Jackson Humbuckers

[English Enigma]

Ok what are like , I mean sound quality, whats they like compared to other pickups ........ I was looking at the Jackson JS30DK Dinky, I don't no much about pickups but for you lot that do they are Jackson CVR2 Humbuckers.

Cheers , any advice would be great

[Dr_simon]

I have a DKMG with EMG Hz PUs (the ones with the +20 db boost) and I think they are **** !!! They sound OK at really high gain but other than that they are a really one trick pony.

I will probably swap them for EMG 81s in the not to distant or some other high out put monsters.

[English Enigma]

so what do you think of the Jackson CVR2 Humbuckers? would I need to change them?

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

English...I'll put it simply as possible...BUY SOMETHING GOOD FROM THE START!!!It wont just be the pickups you'll be lacking.You will find yourself saying later 'hey the tuners are kinda crappy and the bridge stinks also!' and then 'the fretboard just dosn't feel that great and the finish is cheap!' and then finally 'man the wood/woods that this guitar is made from really suck...why did I ever buy this junk?!

[Dr_simon]

I have never played the CRVs so I don't really know what they sound like or how responsive they are.

However...

The DKMG I have keeps some pretty serious company in that it has to compete with three Fender Strats, a PRS CE24 and a Gibson Les Paul !

It may also get a better review from someone who was only interested in playing metal.

Go to the shop, play it through a realistic rig (similar to the one you own) and if you like it get it ! What I think sucks my really light some one else's bulb !

Try to ignore what it looks like and concentrate on the way it plays (what it feels like) and what it sounds like in your hand and with your amp.

[SPL]

I'll put it simply as possible...BUY SOMETHING GOOD FROM THE START!!!

Unless you buy a fully custom made guitar, 99% of the time you're not going to have your favorite pickups in the guitar you buy. Even relatively high quality guitars usually come with crappy or sub-par quality pickups.

To answer the question, I think it's very likely those pickups won't be very good. Stock pickups usually are pretty damn bad.
Depending on how anal you are about you sound or how developed your ears are, you might want to swap them for some higher quality stuff.(DiMarzio, SeymourDuncan, EMG,...)

What matters most is how the guitar plays, feels, and sounds without amplification. If all of those are to your liking, you can always change the pickups to something you really like.

[English Enigma]

I play mainly rock/metal , usually in a sort of metallica style, I was told that jackson guitars are very good for the money and perform well,

ok well im gonna have a good look and play before I spend any money, thanks for the advice.

Would you say jackson was better, same, or worst that epiphone?

[Akira]

Personally I would rate Jackson over Epiphone.

[English Enigma]

thats what I was told, the reason for my interest is the Jackson CVR2 Humbucker pickups did not look like humbuckers I'd seen before, I mean they are a black, flat rectangles and not knowing much about pickups I was not should of their quality

[Dr_simon]

High end Jacksons will kick Epiphones ass however, the cheaper ones wont !

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

Do you really think a epiphone poly v would out perform a dkmg?!
I mean besides the poly v,there arn't any epi's I know of that have a double locking trem.

And to counter SPL's claim,the ESP 400 and deluxe series comes with either emg 81's or a JB and 59 configuration(the duncans come on the eclipse).Schecter(depending on the model)will come with Duncans and the higher end Ibanez's come with Dimarzio's.

I think only Jackson USA models come with Duncans or emg's(81's or 85's...not the HZ's).

[SPL]

And to counter SPL's claim...
99% of the time you're not going to have your favorite pickups in the guitar you buy. Even relatively high quality guitars usually come with crappy or sub-par quality pickups.

Did my claim even need countering? I didn't even make one absolute statement. All I meant is that pickups shouldn't be the deciding factor when buying a guitar, unless you have a lot of money to spend.

Just because the few brands you mentioned DO come with high quality pickups in their higher end models (read: expensive) doesn't mean that my claim is any less true.

If you misinterpreted what I meant by stock pickups, all I meant were pickups made by Jackson, Ibanez, Duncan Designed,... the ones that usually come in most guitars made in Korea or Japan...

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

Just because the few brands you mentioned DO come with high quality pickups in their higher end models (read: expensive) doesn't mean that my claim is any less true.

I feel my first post sumed up the idea that pickups shouldn't be THEE deciding factor in buying a guitar,but when your on a budget its not like all hope is lost to purchase a sweet guitar with good pickups,good play e.c.t.

The ESP 400 series is around $500,foriegn made,and comes with good pickups(if you like EMG's).Most stuff under a grand will have good pickups...especially if you go the ebay route.I think we both have different ideas of what a 'budget' is though(for guitar).

