Best humbuckers for solidbody...

[bimmermanshane]

So I've browsed the internet, watched 100+ YouTube videos, and none of them really tell me the answer to a simple yet highly debated topic. 

I'm building a Les Paul style guitar, I love Les Paul's, however I'm changing the neck profile and number of frets in search of playability and sustain.

I love the warm mellow Les Paul tone, and I would like to incorporate some of that as well as adding some more modern clarity and attack, hopefully without going active. 

Everyone says super distortions, or jb. But YouTube sound clips don't show me good quality sound in most places. 

I would like some high end clarity similar to Jon petrucci on dream theaters newest album, but to also have a slightly more traditional warmth and decent sustain. 

I would say Slash's guitar is almost too warm/muddy, on the other end would be 80s and early 90s Metallica with almost piercing treble and high gain sustain. So...something in the middle if that exists...

If you want a nice mellow, but clear/non muddy tone, what brand or direction should you go for pickups?

Even thought about a good high gain/high output bridge pickup, with a more traditional neck pickup. Matching volumes would be slightly difficult though. 

Sorry for the long winded question, I know I'll have to compromise on either top or bottom end most likely, but I'd like a balance of both if I can to make the guitar more versatile. So I could gift it to someone who plays blues sometimes, and metal other times, or use myself for recording. 

Thanks for the help

[ScottR]

1 hour ago, bimmermanshane said:

If you want a nice mellow, but clear/non muddy tone, what brand or direction should you go for pickups?

Me?

Klein P.A. F. '58 or '59.

https://www.kleinpickups.com/c-21-humbucker-pickups.aspx

SR

[curtisa]

1 hour ago, bimmermanshane said:

I would say Slash's guitar is almost too warm/muddy, on the other end would be 80s and early 90s Metallica with almost piercing treble and high gain sustain. So...something in the middle if that exists...

It's worth noting that you are listening to the entire chain when making judgments on just the pickups - player, guitar, pickups, amp, effects, speakers, mike placement, post processing... Flipping it on its head for a second, I'm willing to bet that playing Slash's Les Paul through Kirk Hammett's And Justice For All-era recording setup would sound pretty brittle as well.

 

1 hour ago, bimmermanshane said:

I would like some high end clarity similar to Jon petrucci on dream theaters newest album, but to also have a slightly more traditional warmth and decent sustain. 

Can you find out what pickups JP uses? It's been a long while since I paid much attention to Dream Theater, but I seem to recall he used to use Dimarzio Air Nortons and Steve Specials.

 

1 hour ago, bimmermanshane said:

Everyone says super distortions, or jb

They're pretty high-output pickups. I would've thought you'd be looking for something in the low or medium output range. Seymour Duncan Seth Lover? Pearly Gates?

[ADFinlayson]

Lower output = better tone and versatility IMO, they clean up a lot better when you roll off the volume and you cant retain more of the highs if you use a treble bleed.

I put a super distortion and liquefier in a build for someone a year or so ago. Can't stand them, a lot like the jb pickups, they just sound like a compressed stereo sound with no middle to my ears. On the other hand I just put a pair of SD vintage blues in a build, not expensive pickups but sound great through my MT15 (All I've got access to during lockdown). I also really rate OX4 pickups, Lots of people on the internet praising his PAFs and his p90s I put in a recent build are just awesome, 

[mistermikev]

19 hours ago, bimmermanshane said:

So I've browsed the internet, watched 100+ YouTube videos, and none of them really tell me the answer to a simple yet highly debated topic. 

I'm building a Les Paul style guitar, I love Les Paul's, however I'm changing the neck profile and number of frets in search of playability and sustain.

I love the warm mellow Les Paul tone, and I would like to incorporate some of that as well as adding some more modern clarity and attack, hopefully without going active. 

Everyone says super distortions, or jb. But YouTube sound clips don't show me good quality sound in most places. 

I would like some high end clarity similar to Jon petrucci on dream theaters newest album, but to also have a slightly more traditional warmth and decent sustain. 

