Southern Rock Tone

[shupe13]

I’d like to put a set of pickups in a LP that can achieve that Marshall Tucker, Blackfoot, Blackberry Smoke tone but can be pushed into hard rock territory with a little heat added to it. I posted the same question on the Seymour Duncan forum since Duncan’s are all I have experience with as far as replacements go.
It was suggested a ‘59 set or a Pearly Gates in the neck/Slash in the bridge.
The pickups are for a non-weight relieved LP Gold Top. The guitar seems bright imo.
Other suggestions?

 

[brianbzed]

For humbucking: Any Gibson vintage PAF type or aftermarket clone.
For Ed King and Steve Gaines, start with vintage Fender single coils.
Amps? Marshall tube and later Peavey tube amps. Their gear was not exotic. The individual players made the music special! Good luck!

 

[Al Walker]

Charley Star of Blackberry Smoke uses Tyson Tone pickups. If that helps.

 

[SlyStrat]

Didn't know you need certain pickups for Southern Rock tone.
Right now I prefer my OX4 Hot Duane's.

 

[Zoobiedood]

I'd go with either a Saturday Night Special set or a Alnico II Pro & 59/Custom Hybrid set. The SNS set is brighter, while the other is buttery. Pick the EQ you want...both sets are a little hotter than vintage output, but still keep the touch-sensitivity.

 

[shupe13]

I’m not sure a person needs a specific pickup for metal but obviously there are pickups that work better for specific genres.

Didn't know you need certain pickups for Southern Rock tone.
Right now I prefer my OX4 Hot Duane's.

 

[filtersweep]

I believe this is more of a function of your amp. Any overdrive and stock pickups should get you there.

What problem are you having with your current set-up?

 

[mdubya]

I think Derrick Trucks uses 57 Classics.

Is there such a thing as a Southern Rock tone?

 

[bad565ss]

Any traditional style p.a.f. through a cranked Marshall 1987 should get you there.

 

[shupe13]

I believe this is more of a function of your amp. Any overdrive and stock pickups should get you there.

What problem are you having with your current set-up?

My current guitar (my modding platform) has a 490R/498T set and I’m just not into them. I can’t explain other than they’re just bla. I have in the past run a ‘59/JB combo (which was my favorite but I played metal), ‘57/57+ which was very bright (did sound good but not Southern good), JB/Jazz (again metal). I don’t know. I want creamy and screamy.

 

[shupe13]

Any experience with Saturday Night Specials anyone?

 

[bad565ss]

Lower your pickups, turn the gain down, roll back your tone controls a bit, and turn it up.
I have '57 classics in my Les Pauls through a RockittRetro 1987 clone and 1960AX
cabinet. Classic Allman Bros. type tones are no problem.

 

[DarrellV]

Southern rock tone...

Guitar already bright...

Sounds perfect for a Texas Barbecue!

Tex and Barbie

• DarrellV
• Mar 14, 2017

Thick, snarly and spanky... And not overly bright.

20170317 072918

• DarrellV
• Mar 17, 2017

 

[shupe13]

I’m going to check those out.

Southern rock tone...

Guitar already bright...

Sounds perfect for a Texas Barbecue!

Tex and Barbie

• DarrellV
• Mar 14, 2017

Thick, snarly and spanky... And not overly bright.

20170317 072918

• DarrellV
• Mar 17, 2017

 

[DarrellV]

I’m going to check those out.

I was surprised at the number of big names who use them when I visited their site a while back.....

I only stumbled across them by accident when the Mexicaster I bought used had one stuck in the bridge.

We the People at work

• DarrellV
• Jan 19, 2017

My #1 guitar and lesson in brand humility. This humble beast is a MIM strat that was sitting in a floor stand, in a corner, under all the beautiful b

• DarrellV
• Nov 7, 2016

I had no idea what that aged covered humbucker was and it took me a while to find the markings on it. It was a Rio-Grande.... Never heard of them myself, but what a sweet sounding pickup it was!

The set I have now, in the picture, I found in a clearance bin at my local music store. Still new, but unsold. I got them both for less than the cost of one...

20170315 185920

• DarrellV
• Mar 15, 2017

I'll tell you what, in the spirit of paying it forward like some members in here have done for me, if you PM me your address, I'll send you the Texas pickup from the set to try out, no charge!

I recently put a Shaw in the neck of my Strat that I'm just in love with, so it's sitting in a box doing nothing right now.

