the jackson KE3

[loki: god of chaos]

will be buying one in a day or two.. anyones opinions on it?
it has the Eerie Dess Swirl Finish

[Fender]

i had one with a red flame top. LOVED it. Regret selling it. Get it. Change the pick-ups. Seymours Suck in a large bodied guitar like the kelly.

[loki: god of chaos]

aye.

the Kelly is my #1 fav. guitar body.

[VitaminG]

i had one with a red flame top. LOVED it. Regret selling it. Get it. Change the pick-ups. Seymours Suck in a large bodied guitar like the kelly.

you don't like the JB/Jazz setup? Or ALL pickups ever made by Seymour Duncan suck in a Kelly?

I have a trans black one and it's a good guitar. I like the pickups in it too, although I'm not a huge fan of the Jazz so far.

[mustaine-who?]

D

Dumb statements are dumb...

A PuP has to match the wood and the sound required by the user...

Its a good thing Marty couldn't get a good sound out of his Kelly with SD's...

i had one with a red flame top. LOVED it. Regret selling it. Get it. Change the pick-ups. Seymours Suck in a large bodied guitar like the kelly.

[kc7txm]

i had one with a red flame top. LOVED it. Regret selling it. Get it. Change the pick-ups. Seymours Suck in a large bodied guitar like the kelly.

I have Seymour Duncan SH-2 in the neck and TB-4 in the bridge on my Kelly and they sound great to be honest. Both pickups yield great bass, mids and treble and have good note definition and tone. Neither is muddy nor lacks individual note definition.

So I am not sure what objective standard you are using to say they don't work well, but I would tend to disagree with your generality (furthermore, a brand makes a large variety of pickups, Seymour Duncan makes a range of pickups, and being objective, it's not terribly different than any other manufacturer's range...there isn't any specific feature only on Seymour Duncan pickups that would make them not work on a large bodied guitar....maybe a specific model of pickups, but not an entire brand......).

[Fender]

It's an opinion people and you should be used to disagreements - it's called argument. I argue that in my humble opinion, and after a large and thorough experience with a variety of Seymour Duncans, that i do not like them. I feel they are overrated. They are built with some of these worst quality control ever, as some of the pick-ups of same model are overwound or underwound and it affects the tone greatly to the point where they become indistinguishable. That would be good if they were unique or hand wound, but when you buy a set of PAFpro's or Bare Knuckles you get a distinctive sound. Of course it varies depending of body wood, mass and size.

Again no need to flame me here, but i just feel a large heavy alder body is met better with a brighter pick-up. The body already produces a nice amount of bass. I've tried mine with an Sh-6. Same problem. Runs a little too muddy and it sounds cheap. I am actually so adamant about this i might do a test sample. These Duncan Designs, maybe by error or by design, i feel, sound a lot better and have a larger variety of tones. I guess i struck the iron hot cause i know there are a lot SD fan boys here, but i don't care for one company for another. I like DiMarzios because i like a lot of there pick-ups, but i also like some Gibson 498T or 490 couple. I have had some EMGs and i think some of the models are underrated, but then again so are the 81/85. I've a pair of those in a King V and they were the most useless pick-ups in the world, unless you plan on going thrash like Kerry King all day, they have no other use. I also like some Lace model singles i have in a 96 Fender USA deluxe. they make you sound like a rock star so easy, fun to play with . And i've some other anomalies. I usually trade out all my Ibanez Dimarzio made pick-ups (v7-v8 crap), but i have an early pair in my 88 that are just amazing. Perhaps its because of age and because they might need to be waxed again, but they sound incredible. Nice crisp, bassy enough. Good mids and a decent punch. Reminds me of Van Halen era Paf pros (which i also have a few NOS's) where back then guitarist needed to have skill as opposed to a small amount of ability and 4000$ worth of gain and modified amplifiers.

Anyways just my 2 cents. I think if you're open to some change, and want to try some different pick-ups, you'll be pleased with the tone. The kelly is fortunate to have a nice alder body and a large mass, which gives it tonal abilities beyond a normal strat. Combine that with a set of good pick-ups, and you have a killer axe. It's especially fun when you play around with different resistance tone and volume, and add some independent or multi switches. Split those humbuckers as much as you want. Why have 2 humbuckers and 3 modes when you can squeeze as many positions as you want. Get some funky tones. People would find it weird that id take my Kelly to all my shows. Even when i was playing jazz at school or in blues funk band. It looked to metal, but it sounded the part of anything i played.

[wilkinsi]

I used to own a plain black KE3. Loved the neck, though I've never come across one guitar where I haven't swapped the pickups. It's an acquired taste. Some like stock pups, others don't.

[kc7txm]

i had one with a red flame top. LOVED it. Regret selling it. Get it. Change the pick-ups. Seymours Suck in a large bodied guitar like the kelly.

When your post is ad hominem I tend to give a harsher response than when your post is articulate and explains your position....