I would say Slash's guitar is almost too warm/muddy, on the other end would be 80s and early 90s Metallica with almost piercing treble and high gain sustain. So...something in the middle if that exists...

If you want a nice mellow, but clear/non muddy tone, what brand or direction should you go for pickups?

Even thought about a good high gain/high output bridge pickup, with a more traditional neck pickup. Matching volumes would be slightly difficult though. 

Sorry for the long winded question, I know I'll have to compromise on either top or bottom end most likely, but I'd like a balance of both if I can to make the guitar more versatile. So I could gift it to someone who plays blues sometimes, and metal other times, or use myself for recording. 

Thanks for the help

as @curtisa alluded too... the first thing that stands out to me in your post is the comments about slash's setup.  Perhaps you have his sig guitar handy?  his guitar (if I'm not mistaken) is A2 PAF so they are quite dark by comparrison, but he plays through an amp/settings that are very treble heavy so... keep that in mind.

when you say warm les paul I think classic paf.  they are actually a fairly treble heavy pickups... but are warmed up by any number of things like covers, the guitar itself (don't flame but I'm sure a giant chunk of mahog contributes on some level), and the distance the pickup sticks out of the body (on a les paul this is considerably much more than others and IMO makes a contribution).  With all that said... I'm a huge fan of just the std paf - even an under powered one and even in bridge position.  It is not a pickup that is meant for metal tho.  Just doesn't lend itself well to that IMO. 

so... solutions... well, one solution is the jb/jazz which pairs a higher output ceramic pickup (i also love this pickup) with a lower output "paf like" neck.  Personally, I'd prefer a jb/59 as the 59 just has the best paf sound to me.  With the jb in the bridge you still don't quite get satisfaction afa modern metal sounds (not that I am a modern metal guy).  and honestly you loose a little of the special sauce that the 59 has in the bridge for lower gain stuff.  one thing I've found that works well to get the most out of the jb pickup is to setup your wiring to be able to access prs-style inner vs outter coil pairings.  This fills in a lot of the gap between the meanness of a jb and the warmth of a 59.

at this point - I'd just recommend you get several guitars to accomplish the several differing goals!  That is really the best option... but barring that, the next step closer to a more metal sound (IMO) and w/o ruining the classic sound... is to add an active preamp.  Depending on what you put in there... it can def shape whatever pickup you have into something different.  Its not a perfect solution but I much prefer a passive pickups with an active preamp to low wind/low impedence active pickups (emg, live wire, blackouts).  At least with an active preamp you can bypass and get back to that passive sound.

anywho, just one aholes 2 cents.

[bimmermanshane]

I completely agree with the comment about their entire setup, a mesa boogie with some kind of metal distortion pedal is for sure going to sound different than a Marshall with two or three tube screamers that's being pushed by emgs. Oh yea with the kids turned way down lol. I guess I should say what setup and guitar I typically use. 

I've had a couple of different Les Paul's, a custom shop, and a standard with the non covered humbuckers. 

Actually, I'm confused as to what those humbuckers were in the standard. 

I also have a couple ibanez rg guitars I'm working on, for 60 bucks you either get bad electronics or a bad neck lol. So lots of parts swapping between those two. 

I have an ibanez solid-state amp, and am replacing the tubes (ugh) in a line 6 dt50. 

I don't plan on using solid-state forever and I don't like using too many pedals, just distortion, delay, maybe compression or chorus if I need it for a particular song/set. 

Also when the mahogany is mentioned yes absolutely. I put an invader in one of the ibanez bodies to test the differences, and when it's in the maple body it seems to have more treble. Maybe I'm just crazy. 

But the rg sounds somehow like an rg, both amps, the tube maybe slightly more warm and dynamic. 

And the Les Paul also sounds a bit like a Les Paul, even through the solid-state. 

For myself I would absolutely just make or build several different guitars for different purposes, it became difficult when I started having to build one that two entirely different people will both see something they like in.

Certainly makes it more difficult. 

Y'all had several suggestions on pickups and I will definitely be checking those out, may even have to order a couple sets and just try them honestly.