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View Full Version : Seymour Duncan Hot Rod pups



GREENMACHINE
December 8th, 2007, 04:43 PM
Hey Guys
If you wanted a real twangy sound kinda like a Johnny Cash kind of sound would these be a good option?

Cheers
GREENMACHINE:D

Duff
December 8th, 2007, 11:52 PM
What I have found is that you can buy a D*gitech RP150, 250, 0r 350 and get all sorts of effects. The 350 has an effects pedal and usb to record to your computer.

I had mine tonight set on a super twangy preset. This was using a Epi LP with SD hot rodded pickups, just installed, and a ESP LTD H-101F with newly installed hot rodded SD Jazz and JB in the bridge. Super twang.

The twang was coming from the excellent amp modelling and effects from the RP350. What an awesome foot pedal/guitar processor for someone like me that is just a hobbyist.

Twang city on that setting. Plus it is highly programmable.

Pictures of guitars used:

GREENMACHINE
December 9th, 2007, 11:38 PM
Hey Duff
Ok I will look at one of these foot pedals then, if on your guitar you had the standard single coil american series pups would you change them for some Seymour Duncans?

Cheers
GREENMACHINE:D

Duff
January 25th, 2008, 10:03 AM
I don't know what I would do with a VG. That might have a special set up and might be quite complicated under the pickguard. I wouldn't want to pull any wires. Has to be a printed circuit board and possibly other electronics in there that make that guitar what it is. The pickups could be specially selected to allow for the several emulations. If you change them out it might not sound like the intended sounds.

Maybe someone on here knows if changing to a much higher impedance pickup would mess up the electronics on that sophisticated guitar.

I'd be cautious, maybe bring it to an expert tech and get his advice, then buy pickups.

markb
January 25th, 2008, 03:40 PM
The best Luther Perkins (Johnny Cash) tone I ever got was from a Mexican Classic 50s Telecaster, but any tele'll get you there. Back pickup, tone and volume rolled off a little to add depth into any Fender-ish amp (I used a Blues Junior at that point). If you're using a modeller, pick a small tweed or blackface amp and add some slapback echo. There's no need to match the tempo exactly.

In telecaster terms, hotter pickups give less twang.

GREENMACHINE
January 28th, 2008, 05:22 PM
Hey guys
ok cheers for all your help, sorry about the really late reply I forgot about this topic lol. I think my best bet would be to build my own guitar and put different pups in that instead of my VG.

Cheers
GREENMACHINE

FrankenFretter
April 21st, 2011, 10:18 PM
Digging up an old thread...I feel like Eric or something.

I just got a used Agile AL-2000 (not the one I got for my birthday, another one) that has the SD Hot Rod set in it. So far I'm digging the bridge pickup, but the neck pup isn't at all what I was expecting from an SH-2 (Jazz). I can't really seem to get that syrupy "woman" tone, even with the tone knob backed all the way off. This is one of the things that I love about LP type guitars, that great neck pickup sweetness, but it seem lacking in this particular setup.

I haven't pulled off the control cavity cover yet, but I'm planning on replacing the tone caps (I've been told they're stock), and the tone pots (going with some CTS pots that I have laying around). I hope that changes my tone in a good way. I may go with a .033 rather than the standard .022 for the neck, because it seems too bright. I guess if I can't make it work for me, you might see one or both pickups for sale here on The Fret.

I'll post a proper NGD thread soon, but let's just say that the new guitar needs some work. It may not be the best deal I've ever made, but I think it has possibilities.

Anybody else using the SD Hot Rod set? Thoughts? Comments? Random incoherent ramblings?

marnold
April 23rd, 2011, 07:49 PM
Anybody else using the SD Hot Rod set? Thoughts? Comments? Random incoherent ramblings?

Since you insist on giving this thread the Lazarus treatment, I'll give you my $0.02. The Hot Rod set (aka the JB and Jazz) are a very popular pickup combo. They come standard on a wide range of Jackson guitars, including my DK2M. I really like the JB for 80s metal time tones, although it can do a lot more than that. The Jazz doesn't seem to share the popularity of the JB, but I like mine. The only problem I found with the Jazz is that rolling off the volume control would make it muddy very quickly. A treble-bleed cap took care of that problem. The "woman tone" isn't my thang so I really can't comment on that. I like it a lot for cleans and bluesy grit. It also plays nicely with the JB with both pickups on. The JB is very assertive, though, and can overpower it. That will be a typical problem with hot bridge humbuckers.

