NPUD (New Pickup Day)

[DrewJD82]

I put a Suhr Aldrich in the bridge of this Orville and it’s f*cking GREAT! Thanks to @la szum for telling me which wires went where.

If I had to describe it in one word; meaty. If I didn’t put EMG’s in the Edwards already, I’d most likely buy a set of these for it. They’re not a bright pickup at all but I love the top end of it, it’s the perfect rock/hard rock pickup for a Les Paul. The low end is nice and round, not super tight and not flubby at all. The mids are most focused in the lower mids and I can get some awesome growl out of so many amps with this.

After falling in love with the Edwards pretty hard, I was considering flipping this to fund another Edwards LPC, but over the last week the more I played this the more I fell in love with it. This one took a little bit but I’m glad I kept playing it. With this Aldrich in there I’m REALLY loving it. I got it set up great last week but the bridge pickup still left a little to be desired, it was just underwhelming. I was worried that changing the pickup would remove the ‘air’ around the notes on this thing, it’s a really cool sound and it’s a character I associate with EJ’s early 90’s tones but is really hard to describe. It’s still there after the change. I dig the neck pickup and wasn’t going to change it, but now I’m curious about the Aldrich neck pickup. Whatever goes in there will be covered, I think that looks f*ckin’ ace. with the zebra pickup and the covered one.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

Glad you like the Aldrich! I tried the slightly lower output version (SSH+) once but it turned out to be too dark for the specific guitar I wanted it for. But I remember it sounding very „pleasant“ overall.

Differently covered pickups are giving me the heebie-jeebies, though. I am already heaving a hard time with my EMG 81/66 combination, because the 66 has pole pieces and therefore looks different than the bridge pickup.

 

[Piing]

Happy NPUD! Great choice.

I have the Suhr Aldrich at the bridge of my almighty RG550LTD, and a Dimarzio Bluesbucker at the neck. Best of both worlds! You already know how the Aldrich is, and the Bluesbucker is amazing for everything: clean, hot cleans, close-to-breakup, and from sweet to nasty overdriven leads. I have a 3-position DPDT switch to get all the combinations form the Bluesbucker. Some of them are very P90ish. And the single-coil positions are as great as a real single coil.

I'm also curious about the Aldrich neck, but I don't want to spoil the Bluesbucker

 

[Iron1]

No sound clips, no believe.

 

[DrewJD82]

Glad you like the Aldrich! I tried the slightly lower output version (SSH+) once but it turned out to be too dark for the specific guitar I wanted it for. But I remember it sounding very „pleasant“ overall.

Differently covered pickups are giving me the heebie-jeebies, though. I am already heaving a hard time with my EMG 81/66 combination, because the 66 has pole pieces and therefore looks different than the bridge pickup.

I have an SSH+ kicking around, I bought it a while back thinking it was going to be much higher output than it was and when I put it in my SZ I immediately went “WTFFFFFF, this SUCKS!” because it sounded like it was barely stronger than a single coil in the context of a high gain guitar tone. I’m going to try it on one of my Strats that’s currently in pieces, I think it’d work good on there.

No sound clips, no believe.

This week’s challenge will most likely be done with it, hopefully I don’t have to force myself into my studio today and I can put up some clip of a lil somethin somethin.

 

[Fireproof]

Very cool. I haven’t tried or heard those. Are they active or passive?

 

[la szum]

View attachment 3728

I put a Suhr Aldrich in the bridge of this Orville and it’s f*cking GREAT! Thanks to @la szum for telling me which wires went where.

If I had to describe it in one word; meaty. If I didn’t put EMG’s in the Edwards already, I’d most likely buy a set of these for it. They’re not a bright pickup at all but I love the top end of it, it’s the perfect rock/hard rock pickup for a Les Paul. The low end is nice and round, not super tight and not flubby at all. The mids are most focused in the lower mids and I can get some awesome growl out of so many amps with this.

After falling in love with the Edwards pretty hard, I was considering flipping this to fund another Edwards LPC, but over the last week the more I played this the more I fell in love with it. This one took a little bit but I’m glad I kept playing it. With this Aldrich in there I’m REALLY loving it. I got it set up great last week but the bridge pickup still left a little to be desired, it was just underwhelming. I was worried that changing the pickup would remove the ‘air’ around the notes on this thing, it’s a really cool sound and it’s a character I associate with EJ’s early 90’s tones but is really hard to describe. It’s still there after the change. I dig the neck pickup and wasn’t going to change it, but now I’m curious about the Aldrich neck pickup. Whatever goes in there will be covered, I think that looks f*ckin’ ace. with the zebra pickup and the covered one.

