This is going in my esp te 201 when i get around to it. Throw a tuque nut and a set of nice locking tuners. And its gonna be a gojira workhorse. It looks a hell of alot like joes guitar actually.
Hell yes to more low-medium output pickups for metal! Lot of high gain amps/profiles nowadays have gain for days (especially the EVH 5150 III) and with low output pickups, it makes the overall sound more clear, dynamic and not overly compressed! Also makes the gain sweep on high gain amps more usable, you won't hit the gain threshold as easily and oversaturate your sound! My current favourite bridge pickup is the 59/Custom Hybrid from Seymour Duncan! Has 11.2k in output and that's enough to get a bit of drive from the amp if cranked, but still retains good dynamics and cleans up nicely!
While I understand where you're coming from and can definitely agree with you, there just is something special about a high output pickup pounding into the front of an already very gainy amp. That being said, I think in this pickup it works incredibly well, especially with the way it's EQed.
This is something I’ve come to realize, especially as a bedroom player who primarily uses amp sims. There’s so much gain in those things, along with all kinds of boost pedals. I really dig the clarity from lower output pickups, I find them a bunch warmer typically too.
I just got his Sig Charvel with this in it, i really love it, you have to dig in and play really hard for chugs, but Joe has a Hammer of Thor right hand !
One of the first things I learned about pickups, and I've been playing since 1986, is that more output is not always best. While high output pickups have their place, and I still use them in some axes, I discovered a long time ago that you don't need high output when you have an amp with tremendous gain on tap. Sometimes you want a lower output pickup to retain clarity. Now, there are some amps that are just plain muddy, and the cleanest pickup in the world won't fix that. But when you have a 5150, a Pitbull, Recto, Bogner or Soldano, you can use any pickup and have all the gain in the world.
It really depends. It's not always about the amp's overall gain, but how it hits the amp and what frequencies the pickups push into saturation as well. Lots of factors when it comes pickups, pedals, and amps. Then there's stuff about how the pickups feel to play and respond to your playing. Which is a whole other thing.
@@MetalHeadProductionsIf the dynamic you want depends on a pickup hitting an amp hard, a pickup like the Super Distortion is hard to beat. I still use it. But I also like my Air Zones and Nortons which are much lower in output. I set my amps very different depending on the pickups I use. For a gig I'll use one guitar, but have another as backup. If that guitar has a very different kind of pickup I'll quickly dial in the proper EQ for it. If I'm using a Super D I don't dial in as much gain or low end; if I'm using an Air Zone, Norton, PAF Pro or Fred I turn the gain up a lot higher and adjust the rest of the EQ accordingly.
Thanks for doing this demo. I want to try this pickup in my PRS. If you're going to do more Dimarzio, try the Mark Morton Dominion. I like that one as well.
I usually run wicked high output pickups. X2n. Emg 707 ect. I bought the charvel tele with this pickup. It's definitely a learning curve coming from very hot pickups. I found I needed a boost for my dual rectifier to get what I wanted out of it. One major take away I find with this pickup. You get "almost" single coil like defintion when playing clean.
Amazing sounds and fantastic review. So much good info and glad to see someone checking out these lower output pickups for metal. They are definitely different but in a good way! Keep up the great work...I love your channel!
Thanks for review. Have Dimarzio Fortitude in 3 guitars. My 5153 50w sounds more open and less compessed now. Pickup has quite a vintage voicing that not for everyone
I got it in an inanez s1070 and they work great for everything from worship, hard rock, and metal. Very versatile, especially if you like using pedals.
Wow, thanks man! That thing really does sound great. Never would have known about it if not for your review. Great job! You definately deserve ALOT more subs! 🤘🤘🤘🤘
A lot of metalheads should check out single coils as well, not just low output pickups. :P The only real reason humbuckers "are for metal" is because they don't hum like singlecils do, and you don't want hum when you're going through a ton of distortion because it gets amplified and distorted as well and sounds horrible. But there's tons of noiseless single coils out there now, so it's a viable option to use them on high gain. I don't know, i found it makes a nice difference for playing, more crispy and dynamic than a humbucker (depends on the pickup though). It also sounds pretty good on very low tunings like G standard.
Thanks a lot. I'have follow your advice and I'have put a Dimarzio Fortitude on my solar. I can't believe it. This pickups is so expressive, very interesting and I love his texture. I'd rather him than the duncan solar. And my guitar have a new sound, new life. I will put a D paf 36 on the neck. Thank you guy for your honnest review.
Absolutely, it's a great pickup, less output than I personally go for, but it is a really good pickup. I like it more than the Duncan Solars too. Glad I could help.
