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Post by smittywerber on Aug 22, 2018 16:42:04 GMT
Hi everyone!
I'm looking for a HB to play a bit of everything ranging from nu-metal to deathcore. I'm considering mainly LPs but if there's something else out there (superstrats, humbuckered teles, anything of the sort) I'm willing to give it a shot, too (just no explorers/flying Vs and that sort of thing). I'm never going to use the whammy bar, I may change tunings from time to time and I plan to stick thick strings on it, so I think I'll pass on floating bridges. Considering these things, the active SC-Custom looks awesome but maybe there are other better models out there - the SC-1000 I assume it's just a bit lower tier, based on the price, and I'm not sure how the pickups on the standard SC customs or SC-550s would do with heavy distortion (the advertised 'vintage style' suggests that they aren't very hot, I assume). Then again, a high pickup output might not matter that much because I almost never plug my guitars to actual amps - I run them through Amplitube in the PC.
So, what do you guys think about this? Any suggestions? Looking forward to joining the club soon
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Post by MartinB on Aug 22, 2018 16:55:05 GMT
Maybe one of the double cuts? I dunno, what style appeals to you the most? I’m not going to be playing it and you can mod most things into what you want. I suppose the considerations are scale length, neck radius, weight, existing routing if you want HBs and a battery hole, materials?
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Post by LeoThunder on Aug 22, 2018 17:14:31 GMT
I believe high output pick-ups are a relic of past times when amps had to be driven hard. Modern amplifiers have high gain stages that make them obsolete. Modelling amplifiers and computer simulations will offer the same functionality. You could play metal with anything nowadays, it's just a matter of turning a knob. So there will be other characteristics of active pickups that can be of interest but level is not one of them when it comes to distortion. I would put more value on the high end of the spectrum and there I'm pretty sure the so-called "vintage" Les Paul sound will not bring it. Maybe the SC-550 Paradise Flame could be of more service than the other but probably far from optimal. The SC-Custom Active or the SC-1000 are more likely what you want. Cory Mura had a good opinion of the FanFret FBB 2018 DLX but you'll want to watch the video for details. It is certainly better adapted to drop tunings and thicker strings (it comes with 13s). Or just get a 2nd hand Ibanez
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Aug 22, 2018 17:31:34 GMT
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Post by LeoThunder on Aug 22, 2018 17:43:11 GMT
Black guitars are boring… but I'm the one who spends more time looking at guitars than playing them, so… Hey, it's a 7-string. I would still go for the SC-7 then. Same upper scale length (low string) and better look, but I'm not sure about the pick-ups.
Here's the Baritone:
And the SC-7:
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Post by MartinB on Aug 22, 2018 18:11:30 GMT
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Post by smittywerber on Aug 22, 2018 20:13:17 GMT
Maybe one of the double cuts? I dunno, what style appeals to you the most? I’m not going to be playing it and you can mod most things into what you want. I suppose the considerations are scale length, neck radius, weight, existing routing if you want HBs and a battery hole, materials? I feel like getting a LP but I don't have a big preference in styles, really. Anything will do as long as it's not a SG or PRS shape. I don't plan on modding it either (at least in the short future) so existing routing is also not very important to me. I believe high output pick-ups are a relic of past times when amps had to be driven hard. Modern amplifiers have high gain stages that make them obsolete. Modelling amplifiers and computer simulations will offer the same functionality. You could play metal with anything nowadays, it's just a matter of turning a knob. That's cool to hear, especially considering I'm not even going to need plugging it to an amp so input level will be even less relevant. On the other hand, I guess higher output pickups are less noisy/ have a clearer distortion when pushed than regular humbuckers?
From your comment I'm guessing that the Roswell Alinco 5 pickups that the SC-550 and the SC Custom are not good enough for highly distorted sounds? Also, what Ibanez guitars should I be on the lookout for in the second hand market?
The fanfret model looks awesome but I'm looking for a more standard guitar. Wow those pickups look great. I'm not looking for a 7 string guitar at the moment but a 6 string model of that would be cool
Thanks for the responses everybody! The SC Active Custom looks like the best option right now but I'm interested in your opinions about the regular Roswell humbuckers that the HB's have.