And no,your right,it didn't need countering :D

[PonyOne]

mid or high range Jackson > low to mid range Epiphone
low end Jackson < mid to high range Epiphone
high end Jackson = high end Epiphone, depending on what you play... Casinos and Rhodes V's are very different instruments for very different types of music! try shredding up a storm, sweeping and tapping and using pinch harmonics on a Casino and then try playing jazz chords, chicken pickin or blues licks on a Rhodes.

I played the DKMG, and I love its body shape and thought it sounded good for what it is; I will probably someday add one to my arsenal. Bonus points if I can get it lefty, then.

Personally I don't really like EMG's relative to some of the other pickups out there but it's all preference. Zakk Wylde probably dislikes the pickups I favor. If you play Metallica style stuff the DKMG should perform well; I'm not really sure what kind of pickups the guys in Metallica use, but, it's a similar overall style guitar as what they play, just not mde by a custom shop. you should get close if you use the same pickups.

I use a DiMarzio Tone Zone in a Kramer Baretta neck-through, and it nails the metal/hard rock tone down hard.

[English Enigma]

what pickups did the DKMG you played have?

Is it easy to change pickups, I mean if i got the Jackson JS30DK Dinky,would if be possible to upgrade the pickups later on?

[SPL]

Is it easy to change pickups, I mean if i got the Jackson JS30DK Dinky,would if be possible to upgrade the pickups later on?

You might want a tech to do the actual installation (unless you know how to solder), but replacing/upgrading pickups is definitely possible.

[Dr_simon]

DKMGs come with EMG HZs as stock.

Right, first off I'm not really a metal head as I play lots of different styles so, if you want to play nothing but metal, the EMG HZs may be for you.

The EMG HZs are active pickups (they need a battery) and can supply an extra 20db of boost by pulling and turning the third knob behind the tone and the volume pots.

However....

EMG do not sell these pickups separately (with the boost) however you may be able to find them on eBAY. This is OK because:

1) the extra routing required to install them (i.e. drilling through the body to install the third knob and the required internal routing) would be a major operation and cost you an arm and a leg. Much cheaper to buy a DKMG if that is what you want !

2) tonally they are as flat as a pancake ! This is OK if you are playing really high gain stuff where tone is drowned by distortion however if you want a little versatility, I'd stay well clear !

[SPL]

1) the extra routing required to install them (i.e. drilling through the body to install the third knob and the required internal routing) would be a major operation and cost you an arm and a leg.

Can't you just put in a push-pull pot(= cheap) in stead of putting in an actual third pot? Thus avoiding any routing...

[Dr_simon]

Yes with some creative wiring however it is not a job for some one who has never changed pickups before plus you would be messing with your tone control.

The idea with the venerable boost is that you can set it, push it back in and just pull to activate. Instant power ! If you are doubling up with your tone knob, you suddenly have a lot to think about as you need to to bring it to the right level once it is active ! Guaranteed to make your sound man unhappy !

I guess the alternative is to just bypass the tone knob entirely and do with out.

However, another thing to think about is cost. Even if you can find the pickups, (150 bucks minimum), having them installed will not be cheap (hundred bucks min) and by the time you have laid out all the extra cash and figured in the cost of the axe to start with (2-300 bucks), well you may well be better off getting a second hand DKMG ( mine was 400 bucks from eBay) !

[PonyOne]

the worst part about switching a guitar to the active EMG setup (or any active setup, or onboard EQ/boost for that matter) is figuring out where to put the battery. some guitars have enough space in the control cavity for the battery, but, others will need to be routed further and have a battery box installed, which is not only expensive but is also removing a good amount of wood from the instrument. this may not be such a big deal on a cheapish guitar that's only going to be used in high gain situations only but it's still invasive enough that it can damage the sound of the guitar.

I personally don't really dig active pickups that much on guitar. i've played basses where they seem to be more useful, but, this is all just a matter of preference. On the DKMG i'd probably swap everything out for a less exotic passive setup, just with really nice pickups, and make use of the battery area/extra routing with an EQ or something of that nature (i'm not sure if the boost would be compatible with the passive pickups or not).

Replacing pickups is really easy if you have ever soldered anything before. if you haven't it may be a bit confusing. But you could do it by looking at the wiring inside the guitar, and how it goes to the switches and everything, then just remembering where everything was desoldered from. i can switch a pickup in probably 5-10 minutes or so, and rewire an entire guitar in about a half an hour, and i'm inept at electronics repair. i switched the pots on my Strat from 250k to 1 meg last week and it took about 20 mins for all three, with intermittent chatting and socializing.