Yes! We have a success story, people!!!

That's awesome, Drew. Pickups are often a crapshoot and we don't know what
we are gonna get. Glad that Pup is all you hoped it would be and then some.


Then again, kind of not shocked it works.... since Doug is a Les Paul almost straight into a Marshall kind of guy.

 

[Jarick]

I tried a set of Aldrich pickups once in my PRS and they were super super hot. Didn't like them. I got them for a steal, like $100 shipped used for the pair, and flipped them for $150 or so. Probably should have kept them but I don't like guitars with high output humbuckers much.

 

[DrewJD82]

This week’s challenge has been recorded entirely with the Orville and this pickup, aside from the clean parts I tracked with a Strat, so it’ll be heard.

Very cool. I haven’t tried or heard those. Are they active or passive?

Passive!

I tried a set of Aldrich pickups once in my PRS and they were super super hot. Didn't like them. I got them for a steal, like $100 shipped used for the pair, and flipped them for $150 or so. Probably should have kept them but I don't like guitars with high output humbuckers much.

They’re definitely on the hot side but juuuuust under that point where they stop working for me, or maybe they’re just voiced in a way I find more pleasing than other hot humbuckers I’ve played. I generally prefer a medium output humbucker and like the guitar and amp working together to get my high gain tones, with too hot of a pickup they just slam the front end too hard I don’t dig the way the amp(s) react to it.

Yes! We have a success story, people!!!

That's awesome, Drew. Pickups are often a crapshoot and we don't know what
we are gonna get. Glad that Pup is all you hoped it would be and then some.


Then again, kind of not shocked it works.... since Doug is a Les Paul almost straight into a Marshall kind of guy.

Hahahah I made a sarcastic post in one of my guitar FB groups, “I’m just blown away this thing works in a Les Paul “ and still had people coming back with “No sh*t it works in a Les Paul, do you even know who Doug Aldrich is?”

Hahahah I left my solder iron plugged in when I tested the pickups. I mean, this was only 2-wires, but still, I have a history.

Also, I almost f*cking cried when I first removed the stock pickup the day I got the Aldrich and f*cked up the tab; when I went to put the stock pickup back in, getting that f*cking wire into the channel and out to the control cavity took me like 20 minutes and felt impossible. This time I did smart stuff-

Got it through in 20 seconds!

 

[la szum]

The results speak for themselves!!

You kind of prodded me (not that you knew that!) to put a better Bridge
PU in my Epiphone Cantrell LP. I have not liked that pup since I got the
guitar. Guitar kills. Pickups not so much.

So I found a legit Gibson 498T in Gold that comes in the Les Paul Customs
and am going to rock that.

Oh, and I don't like the JB either in a Les Paul. Mush!

 

[DrewJD82]

The results speak for themselves!!

You kind of prodded me (not that you knew that!) to put a better Bridge
PU in my Epiphone Cantrell LP. I have not liked that pup since I got the
guitar. Guitar kills. Pickups not so much.

So I found a legit Gibson 498T in Gold that comes in the Les Paul Customs
and am going to rock that.

Oh, and I don't like the JB either in a Les Paul. Mush!

Hahaha I told you I had a reason for changing it out! I just got lucky I picked a good one right away. It's deserving of the things said about it, that's for sure.

I forgot or didn't even know you had a Cantrell Epi?! Oh wait, you got the white one, right?

 

[kmanick]

Nice!!!! the Aldrich and Jalen FW are probably my 2 favorite Bridge pickups right now.
I've got an Aldrich that's going into my Charvel DK24 this week , can't wait to hear it (not a fan of the full shred)

 

[la szum]

Hahaha I told you I had a reason for changing it out! I just got lucky I picked a good one right away. It's deserving of the things said about it, that's for sure.

I forgot or didn't even know you had a Cantrell Epi?! Oh wait, you got the white one, right?

Wino. Apt considering my alcohol intake.

 

[DrewJD82]

Wino. Apt considering my alcohol intake.

Wow, I have no clue how that got wiped from my memory.

 

[la szum]

Cereal man. It's the cereal.

 

[spawnofthesith]

I'm glad you've come around on the orville

 

[DrewJD82]

I'm glad you've come around on the orville

Me too! I can’t believe I was actually on the fence about it after playing it now! I actually fell asleep while playing it on my couch last night, woke up with my glasses twisted around the headstock.