Thread: Effects Pedal and Pickup Help, Boss GT10 / POD X3 Live, X2N/Evos/Tone Zone

I've always found that as far as pickups go, you have to make a compromise. The higher output you go, the worse the clean tone's going to be--I have a Gibson bridge pickup I pulled from my Jackson Soloist, with a huge mid hump in the sound--instant Van Halen under distortion... and a nearly unusable clean tone. I replaced it with a Jackson J-50BC pickup, with a lower, vintage output and a very clean, clear signal.

You wouldn't think that a lower-output pickup would work well for metal, but I find that it is much, much more useable--all you have to do is turn up the gain and volume a little bit on the amp. As far as I know, high-output pickups became the norm in the '70s, when amps were still non-master-volume clean beasts, and distortion was impossible to get without 'em. Today, though, you can get gobs of gain from a decent amp--and even more from a decent modeler like the Pod Live's, or the GT-10. You just don't need a really hot pickup as much as you did, especially if you want to keep a nice clean tone.

Paul Gilbert uses DiMarzio PAF Pro pickups, medium/low output and very clear sounds, to cut through the mix with a lot of gain, and he sounds phenomenal. The Seymour Duncan Full Shred is another pickup that's not quite high output, but with an EQ maximized for clarity. I would say those are pretty good bets for a great metal sound, moreso than output.

That being said, the Seymour Duncan JB is a great pickup. I haven't found the clean sounds on the ones installed in my guitars to be that great, though.

Wish I knew more about the effects, though, bud. I like the GT-10 for multieffects boards, but I've heard really great things about the PodXT Live's too.

I'm gonna say you should go to www.seymourduncan.com and listen to samples of both the Dimebucker and the Invader. If you don't like either, as the poster above mentioned the JB is a very do-everything kind of pickup, so listen to all sound samples if you want to and figure out which works for you.

Your criteria tells me your looking at a GT-10. There is primarily 80's style gain effects with lot's of clean effects in between.

I couldn't be happier with Gibson pick-ups. Both the '57 classic plus and the 490T do both well. If I had a choice, I'd pick the '57 for you. Don't forget about your guitar's volume control. Duncan's are ok, but the difference in price is worth a look at Gibson.

What axe is it going in?

I'd pick the POD over BOSS... I learned so much from my flextone that I can't help but steer people towards Line6 when asked. You could probably find patches of the artists you seek in the Line6 database.

That's my 2 cents.

Pickup: anything PAF. Higher output pickups can be fun, but you'll get less compression and a different kind of punch with lower gain pickups. Case in point: Hamer USA mahogany body w/ maple cap and mahogany neck, seymour duncan '59 bridge pickup, playing melodic death metal. I do this on a semi-regular basis.

Might I ask why you're against getting an amp capable of these sounds?

what guitar is the pickup going into? what's not working with your current rig? what Is your current rig?

Seymour Duncan Blackouts might be the ticket for you, excellent active pickups.

As for the modeler, consider the GT-10. It has nice effects, decent wahs, and the ability to use the pre-amp in your amp and place it anywhere in the effects chain. Also, you can use it to control midi devices, and change channels in your amp. Pretty cool if you ask me...

What I'm looking for pickup wise
-Clarity at high gain ****
-Has a nice Chunky Metal sound as well as nice soloing **
-Sounds nice with a clean tone ***
-Good Response, (Harmonics, tapping) ****

I would say the EMG 81 with clarity at high gain and good harmonics repsond with good chunky metal. If you want more headroom with the pickup, you can go with an 18v mod so more room before clipping and sounds more organic like a passive pickup.

I have experience with BOSS GT-10 and POD xt

What I'm looking for in a pedal
-Nice clean tones *** BOSS GT-10 for sure, the xt's clean is garabage.
-Can emulate 80s metal sounds, (Paul Gilbertish 80s)/(Jason Becker Perpetual Burn style) **** I don't play 80's metal but I think the POD xt has way better high gain amps to select. BOSS GT-10 needs to eq the amps to sound good. Mind you though, with effects the GT-10 is for sure to go as xt's sucks at effects
-Decent wahs ** BOSS GT-10 as it as an expression pedal
-Can also play nice chunky stuff ** Unfortunately, as I am a guy that love chunky stuff none of them can do a decent job on it as with other amp simulators.
-Decent Overall Versatility * BOSS GT-10 hands down with its effects.
-Preferable but not necessary, able to produce okay acoustic sounds from an electric. GT-10 for sure and you can forget the xt.

the XT has lots of cleans as well ;). and any amp needs proper EQ'ing to sound good. I'm also pretty sure that the XT has decent effects (Boss may excel here, but i wouldnt call the XT "bad"). the XT-Live also has the expression pedal. as for versatility, I've heard lots of positives from both camps.

haven't heard diddly about the acoustic sims though.

Originally Posted by Alien8

I couldn't be happier with Gibson pick-ups. Both the '57 classic plus and the 490T do both well. If I had a choice, I'd pick the '57 for you. Don't forget about your guitar's volume control. Duncan's are ok, but the difference in price is worth a look at Gibson.

What axe is it going in?

I'd pick the POD over BOSS... I learned so much from my flextone that I can't help but steer people towards Line6 when asked. You could probably find patches of the artists you seek in the Line6 database.

That's my 2 cents.

OH right sorry there forgot to mention my guitar is a basswood one. A ibanez Prestige RG2550Z

Originally Posted by Budda

Pickup: anything PAF. Higher output pickups can be fun, but you'll get less compression and a different kind of punch with lower gain pickups. Case in point: Hamer USA mahogany body w/ maple cap and mahogany neck, seymour duncan '59 bridge pickup, playing melodic death metal. I do this on a semi-regular basis.

Might I ask why you're against getting an amp capable of these sounds?

what guitar is the pickup going into? what's not working with your current rig? what Is your current rig?

I would sure love to buy myself a ENGL Amp and or a Axe Effects Ultra rack but im not in the field where I can afford such expensive piece of equipment at the moment.