Switched from high output to low "vintage" output

[Jason VanNatten]

I've had high output Duncan's in my Warmoth Strat for a couple of years. I recently switched to low output ones and couldn't be happier! I originally had an SSL-6 Custom single coil (neck) and TB-5 Custom trembucker (bridge). I replaced them with an SSL-2 (neck) and TB-Pearly Gates (bridge). The main reason for the change was because the SSL-6 was a little too dominant in the lower-midrange and I wanted something a little brighter. As a result I had to change the HB so the output would match. I am digging the new tone so much!

What do you guys and gals on the forum prefer?

 

[Jusatele]

I look for a older style pickup, more vintage in every axe I own, except the strat which I have a set of SDs in am love it that way, but it is the guitar I grab for those tones

 

[Doughboy]

I find the higher the output, the less natural your guitar sounds & the more dominant the PU becomes in shaping your tone. Plus, the warmth & articulation starts to fade as the output goes up, unless it's an active set. I like low to medium humbuckers around the 8-10k range.

 

[dNA]

i tried a lot of different pickups for years in various humbucker equipped guitars, and after all the experimentation i found traditional PAF-style pickups and comparable low-output pickups have given me the most of what i was looking for. HIgh output pickups have their place, but I think they're generally one-trick ponies and don't give me the flexibility I need.

 

[Strat Avenger]

I typically prefer medium to low-output humbuckers.  I do have one guitar which is an LP style, and it has a JB in the bridge position, and it seems right for that guitar, but all my other guitars have pickups in the 8k to 10k range.

 

[Jason VanNatten]

I'm not sure why a lot of pro players like Vai and Petrucci still use high output pickups. A lot of other heavy metal guitarists still use them too. Most amps these days are capable of extremely high gain. It seems that low ouptput pickups with high gain amps would generate more tonal control. I play through a Carvin X100B IV with the gain on 10 (gain boost off) and can get great distortion tones with my ssl-2 and pearly gates.

 

[Doughboy]

I'm not sure why a lot of pro players like Vai and Petrucci still use high output pickups. A lot of other heavy metal guitarists still use them too. Most amps these days are capable of extremely high gain. It seems that low ouptput pickups with high gain amps would generate more tonal control. I play through a Carvin X100B IV with the gain on 10 (gain boost off) and can get great distortion tones with my ssl-2 and pearly gates.

Vai & Petrucci play high output PUs with ceramic magnets for clarify, definition & power. However, this is why thei tone, on the most part, sounds some what sterile & lacking in that nice organic richness. IMO, high output + cermaic = sterile tone. However, I have a set of very low output ceramic Joe Bardens that sound very nice, so perhaps that's the right way to do it.

 

[Justinginn]

And this applies to Ace? He had some great tones with Super Distortions.  :dontknow:

 

[Strat Avenger]

I'm not sure why a lot of pro players like Vai and Petrucci still use high output pickups. A lot of other heavy metal guitarists still use them too. Most amps these days are capable of extremely high gain. It seems that low ouptput pickups with high gain amps would generate more tonal control. I play through a Carvin X100B IV with the gain on 10 (gain boost off) and can get great distortion tones with my ssl-2 and pearly gates.

I have wondered the same thing myself. Obviously, those guys require lots of sustain for their style of playing, but the modern amps they use will sustain forever with all of the high-gain their preamps produce.  To me, a high-output pickup with a high-gain amp just adds more noise (hiss, uncontrolled feedback), and compression.

 

[Cagey]

I have wondered the same thing myself. Obviously, those guys require lots of sustain for their style of playing, but the modern amps they use will sustain forever with all of the high-gain their preamps produce.  To me, a high-output pickup with a high-gain amp just adds more noise (hiss, uncontrolled feedback), and compression.

Hiss isn't as big an issue with modern amps as it was with older gear, feedback is a Good Thing if you know how to control it, and some guys need the compression. They're the ones who often play very fast, barely touching some notes while nailing others. Compression evens all that out so it sounds like they're a lot more accurate than they really are. Not that the pros aren't; the Satrianis, Malmsteens, and Vais of this world certainly know where they're going and get there reliably. But, the wannabes can't do it without help. Also, nobody who pursues that playing style will be the most dynamic players you'll ever hear.

 

[Superlizard]

It takes a lot more work to play low output gear vs. high output gear, but the tone result is well worth it.

There's some country players who do blazing fast runs (i.e. Hellecasters) with a clean tone which put Vai, Petrucci, et al to shame
considering the above.

I switched over approx. 10 years ago and it took me years to adjust to lower gain tone.  Sure, previously it was pretty
much effortless to do fast runs pumping all that distortion and compression, but my tone sounded like flat, buzzy, cardboard @ss.

 

[Strat Avenger]

After so many years of being used to having to "dig in" to get a tone out of low to medium-output pickups, it's become part of my style, andI have no desire to change.