Pickup recommendation for a walnut body with a bloodwood on wenge neck.

A

Appleman1999

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I have a walnut body (strat SSS) with bloodwood on wenge neck that I am putting together and just finishing putting on the finial coats of danish oil.
I have done some research on walnut and came across several sites that say walnut can muddy mid-tones, while http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm
says, "a heavy piece will dampen the mids to produce an overly nasal and lifeless sound".  This is my problem, the body 4 and 1/2 pounds.

I really like DiMarzio's by the way.  I have some ESP MH-103QM that I really like and I might put some in my Schecter Gryphon; I don't like the SH-6s
I put in they irritate me and set me on edge.  I like the Cruiser and Fast Track 1 but I don't know how they will sound in walnut.

Does anybody have a recommendation to narrow my search down.  I have been looking at the Fast Track 2, Fast Track 1, Cruiser Neck and Bridge,
Air Norton S, Pro Track, and Chopper.  Also, thought about the Area pickups some, but I think they might be too bright for the type woods I have.


Thanks for the Info.
 
Thanks for the reply.


The problem is that I only started to play two years ago, so I only play scales, chords, and what ever I can come up with.  I have to start somewhere!  And besides, having guitars and modding them is a lot better than having XBoxes and PlayStations.

I don't like distortion, although I try to practice 3 finger chords every now and then.  Don't get me wrong, I like to listen to music that has distortion (I just don't like it coming out of my amp).  I like a clean tone where the notes and chords are distinct and really don't bleed into one another.  That's the only way I can describe it.  Like I said before, I really don't like the schecter gryphon with the SH-6s even in parallel or split-coiled.  There is something there that just sets me on edge and irritates me to where I don't want pick up any of my guitars for a couple of days to week at a time.  I don't have this problems with the ESP that has a PAF Pro, Fast Track 1, and the Cruiser.  What I'm worried about, is that the pups will be overly bright or if I get pups with more mids and lows, that it will become nasal and lifeless.

The rig sucks for now.  I can't afford a Marshall.  The bad news is that I'm playing through a stupid Create.  I got may hands on a Marshall 15 MG from a kid down the street and it made a little difference, it was better but not by much.  He wanted it back after 30 min. so I didn't get to try it out on my schecter gryphon.

I have been thinking about getting a Line 6 15 watt before I buy any pickups.  Just to see how my ESP really sounds.  I don't think there is a real comparison between ESP basswood body with maple on maple neck to a walnut body with bloodwood on wenge neck.


Thanks
 
If you want cleans you're probably looking at the wrong amps dude.  Line 6's are pretty metal.  

For pickups: Dimarzios are more geared towards heavier music most of the time.

Look at more traditional style single coil pickups.  Seymour Duncans maybe?  Those aren't super expensive if you're on a budget.

Also Marshalls are more ROCK amps most of the time too.  So I wouldn't set that as a goal if you're mostly with cleans.
 
I'd say that the amp thing is relative to teh tone you hear in your head, but in my opinion, a small tube amp is a great place to start rather than a Line6.  I bought one of the 1x12 Spider III Line 6's, and I'm having trouble making it sound musical with other musicians.  I always end up lugging out the old Super, and recently that 5 watt Epiphone Valve Jr tube combo.  They're cheap as frak and don't sound bad.

As far as pickups, yeah, get yourself some Duncans.  Try some different ones; stacked humbuckers in the neck position rock.  You're a young player, so figure out what you like.  You can always resell on ebay or Craigslist if you hate one or two.  Strats are a great modular toy for playing with pickup tones.  Don't be afraid to give it a go!

-Mark
 
For higher output, youll want an Air NortonS  bridge, and two Choppers neck and middle ( or throw a Cruiser in the mix somewwhere).
For standard output, go ahead and do the air Norton S, but with two YJM HS-2's neck and middle , unless you also want a low output bridge, then use an HS-3 in the bridge. Those YJM's sound amazeing in neck and middel with Walnut- but mid scooped(?) hyper-eq'd for extreme Strat Quack.
If Quacks not you thang, definitly go with the high output pickups, which will still give you some outrageous  typical Strat belltones.
EDIT_ wow, what happened to OP?
 
check out q-tuners, they're a bit expensive but with out a doubt worth it. you can hear recordings with no effects at wolnickworks.com to give you and idea of how just the pickups sound
 
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