I like the Duncan Distortion alot.

Tom Anderson's are great too... Check out the H3+.

 

[supramax]

Hey man !

I had great luck with a Dimarzio Steve's Special in bridge and Air Norton in neck when I played Ibanez...

Steve's is very tight. Not too much mids, which should be great on Marks.
Air Norton are all mids and sounded amazing!

Good luck! 8)

 

[Boogiebabies]

Slap me silly ad call me Wanda, but I see your using a Vintage 30, in a combo I would suspect.
Your speaker may be coming off as bright, especially with an open back cabinet.

My general rule for pickups is:

DiMarzio's - More Compressed, Smooth and widely varying in voicings.

Duncan's - Less Compressed, Less Coloration and a decent interpretation of the body and pickups.

Now, here is the dilemma. You can spend the rest of your natural life chasing down pickups.
I just have the Duncan Custom Shop wind stuff for me and so far, they have not missed on whatever I have asked them for. Specifically, the Duncan 78/EVH slightly overwound.

Both companies are very good at what they do, so choosing is tough. I have a box full of unused pickups ranging from Bardens, Gibson, Fralins, EMG, DiMarzio, Duncan and Bill Lawrence. I hope to match them with the right guitar someday. Don't be afraid to call Duncan or DiMarzio. They are very helpful. The Duncan Custom Shop can get expensive, but you get what you ask for. For your guitar, I would think a Tone Zone in the Bridge and an Air Norton in the neck would be a very reasonably priced solution to your tone, unless the speaker is to blame.

Good Luck.

 

[Stonge]

tone zone anyone??

 

[dmt]

Stock Ibanez Pickups are OEM Dimarzios.

Make sure you get the Chrome Housing for the Bill Lawrence's! It looks so much cooler. Sounds better too...

"Once you go chrome, you'll never roam...."

http://www.billlawrence.com,

 

[Skyless7620]

You might want to look into Lundgren pickups if you really want a Tight, Agressive, and crushing bottom end

 

[Psyence88]

Thanks for the responses everybody! This place is the best haha I've posted on the duncan forums and the thread is like on the 5'th page in a day. I will definately check out the Dimarzios Boogiebabies. It is a combo and it does have a vintage 30 speaker.

The attractive thing about the Dimarzio's and BL pups is that they are pretty cheap, being a university student cash doesn't flow well, and... I already spent a lot of my school savings on the Boogie(imagine that, ha.) So less is more in my case, I also forgot to mention that it has a single coil that I want to replace as well.

I hate to name off artists I'd like to have a general ballpark sound with but there are some particular sounds I really freaken love, particularly the beginning to the solo in millennium sun by Angra,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5w8ModQ9_8

It starts at 3:19...

Also, the intro solo to "The Air That I Breathe" by All That Remains...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG9qlKEyV4E

At 00:27...

To end it, the solo in "Storm," by Luna Sea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWdHsm3QmEA

2:43...

Now, to someone else they might all sound completely different, but to me they have the same type of voicing, like they sound very compressed and less airy than what I would play. If I could get a tone like that, or particularly voiced like that, I'm gold!

Anyways, thanks all!

 

[mule#1]

I would go for Anderson's. check out their web page. Yhe origional humbucker model is awesome. All Boogies are designed around that pickup. I read somewhere that Randall Smith sets all boogies up to have that specific amps sound be the best with bass, mid and treble set on 5 using that pickup. I used to run them in a Ash bodied strat through a Boogie DC-5 and the tone was sick setting it up the way I mentioned. I use all Gibsons and have become a purist using their pickups but I plan on another strat with Andersons in the near future. You will not be disappointed.

 

[AustinK]

I tried some dimarzio deactiveators yesterday and i thought they were very tight and compressed.

I will probably get some for my strat.

 

[Stonge]

I would go for Anderson's. check out their web page. Yhe origional humbucker model is awesome. All Boogies are designed around that pickup. I read somewhere that Randall Smith sets all boogies up to have that specific amps sound be the best with bass, mid and treble set on 5 using that pickup. I used to run them in a Ash bodied strat through a Boogie DC-5 and the tone was sick setting it up the way I mentioned. I use all Gibsons and have become a purist using their pickups but I plan on another strat with Andersons in the near future. You will not be disappointed.

From there website:
" H3 Our original super hot pickup. This is the pickup used for developing, testing and insuring the great tonal quality of Mesa Boogie amplifiers. The sound is open, not muddy, but with rich, full mid and bottom end tone"

Interesting I am think about changing my gibson PUs out of my LP. I know, I know..I am just kinda looking for a change. I may get one of these. Anyone have any comments on these/this pickup(s).

 

[mule#1]

All I can say is you will not be disappointed. Maybe I should put a set in my Explorer. You will be surprised at the difference in tone!

 

[Elpelotero]

Psyence88,

You and I have very similar tastes in solos and lead tones. A Mark2c+, III, or IV is definitely your ticket to those tones. The pickups suggested sound great also. Thanks for listing those bands. I especially liked the second one.

 

[Psyence88]

Psyence88,

You and I have very similar tastes in solos and lead tones. A Mark2c+, III, or IV is definitely your ticket to those tones. The pickups suggested sound great also. Thanks for listing those bands. I especially liked the second one.

No problem man! It's probably my most favorite lead tone ever.

I'm beginning to think that pickups won't completely get me that tone, but Dimarzio would be the best way to go for a compressed and focused sound, like Boogiebabies said. I'll check out the Tone Zone and Air Norton first, namely because I can readily get them here(living in Newfoundland, Canada can get pretty crappy...)

I'm guessing, to get that particular type of sound I will need a good compressor, some delay, a lot of midrange dialed in and my tone rolled off. It's basically an extremely focused(read not "open" or "airy") type of sound. That how I interpret it anyways, thoughts?

But yeah, thanks for the help everybody, again it's awesome!