what pickups should i choose?

phaeton

i wanna upgrade my jags bridge to somethng single coil sized that will allow me to play heavy stuff, hi gain shred etc.

I was going to go for SD hotrails but my local luthier recomended kent armstrong hotrails cause they are cheaper and slightly lower gain. he said SD's are overwound and you lose the treblyness of the bridge, general over saturation.

i also want to upgrade my les paul copy bridge, i said SD JB and he said kent armstrong were better for the same reason again.

nirvana23freak

i love both my SD hotrails and JB, never heard of Kent armstrong. the hotrails looses a little of treble but i think it sounds good and im used to it by now.

AnotherTool

I wonder why he keeps trying to push the Kent Armstrongs on you?

I'd go for the Duncan's, they are tried, tested and alot of top bands use them.

If you install the Duncans and think they are too bassy, change your cap for a more treble friendly one and/or adjust your EQ, but i think you'll love them. Chino has started using them and Billy Corgan does now too, they are hot.

As for the Les Paul copy, JB all the way.

Fran

Hmm.. i have'nt been overly impressed with Kent Armstrongs in the past, they seem to lack defined character.

To be honest i have a no-name hotrails in my sunburst Jag bridge and it is great for rawk but not so great with the cleans. You could consider a JB Jr or a lil '59 as well.

As for your LP, if you want the classic sound go for '59 PAF's/seth lover. SD do them and most other companies do. The JB is a similar pickup but with a little more tonal range and output. Very popular.

Basically, you cannot go wrong with SD or DiMarzio, they are classics.

nirvana23freak

my SD hotrails is pretty good for cleans

Fran

Yeah but your a self confessed Kurdtz. Your idea of clean is drinking pennyroyal tea, we're talking quality clean tones of teh vintagez Jaguar... 😆

nirvana23freak

nah, im not saying it gets the best cleans, but it gets good cleans. my JB gets better, but it doesnt sound bad

phaeton

Well with my sound style, if I use cleans or clean based I use the neck pickup, and I always have my les paul as an all rounder if it don't work out.

Anyway, I've gone with the Kent Armstrongs and they should be fitted in a few days along with the new neck.

I think I will try an SD JB for my Les Paul, so thanks you guys, found them on ebay for about 40 odd quid free shipping.

Fran

After tonights rehearsal i have something to add here...

I decided to take my CIJ Jag (hotrails and JB Jr) tonight instead of the GT Toronado. It was a disaster.

The difference in sound actually threw the band out of time, everything lacked low end and there was no punch or dynamics.

This is a sad moment for a Jaguar enthusiast. But i have to admit in the heavy riffing enviroment the Jag dont cut it. Even hot rodded. 😢

phaeton

On its own or in a band environment? since I dont play in a band and probably never will that wont matter, and cobain seemed to manage it ok.

oh yeah and this guy gets on just how i wanna with SD cool rails,

Fran

Band enviroment.

Kurdtz had a DiMarzio super distoriton humbucker in his Jag, mesa boogie stack, modified pedals...

Funny really, he could have obtained that sound far easier/cheaper.

Purplehaze19x

Isnt that Mad mike in that video?

Fran

Yes. Creepingnet is mike.

phaeton

oh really, i've been watching his videos for ages thinking how cool is he, in fact it was his jag stang tremolo vid i was watching when i decided i was going to go and get a guitar.

Spitfire

Fran said: After tonights rehearsal i have something to add here...
I decided to take my CIJ Jag (hotrails and JB Jr) tonight instead of the GT Toronado. It was a disaster.
The difference in sound actually threw the band out of time, everything lacked low end and there was no punch or dynamics.
This is a sad moment for a Jaguar enthusiast. But i have to admit in the heavy riffing enviroment the Jag dont cut it. Even hot rodded. 😢

Same thing happened to me. I've now been banned from bringing the Jaguar to rehearsals.

Fran

Spitfire said: I've now been banned from bringing the Jaguar to rehearsals.

My ban is also in place. Its humbuckers all the way, i even wrote a song in drop D the other night 😲

Well... looking at things more maturely i am a guitar player : i play guitar. So i might love The Smiths or whoever but if the band require some riffage its my job to supply and use the correct equipment... and get my old 'Prong' and 'Killing Joke' albums out.

Spitfire

Spoken like a true professional.

Even with a Filtertron in it the Jaguar still doesn't have that grittiness and 'tonk' you get from a Gretsch - it still sounds like a Jaguar, albeit a beefer one. I've had to accept the Jag just aint a riffage guitar.

Fran

I think you can use Jags for noisy riffage that lacks definition, like Sugar/Husker Du and even Mudhoney kind of stuff but for punchy low end it fails. I think a lot of the problem is in the trem/bridge, a lot of sustain is lost in that area.

phaeton

Even with the trem locked? or what if you swapped the bridge for a TOM to play with a little more zang and then swapped it back after your done?

One thing I do have to ask is about is how come when I play with both pickups on it goes very quiet? (bridge hotrails and stock neck)

Is it an odd side effect of mixing hi gain rails with a stock single or to do with the way its wired?

Fran

Not sure about the wiring.

Yes even with the trem locked or a TOM, i think the Jag is a guitar that lacks sustain. When you consider Strat trems have a 'sustain block' but the Jag trem has nothing like this it starts to make sense.

I had a HH model and that was'nt much better. Alder is also a 'bright' tonewood.