Agree regarding lower output pickups. My opinion Paf Pro is the best metal pickup for bridge position. High output pups tend to sound mushy and too fat. Cleans suck and you have to use booster to tighten things up. With lower output pups I can ditch the ts more easily and cleans don’t sound dull. You can always add more compression but you can’t take it out
I actually still prefer higher output pickups, it's all about how they perform and feel to the player, but there is definitely room for lower output pickups as well.
I got the D Activator regular. It's pretty hot and well eq'd but i'm trying to dial out some low mid so i'm considering the Satur8 which is an Alnico 8. This one is a possibility too. If the dimarzio site says 6 for say treble, consider it 8 imo.
I have the Dimarzio Imperium and it’s very similar to this Joejira pickup. I honestly miss it from time to time as you only have actives on my KM7s :( the Imperium sounds weird though in my Ibanez RG
Same. It has that massive low end quantity good for chugs but the attack on the note is weird. A bit muffled and muddy. Doesnt punch as easily as my other pickup. So djent or metal core or even rock is weird
Great vid as always! After loving some PAF 7s I tried recently, lower output pups are very intriguing. On a separate note; I noticed you use direct mount style guitars for all of your pickup videos. Do you have to dremel out the screw holes on all the pickups to accommodate the typically bigger direct mount screws?
they're really different. the deathbucker is really its own thing, pretty bright and tight. The Fortitude is low output, super clear and really chunky and thick on the low-end.
Personally, nazgul. It works really well for the more modern blackened death metal stuff I play and of course I can get it in 7 string. I also really prefer the black winter as well, that also really suits what I do, especially in this guitar. Now, if I work more prog focused, definitely the fortitude, but regardless I still dig this and I'm going to keep it around.
This is going in my esp te 201 when i get around to it. Throw a tuque nut and a set of nice locking tuners. And its gonna be a gojira workhorse. It looks a hell of alot like joes guitar actually.
Hell yes to more low-medium output pickups for metal! Lot of high gain amps/profiles nowadays have gain for days (especially the EVH 5150 III) and with low output pickups, it makes the overall sound more clear, dynamic and not overly compressed!
Also makes the gain sweep on high gain amps more usable, you won't hit the gain threshold as easily and oversaturate your sound!
My current favourite bridge pickup is the 59/Custom Hybrid from Seymour Duncan! Has 11.2k in output and that's enough to get a bit of drive from the amp if cranked, but still retains good dynamics and cleans up nicely!
While I understand where you're coming from and can definitely agree with you, there just is something special about a high output pickup pounding into the front of an already very gainy amp. That being said, I think in this pickup it works incredibly well, especially with the way it's EQed.
This is something I’ve come to realize, especially as a bedroom player who primarily uses amp sims.
There’s so much gain in those things, along with all kinds of boost pedals. I really dig the clarity from lower output pickups, I find them a bunch warmer typically too.
You were right, just installed one in my 91 Les Paul and it absolutely crushes.
Its a crime that you don't have more subscribers
thanks man .wow airis pedal was like life changing on my evh 5153 blue Chanel perfect
I just got his Sig Charvel with this in it, i really love it, you have to dig in and play really hard for chugs, but Joe has a Hammer of Thor right hand !
One of the first things I learned about pickups, and I've been playing since 1986, is that more output is not always best. While high output pickups have their place, and I still use them in some axes, I discovered a long time ago that you don't need high output when you have an amp with tremendous gain on tap. Sometimes you want a lower output pickup to retain clarity. Now, there are some amps that are just plain muddy, and the cleanest pickup in the world won't fix that. But when you have a 5150, a Pitbull, Recto, Bogner or Soldano, you can use any pickup and have all the gain in the world.
It really depends. It's not always about the amp's overall gain, but how it hits the amp and what frequencies the pickups push into saturation as well. Lots of factors when it comes pickups, pedals, and amps.
Then there's stuff about how the pickups feel to play and respond to your playing. Which is a whole other thing.
@@MetalHeadProductionsIf the dynamic you want depends on a pickup hitting an amp hard, a pickup like the Super Distortion is hard to beat. I still use it. But I also like my Air Zones and Nortons which are much lower in output. I set my amps very different depending on the pickups I use. For a gig I'll use one guitar, but have another as backup. If that guitar has a very different kind of pickup I'll quickly dial in the proper EQ for it. If I'm using a Super D I don't dial in as much gain or low end; if I'm using an Air Zone, Norton, PAF Pro or Fred I turn the gain up a lot higher and adjust the rest of the EQ accordingly.
Thanks for doing this demo. I want to try this pickup in my PRS. If you're going to do more Dimarzio, try the Mark Morton Dominion. I like that one as well.
I usually run wicked high output pickups. X2n. Emg 707 ect.
I bought the charvel tele with this pickup. It's definitely a learning curve coming from very hot pickups. I found I needed a boost for my dual rectifier to get what I wanted out of it.
One major take away I find with this pickup.
You get "almost" single coil like defintion when playing clean.
