Active Pickups & Locking Trem advice

chunkmonk

I’m considering a new guitar project using a guitar body currently set up with active humbuckers and a locking trem.

I’m tempted to upgrade both pickups (generic stock) as they sound thin and lifeless while the trem does not feel solid when used.

Are there any opinions on active pickups given previous threads on the forum seem to suggest they are less responsive than passive and are only really suited for hard rock/metal?   Apart from EMG are there any other makes to look at? 

In regards to a locking trem , there seems to be a variety of different trems variants and I’m keen to be enlightened  on the various types and what to look out for. 

Funkfingers

 

chunkmonk

Funkfingers said:

Plenty of other brands. Seymour Duncan, Fishman Fluence, ESP/LTD do in-house active pickups. Hell, even Squier now has SQR.

Blanket criticisms of over-compressed dynamics and "sterility" are only partially valid. Much depends on the host guitar, the exact pickup models and the use to which they are being put.

It is impossible to comment on your vibrato question without knowing the guitar to which it is fitted.

Thanks, host guitar will be a single cutaway style (esp budget body & neck)

Pickup wise ideally something not super compressed and with a degree of response would be the aim here 

skullfunkerry

I'm a big fan of the tried and tested EMG 81/60 (or 81/81) combo, but the Retroactive series might be more what you're looking for. I have a Hot 70 in the bridge of my Schecter and it's really good: it's got plenty of power for rock and metal, and it's really clear like the 81, but more open-sounding. I think I remember reading someone on here describe it as a "modern PAF with a bit of tone-shaping".

With regard to a locking trem, if you mean double-locking then avoid any cheap Floyd Rose type stuff that you'll find on eBay: it will all be made of lower quality metal and will wear out quickly (if it ever even works properly at all).

The OFR (Original Floyd Rose) and Schaller Lockmeister are the ones that most people will suggest; I've also read lots of good stuff about the Gotoh GE1996T, which is what Suhr now use. I have a couple of guitars with Floyd Rose Specials which are working fine at the moment, but everything I've read leads me to believe I'll need to replace them at some point: the Gotoh will be the one I go for.

Funkfingers

 

chunkmonk

@Funkfingers ;

‘ Intriguing. Not many budget LTD single cutaway models come with a double locking vibrato system. 

Knowing the size and shape of the existing vibrato rout would make it easier to suggest bridges that will fit without modification.

In fact, generally, telling the forum what the guitar is saves a lot of thinking time. Forumites who have worked on examples of the same model can share hints and tips for getting them to work better. Without this basic information, the possible permutations become almost endless. The line of least resistance is to make no effort to help’

Sure, as per one of my previous threads.. it’s a ESP Grassroots G CL 58, (not a LTD) loaded with humbuckers.

’ Opinion #1 - Is there a convenient place in the guitar to tuck the PP3 needed to power the active electronics?’ 

It already has active pickups as outlined in the original post. Perhaps the line of least resistance is in the basic detail already provided ;-) 

ToneControl

what are the current pickups?
Some EMG pickups completely come alive with their active EQ kits

Funkfingers

 

chunkmonk

ToneControl said:

what are the current pickups?
Some EMG pickups completely come alive with their active EQ kits

No obvious markings on the casing but will take off at some point to see if there is anything underneath.

chunkmonk

Funkfingers said:

chunkmonk said:

as per one of my previous threads … the basic detail already provided ;-) 

Pardon me for not being telepathic.

For fuller explanation of my sense of irony, sarcasm and skepticism, please check my previous tFB posts. 

No need for telepathy, the devil is in the detail.

ToneControl

chunkmonk said:

ToneControl said:

what are the current pickups?
Some EMG pickups completely come alive with their active EQ kits

No obvious markings on the casing but will take off at some point to see if there is anything underneath.

ok
some people hate actives, I like some of them a lot
EMG SAs give the cleanest strat sounds, and with active mid and scoop boosts, are amazing (Gilmour's 90s setup)
traditional EMG humbuckers are good for rock, but I use them more subtley for almost classical style arrangements and lap steel, and again, very flexible with active EQs
The new EMG RetroActive sets are best of both worlds: passive style winding, magnets and sound, but with a built in preamp that is tuned to get specific sounds. My Hot 70 set is probably the best rock set I've tried: Van Halen ceramic bridge pickup, laid-back blues-rock ZZ top Alnico on the neck. They do a Hot 55 set that replaces the bridge with another Alnico pickup

Funkfingers

 

chunkmonk

Funkfingers said:

chunkmonk said:

No need for telepathy, the devil is in the detail.

