Is there a pickup that helps the Axe FX II be most versatile?

jesussaddle

jesussaddle

Power User
The title says it all basically. I am in the market for a bridge pickup. I play metal, classic rock, fusion, and progressive rock, and like a variety of players in each genre. I probably won't be buying more than two or three guitars, and yes, I will have a strat for strat stuff (but unfortunately due to hand size, age, and repetitive strain, it won't be my main guitar...)

So what I'm looking for now is a guitar that will complement the strat, and be as versatile as possible.

At present I have been playing a BC rich (neck thru body - and the guitar has no trem bar) with Fred humbuckers in the bridge position. To me they seem alright for metal, but are lacking for some more low gain classic rock stuff. It sounds best with new strings. Things like the PI fuzz seem best when the strings are newest, but the pickups seem to have "too much of a signature" if that sounds plausible in this context. [Note - According to the wiki this drive model is not G3'd, and I wonder if my experience with it would improve when G3'd, as it did with the other drive models - if the Fractal team is still into G3'ing stuff and hasn't gotten into some other new drive block modeling technique ??)

Most basically I'm not very clear on what would make a pickup as versatile as possible.

There is a coil tap on this bridge position. Also, some tones are there when the strings are fresh, but muddy out quickly. I would like a bridge pickup that will do the hard rock well, and the more high gain stuff too, and yet be able to get a great variety of clean and slightly driven sounds as well.

{EDIT: I forgot to mention that at the moment I am exclusively using FRFR and have no intention of getting back into the the cab world, much less the tube power amp/cab world...}.
 
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Well your Axe is about as versatile as it gets, so I can’t see how pickups could possibly influence the Axe side of the equation. If you’re looking for a broader gain spectrum, then the most obvious answer would probably be a pickup out of the mid-gain range. Unfortunately the pickup itself is only a part of the tone forming signal-chain.
 
Fair question... but I doubt it mostly.. I'm sure there are pickups out there that have better dynamics/clarity/response etc, however I doubt there's one specific pickup that will 'bring out' what you want..

What I would say though is this.. Your pups should compliment your rig.. For example, I've just started experimenting with 4CM and am obviously using my Friedman JJ clone head and 2x12 cab with my Axe-ii of course. What I've discovered about my JJ is that it really really likes V30s.. LOVES V30's! Took me a little bit of experimenting but I finally got there, and I'll only ever use V30s in my cabs. I get great mid-range punch and clarity, so I cut through in a band mix. This is ABSOLUTE KEY for me. The two guitars I mainly use with this cover band is an EBMM Axis (stock pups) and a ESP Eclipse with a good old fashioned JB + 59 combo... both guitars sound a little different but I've got good clarity, good response, and again, I cut through the mix.

Not knowing if you're going FRFR, or Axe+amp+cab etc, it's hard to make a specific recommendation.. That said though, I put a set of Bareknuckle JUGGERNAUTS in a 7-string guitar (that has since been sold :p) and they have fantastic clarity.. Hard to describe, but they were a great pup. They cut through, plenty of sustain but still really good clarity for rock, metal and even cleans. Why haven't I decked out my other guitars with Juggernauts you might ask?! Firstly, a set of those here in Australia is $400+ which is RIDICULOUS! Secondly, my overall sound is great, and I'm happy with the pups that have in all my guitars.. In your situation, it might not be a pickup-thing, it could be an amp thing, or a cab thing.. maybe?

Hopefully, you'll discover something similar'ish with your setup..
 
IMHO Axe Fx translates PU in a complete transparent way, so it remains a question of taste. For me a very good PU that does most of the jobs and has a good single coil emulation also is the Schaller Golden 50 that I have in my (Mayones) Fame Forum IV, but PU will sound different in different body's, so I guess it will be a long way of post packages, testing and reselling until you get your own holy grale for that one guitar.
 
I find my MusicMan Majesty the most versatile guitar I've ever owned (I wish they would give us access to Gamechanger circuitry to make it even more awesome).
The Dimarzio Illuminators seem to work well at all gain levels, I play everything from Pop through to metal. The addition of the piezo' give my a great acoustic tone with the Axe and blending the piezo with the magnetic add a whole new dimension. The 'out of phase' coil tap middle position does my 'Straty' sound too.
 
The guitar the humbuckers are in has alot to do with it as well. IME, if you have a shortscale, setneck guitar, you can pretty much throw anything in there. If you have a longscale, bolt-neck guitar with a double-locking trem, then it's not going to get "classic" humbucker sounds no matter what you do (although the pickups will help to some extent).
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Austin
 
I have Suhr Doug Aldrich sets in everyone of my Les Pauls, and IMO it is the best pickup I have found to date. I have gone through about every pickup imaginable trying to find something I really liked, and once I hit the Aldrich set, that was it for me.
I play metal, hard rock, and rock. I like to get tones ranging from the classic boosted plexi/800 style up to the higher gain Friedman HBE type tones, sometimes some higher gain boogie type tones. I have found with the Aldrich set, while being very hot in the bridge, if you roll back volumes it turns into a great classic rock pickup as well.
 
