Bright PAF output recommendations.

[bruzanhd]

I’m looking for a hot PAF output bridge humbucker with a very mid focused bright sound. Something that with the right amp I can get from jimmy page to randy Rhoads. My current suspicion is the Dimarzio 36 bridge suits this the best but I’d love to hear more opinions and options on this. Guitar that this is going in is gonna be a swamp ash soloist maple neck with floyd.

 

[ragamuffin]

Dimarzio 36th would probably be a good choice. From Seymour Duncan the Whole Lotta Humbucker or Saturday Night Specials might be good options.

I always recommend Vineham Pickups for humbuckers http://www.vineham.com/humbucker_pickups.html
A while back I had a Vineham Pickups "Whiskey Burner" which is their hot paf and I think might be a good alternative.
I didn't keep it (it didn't suit the guitar, which was already very midrange-y and bright) but Vineham makes great pickups that are pretty affordable. You could also email him and ask what he'd recommend.

 

[Rick]

I have the 36th and it's not bad, but you need something with more balls for Jimmy Page stuff.  You'd be happy with either a Railhammer anvil B / chisel N set, or a seymour duncan distortion B / jazz N set. Neither will break the bank.  In fact, those are my two favorite sets at the moment.

 

[TBurst Std]

May I suggest a Zhangbucker O-Bucker. 
Reach out to Dave, he’ll wind to to your desire.  Excellent co.

I have and O-Bucker bridge paired with a Pagey 2 neck.  The O-Bucker is a touch hotter and brighter than the Pagey.  Dave suggested it as I also wanted hair rock tones out of the bridge. 

Oh and if you go with him, make sure to get the splat option. 
Not true coil splitting and I feel better.  It takes a full coil and a bit of the second coil.  No drastic volume drops but the tone you were looking for with a split.

 

[bruzanhd]

The SD whole lotta humbucker might be good, I hadnt seen that one and it should be easy to find sound clips. I’ll have to email zhangbucker and vineham to see what they think will get the sound I want within their respective offerings.

 

[Rick]

Also shoot Joe Nailer (sp?) or his support staff at Railhammer an email  ... They will respond with a recommendation.

 

[Spud]

I dunno "hot" and "bright" don't normally go together?

 

[bruzanhd]

I dunno "hot" and "bright" don't normally go together?

That’s why I mentioned page and rhoads. Kind of how both of them have a more sharp/bright/middy tone compared to other players. IE slash or Hagar era van halen have a warmer tone.

 

[Spud]

Duncan Full Shred? Bright, but maybe not enough mids for you.

 

[TBurst Std]

The SD whole lotta humbucker might be good, I hadnt seen that one and it should be easy to find sound clips. I’ll have to email zhangbucker and vineham to see what they think will get the sound I want within their respective offerings.

Just email Dave at zhangbucker and if what you want he doesn’t offer. He will custom do it for you.

I have 4 of his pups and they are great.

 

[Spud]

Rail Hammer Hyper vintage may be something to consider.

 

[Waraxe]

Lace hemibuckers. The bridge is very much a middy and bright pickup in the best possible way.

Sorta like the dimarzio 36th but withva better top end. Cutting the tone a bit gets it into regular humbucker category

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

PAF pro as far as Dimarzio is concerned is likely the best balance. It was Vai’s pickup of choice for the first Jems in ‘87 in order to have increased output with greater treble retention for use in extensive effects racks of the day. It’s still an excellent pickup by todays standard now that modeling technology and high gain capabilities in amps have advanced as they have.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Gotta Throw the Humbucker from Hell in there too. Great neck pickup, single coil like clarity. Put a PAF Pro in the bridge, an HS2 or equivalent in the middle, and a HfH in the neck and with a high gain amp, you’ve got all ground covered.

 

[Spud]

I just don't want to see it get too bright.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Won’t be too bright, it will be balanced, and you can tweak amp knobs to add or subtract to taste. It’s a great combo for recording. I had this setup for a record back in 1995 when I was endorsed by ADA using my MP2, came out great.

 

[Spud]

Won’t be too bright, it will be balanced, and you can tweak amp knobs to add or subtract to taste. It’s a great combo for recording. I had this setup for a record back in 1995 when I was endorsed by ADA using my MP2, came out great.

Very cool! Back in 95, I was using a Marshall 4502 JCM 900 50watt 2X12, (too much to lug about now) but sometimes at the shared practice space, I got a chance to play through an ADA mp pre sent to a "Mosvalve" power amp (I think it was a BK butler thing) amp and 4X12 Marshall cab. Sounded pretty cool, but it was above my pay grade and not mine.

 

[bruzanhd]

Paf pro does sound like a good choice for bridge actually.

PAF pro as far as Dimarzio is concerned is likely the best balance. It was Vai’s pickup of choice for the first Jems in ‘87 in order to have increased output with greater treble retention for use in extensive effects racks of the day. It’s still an excellent pickup by todays standard now that modeling technology and high gain capabilities in amps have advanced as they have.

This was my thoughts, seeing as how I play through amp sims and high gain amps, getting enough gain is never really an issue, it’s more about retaining clarity so I feel that going to a bright lowish output humbucker (atleast when compared with stuff like the JB, tone zone, sd custom, etc that I’m used to) will make it easier to use the extensive gain and effects options that are available today.