Van Halen was right about Humbucker pickup output for high gain tone.Dimarzio , Seymour Duncan, EMG

After a struggle with tone lately, I went back to basics and looked at the 1st link in my signal chain....the pickups, get that right and everything else falls into place. When using a lot of gain, use a lower output pickup, if using less gain, use a higher output pickup...keep your clarity, definition and punch. Modern high gain amps have more than enough gain, no need to hit that first tube hard...same goes for high gain distortion pedals and modelling amps too..try it. The PAF Pro is considered a medium gain pickup and although the Wolfgang is a good bit higher output, it's nowhere near the Dimarzio Tonezone , Seymour Duncan JB or Distortion.

[@PooNinja]

I’ve always preferred low output pickups and high gain amps. 🤘🏽keep the guitar signal clean, crisp and unclipped let the amp (pedals) do the saturation.

[@gokhanersan8561]

Beautiful video. When I heard you speak, I was trying to imagine your explanation as an Excel table that shows how the 3 variables work together (pickup gain, pickup height, amp gain). I would add a 4th variable : the guitar's volume knob. I have an EBMM Axis Supersport. The bridge pickup was creating unwanted noise when guitar's volume was past 8 or 8.5. I swapped the bridge humbucker with a Holy Diver, which is gentler, so I can play at volume 9 from the guitar. However, with the EBMM Dimarzio gone, I lost the ease of producing harmonics, and screaming bends....I want the Best of Both Worlds, Man !!

[@needsLITHIUM]

If you want to hit the first tube harder, lower the gain, and use a boost like a tube screamer, precision drive, SD-1, OS-2, OCD, fuzz with some sort of tone knob, rat, a clean boost like a pepper's dirty tree, fortin 33, etc. The actual output and EQ of your pickups isn't super important, but lower output through a dirty boost into a medium gain amp (or higher gain amp with the gain reduced) will give you a thicker saturation for high gain tones, and will also retain that tight, percussive low end and clarity you want. Turn up the gain on your overdrive you boost with just a bit more for medium and vintage output pickups like PAF clones or P90's. This will also blend your distortion tone between your pedal and your amp, giving you a more unique tone. Some guitarists don't like using a pedal, and would rather use lower output pickups with a variac/master volume amp, or hotter pickups straight into the amp - the former example's foremost proponent being EVH, and the latter being Jim Root of Slipknot.

[@KinkellaTeachesArchaeology]

I agree 100%. I have never been able to get along with a JB, even after screwing it way down. Some of my favorites: EVH Wolfgang, Duncan 59, and the Dimarzio Air Zone (the lower output version of the Tone Zone - way better!). My next experiment is going to be swapping the A5 magnet in the JB out for an A2 - I think that will solve some of it. Great video!

[@Fergieguitar]

Thank you. I had a 59 in a Yamaha back in the early 90s, that's a fantastic pickup.

[@uraymeiviar]

u should try illumitone

[@mrfuriouser]

Dude, I love your accent. Great change to my American ears. 👍

[@Fergieguitar]

West coast of Scotland, Ireland was only 20 miles away too . Cheers, thank goodness folk like it, my impressions are rubbish

[@donaldgosling]

I have the PAF pro in my 90's Profile LP copy. Very dynamic pickup , responsive.

[@Fergieguitar]

It is, I think a dedicated video on that pickup is worth doing.... I'll be hard pressed to add a lot of gear content over summer when on tour so should do it now

[@JuxtaCrucem]

Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates buckers are my tone choice for higher gain. Into an underrated vintage Rochester factory MXR Commande preamp and into a Marshall every time.

[@Fergieguitar]

Very nice indeed

[@angusorvid8840]

One of the most important aspects of any pickup is the EQ curve. That determines how it reacts to gain, setting aside output. When you combine output with the EQ curve, things can get a lot more extreme. There are few high output pickups that can retain any sort of clarity, including some that I like. I've always been a fan of the DiMarzio Super Distortion and Tone Zone. But I have a lot of experience using them and know how to get more clarity out of them. Pickups like the medium output Air Zone, Norton or PAF Pro are easier to work with because you have much more headroom right out the box. With a high gain amp, you can get all the crunch and scream in the world with more clarity and control. I still believe there is a place for high output pickups, as they do have characteristics that are desirable in some circumstances. But for most players, most of the time, medium output pups like the PAF Pro or Air Zone are the place to be. High output signals from pickups crashing into high gain tones from the amp will clash and make mud.

[@Fergieguitar]

@@angusorvid8840 that's exactly my thoughts...the PAF Pro is my Dimarzio of choice, it's just so articulate with a lot of gain, I've got a tone zone and I do like it but I do have to be careful or it can be dark, Super Distortion is not one I used much, I had that in a Les Paul copy, powerful, tons of sustain but always needed to control the gain and lows...but it was a dark guitar too.

[@jesterraj]

Jackson had a finosh just like that some time back ...sweet!