My attitude to remote problem solving is this. In order to obtain helpful responses, present all of the available information together in one place.

Expecting forumites to give freely of their time to trawl your entire Discussion history for scraps of information is unhelpful and unrealistic.

Please add me to your ignore list.

Since when is looking at the original thread and reading the words ‘active pickups’ in the 1st sentence considered an expectation to reading through a forumites whole discussion history???? Your rational makes no sense.

Your attitude to providing advice is not problem solving but rather problem making and in the whole awkward ….in what is considered an impolite and rude manner towards others, especially as you are trying to hijack a post looking for advice into a rant about the forums use.

Perhaps rather then being added to an ‘ignore list’, you could consider how your posts/replies are considered by others and then decide if you should post anything in the first place. 

@Funkfingers please feel free not to add anything to this discussion unless of a polite, helpful and positive nature.

chunkmonk

I’m on the look out for a used FR Original for a build I’m planning..but no luck so far on finding one used.  I’m now wondering if a FR Special could be upgraded to a Original spec such as brass block and steel saddles as a cost effective alternative? Or would a Gotoh ge1996t be a viable alternative?

How does the gotoh compare dimension wise, performance wise?

Bennyboy-UK

I’ll have a spare 1990s Schaller FR in black in a week or so (USA Hamer coming over from Japan).

If the trem is fit for purpose I’ll be selling it as I have a stash of Hamer Logo’d Schaller units I’ll be putting on to make it “right” - although it’s the same unit in fact.

Actually, come to think of it, that guitar has an EMG 81 installed which I’ll be whipping out as well.

Let me know if there’s any interest.

Cheers!
Ben.

Funkfingers

 

Dave_Mc

chunkmonk said:

I’m on the look out for a used FR Original for a build I’m planning..but no luck so far on finding one used.  I’m now wondering if a FR Special could be upgraded to a Original spec such as brass block and steel saddles as a cost effective alternative? Or would a Gotoh ge1996t be a viable alternative?

How does the gotoh compare dimension wise, performance wise?

I think the studs are slightly bigger on the Gotoh.

Quality-wise, I'd say the Gotoh is on par with the German-made OFR. It does feel slightly different, but it's a top-quality trem.

I haven't tried a Special, but assuming doing those upgrades brings it up to (more or less) an FRT-x000 in spec, IMO a Schaller-made FRO would still be a bit better.

A Schaller Tremolo or Lockmeister would be another option. Again similar in quality to a Schaller-made FRO (I haven't tried one but in fact I think a Lockmeister is identical apart from the branding stamp).

chunkmonk

Dave_Mc said:

chunkmonk said:

I’m on the look out for a used FR Original for a build I’m planning..but no luck so far on finding one used.  I’m now wondering if a FR Special could be upgraded to a Original spec such as brass block and steel saddles as a cost effective alternative? Or would a Gotoh ge1996t be a viable alternative?

How does the gotoh compare dimension wise, performance wise?

I think the studs are slightly bigger on the Gotoh.

Quality-wise, I'd say the Gotoh is on par with the German-made OFR. It does feel slightly different, but it's a top-quality trem.

I haven't tried a Special, but assuming doing those upgrades brings it up to (more or less) an FRT-x000 in spec, IMO a Schaller-made FRO would still be a bit better.

A Schaller Tremolo or Lockmeister would be another option. Again similar in quality to a Schaller-made FRO (I haven't tried one but in fact I think a Lockmeister is identical apart from the branding stamp).

Thanks, that’s interesting to know.  

Do you know if the Gotoh trem be used with existing FR studs/inserts? 

Dave_Mc

Yeah that's what I've done on my Charvel I had a little bit of bother getting it to sit for some reason (I don't know if it had anything to do with the studs or not), but I got it to sit eventually. I think it voids the warranty of the Gotoh, though.