Amazing sounds and fantastic review. So much good info and glad to see someone checking out these lower output pickups for metal. They are definitely different but in a good way! Keep up the great work...I love your channel!
Dude you’re tone is so good
Dude thank, I appreciate that
For old guys like me we needed hotter pups to push the amplifier but now, there is no need
Well I still like a hot pickup personally to hit my pedals and amps the way I like but also to respond to my playing the way I like.
@@MetalHeadProductions Agreed
Thanks for review. Have Dimarzio Fortitude in 3 guitars. My 5153 50w sounds more open and less compessed now. Pickup has quite a vintage voicing that not for everyone
I have been using the PAF PRO pickups for years to play metal. Seems Trey azagthoth of Morbid Angel also likes them! 😁
I got it in an inanez s1070 and they work great for everything from worship, hard rock, and metal. Very versatile, especially if you like using pedals.
Wow, thanks man! That thing really does sound great. Never would have known about it if not for your review. Great job! You definately deserve ALOT more subs! 🤘🤘🤘🤘
A lot of metalheads should check out single coils as well, not just low output pickups. :P The only real reason humbuckers "are for metal" is because they don't hum like singlecils do, and you don't want hum when you're going through a ton of distortion because it gets amplified and distorted as well and sounds horrible. But there's tons of noiseless single coils out there now, so it's a viable option to use them on high gain. I don't know, i found it makes a nice difference for playing, more crispy and dynamic than a humbucker (depends on the pickup though). It also sounds pretty good on very low tunings like G standard.
Gotta get one of these for my Gretsch Electromatic baritone!🤘🫠
Thanks a lot. I'have follow your advice and I'have put a Dimarzio Fortitude on my solar. I can't believe it. This pickups is so expressive, very interesting and I love his texture. I'd rather him than the duncan solar. And my guitar have a new sound, new life. I will put a D paf 36 on the neck. Thank you guy for your honnest review.
Absolutely, it's a great pickup, less output than I personally go for, but it is a really good pickup. I like it more than the Duncan Solars too. Glad I could help.
Agree regarding lower output pickups. My opinion Paf Pro is the best metal pickup for bridge position. High output pups tend to sound mushy and too fat. Cleans suck and you have to use booster to tighten things up. With lower output pups I can ditch the ts more easily and cleans don’t sound dull. You can always add more compression but you can’t take it out
I actually still prefer higher output pickups, it's all about how they perform and feel to the player, but there is definitely room for lower output pickups as well.
Just ordered this pickup to run off a kraken preamp into a Randall RG100es to some greenback speakers .. am thinking it’s gonna be a skull crusher
I got the D Activator regular. It's pretty hot and well eq'd but i'm trying to dial out some low mid so i'm considering the Satur8 which is an Alnico 8. This one is a possibility too. If the dimarzio site says 6 for say treble, consider it 8 imo.
I have the Dimarzio Imperium and it’s very similar to this Joejira pickup. I honestly miss it from time to time as you only have actives on my KM7s :( the Imperium sounds weird though in my Ibanez RG
Same. It has that massive low end quantity good for chugs but the attack on the note is weird. A bit muffled and muddy. Doesnt punch as easily as my other pickup. So djent or metal core or even rock is weird
Great vid as always! After loving some PAF 7s I tried recently, lower output pups are very intriguing.
On a separate note; I noticed you use direct mount style guitars for all of your pickup videos. Do you have to dremel out the screw holes on all the pickups to accommodate the typically bigger direct mount screws?
Great video! Btw have you tried the 36th anniversary on the bridge?
No I haven't, but glad you dug the video
Could you please, please compare Fortitude and Deathbucker pickups? Can't decide which one to buy
they're really different. the deathbucker is really its own thing, pretty bright and tight. The Fortitude is low output, super clear and really chunky and thick on the low-end.
With my Gibson I go too 11 on the stealth with gain.
Wonderful video ! X🤘🏻X
It does have a nice dark edge ,
Great review 👍 sub up ,
PAF style pickups are excellent for metal
Really nice review. Subbed.
If you had to choose between this and the Nazgul which would you pick?
Personally, nazgul. It works really well for the more modern blackened death metal stuff I play and of course I can get it in 7 string. I also really prefer the black winter as well, that also really suits what I do, especially in this guitar. Now, if I work more prog focused, definitely the fortitude, but regardless I still dig this and I'm going to keep it around.
@@MetalHeadProductions Cool! thanks for the reply! Cheers from south africa!
can you recommend a program for windows to sink my good audio tracks from my daw to video recordings for youtube ?
I use sony Vegas. It's alright, gets the job done.
thanks man,, at least i have a name to start with cant find a cut an dry best program recommendation
Low output pickups always have that brightness, clarity and bite that works very well with high gain amp.... All my guitars are equipped with PAF’s
Good review, Philip McKnight does a good review as well