Replacement pickups in ESP Horizon for 90s rock/metal

trevA

Hello
 my ESP Horizon (mahogany body, maple neck, ebony fretboard - I think) has Seymour Duncan active pickups that I'm not overly fond of. I do, however, think the guitar is a nice player so I'm after some suggestions on what pickups to put in it. There does seem to be a huge variety available. I like to play Van Halen, Metallica, anthrax,  Vai, Satriani and all that 90s stuff (showing my age here). I suppose I could just sell it and buy a Satriani Ibanez or Jem?

Thanks

Funkfingers

trevA said:

Seymour Duncan active pickups that I'm not overly fond of. 

Are you unfond of active pickups in general or the Duncan AHB-1 Blackouts in particular?

If your current pickups employ the solderless Quick Connect system, it would be simplicity to change to 9v pickups of another brand.

Changing to passive pickups and controls involves replacing the entire wiring harness.

mbe

Just back off the volume control on the guitar.

baldy

Seymour Duncan SH1('59) & SH4(JB) Pickups will give those tones I would have thought ?

NelsonP

You could also look at an rg550. That would do it.

The ibanez's of the vai and satriani era all had dimarzio's. Could be worth a look.

Stevepage

Seems like a jerk reaction to sell it. Shred type guitars are hard to sell at the moment so you either will end up waiting ages to sell it or having to lower your price to a point you won't like.

It recommend just changing the pickups. Go for either the JB/Jazz set or JB/59 set. Maybe even try a PAF Pro set to get some where  near what Paul Gilbert or Satriani used.

xscaramanga

For a versatile hard rock/ metal set, JB/59 is tough to beat. Looking at pickups used by the artists you mentioned:

Van Halen: A relatively low-wind probably Alnico II PAF for the early stuff, hotter Alnico II humbuckers for much of the rest of his career.

Metallica: Active ceramic EMGs. Probably not that dissimilar to the pickups you have and dislike.

Anthrax: Scott Ian uses a JB.

Vai: Most famous for using the Evolution, a high output ceramic passive.

Satriani: Most famous for using the FRED, a medium-hot output Alnico V.

Truth is you can play all the styles you mentioned on any good bridge humbucker. Just some lend themselves to certain styles more easily. Videos of Kirk Hammett with the Peter Green/Gary Moore Les Paul still sound exactly like Kirk, and those are not pickups many people on forums would mention as being typical Metallica spec.

hassleham

What horizon is it? I have a horizon with the original ESP branded pickups in it and it does 90s rock/metal perfectly

skunkwerx

I quite liked the duncan distortion set. Though you may need an F spaced in the bridge for the poles to line up. I did on an Esp explorer. 

That meant buying separately rather than the duncan distortion mayhem set.  

Tb-6 for the bridge and the sh-6 for the neck. 



The hetset might be worth a look. Expensive but I hear he had them designed with passive pickups in mind, so if you have the emg solderless wiring, it would be a quick swap. 

earwighoney

trevA said:

Hello
 my ESP Horizon (mahogany body, maple neck, ebony fretboard - I think) has Seymour Duncan active pickups that I'm not overly fond of. I do, however, think the guitar is a nice player so I'm after some suggestions on what pickups to put in it. There does seem to be a huge variety available. I like to play Van Halen, Metallica, anthrax,  Vai, Satriani and all that 90s stuff (showing my age here). I suppose I could just sell it and buy a Satriani Ibanez or Jem?

Thanks

I'd say change the pickups. 

Ash of Oil City Pickups really knows his stuff for humbuckers for the heavier side of things and I'd ask him what he'd think would be best for your needs.

https://www.oilcitypickups.co.uk/

skullfunkerry

My first thought would be changing the SD pickups for EMGs. Failing that, if you wanted to go passive I used to have a DiMarzio PAF Pro which would nail that 90s sound. Not sure if they still make that: in which case as others have said the JB would be great.

I definitely agree with @Stevepage though: you'll probably take quite a hit if you try and sell the ESP; swapping the pickups out is the better option for you

Funkfingers

skullfunkerry said:

My first thought would be changing the SD pickups for EMGs.

It would help to have confirmation of exactly what the current pickups are.

I guessed Duncan AHB-1s because they have been stock on some ESP models. If the OP's guitar has been retrofitted with the first generation SD 18v Live Wire active pickups, it is understandable why they might be "too much" for some musical genres.

EMG-81/-85 or -81X/-85X is the obvious candidate. 

The Seymour Duncan LWC2N neck position Live Wire Classic II humbucker does a nice PAF impersonation. The LWC2B pickup is very bright - like some old PAFs - bordering on Telecaster shrillness.

Fishman Fluence humbuckers are active but have clever mode switching to provide plenty of sonic variety. 

Maynehead

I would recommend the new EMG 57/66 set. Firstly because they are a drop-in replacement so you don't have to change the pots or the wiring loom, secondly because they sound a lot more "passive" than the traditional EMGs. For heavy rock/metal I would have thought they'd be pretty ideal.

Schnozz

59/JB or Air Norton/Tone Zone - Anthrax may be a little heavy for these.

guitarfishbay

EMG Retroactive Fat 55s are what I’d do as an active replacement.

The only active pickup tone you listed there was Metallica, EMG 81 is the right choice for that tone but the wrong choice for all the other ones.

The Fat 55s are like a slightly bigger and more even sounding PAF with a bit of extra output. It should get you closer to the other sounds you like than 81s or 57/66. If you’ve got quick connect wiring they’ll drop straight in

Elwood

Maynehead said:

I would recommend the new EMG 57/66 set. Firstly because they are a drop-in replacement so you don't have to change the pots or the wiring loom, secondly because they sound a lot more "passive" than the traditional EMGs. For heavy rock/metal I would have thought they'd be pretty ideal.

Good idea - particularly as it would be easy to mix and match with the 81/85. Should you change your mind down the road.

trevA

Thanks folks. Plenty to think about here but now I know roughly what to look at.

xscaramanga

Schnozz said:

59/JB or Air Norton/Tone Zone - Anthrax may be a little heavy for these.

You'd better tell Jackson to change the pickups in the Anthrax signature model then.

https://www.jacksonguitars.com/gear/shape/king-v/usa-signature-scott-ian-king-v-kvt/2848237000