It's an opinion people and you should be used to disagreements - it's called argument. I argue that in my humble opinion, and after a large and thorough experience with a variety of Seymour Duncans, that i do not like them. I feel they are overrated. They are built with some of these worst quality control ever, as some of the pick-ups of same model are overwound or underwound and it affects the tone greatly to the point where they become indistinguishable. That would be good if they were unique or hand wound, but when you buy a set of PAFpro's or Bare Knuckles you get a distinctive sound. Of course it varies depending of body wood, mass and size.

Again no need to flame me here, but i just feel a large heavy alder body is met better with a brighter pick-up. The body already produces a nice amount of bass. I've tried mine with an Sh-6. Same problem. Runs a little too muddy and it sounds cheap. I am actually so adamant about this i might do a test sample. These Duncan Designs, maybe by error or by design, i feel, sound a lot better and have a larger variety of tones. I guess i struck the iron hot cause i know there are a lot SD fan boys here, but i don't care for one company for another. I like DiMarzios because i like a lot of there pick-ups, but i also like some Gibson 498T or 490 couple. I have had some EMGs and i think some of the models are underrated, but then again so are the 81/85. I've a pair of those in a King V and they were the most useless pick-ups in the world, unless you plan on going thrash like Kerry King all day, they have no other use. I also like some Lace model singles i have in a 96 Fender USA deluxe. they make you sound like a rock star so easy, fun to play with . And i've some other anomalies. I usually trade out all my Ibanez Dimarzio made pick-ups (v7-v8 crap), but i have an early pair in my 88 that are just amazing. Perhaps its because of age and because they might need to be waxed again, but they sound incredible. Nice crisp, bassy enough. Good mids and a decent punch. Reminds me of Van Halen era Paf pros (which i also have a few NOS's) where back then guitarist needed to have skill as opposed to a small amount of ability and 4000$ worth of gain and modified amplifiers.

Anyways just my 2 cents. I think if you're open to some change, and want to try some different pick-ups, you'll be pleased with the tone. The kelly is fortunate to have a nice alder body and a large mass, which gives it tonal abilities beyond a normal strat. Combine that with a set of good pick-ups, and you have a killer axe. It's especially fun when you play around with different resistance tone and volume, and add some independent or multi switches. Split those humbuckers as much as you want. Why have 2 humbuckers and 3 modes when you can squeeze as many positions as you want. Get some funky tones. People would find it weird that id take my Kelly to all my shows. Even when i was playing jazz at school or in blues funk band. It looked to metal, but it sounded the part of anything i played.

....I actually probably agree with most of your position more than I disagree with it. I too think much of the SD line sounds too similar. The Gibson pickups are definitely more dynamic than most of SDs stuff and you really cannot compare asymmetrically wound pole piece pickups vs. the sound of modern symmetrically wound (same number of windings per pole piece) pickups (PAF Pro vs. SD pickups). The odd / random spurious harmonics that are produced from asymmetrical wound poles is very nice and hard to beat in my book.

Good post and thank you for the response, I liked your second one a little more than the first.

[Fender]

Thank you good sir. However, i would like to state that they are not HORRIBLE pick-ups. I've played far worst. Most notably dimarzio made pick-ups in Ibanez korean mades (Rg350/RGT42). They are drier than a ruined thanksgiving turkey. Also if i lacked detail and articulation in my first post was because i was a little giddy of my new Jackson. Drunk with enthusiasm yes? Honestly haven't felt like that for a long time. I'm surprised at how well an entry level guitar from Jackson can play smooth and sound refined.

[kc7txm]

I'm surprised at how well an entry level guitar from Jackson can play smooth and sound refined.

I second that one....I forgot to agree with you earlier on how much the Duncan Designs have surprised me too. The H-103 pickup may be modeled after a Seymour Duncan pickup (I've heard the Distortion, but I cannot confirm that as being objectively true) but I think it's a great pickup on its own with interesting higher order harmonics that you just don't hear much from other pickups (SD or other brands).

[Fender]

I thought i was going crazy, but you confirmed it. I might still try experimenting with something a little hotter in the bridge and i definately want to get a mellow crunchy single in the neck, but for now il enjoy these. Maybe they'll grow more on me.

[MartinBarre]

i had one with a red flame top. LOVED it. Regret selling it. Get it. Change the pick-ups. Seymours Suck in a large bodied guitar like the kelly.

I have one with a DK2 neck on it. It's had a JB in the bridge, then a Distortion in the bridge and back to a JB in the bridge as I prefer the looser feel of the JB.
The bridge position isn't a problem for me, it's the neck. I've had a 59 and now a Distortion in the neck and feel they don't sound too good, probably because the neck pickup is so close to the bridge pup so they both sound a little more similar than in other guitars.
I'm toying with putting a Lil 59 in the neck under a plastic cover...

[loki: god of chaos]

would 2 nine volts fit in its cavity?

[MartinBarre]

would 2 nine volts fit in its cavity?

Hmm. Probably yes, although I've never tried it. There's not a lot going on in that cavity.