well, its done now

just been on ebay and got a sh-13 dimebucker!

My guitaris Mike uses Bare Knuckle pickups. They are uk based and have a pretty awesome tone Mike swears by them!!

I have also heard great things about them, it would be nice if I could afford one though

Just soldered a SD hotrails in my Jackson, sounds suweeeet!

kul you got it working then

the dimebucker was a seriously good buy, it fucking squeals! sounds good with not-too-over-the-top dirty overdrive for riffery, and nice piercing pure lead

I use a Dimebucker in my Jackson

EMG's all the way for me!! I still have a Seymour Duncan in my BC Rich and still love it but the EMG 81 responds to my playing and I just love it!!

For those of you who are scatching around for a unique sound,fair enough but I find that it's mostly in the hands that creates your own sound.No two guitarists are exactly the same as each other,my sound changes as I learn to play better.

I don't worry about being unoriginal if I use the same set up and tone as someone else,if it works for me and responds to my playing well then I'll use it.

My rig is pretty straight forward and uncomplicated,my settings are similar to alot of 80's metal guitarists,but I'm developing my own sound purely in my hand skills and riff and lick style.My string gauge,picks and tuning are different to most of the 80's players too and that affects the tone very much.

I dont like Active Pickups or Seymour Duncan is for me.

Although I've voted EMG a while back I recorded with my Seymour Duncan loaded guitar and my sound is MUCH better!! It stands out in the mix!! I can hear every note,even with the guitars low down in the mix I can still hear the fast palm muted cromatic stuff,incredible!!

Gah, this one just keeps swinging backwards and forwards for me. I used to detest actives, then went through a six-month period of loving the EMG-81, then went back to passives (a DiMarzio/Duncan mix that time) and got sick of that after about a year. Egad!

I'm on the EMGs right now - an 85/60 set - and, currently, this is the perfect setup for me. I've experimented with Duncans with mixed success - whilst decent, I always found them a little 'exagerrated' in certain areas of the frequency spectrum. The 85 is ideal for my uses, thick and powerful with plenty of definition. It's also quite a transparent sound which responds well to effects, EQing and so forth.

Obviously there's no 'right' answer to this question, just preferences. I disagree with the idea that by putting certain pickups in you will sound the same as everyone else, as there are so many variables involved in creating a tone that make a difference: pickups, amp, lead, woods guitar is made from, strings and, most importantly, the way you play. The thing that'll make you sound the most like everyone else, in my opinion, is playing the same stuff as everyone else. Two guitar players playing the rig can sound completely different.

As far as EMGs go, I think they sound awesome. 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck is the standard, and for obvious reasons, but you might want to try an 89 in the neck as it has a coil split (ie. you pull the pot out and it gives you single coil) which in the neck is great for clean. Also it gives you that much more versatility.

For Seymour Duncan, JB in the bridge and Jazz in the neck is another classic combination. I would say the sound is less heavy than the EMGs but, as has been, said a lower gain sound can sound awesome for heavy music when played right. Although I would personally warn against the current trend for loads of mids, it can be a bit harsh. A couple of years ago the trend was for shit-loads of bass and people overdid that, the same can be true of mids. The Dimebcuker has an awesome sound, as does the screamin' Demon, so there's another couple of options. Try a George Lynch signature guitar for the Demon.

Bare Knuckle pickups are pretty cool, from what I've heard so far, and obviously DiMarzio are another industry standard. Steve Vai uses them as do loads of others.

Any of these pickups are awesome though, so as long as you play well you'll sound good no matter which one you choose. Appologies for the really long post but there's loads to say!

Good post there Rob, and I agree - all of these pickups are of a high standard, it's just a question of personal preference at the end of the day.

I would have to disagree though on there being a 'trend' for boosting mids on a guitar sound. In certain circumstances it can be a bit much (the JB for example has a natural high-mid spike which needs to be carefully tamed) but generally, mids are the part of the band frequency spectrum which the guitar occupies. Using mids is the only practical way to cut through effectively in a band situation and enabling yourself to be heard (save turning up to ear-bleeding volumes!). If you hear someone complaining about 'not being heard' or 'not cutting through' it will doubtless be due to the fact that they've whacked the mid on their amp right down. I should know, it used to happen to me!

Other factors are important, certainly (compression, presence e.t.c.) but ensuring that the mid-frequencies are, at the very least, not cut is the most effective option.

Yes, granted, my point being everything in moderation. If we assume most people aren't using graphic eqs, and therefore have just bass, middle and treble to chose from, by boosting any of them too much you're going to end up with an uneven sound. Also by driving a valve amp harder, ie pushing the mast volume up, you can end up with a cooler sounding distortion. But you're right, volume is another thing which should be used in moderation.

Perhaps my view is a little biased, as I like the guitars to have a 'scooped' sound. This allows me (as primarily a bass player) to set a frowny face on my graphic eq and cut through easier. Bascially I prefer the sound of boosted mids on bass, something which can be overlooked. This certainly isn't trendy. I refer to the idea of boosting mids on guitar as a trend as I feel it is a reaction to the overly scooped sounds that were popular a couple of years ago.

Still, this is quite a fun and interesting debate! Cheers!