McCarty 594 Pickups for Country-Heavy Metal

[gauchosilvertone]

Yes I ask a lot of my pickups.

Problem: McCarty Bridge (58/15 LT) lacks punch and sustain. I like the high end cut but it lacks mid punch in the low mids and the upper mids are annoyingly present with distortion. Overall need more output, but still want lots of cut. Want punch mids but not honk.

Problem: McCarty neck (also 58/15 LT) is beautiful for cleans but quickly becomes too woofy and dense with any amount of gain.

I like sound with depth, dimension, clarity and complexity. I loathe overly dense sounds.

Looking mainly for non-PRS pickup suggestions as I don’t have the money to drop on their price points and honestly have never found their pickups to live up to their guitars. Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, and the like are my wheelhouse.

Thinking the Duncan SH-5 Custom (not custom custom or custom 5) or perhaps the 59/Custom hybrid would be good for the bridge. For neck I’m thinking something along the lines of the Pearly Gates neck or even bridge model for a little extra compression and sing.

Thanks!

 

[dkilpatrick]

Pearly Gates are where it's at

 

[Ironwolf]

You have to tell us what amplifier you are using, the pearly gates are awesome pickups, that's what I have in my Les Paul. but they are are going to have more high-end cut, they are slightly brighter than the 58/15 LT. but with definitely more lows and mids to help compensate, but it is the classic recipe I find them to be fantastic with the Marshall Plexi style Amplifier. and the pearly gates takes the EP booster pedal like a bee to honey. 59 custom hybrid might be a a good try.

 

[Phil M]

I have the Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid in a R7 Les Paul. It does what you ask. I don’t have an answer for the neck pickup.

 

[Ovibos]

Have you tried the Holcomb Alpha&Omega pickups? Designed for modern metal and they clean and split beautifully.

 

[kes7u]

Have you tried the Holcomb Alpha&Omega pickups? Designed for modern metal and they clean and split beautifully.

These pickups have my favorite cleans of all the high gain pickups I've tried. (Which is NOT a huge number, so certainly YMMV.) Just another data point.

Kevin

 

[gauchosilvertone]

You have to tell us what amplifier you are using, the pearly gates are awesome pickups, that's what I have in my Les Paul. but they are are going to have more high-end cut, they are slightly brighter than the 58/15 LT. but with definitely more lows and mids to help compensate, but it is the classic recipe I find them to be fantastic with the Marshall Plexi style Amplifier. and the pearly gates takes the EP booster pedal like a bee to honey. 59 custom hybrid might be a a good try.

Ampeg Reverberocket 2x12 reissue. Live in the dirty channel.

 

[gauchosilvertone]

Have you tried the Holcomb Alpha&Omega pickups? Designed for modern metal and they clean and split beautifully.

Don’t think I could get over the Holcomb association. Moreover I am more a blues through English heavy metal player with some occasional Opeth than a modern cinderblocks randomly falling out of the back of a truck (djent) player.

 

[gauchosilvertone]

I have the Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid in a R7 Les Paul. It does what you ask. I don’t have an answer for the neck pickup.

I think this may be the way to go. I love the custom for fast riffage but the hotness of it makes less distorted sounds overly honky and compressed. The hybrid might give me the speed and punch I need while retaining a more open PAF character.

 

[John Beef]

Last year I put a Custom 5 and a Jazz in my CU22. Just wanted to change things up a bit, and wanted slightly more aggressive in the bridge and cleaner and lower output in the neck.

 

[kes7u]

Don’t think I could get over the Holcomb association. Moreover I am more a blues through English heavy metal player with some occasional Opeth than a modern cinderblocks randomly falling out of the back of a truck (djent) player.

I don't djent....! But I still love these pickups for cleans and other modern gains.

Kevin

 

[Buck]

I don't djent....! But I still love these pickups for cleans and other modern gains.

Kevin

I will third the Alpha/Omega pups...I don't djent a whole lot, but they are great for cleans and really articulate for most any distortion...even the super modern high gain. A bit pricey, but usually you get what you pay for!

 

[Hotspur]

So what you're saying is that you'll soon have a pair of 58/15 LTs that you won't be using ...

 

[drdoom8793]

Pretty different animal, but I had a CE22 loaded with a JB/Jazz combo. Obviously sounded great for high gain, but when you split the bridge pickups, it had a surprisingly convincing spanky tele-like sound. It's the only guitar I ever regret getting rid of, but that mistake will be rectified shortly

 

[gauchosilvertone]

So what you're saying is that you'll soon have a pair of 58/15 LTs that you won't be using ...

I wouldn't say that! Though the thought is tempting with what they pull. It'd be a shame to separate an original component from the guitar.

 

[gauchosilvertone]

Pretty different animal, but I had a CE22 loaded with a JB/Jazz combo. Obviously sounded great for high gain, but when you split the bridge pickups, it had a surprisingly convincing spanky tele-like sound. It's the only guitar I ever regret getting rid of, but that mistake will be rectified shortly

The JB with screw coil towards the bridge and active when split is the best split sound a man can get for a bridge humbucker. I have a covered JB/Jazz set in my Warmoth Soloist where position 2 defaults to that sound and it's great.

I put that same set in the PRS however and as would be expected, it's just not up to the job of retaining and transmitting the nuance and detail of what that timber produces. Not to mention way too dark and dense sounding. Even the Jazz, which is normally as hollow sounding as Fido's Alpo can after he's had his way with it. Plus that ultra annoying clicky top end attack the Jazz has.

 

[dogrocketp]

I'm thinking USA Mira pickups, and you can probably afford them on that auction sight.

 

[matt3310]

Dimarzio 36th Anni for the win!
And if you stay with PRS pickups, 85/15's are awesome!

 

[gauchosilvertone]

I wouldn't say that! Though the thought is tempting with what they pull. It'd be a shame to separate an original component from the guitar.

Hotspur this actually is coming to pass. You got first dibs if you’re interested.

 

[Hotspur]

Hotspur this actually is coming to pass. You got first dibs if you’re interested.

Thought about it for a bit, but for the time being I think they'll get better use elsewhere. Thanks, though!