High output passive HBs?

[diogoguitar]

I really like the fishman ceramics i have in my ibanez RG 5121 L... I'd love to have another guitar with hot pickups that sound like active, but i get mentally tired when i look at the wiring diagram ... so much easier to just swap only the pickups on a passive HB guitar

which pups do you recommend for high output E standard... like thrash metal and maybe some 80s hair metal?
the guitar I'm thinking is an Ibanez RG1570L with basswood body, maple neck and rosewood fingerboard.

 

[budda]

I recommend a high gain amp that does it well. Not what you want to hear Im sure.

Try t-tops.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

high output, does thrash and 80s stuff well?
seymour duncan custom 5/distortion
dimarzio super distortion

done

 

[Omzig]

If your looking for a cheaper alt that are still well made and bang for buck have a look at Tesla VR Extreme,Plasma or Nitro range or the Higher output Oripure stuff, plenty of good demo's reviews on YT, i got a set of Tesla Plasma II's for half the cost of one SD and they sound just as good.

 

[Matt08642]

high output, does thrash and 80s stuff well?
seymour duncan custom 5/distortion
dimarzio super distortion

done

The DiMarzio Super Distortion gets overlooked because it's so old but it's honestly one of the best sounding pickups I've ever heard from demos, DIs, and comparisons online. I have DiMarzio/IBZ pickups in my RG and DiMarzio claims the bridge model is like a cross of the Steve Morse model and Super Distortion, and it's seriously one of my favorite sounding pickup sets in any of my guitars for E/Eb.

 

[jaxadam]

Call me crazy, but I’ve always preferred medium output CLEAR pickups with high gain. Something like a Norton, PAF Pro, or Mo Joe can do it all great with high gain.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

The DiMarzio Super Distortion gets overlooked because it's so old but it's honestly one of the best sounding pickups I've ever heard from demos, DIs, and comparisons online. I have DiMarzio/IBZ pickups in my RG and DiMarzio claims the bridge model is like a cross of the Steve Morse model and Super Distortion, and it's seriously one of my favorite sounding pickup sets in any of my guitars for E/Eb.

I threw a super distortion in my cousin's partscaster and it kicks massive ass for 80s riffage imo. It's also no slouch for more modern riffage ime.

 

[cardinal]

Duncan Distortion.

 

[LCW]

I voted Black Winter and if you like mids they are the way to go. But Nazgul is another honorable mention.

Also for more old school metal… DiMarzio Super Distortion or Seymour Duncan Invader.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

The DiMarzio Super Distortion recommendations make a lot of sense for '80s thrash and hair metal, but D Activators (not X) are currently my favourite pickup set.

D Activators sound less modern (far more '80s) and are more versatile than a lot of people seem to assume. They're great for '80s thrash (Chris Broderick used them in Megadeth) and will handle anything well in the realms of rock and metal. They have very good clarity under gain. For clean tones, they coil split really well due to each coil having similar impedence to a single-coil pickup (same goes for Black Winters).
The bridge has my favourite characteristics of the Evolution (bridge) and EMG 81 combined. The neck sounds somewhere between a neck and bridge pickup (more presence in the high frequencies than most neck pups ) which suits me really well for how I like to use a neck pickup - slightly smoother than a bridge pickup but still has plenty of bite and is harmonically alive (pinch harmonics are less effort than on most bridge pickups), so that I don't need to switch mid-solo when I move up and down the neck to avoid mud / ice-pick.

The Titan bridge is a modified D Activator bridge, with less output, slightly less bass and slightly more low-mids. Less aggressive and just not quite as good imo (at least for my usage).

 

[bostjan]

Dimarzio Super Distortion.

It's what everyone used for high gain tones in the 80's and early 90's. I used it myself on a couple of my releases.

I'd be surprised if you tried it and thought it didn't have enough ass, but there's also the Evolution and the X2N. The Evolution is like a Super Distortion that took too many steroids (I love the pickup, though), and the X2N is like a practical joke that went too far (but I love that one too).

 

[Hoss632]

JB/Jazz or 59. And Duncan Super distortions 100%. That's pretty much what they were made for. If you want more mids maybe the Tone Zone/Air Norton combo. As far as high gain stuff in general while I've not tried them myself, all sound demo wise I'm just really enjoying the Black Winters. Hope to get a new guitar soon and have a set put in for myself.

 

[Lemonbaby]

I really like the fishman ceramics i have in my ibanez RG 5121 L... I'd love to have another guitar with hot pickups that sound like active, but i get mentally tired when i look at the wiring diagram ... so much easier to just swap only the pickups on a passive HB guitar

which pups do you recommend for high output E standard... like thrash metal and maybe some 80s hair metal?
the guitar I'm thinking is an Ibanez RG1570L with basswood body, maple neck and rosewood fingerboard.

You left out a lot of important details: what kind of inlays are on the fretboard, are the knobs plastic or metal? Seriously though, there are so many great high output PUs on the market. Sooner or later, everyone will have mentioned his favourite and you'll end up with a short list of 30 pickups. My favourites are the BK Aftermath, Seymour Distortion and Seymour Black Winter.

Call me crazy, but I’ve always preferred medium output CLEAR pickups with high gain. Something like a Norton, PAF Pro, or Mo Joe can do it all great with high gain.

You crazy, bro.

 

[odibrom]

(...)


You crazy, bro.

If so, so am I...

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Call me crazy, but I’ve always preferred medium output CLEAR pickups with high gain. Something like a Norton, PAF Pro, or Mo Joe can do it all great with high gain.

You crazy, bro.

Any humbucker with <400mV output is a neck pickup

 

[jaxadam]

Any humbucker with <400mV output is a neck pickup

You ain't kidding!

 

[kerryymm]

I don't know how much hassle it would be if you're not in the UK, but I have a couple of guitars with Djenerators from Oil City Pickups, which are very loud, tight in the bass and really clear. I use them for drop C mostly, but I would imagine they sound pretty good in E standard.

There's another English pickup maker, Alegree: they do a pickup that's specifically voiced to sound like an active pickup: the Amazonian Wildfire. I've not heard them, but I've literally never heard a bad comment about Alegree's pickups, so they may well be worth a try...

 

[Tree]

You left out a lot of important details: what kind of inlays are on the fretboard, are the knobs plastic or metal? Seriously though, there are so many great high output PUs on the market. Sooner or later, everyone will have mentioned his favourite and you'll end up with a short list of 30 pickups. My favourites are the BK Aftermath, Seymour Distortion and Seymour Black Winter.


You crazy, bro.

You’re making want to try Aftermaths again, even though I swear up and down that I hate them. You mention your two other favorites are the SD Distortion and Black Winter, and those are very much my personal faves as well.

 

[lost_horizon]

Dimarzio Air Zone, I have tried many pickups and these allow you to go right up to the strings and sound massive. Absolutely clipped my input like X2N did.

17 kohm, no slouch, output 323, Split sound the truest to single coil ever.



Air Zone is the zebra one.

 

[PhantomLimbFisting]

BKP aftertmath is hands down the best ive ever used passive or active. Is it worth double the price of a d activator though? no