Paintball

[Dr. VonDeafingson]

Pickups are only as good as your amp. I'd reccomend springing for a decent tube amp. I have EMG's in my guitar, running on 18 volts (EMG's cans handle 27 volts) and it sounds only halfway decent on solid state amps. On ****tier solid state amps it overloads the input. Hook it up to a tube amp however, and the sound changes entirely.

I've also built a guitar with duncs and I love them just as much. The wood of guitar body is the biggest factor in sound. Pickups just allow you to tune the sound coming from the guitar.

Most pickups now come with solderless connections to make installation much easier.

[blackrain]

Originally Posted by Dr. VonDeafingson

Pickups are only as good as your amp. I'd reccomend springing for a decent tube amp. I have EMG's in my guitar, running on 18 volts (EMG's cans handle 27 volts) and it sounds only halfway decent on solid state amps. On ****tier solid state amps it overloads the input. Hook it up to a tube amp however, and the sound changes entirely.

I've also built a guitar with duncs and I love them just as much. The wood of guitar body is the biggest factor in sound. Pickups just allow you to tune the sound coming from the guitar.

Most pickups now come with solderless connections to make installation much easier.

I like the sound of solderless

Later,
Blackrain

[Patar]

really, there's so many different sources of the sound of your guitar, it's not always the wood or the amp or the pickups. It's like the perfect concoction of all of those things. Some people like the sound of a guitar through a cheap amp. Some people like the sound of thousand dollar guitars through thousand dollar amps. Some people just like to sit on the porch and jam! haha.

You've already got your body so I don't think you can do much in terms of wood type. Best you can do to tune your sound now is an amp you like, but in terms of the guitar-only kinda tone options, check out some pickups you're cool with. I have some of the guitar fetish pickups and they're nice but I'm positive they don't compare to some good Seymour Duncans or the like.

But like I said, everything affects your sound. How you play, the picks you use, the weather even... Knock yourself out man!

[Justus]

MMmm... I think on a solid body electric guitar, the only thing that makes a bigger impact on the sound than the pickups are the strings themselves. The type of wood on the guitar top can add brightness (hence why most PRS guitars are figured maple tops), but it's not as important to overall sound as the play between the strings and the pickups.

The amp is a separate thing altogether. But I agree with the idea of a tube amp. In my opinion (what I like best), a small, cheap tube amp still sounds better than a $500 solid state head. I don't keep a half-stack anymore, but when I went down in size I picked up a Mesa F-50. That's the best sounding 50-watt home/studio amp I've ever played with, and it's got the power to fill a hall if needed.

[Dr. VonDeafingson]

Originally Posted by Justus

MMmm... I think on a solid body electric guitar, the only thing that makes a bigger impact on the sound than the pickups are the strings themselves. The type of wood on the guitar top can add brightness (hence why most PRS guitars are figured maple tops), but it's not as important to overall sound as the play between the strings and the pickups.

The amp is a separate thing altogether. But I agree with the idea of a tube amp. In my opinion (what I like best), a small, cheap tube amp still sounds better than a $500 solid state head. I don't keep a half-stack anymore, but when I went down in size I picked up a Mesa F-50. That's the best sounding 50-watt home/studio amp I've ever played with, and it's got the power to fill a hall if needed.

God I'm jealous of you. I once hooked my guitar up to a Mesa Boogie Triple-rectifier and damn near creamed myself....

Peavey, Fender and Marshall as well as a few others all make awesome tube amps under $500

I've use a 50W peavey valveking combo amp and it's pretty much all the amp you'll ever need.

[desertT1]

I had a MB Dual Rectifier for a while and it sounded so good. Way too much amp for my needs, let alone my ability, but it was pure joy to hear it. I really want a Mini Rectifier, but can't justify that kind of purchase to myself, let alone my wife.

[Dr. VonDeafingson]

Originally Posted by desertT1

I had a MB Dual Rectifier for a while and it sounded so good. Way too much amp for my needs, let alone my ability, but it was pure joy to hear it. I really want a Mini Rectifier, but can't justify that kind of purchase to myself, let alone my wife.

Jealous.

[Justus]

Yeah, the Mesa Triple-Rec is awesome. I wanted that sound, but contained in something I could play in my college apartment without getting evicted. So, one day I walked into a local guitar shop (not even a Mesa dealer) and they had the F-50 on display for a charity auction. I put in a bid of $50 than the starting price, which was absurdly low. A few weeks later I got a call telling me that mine was the only bid, and I'd won it.

I had to scramble to sell off my 100W Peavey head and 4x12 half stack to pay for it, but it was very much well worth it.

[Patar]

I never was really into the recto sound, man... sounded way too thick for my tastes. I love a real sharp crisp sound (the guitarist from the thrash metal band Exodus....eargasmic).

The ENGL Powerball, Soldano SLO, Bogner Uberschall...all my dream amps.

the Mesa Mark V ain't too shabby though.

[blackrain]

I was just thinking of buying a small PIGGY to make sure eveything sounded right

Later,
Blackrain