What guitar/pickups do you like/use with the 11r?

Hi guys, I was just curious, how many of you play strats?

I guess I should ask this instead:

1. what type of guitar do you guys use with the eleven rack?
2. what type of pickups (active/passive, single coil/humbucker, etc.)?
3. do you have, or have you done, upgrades to your guitar's electronics (pickups, mods, re-wiring)?

Just an informal survey, I have an idea that multi effects users may be more inclined to do aftermarket upgrades on their guitars than the average player, but I could be wrong..

-Stephen

I have a custom build Strat with EMG 60b/Sm/Sn (active pickups, passive electronic) that I like a lot with Eleven Rack, more versatile than one would expect. Very good in a band mix.

My other Strat is a 2006 Fender MIM with SD STK-S7 neck and TB12 bridge (Screamin Demon), middle pickup not connected. Can play everything from blues to heavy rock.

However I cannot find a tone I like using standard vintage output pickups on my LTD ST-213 Strat copy. But programed really good ones on my Boss Katana.

I would say that when tone searching for a song I am working on , a majority of the time I end up playing an LTD EC1000 Deluxe. It has a Seymour Duncan JB/59 set up in it that just sound awesome with the 11R. I am currently working on a Deep Purple cover that requires the only tone I don’t have in my arsenal, a STRAT! So I recently aquired a 1996 Aria Pro II Strat copy. I purchased a loaded pick guard from Lace that has the Lace Hot Gold pick ups in it. I just started sifting through patches on my 11R but haven’t dialed in a Blackmore tone yet. Anyone out there have a patch that might be close?

JB(TB) is in most of my guitars.

@DonaldR:
I have a strat that has an EMG 60X in the neck and an 81 in the bridge, that guitar is great for heavy stuff, jazzy stuff, bluesy stuff, way more versatile with the 11R than my previous experience with EMG's would predict. I also like the 81TW and 89R set that is in my Schecter Hellraiser, but not as much as the aforementioned strat. I haven't found a single-coil set I like yet, but I haven't tried antiquities or the EMG active single-coils yet either.. So you would recommend the EMG SA's?

I have another strat that has the Gibson Burstbucker Pro set in it, I have found that set to be expressive with the 11R as well. I have tried plenty of combinations of pickups and those mentioned are the ones I have settled on for now.

I asked because, to me, the 11R seems to work better with some pickups that don't sound too good on a live amp, and some pickups that sound good on said amp are lacking somewhat on the 11R. Having a strat makes pickup changes less painful (I never swap pickups in the Hellraiser, too cramped). I was just wondering what other people thought as well..


@T.C.Kramer; @lespauled:
I had a Hagstrom Super Swede (Les Paul variant) with the JB/Jazz in it before I had the 11R, I really didn't like the JB through an amp (B52 at100 to 412), I thought it was super-nasal and sharp, but that's probably why it cuts through so well.. That was disappointing for me seeing as how one of the artists I think that has the best tone is Adam Jones, and he almost exclusively played the JB set. I should try them out again as they would probably be totally different with the 11R..

I would give the JB a try through the Eleven Rack for sure. I did a Guns and Roses cover a few months ago and just figured the Les Paul with Burst Bucker Pros would give me that Slash tone. After a couple hours of tweaking, I decided to try the EC1000 with the JB and it was like night and day. I also have a Brian Moore with a JB in the bridge but it doesn’t quite give me that Les Paul tone.

@downrazor11: I never tried an EMG SA. EMG S are ceramic, high output and a bit dark. EMG 60 is not so high output. Working well for me. The trick is to have the guitar volume way lower than you would with passive pickups.

If you want a good patch, maybe ask @singtall.

1. I have a Strat and a Les Paul, and my multitude of other guitars are now wall decorations. I figure if there's a sound those 2 can't make, I don't need to be making it.

2. The stock pickups, so single coil on the Strat, dual on the LP.

3. I have made no alterations.

Until recently,I played mostly acoustic guitar for the last 3 years. I fired up the 11R for the first time in ages, and was very pleased. It seems most guys into amp modelers are really into metal, but I will say - the clean presets on the 11R are great.

I've been using 'Weeping' for a funk-style tune I'm wanting to record. I believe the preset was modeled after Wind Cries Mary, which isn't funky, but it doesn't matter. The Strat sounds fantastic through it.

Same with Alt Country. I don't even like country music, but love that preset.

I think I have just about every Dimarzio humbucker that they make. That is what I love about the 11R. It has real feel distortion and drive where the pickups sound different one from another. Guitars sound different. Woods sound different. Taking the gain down on the guitar changes the tone.
It acts real. I spent too much time with previous digital systems that made everything sound compressed and exactly the same.
Thank you 11R

I use nazgul/sentinent, evolutions and stock Ibanez pups.

Thanks for the responses guys! As the OP I guess I should list what I have..

I have: 4 Fender MIM strats, 2 have warmoth necks;
a Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR with the 81TW/89R set;
and a Fender Jazz V bass.

The strats all use different pickups at different times depending on what I want, pickups I have are: BKP Abraxas set, Gibson Burstbucker Pros set, DiMarzio D-Activator set, Seymour Duncan P-Rails set, Seymour Duncan Blackouts AHB-1 set, EMG 81/60x/89/SA, BKP Painkiller bridge, Carvin Holdsworth neck, DiMarzio Bluesbucker/PAF Joe/HumFromHell/Transition, and Fender MIM stock SC set and 57/62 SC set..

I currently have the SD AHB-1s, the EMG 81/60x, the 57/62 SC set, and the Burstbucker pros in the Strats now, but that changes about every month (I made a quick-change system that makes it easy to swap them out)..

I find I generally like the tones I get from the active pickups with the 11R more than passives, and of course this is an 11R with ownhammer cabs (via EPSi in the effects loop) into an akai 8" bi-amped studio monitor..