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Post by LeoThunder on Aug 23, 2018 0:26:00 GMT
First up, I haven't played the Roswell Alnico 5 pick-ups in the SC-550 or SC Custom. I had an SC-Custom with Wilkinsons. Second, my remark concerns edgy attack, which I think is not provided by the "classic", softer Les Paul or SG sound. Heavy Metal was born on an SG but Tony Iommi was not a thrasher and sharp edges were never a characteristic of the Black Sabbath sound. Finally, the SC-550 Paradise Flame has different pick-ups (HAF AlNiCo-5 Zebra) from the SC-550 Tobacco Burst (LAF AlNiCo-5). The former used to be edgier when they were Wilkinson.
As to Ibanez, I would go for the hard tail RG or S anywhere within your budget (or RGA). I have an S521 with good high ends and here's a demo of the recent RGRT421 which Cory, who appears to be a metal player at heart, fell in love with:
But if you really like the Les Paul shape, then I suppose you'll be just fine with the SC-1000. HP42 made a hilarious demo of its predecessor L-1000.
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Post by LeoThunder on Aug 23, 2018 5:16:54 GMT
On the other hand, I guess higher output pickups are less noisy/ have a clearer distortion when pushed than regular humbuckers? I don't know that. I don't know too much about pick-ups, actually, but I understand electronics enough to guess that active pick-ups can be made to compensate for the narrower frequency range of humbuckers, which is a natural consequence of having a higher inductance by connecting two coils in series, while passive high output humbuckers cannot, being only louder. Note also that boosting the highs with an active circuit would likely boost the noise too, unless it's clever enough to separate the "good" highs from the "bad" ones. I wouldn't generalise anything at this point. A broader frequency range will give more clarity or definition, both clean or distorted. I suppose all sorts of pick and finger sounds will also come through better. As to noise proper, disturbance from foreign electro-magnetic activity outside of the guitar (lights, AC power supply, bass players…), the humbucking effect and shielding ought to take care of some of it, but since active pick-ups are advanced electronics, it makes sense that they should be designed to handle noise better than a wire around a magnet. Finally, there will be major differences within "regular" humbuckers as well. Those I have in my Ibanez sound nothing like the Wilkinsons I had in an SC-Custom. The latter were much "softer", "rounder", "warmer", in my view truncated. I have heard Gibsons that sounded much clearer, so I still wonder if mine were as wanted or if I got some of the fake Wilkinsons which led Thomann to move to Roswell. Bottom line: you can get clear distortion with passive humbuckers.
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Post by DerAlex on Aug 23, 2018 6:31:48 GMT
As I like to tinker with the wiring I found this: www.premierguitar.com/articles/21112-three-must-try-guitar-wiring-modsThe PTB-wiring makes it possible to loosen bass and treble which is regarding to what I read especially helpful if you use gain - the more gain the more needed is especially the bass cut pot so the sound stays clear. This is what I would try before buying new pickups - but this is my layman take on high gain stuff which sounds the same to me anyway so why spend money on pickups when all you need is to make the sound clear and punchy (where the PTB circuit comes in).
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Post by MartinB on Aug 23, 2018 7:53:46 GMT
I think that as winding increases on a pickup the mids start to get scooped and the high and low freqs get accentuated. If I’m wrong I’m sure Leo will correct me Different combinations in the production of a pickup change the EQ and output, as well as other characteristics that I flat out don’t understand.
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Post by LeoThunder on Aug 23, 2018 8:35:49 GMT
Last time I read about this, which is not very long ago, it was explained that doubling the inductance by doubling the coil was what made humbuckers duller than single coils. Of course doubling the value of the potentiometers was also meant to counterbalance this, if I remember correctly. In any case, splitting a humbucker without halving the potentiometers changes that balance anyway and connecting both coils in parallel, as is done on an HH Ibanez in 4th position, brings this even further by bringing the inductance down to a quarter of that of the series configuration. The variation of the resistance of the coil itself influences the mix to some extent. Whether that variation is significant to the point of being audible, I do not know. It was only mentioned to say that "the resistance and the capacitance [of the coil] don't have much influence and can be neglected in a first approximation". The single coils in my Ibanez SA can bite your head off. I can play it with the round part of the pick, then it's fine. Playing a Les Paul with a razor blade, on the other hand, doesn't help and it's dangerous, so I stick to Ibanez.
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Post by MartinB on Aug 23, 2018 11:52:38 GMT
Thanks for the info gents. Sounds like one hell of a can of worms.
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