Starla X owner looking for pickup advice

[Atekiel]

Hey guys what’s up?

*There a TD;LR down at the bottom because this got a bit more windy than I originally intended.*

About 6 months ago, give or take, I walked into a Guitar Center with the purpose of picking up a specific guitar. While walking around happened to stumble across a Starla X hanging and curiosity kicked in and picked it up. Immediately bonded with the instrument, enough so that it washed out any idea of placing it back on the wall and killed the shot for the guitar I’d originally came to purchase to leave with me. Didn’t hurt that it was still new (like they found it in the back room after losing it for 4-5 years) and there was a massive cut on the price.


Anyway, fast forward to the current time and this guitar has become my number one that I reach for everyday. It just fits my hands and is incredibly easy to play. Love it. The only problem I have with it is I dislike the bridge pickup for the style I’m currently writing/performing. It has worked amazingly for everything shy of hard rock and beyond but I’ve ventured back into that territory again so it needs to be flipped out.


Which is why I’m here.


Every solid body guitar I’ve owned has always been mahogany or mahogany and capped (think LP), I’ve never owned anything differently until this guitar. This guitar being an obeche (African basswood), sipo neck, and rosewood fretboard. I don’t know how to treat it or what will fit the natural characteristics of the guitar well. I just know that some of these materials bring an overall brighter overtone to the instrument as a whole.


So on to the main questions, do I treat obeche the same a basswood? Will replacement pickup advice given to and from guys that own Ibanez guitars fit this instrument? Or is there a subtle or not so subtle difference between obeche and basswood?


I’ve caught a couple videos on YouTube doing comparisons between mahogany and obeche with PRS. There is slightly less low end and a brighter tone to the obeche in comparison to mahogany. And I’ve also read that at least one person has flipped \m/ pick-ups into their Mira X but the song that showed that off didn’t tread into the territory gain structure wise to give me any idea if this would be a good option.


Like I said, I love these pickups but for the style I feel they are lacking compression and feel loose and a bit to ‘woofy’ on the low end which is causing them to feel to spongy and undefined when pushed.


Right now I’m going for that hard and tight radio rock sound along the lines of Papa Roach (Jerry Horton Schecter Solo 6 Seymour Duncan JB) and 3 Days Grace (Barry Stock Ibanez Customs Seymour Duncan JB). Looking at those examples it would seem to be an easy answer but I have to JB loaded instruments and as much as I love them I really hate the JB due to the eq sweep the have from the mids up. They’re very shrill on their own and I don’t want to accentuate that buy putting them into an already bright guitar. This is where the idea of a HFS comes in because it is a little darker but I’d like some input before finding out it doesn’t blend with this guitar well.


**


Anyway, that’s enough rambling I’m guessing. The “TL;DR” version is how do I treat this guitar? Does obeche react just like standard basswood? And does anyone have any experience with pickup changes in the Starla X line or have any input on what direction I should be looking towards for a bridge pickup replacement?

**


I currently have a couple guitars with PAF voiced pickups (Dimarzio 36th’s) and I know that’s not the direction I’m looking which is unfortunate because I was wanting to try the 59/09’s out in it but I don’t think they’ll hit the sound I want atm. Also, if you made it this far, thanks for at least reading even if you don’t have a clue what to tell me lol

And for those curious, this is my exact guitar http://platinum.guitarcenter.com/guitars/view_listing.cfm?prodId=4022&subCat=&type=

 

[VHTStark]

The 59/09 can do what you're after man. Warm, but present top end, balanced mids and a tight low end. A killer overwound PAF and every bit as good (albeit a bit different) as the 36th anny pickups you are familiar with.

The HFS isn't what I would call a "warm" pickup. It was made to be bright and powerful to hit the front end of an amp hard or keep a strong signal through all the rack stuff guys used in the late 80's and early 90's.

See if you can track down an old Dragon1 bridge pickup. All the output you want, pretty tight and a warm top end!

 

[Atekiel]

Thanks man. I wish there was a place around me I could try them out, mean there are but they don't really stock anything higher than the SE's and the occasional something else if it comes in used. My main fear with the PAF voicing is that my main amp is a Marshall JVM205h and it has significant high end which if not watched out for can become brittle and/or bright against another guitarist or in a mix. But I do love that sound they make when they hit it right.

The Dragon I's I've only heard good things about when reading online but they seem tricky to find given the pop up factor on any given month, day, or minute. Are there other similarly voiced pickups, even non-PRS out there? I vaguely remember reading that either the Dragon I's or Dragon II's were either based off or used as the base for the McCarty pickups, are they voiced similar enough to keep an eye out for those as well (if my memory is correct about reading that)?

The HFS really interests me because it fits my preference, I usually like hotter pickups into drier amps (hight gain amps but running at 8-11 o'clock instead of 1-3 o'clock). But that's just a preference and feel and not necessarily a need. I like the "powerful" tag but the "bright" worries me a bit.