In short, I thought that I would want to replace the JB with a Screamin' Demon, but now I have no desire to. It's staying. For the Jazz, I might want to explore other options, but its quality is sufficient that I find no pressing need to swap it out. If I would, I might look at its cousin, the '59, or maybe a Pearly Gates.

FrankenFretter
April 23rd, 2011, 07:52 PM
Thanks, Matt. Good to know. I've never had a guitar with this setup, and in fact have only had one other SD in a guitar that I've owned. It was an Invader, and that thing had cojones for days, but wasn't great for clean anything.

I do have the parts required for a treble bleed, thanks to C64. I've never done that mod, so I'll have to look it up. Thanks for your reply!

Duffy
April 24th, 2011, 02:10 PM
I put the hot rod set in an Epi LP that I have. I like the pickups better than the stock ones that were in it but the Jazz is, IMO, not that great and not a great companion to the JB, which is great.

On my Plus Top Epi LP I absorbed the extra cost and put in a nickel covered set including the JB bridge and '59 neck; and this turned out to satisfy me way more than the hot rodded set. This is a great pair in my opinion and I have put it in a few guitars since.

The '59 neck pickup far surpasses the jazz, as far as I'm concerned, especially in the area of holding together with a nice clean sound as well as sounding great when played into an overdriven amp. Chords sound very dynamic with the '59 and leads sound clear.

I still have the hot rodded set in that LP and I live with it and it is still a fun guitar to play. I make the most out of the jazz neck pickup but avoid getting any more of them and never intentionally buy one.

I played a nice deluxe LTD that had SD Alnico II Pro's in it and I thought that sound was very excellent. I just played that guitar again last week thru a real nice Marshall stack and reinforced how much I like that pickup set.

Looks like you have a lot of options as far as dealing with that neck pickup goes; and you have some other things to take care of with this guitar anyway.

That is a beautiful guitar, by the way. I really like that burst and the grain. When the scotchbrite treatment is finished on that guitar it might look really great. I don't mind the satin finish, personally. I think it looks good.

FrankenFretter
April 24th, 2011, 04:59 PM
I put the hot rod set in an Epi LP that I have. I like the pickups better than the stock ones that were in it but the Jazz is, IMO, not that great and not a great companion to the JB, which is great.

On my Plus Top Epi LP I absorbed the extra cost and put in a nickel covered set including the JB bridge and '59 neck; and this turned out to satisfy me way more than the hot rodded set. This is a great pair in my opinion and I have put it in a few guitars since.

The '59 neck pickup far surpasses the jazz, as far as I'm concerned, especially in the area of holding together with a nice clean sound as well as sounding great when played into an overdriven amp. Chords sound very dynamic with the '59 and leads sound clear.

I still have the hot rodded set in that LP and I live with it and it is still a fun guitar to play. I make the most out of the jazz neck pickup but avoid getting any more of them and never intentionally buy one.

I played a nice deluxe LTD that had SD Alnico II Pro's in it and I thought that sound was very excellent. I just played that guitar again last week thru a real nice Marshall stack and reinforced how much I like that pickup set.

Looks like you have a lot of options as far as dealing with that neck pickup goes; and you have some other things to take care of with this guitar anyway.

That is a beautiful guitar, by the way. I really like that burst and the grain. When the scotchbrite treatment is finished on that guitar it might look really great. I don't mind the satin finish, personally. I think it looks good.

Thanks, Duffy. I'll finish the Scotchbrite treatment properly, along with some other minor tweaks, as time goes on. I do like the JB a lot, and maybe the Jazz will grow on me. I'll give it a chance. I guess I don't have to have every LP I own sound the same.

alarmaroja
November 27th, 2011, 07:23 PM
Anybody tried the Seymour Duncan's Five-twos??? Actually wondering how cool could it be to have this pair in my Squier Telecaster Standard

Duffy
November 28th, 2011, 12:09 AM
I put a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups in my Squier Telecaster Standard and I like the sound, no noise.