20180101_140219

• DarrellV
• Jan 1, 2018

That way you can try before you buy.... or in this case, you only need to buy the Barbecue for the bridge if you like it.

You can actually use this pickup in either position, neck or bridge. The Mfg suggests the neck with the set, but you should try it in both places since every guitar is different.

Let me know! Merry Christmas! LOL!!!!!!

 

[alnico59]

I think Derrick Trucks uses 57 Classics.

Is there such a thing as a Southern Rock tone?

Idk? When I think of Southern Rock guitar tones I think of solos that are long and screaming hot, and rhythm parts that are turned down. So I would say pickups that have dynamics and turn down well. SD Custom or Pearly Gates in the bridge and '59 or PG in the neck comes to my mind.

 

[mdubya]

Idk? When I think of Southern Rock guitar tones I think of solos that are long and screaming hot, and rhythm parts that are turned down. So I would say pickups that have dynamics and turn down well. SD Custom or Pearly Gates in the bridge and '59 or PG in the neck comes to my mind.

I am just saying, in Lynyrd Skynyrd alone, they were playing Strats, LP's, Firebirds, Explorers, and who knows what else to get that Southern Rock tone.

In the Almans they used SG's and LP's through both nmv Marshalls and cranked Fender amps.

I do agree, OP's 498T is probably too hot (but very, very similar to the JB he cites). As suggested above, lower that pickup, roll the volume down to tame the output and that pickup will sound pretty close. After that, a cranked plexi or Super Reverb should do the majority of the work.

300k pots with 57 Classics will fatten them up. Setting the tone on "6" with 500k pots comes close, but not quite the same as 300k pots.

Otherwise, just about any classic PAF or T-Top or Patent No. style humbucker should work well enough, including the 490R and 490T.

FWIW- I remember a guy posting a video doing a Clapton/Bluesbreaker song through a JTM45 clone. He got high praise for his great "Beano" tone. Everyone wanted to know which pickups he was using. When it came out that they were 57 Classics, the back pedaling began.

 

[alnico59]

I am just saying, in Lynyrd Skynyrd alone, they were playing Strats, LP's, Firebirds, Explorers, and who knows what else to get that Southern Rock tone.

In the Almans they used SG's and LP's through both nmv Marshalls and cranked Fender amps.

I do agree, OP's 498T is probably too hot (but very, very similar to the JB he cites). As suggested above, lower that pickup, roll the volume down to tame the output and that pickup will sound pretty close. After that, a cranked plexi or Super Reverb should do the majority of the work.

300k pots with 57 Classics will fatten them up. Setting the tone on "6" with 500k pots comes close, but not quite the same as 300k pots.

Otherwise, just about any classic PAF or T-Top or Patent No. style humbucker should work well enough, including the 490R and 490T.

FWIW- I remember a guy posting a video doing a Clapton/Bluesbreaker song through a JTM45 clone. He got high praise for his great "Beano" tone. Everyone wanted to know which pickups he was using. When it came out that they were 57 Classics, the back pedaling began.

Always liked how the Strat and Gibson's complimented each other in Skynyrd.

 

[Kris Ford]

LOTS of Super Distortions/PAF combos in the later 70's early 80's Southern rock stuff.

 

[freebyrd 69]

I’d like to put a set of pickups in a LP that can achieve that Marshall Tucker, Blackfoot, Blackberry Smoke tone but can be pushed into hard rock territory with a little heat added to it. I posted the same question on the Seymour Duncan forum since Duncan’s are all I have experience with as far as replacements go.
It was suggested a ‘59 set or a Pearly Gates in the neck/Slash in the bridge.
The pickups are for a non-weight relieved LP Gold Top. The guitar seems bright imo.
Other suggestions?

Call MJ at the Seymour Custom Shop. Tell her what you are looking for. I kind of modeled my tone after the Southern thing. I'll give you two videos. One is my R9 that has a custom wound MJ set of Pearly Gates pups. I told her I wanted the exact pickup that was in the Pearly Gates run that Gibson did, but a little warmer neck pickup. Fast forward the first video to 1:06. At 1:36 or so, I catch the neck pickup, and back to the bridge at about 2 min mark.
The second is my R7 which has the first run Bonamassa/Duncan pickups in it. These tame down SLIGHTLY nicer than the SD's, but have a sweet tone of their own. I'll apologize for the playing in advance. LOL.