I encourage you to go with a low-med output PU, that'swhere you wanna be with the axe. an overly hot pickup like a dimarzio SD or seymour duncan JB miss a lot of the complexities of the amp. Low output PU's really let you get a lot more of the sound that sets a particular amp apart from another before you get into high gain territory.
I actually learned a lot about the magic of low output pickups from josh homme of queens of the stone age. they're part of his sound.
If you got the cash, check out bareknuckle.. I'm using a "The Mule" humbucker in the neck of my tele.. it's pretty much a '59 PAF, (which is pretty medium gain.)and Thanks to the axe and all it's settings, I rarely even switch to the bridge (bareknuckle piledriver, yeah i know that's hot as hell) because the neck just makes every amp sing. I have a lot of patches that make my neck PU sound like im playing a hot bridge and youd never know it. I love this thing.
 
atquinn said:
The guitar the humbuckers are in has alot to do with it as well. IME, if you have a shortscale, setneck guitar, you can pretty much throw anything in there. If you have a longscale, bolt-neck guitar with a double-locking trem, then it's not going to get "classic" humbucker sounds no matter what you do (although the pickups will help to some extent).
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Austin
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What he said!

At least for classic rock and hard rock. If you don't like the look or feel of a paula, you could try some PRS as well, they are in between. Guitars with a shorter scale react different somehow, it's something that PU's can't simulate. It's how they sit in a rock mix. Maybe you don't even notice that when you play these guitars alone. But it gets obvious when you play with the band.
So far what I think about rock.

For metal only it's a different game. I prefer long scale necks there.
 
fromthebark said:
I encourage you to go with a low-med output PU, that'swhere you wanna be with the axe. an overly hot pickup like a dimarzio SD or seymour duncan JB miss a lot of the complexities of the amp. Low output PU's really let you get a lot more of the sound that sets a particular amp apart from another before you get into high gain territory.
I actually learned a lot about the magic of low output pickups from josh homme of queens of the stone age. they're part of his sound.
If you got the cash, check out bareknuckle.. I'm using a "The Mule" humbucker in the neck of my tele.. it's pretty much a '59 PAF, (which is pretty medium gain.)and Thanks to the axe and all it's settings, I rarely even switch to the bridge (bareknuckle piledriver, yeah i know that's hot as hell) because the neck just makes every amp sing. I have a lot of patches that make my neck PU sound like im playing a hot bridge and youd never know it. I love this thing.
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ezvictor said:
I can't agree with fromthebark enough.

Low output. The amps have gain for days, you don't need a hot pup.
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I will have to politely agree to disagree with these statements and say that it all depends on what you are going for tone wise. Hot pickups do not always equate to more gain. It's all a relative relationship between the guitar and amp settings. I think hot pickups can be just as complex sounding as low output PAF's. It's all dependent on how you dial in your tone. Also don't discount magnet type either. I used to swear by the old standard PAF with an A2 magnet, but nowadays I love the punch of an A5. again all depends on what you are going for.
 
The hardest thing about pickup swaps is comparing them. It's not fair if you have them in different guitars, so A/B comparisons are tough.

I think the Axe can help that. Just record the pickups dry onto separate tracks, then re-amp them to see how they sound with different ams.
 
For what its worth, my Carvin 127 has their M22T in the bridge and M22N in the neck position. With or without the coil tap switch, these two passive pups do a nice job of covering sounds as well as timbre. You can get the pair for $90 direct, which is a drop in the bucket compared to many. I bought the Carvin 127 expecting to swap the pups at some point, but now I've had it for 14 years and I'm still enjoying the sounds they produce. Good luck!

Lee
 
I think this question is independent from the AxeFx.
My recommendation is the Seymour Duncan TB4+SH2 set, which was played by Martiy Friedman who played in Megadeth but did a lot of fusion as well. Both pickups are prepared for coil split (I used to split my TB4)
 
With the amount and flexibility of pre-EQ into the Axe Fx you can really tweak a pickup to do just about anything. I've got PAFs in all my humbuckers guitars and they're neutral enough to be very flexible.
 
The Fractal does make it easy to dial in more gain with weaker pickups.

I've come to enjoy the nuance of lower output pickups. They have more range in the picking dynamics for me. I like being able to influence the tone with picking strength.

The lower output and specifically less string pull, also adds a clarity I really like too. The strings have more separation in chords.

High output humbuckers have their place, with conventional amp rigs, but aren't my cup of tea with the Fractal.
 
I love the Tom Holmes PAF humbucker in the bridge. Axe-Fx input gain and eq and clean boost options take this highly versatile pickup to another level. The pickup is classic rock, low gain, even cleans, with a really nice top end, but axe-fx can do a lot to bring it into the high-power camp.
 
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