Is it sacrilege to replace d-activators?

[Grindspine]

Angel pubes just may give Circle K some competition in the string market around here...

Just don't confuse Angel Pubes with the knock off brand, Anal Pubes...

 

[Grindspine]

i a mesa triple rectifier 2x12 (the one with the black shadows).

since when did Mesa make a triple rectifier 2x12 with Black Shadows? Cabinet does not exist.

and by more, i mean more variety in tone. no matter what i do with my tone knob on the guitar, it doesn't make a whole lot of tonal difference. if i want to roll off my volume to get a little less dirt, i have to roll off the volume A LOT. it's like these pups are all or nothing..i want a more responsive curve with the volume and tone knobs on the guitar. i LOVE the coil splitting and the position 4 is really great for cleans.

the cleans i get are great. i just want more variety out of the distortion. i want more clarity and depth. i want more response. more bark and less bite, if you know what i mean.

A tone knob just kills the high end. Personally, I always rip the tone control out of a guitar to eliminate the high end tone sucking the caps cause even when the knob is all the way up.

If you're saying you want a touch sensitive setup, that is as much the amp model and gain setting as it is the Deactivators. The pickups are supplying a strong signal sound, if you want to control gain with the guitar volume, you need to probably set the gain as low as you can on the amp, just reach overdrive, then go no further.

With the lovepedal in front of your other amp, you should have a fairly good range between your full bore distortion and your cleans.

 

[abandonist]

Sacrilege assumes dogma. I have no allegiance to anyone but myself.

Do as thou wilt.

 

[GRIZ]

Sacrilege assumes dogma. I have no allegiance to anyone but myself.

Do as thou wilt.

this made me laugh.

also note: the cabinet that i have is a mesa triple rec 2x12 that i bought second hand from a guy that put the black shadows in it. photo proof of cab:

 

[kaaka]

The all or nothing feeling you are talking about... I feel the same when playing some pickups with too much output. So my suggestion is to get a set of pickups with slightly lower outputs. A Peavey 3120 with a lovepedal boost can bring you enough gain (in my opinion) no matter how weak pickups so a medium output instead of super high gain output is no problem even if you want to go heavy as shit - you get more versatility this way I think for cleans and solos.

If you are into Bare Knuckle I higly recommend the more vintage voiced/medium output pickups for your 8-string like VHII, Emeralds, Abraxas and so on. Some of the high output pickups also are more medium output or traditional sounding like Cold Sweat and Rebel Yell. In my opinion BKP usually cleans up quite well with the volume knob so they are a good bet. But there is a myriad of models and they are quite expensive, so even if they sound very good - it might be tricky to fins what model you personally like the best.

Dimarzio has the PAF8 as mentioned before which are great and have much lower output than DA8... other pickups available from Dimarzio seem to have output in the same range as the DA8:s that you didn't like.

The Duncans, I am not sure about them cause I did not try any of them them but you have the sentient, Pegasus, Nazgul and now also the Black Winter pickups available for 8-string.

 

[Grindspine]

That makes more sense as Mesa does not have Rectifier cabinets stock with Black Shadows. Also, it's the amp that is single, dual, or triple, the cabinets do not have a reason for that designation.

 

[Insinfier]

My guitarist gets decent tone out of a Line 6 but I dunno if it's a Spider... I dunno wtf it is if I'm being honest.

Maybe it was a...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qom_GwlQSBM


But yea, you need a new amp. If you're not liking your tone, you should be looking to upgrade to an amp that doesn't cost as much as a pair of new pickups. I'm willing to bet that no matter what pickup you put in the guitar, you will be disappointed.

D-Activators kick ass in my 5150 212 and 5150 III.

Oh, you do have a proper amp. Carry on, then.

 

[GRIZ]

Oh, you do have a proper amp. Carry on, then.

Haha yeah it's pretty awesome not gonna lie. But since everyone is telling me to go with a new practice amp, suggest me some to check out. I don't need a whole lot. My only requirements for a practice amp is a decent amount of gain and good cleans. Reverb would be cool too.

I hear some good things about the blackstar metal ht amps?

 

[guitar_player4_2_0]

I have a spider practice amp and I love it. But upgrading your amp is a much better idea than pickups at first. Considering the pickups you're looking at are fairly pricey, I'd look for a decent amp used. I also have a set of D Activators in my RG and it sounds great through all my tube heads.

 

[stuglue]

You could always try the Dimarzio d activator neck pickup in the bridge position
It's lower output and has reduced bass. Should tighten up any mud in the bottom end.

 

[GRIZ]

You could always try the Dimarzio d activator neck pickup in the bridge position
It's lower output and has reduced bass. Should tighten up any mud in the bottom end.

I hear that's actually quite popular to do. I have heard it in some youtube vids. Sunds really awesome

 

[TremontiFan16]

If you aren't getting new pickups,get a randall rd 5.

 

[kerleyben]

Here's a little bit of food for thought... I just recently replaced my pickups on my agile with DAs and the sound was incredible out of my Peavey 6505. I could get all kinds of versatility out of it. I loved it to pieces AND THEN my peavey stopped working (still don't know why yet). While I wait for it to be worked on, I am left with my backup amp (you guessed it) a Line 6 Spider. The exact same riffs, chugs, leads, and chords I was playing on my Peavey all sound like something you would expect to hear from a wild animal dry humping a generator.
TL;DR, PLEASE at least try out a higher end amplifier, your pickups can only go so far in terms of your overall sound.

 

[tastehbacon]

If you decide to go the BKP route, go for the painkillers imo

 

[blckrnblckt]

If you replace them, you can always throw them in another guitar later on. Or you can put them back in. It's not a permanent change.

 

[Explorer]

I like that the OP actually tried the pickups. I always cringe when people haven't even received a guitar and are already posting about how they have to replace the pickups for better toanz.

Empiricism for the win!

 

[GRIZ]

The exact same riffs, chugs, leads, and chords I was playing on my Peavey all sound like something you would expect to hear from a wild animal dry humping a generator.

Hahahaha

I think I've narrowed it down. I need a new practice amp I think. This spider is just at its end..I need an upgrade.

So we have the Randall rd5. Sounds good.

Other suggestions? Go!

 

[TremontiFan16]

Orange Tiny/Dark a Terror,Laney IRT studio,orange OR15,H@K 18 tubemeister are all lower wattage heads.They are more expensive than the RD5,but check them out as well.