At this point, until some one else pops in, I'll keep researching those three with my eyes on the Dragon I's since I don't know much about them first or even second hand. I have also read several people dropping in SD Custom 5's and really liking those in their PRS but that's again back to mahogany bodied guitars. And f anyone else has flipped the pickups in a Starla X or Mira X with success I'm all ears. The soldering's never a waste of time for me but I'd love to narrow the gap of putting money down on the wrong pickup to as small as it can be.

 

[VHTStark]

Ya, the Dragon1's are sick pickups. Like I say, some of the best I have ever played by any manufacturer. The McCarty's are definitely different.....the McCarty bridge is a warm PAF and the Dragon bridge is a modern high output design. Very different. A pickup I like that does alot of what a Dragon1 will do is the Suhr Aldrich pickup....another killer design. High output with a warm top end.

I love Custom5's, but they are bright, with a chiming top end. The regular Custom is even brighter and can get brittle sounding. Somethimg else you can think about: ordering a 'shop floor custom' from 'Duncan....a Custom with an alnico 8 magnet. That will give you a tight end, high output, broad mids and a warm top.

 

[gush]

I just read your thread, when I describe dragon 1s I always use "compressed" as one way to translate what I hear. I hear old Bad Company type compression. They are hot but sound really nice. HFS pickups are very harsh on the top to me which is why I don't normally care for them. I do have an HFS in my McCarty right now because I keep it tuned to D and do Drop C with it as well. The low tuning seems to keep harshness at bay. I had a 5909 in bridge when it was tuned to Eb and it sounded fabulous just not quite enough output for detuned stuff.

I have a couple sets of dragon 1s I got off of ebay. They do pop up at a reasonable price if you have the ability to wait it out. They are NOT rare and don't deserve 500.00 for a set.

 

[gush]

Oh and not sure where you are Atekeil but if you are ever close to iowa you can try my CE22 with dragon 1s anytime.

 

[Atekiel]

Thanks for the offer gush, I appreciate it. You actually are just North of me by some amount of distance and a state line (then possibly some more distance lol). I think I've got the general idea of what they sound like and I do like what I'm hearing both in description and in sounds. It's just the element of the obeche body that's giving me cold feet, but even if they don't work I could flip them afterwords and move on to the next item on the list.

But, compressed is a word I like to hear in this particular situation. I've got time to wait while I pull funds together to do the project in full, hopefully in a month or two. I'll probably continue to get a line on a pair of dragon 1's or at least research them further. At least one of the end games is to get a new pick guard cut to install them into, that way I can still have easy access to the factory plate (because I do enjoy the sound of the standard Starla X/Mira X/non-tappable Mira/uncovered 245's or whatever the lineage is lol). With that said there is definitely some time to search them out.

The lower tuning comments peak my interest a lot though because currently I'm fairly native to 1 step down or Drop C. The 36th Ann. hold up amazing in my 335 body in that range for leads, they get really thin on the rhythm playing. Which is where the concern on the vintage voiced not giving me the 'umph' I want to hear. They act a lot like the mini blades on my 70's tribute where they're amazing and punchy but get timid at a whole step and fall apart on anything lower, no matter what strings I kill the neck and nut with. No plans of tossing either aside because I love them both but just not the right tool in this situation. And if the 59/09's react that way it's not the direction I should look at the moment, but if the peak-y high end of the HFS rolls off in that range maybe worth a look.

 

[gush]

You should be able to get an HFS used off of ebay really cheap. Unless your guitar has square bobbin pickups in it now I would avoid those. They have longer mounting legs and may cause problems. Good luck

 

[dogrocketp]

Short term, have you tried raising or lowering the pickup? I'm always amazed at what can be accomplished with a screwdriver, your amp at gig volume, and some patience. Did wonders for my old Mira.

 

[Atekiel]

I didn't know that (or at least didn't retain it), the new squabbins have longer legs than the standard? I know I haven't had issues in the past on dropping a Gibson pickup into my SE semi-hollow but haven't measured the Starla X to see if the routing depth is different. If that's the case though, a huge thank you for saving me the frustration when I would've found that out on my own lol.

And yep, I've played with the height now seriously for about 4-6 months and even originally when I set it up after buying it. I have definitely found the sweet spot I love Mira pickups at. It's not that I don't like the Mira pickups it's just they aren't the right voice for what I'm doing atm. It could be as simple as they're just not 'speaking' to me when my hands are on the fret board, because I'm positive if I was listening to some one else playing the same thing I'm playing I'd look at them and say, "That sounds amazing!". In the same fashion that some of my favorite guitarists and songs were tracked using EMG 81/85 sets but when they're in my hands it just doesn't feel right and I can't pull a sound from the amp that inspires me for lack of better terms. Then I find myself fighting the eq knobs more than playing. All that said, I do absolutely love how they feel and sound when I'm doing things in the realm of classic rock through alt rock and into the country and pop but when I get into the area of hard rock and melodic metal they don't have that thicker and compressed hard edge on the attack my ears want to hear and they feel like they wash out in the mix because they are a very open pickup. This is one hundred percent a personal preference change.