[@Fergieguitar]

Yeh they did have one similar , they called it "Alien Burst", I think it was a bit nicer, less yellow.

[@TheGazza83]

I came to the same conclusion. It all turns to mush when everything is high gain. Pickups, boost pedal, amp. To me it wore thin over time. I prefer single coils nowadays. Tele's with high gain amps

[@bluwng]

I use to believe this but I do like the high output pickups I can tame with the volume knob. Different strokes.

[@Fergieguitar]

That works especially when you have a treble bleed circuit...but I've never been a fan of those, I prefer a pickup to darken as the volume goes down ..it can also be an EQ thing, the likes of a paf pro has a lot less low end too but yup, different strokes, different amps, cabs, FX and how folk play too

[@bluwng]

@@Fergieguitar I never said I use a treble bleed in fact I think they are silly. I turn down the volume when doing a slower melodic part and want a warmer tone, a treble bleed would kill this especially on my single volume guitar it is the only way to control tone.

[@ScalerWave]

What about amp modelers though? Which pickup would be best for something like the Spark 40?

[@Fergieguitar]

Really it makes little difference what you're using, I don't have the Spark but got a Katana and Line 6 Firehawk modeller, I've had Pod and Behringer V amp plus Digitech RP 7, 500 and 1000 and the rack 2120...tha same thing applies, the more gain being used in the amp/preamp/distortion pedals or modeller...the less signal hitting that you need, if it's all high output, it's dense but muddy or boxy. I'm about to talk about the Dimarzio PAF Pro in a new video and it's great for "processed tone"

[@ScalerWave]

@@Fergieguitar Good to know, thx

[@chadwickhurlburt6529]

Preaching to the choir for me. I've been telling folks that lower output humbuckers sound superior to high output humbuckers for a long while. I'll take it a step further and even suggest that amps with over-the-top gain don't sound as good as amps with more moderate gain. This is what boost, OD, and other pedals are for.

[@Fergieguitar]

Yup. This is why with those amps, the crunch channel is king. Plenty gain and more open sounding..and long live the Boss SD-1

[@bpabustan]

For me, I wanted clarity more than gain.

[@Fergieguitar]

Exactly, there's enough preamp gain, boosts and overdrives to get all the gain ever needed. Clarity is hard to add, gain is easy

[@jesterraj]

What colour is that WG?

[@Fergieguitar]

It was called "Zilla Burst", at the time I wanted the purple but this was a B stock and a lot cheaper but I like it , I don't see many about

[@martynrandall7652]

When you say medium output what output are they? Im not a metal player, hardish rock as far as i venture. With a Alnico 2 mag and output about 8k you get the best open, harmonic sound hearing all the notes also , well said! I think your going to have a job on your hands trying to convert them all 😂😂🤘

[@Fergieguitar]

You're spot on with 8 to 10k , I just made a video on the Dimarzio PAF Pro, 8.4k, I love the Seymour Duncan 59 too. Trying to convert might be a battle too far but it's just my opinion put out there, over 30 years gigging using a whole range of gear and often falling into all those traps... I'll no doubt fall into more in the future.

[@bruzanHD]

PAF Pro is the biggest sleeper pickup. It's so clear, full and articulate. For both cleans and high gain. Recently discovered it and put one in my main guitar. Best pickup I've tried so far by a mile.

[@Fergieguitar]

It's fantastic, back when I started, it was really well known because it was in the 1st Ibanez Jem, all Paul Gilberts guitars and a few other big name signatures too but yeh, now it's a bit forgotten

[@cortarelva]

With amps and other gear having such huge amounts of gain its not necessary for a a guitar to have a pickup that sacrifices articulation and dynamics for a high output.

[@generalrodcocker1018]

Is there a short version of the answer?

[@Fergieguitar]

After take 9, that is the short one. I think it's easier to make video that's got loads of details than the more single point ones... it's always a work in progress. Learning to edit might be worth doing too. So frustrating 7 mins in to make an error and have to start again

[@School-xo1dn]

"Is there a short version of the answer?" Get your gain from the amp, not the pickups. Lower output pickups have more high end and clarity.

[@omar10213245]

i sat through this entire video waiting for him to start playing something to illustrate his point. what a ripoff.

[@Fergieguitar]

I thought I'd said early on there was no sound samples...I did a full take with sound but listening back, the phone just didn't pick up the differences... So I re did it

[@omar10213245]

@@Fergieguitar you broke my heart, ferg

[@J.Knox46]

Literally 1 minute into the video he said "there will be no sound samples".. lmao. You should listen. Haha

[@Fergieguitar]

@@J.Knox46 thanks, I thought I'd messed up, but I have had such a great response already on this video, I'm about to do one on the Dimarzio PAF Pro pickup... it's such a forgotten gem.

[@omar10213245]

@@J.Knox46 lol ya got me

[@TheGazza83]

Glenn Fricker will be raging after seeing this 😂

[@Fergieguitar]

Ah he can rage, lower output gives clarity every time..🤘