hottest passive pickups?

[Sub1 Zero]

i am looking into swapping the bridge pickup out of my Sub, and was looking for some input as to what would have the most punch, clarity, and volume out of all the passive pickups available. i would go EMG but for some reason i just love the neck pickup. the music i play is classic metal, such as megadeth, metallica, and any hair metal, and my own stuff is a mixture of these things. thanks in advance for any help, i greatly appreciate it. you guys rock!

-Paul

 

[Pundix]

Tom Anderson H3 or H3+. To me, nothing sounds better.

 

[Luiz Gustavo]

Evolution or pAF pro.

 

[beej]

Bill Lawrence's L500XL is the hottest one I've played. A great sounding pickup that cleans up really well, for $50.

 

[Roubster]

The DiMarzio Super Distortion is really good as well. It completely opened up the sound of my friends custom Strat, so I can only imagine what it would sound like in a darker guitar like the SUB. Before he had a Duncan JB, and it REALLY sucked in the Fenaneder, but the Super Dist really made it sound more clearer and heavy. With his JCM800 if he turned down the mids it was instant Metallica typa sound.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

I think the Dimarzio X2N is the hottest passive pickup you can get, I think!

 

[beej]

Ok, wildcard thought here. While I love a good loud pickup, I tend to prefer something with more expression; something that cleans up better. You can always crank up the gain.

With that in mind a good suggestion is the Steve's Special - the pickup that's in the Morse. That pickup absolutely rocks and is really versatile.

 

[jeffrey]

If you just want sheer output, few pickups match the Duncan Invader's. Tonally they aren't my favorite, but they are just ridiculously loud.

If you like that old Megadeth tone, Mustaine always uses Duncan JB's (SH4) in the bridge and neck positions. It's also a very high output pickup.

 

[Roubster]

The Morse models have the Steve's Special in them? Are you sure? I believe those were developed for Petrucci into his Ibanazen geetars a while back.

 

[jeffrey]

Correct: Steve's Special and Air Norton were developed in conjunction with JP back in the Ibanez days, I believe.

 

[beej]

Hmmm ... actually I'm not sure. The model numer seems wrong ...

Ok, well change my suggestion to the "Steve Morse Signature" DP200 which you can buy from DiMarzio. That's what I meant.

Btw- Petrucci is a HUGE Morse fan, and if I recall (so far I'm 0 for 1) he loved the sound of the Morse pickup.

 

[jeffrey]

Probably so.

I believe the "Steve" in "Steve's Special" is referring to Steve Blucher.

 

[beej]

Yeah, you're totally right. I didn't think it through ...

 

[jeffrey]

Just for that!

That'll learn ya!

 

[Dakine]

www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk !!!!!!!!!



Look at Warpig and Miracle Man, maybe the Painkiller (to come).

And YES they have US distributers as well as sending direct.
Many many clips on forum there.

 

[NorM]

I love and live for the EMG's but every time I turn up the volume knob and choke down on my pick with a high gain setting on my amplifier with my Morse.....
I just Giggle like ButtHead I like it so much.
uh huh huh

 

[lock-ny]

I have a duncan distortion in my silo and it is loud clear and hot, tight as hell also, if your looking into the duncan line the distortion trembucker is hotter than the JB, I dont love the JB in a bolt on guitar, they sound great in pauls though -

 

[Jonny Dubai]

+1 on the bareknuckle..... When i get back to the uk in the summer I am all out for a set of nail bombs.

Jonny.

 

[Polaris]

i am looking into swapping the bridge pickup out of my Sub, and was looking for some input as to what would have the most punch, clarity, and volume out of all the passive pickups available. i would go EMG but for some reason i just love the neck pickup. the music i play is classic metal, such as megadeth, metallica, and any hair metal, and my own stuff is a mixture of these things. thanks in advance for any help, i greatly appreciate it. you guys rock!

-Paul

Hey mate. In my experience, the best pickups you can buy have got to be those made by Bare Knuckle Pickups.

If rock is your thing, check out the following:
- Nailbomb
- Warpig
- Mule

Each can be bought as a single humbucker or a calibrated set. Every pickup is scatterwound by hand! I've heard these pickups on Gibsons, Fenders, and one Gordon Smith guitar and they are simply the best money can buy.

www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk

Knocks every other pickup for six... if you get the chance to hear one, you might think twice about keeping your neck pup!

 

[DML]

Very, very hot:
-Schaller Hot Stuff
-Rio Grande Crunchbox