Alternate Pickups for Axis

[Wolf Static]

Hi - I've modded out one of my EBMM Axis guitars by putting in a Humbucker From Hell in the Neck position. I just need a great pickup in the bridge to go with it to give me a real chunky growl at high gains, without the mud. The pickup also has to be nicely balanced with the HFH in the neck. What recommendations do you guys have out there?

 

[koogie2k]

Humbucker From Hell? Do tell....never heard of that one. Some peeps on here are really big about Bill Lawrence pups. I have switch one of my JP's with a Dimebucker (basically a bill lawrence rip-off).....I like it for what it does. Some others with more knowledge will hopefully chime in and give you some better ideas than me.....

 

[Wolf Static]

Actually, the Humbucker from Hell by DiMarzio is a bit of a misnomer - Instead of being a death-grindy high-gain pickup - it's actually designed to sound like a great single coil pickup (which it does) with the noise cancellation and output associated with humbuckers! How's that for innovative? =) . It's turned my Axis from a specialized rock guitar to a very versatile little machine... check 'em out, I think Paul Gilbert has a soundclip of the HFH on the DiMarzio website!

 

[ripley]

I just put a lawarence L-500 in the bridge of one of my axis SS's. I had a dimarzio evolution in that one, but I found at high gain the bass got a little out of control. the L-500 has a fantastic tonal range and its harmonics are ungodly. a really neat one for a basswood body is the dimarzio megadrive. it's a special order pickup, and while it's high gain, it's really tight and somewhat unusual sounding.

 

[d-bone]

I have a duncan JB (bridge) in my Axis and it's sounds great. The sound is tight and wet, no mud what so ever. I'm really happy whit it. It's more versatile. I will get a duncan Jazz in the neck soon.

Warnig: Duncan Trembucker models will not fit the Axis without heavy modification, use regular sized humbuckers and you only need to modify the "ears".

 

[Dodgeball]

The Humbucker from Hell is a great neck pickup, I'd recommend a Paf-Pro, Air-Classic (very underrated pup) or Air-Zone for the bridge slot.

 

[beej]

If you're looking for lots of response without the mud, I'd also have to recommend a Bill Lawrence. For the neck, probably an L-500R. (Would need to know more about your bridge pickup, inductance and such, to know whether or not it would balance well.) The Lawrence 500s (the original ones- not the knock-offs, of which there are a lot floating around) are really solid pickups that have a very even tonal reponse. You won't get too much bass, mids, or highs- just even response.

That said, I'm very fond of the pickups in my Axis SS and wouldn't want to swap them out.

 

[shreder75]

there's a guy who posted a clip of a wolfgang (similar to the axis) that he loaded up with a duncan JB (which I have in my esp..great pickup) goign through a splawn quick rod amp..

sounds KILLER

 

[Wolf Static]

I just picked up an F-Spaced DiMarzio Air Zone pickup to put in the bridge to go with the Humbucker from Hell... will let you know of the results as soon as I get somebody to put it in for me! Arrrrgh! Thanks for all the suggestions...=)