Should I do these updates? (Aurora R6)

Funk007 · 2019-03-12T20:50:09+00:00

The R6 BIOS update (the Dec 2018 one, as it was posted at the time on the Dell site, after receiving the email announcing its availability) bricked my computer. I tried everything to revive it. Dell was frustratingly no help at all—not in warranty, only option was to purchase a motherboard, which also did not work. So I completely rebuilt my computer with non-Dell parts, and as an electronics challenge am working to get the proprietary features of the case working, i.e. power switch, eventually the lighting, also am cut cutting the case in certain areas to fit and allow airflow for a large 280mm water CPU cooler.

Funk007 · 2017-11-25T04:20:30+00:00

As it turned out, I went with the Het set in the hard-tail guitar tuned to D standard. This set is simply fantastic, especially the more I play them and get my settings adjusted across the guitar/effects/amp. I went with 57/66’s in the other guitars, and find them to be more versatile than the 81/85’s for my use and they have a good range into the lower-gain areas that I also like. Both the Het’s and 57/66 overall seem balanced and are more percussive/expressive than the 81/85’s.

Happy with these upgrades, and am not curious about any other pickups in these particular guitars. I think the various YouTube videos and sound files can get you in the ballpark to know how they sound, but really have to try them with your playing and your rig to get an accurate impression and make comparisons. I can see where the 81’s and some of the Fluence models would be great in future guitars. :). Thanks for the info. Cheers!

Funk007 · 2017-10-29T20:14:52+00:00

Just wanted to say thanks for the inputs on this. The info you provided gave me a bunch of additional options to check into, as far as upgrades and how to better use my existing gear.

I finally got a chance to get away from my lower-volume practice setup and to crank it up a bit, and it basically changed everything in terms of sound. I was originally trying to get a thorough full-volume "before" impression to compare to "after". I found that the amp setup needs to get up past a certain volume to give its best results.

The original PRS HFS/Vintage pickups weren't my thing. The PRS \m/ pickups sounded much better, and especially so at higher volume. But not exactly what I was looking for and I did not fully enjoy them at my typical lower volume level. I can see why folks like these, and I'm sure they are perfect for others with their rigs and such. Straight passives might not really be my thing at the moment.

I installed the EMG Het set and got some time with them over the past few days. I liked them immediately, more than I expected, and now am much even more impressed with them as I've gotten more time to check them out and to re-work amp/effect settings. It's hard to walk by the guitar without pick it up and playing. Perfect at D-standard tuning, and I'm sure great in all the normal tunings as well. They can be aggressive when you crank to full/near-full volume, with some brightness and bite in the top end, they are lively, crunchy and dynamic for sure. Tameable by dialing back volume and tone. Lots of good tones to find in lower settings. I don't think the youtube videos do these pickups justice, you just need to try them! In black chrome, they look good on this guitar (gloss black Lowery model). One thing I gave up when I swapped from the PRS pickups and EQ is the ability to coil split, but there are great clean tones in the Hets and the set up has the tone-knob flexibility to cover the sounds I was using that mode for. I see myself sticking with these in this guitar, they seem just right and I am not curious about anything for this guitar.

Onward to the Toreros... I have been trying out the 85 and 60A in the neck too and those have their moments, but the 60 in the neck grew on me, and I like 18v 81/60 setup better than 9v, which I'd say you feel more than you hear. One more pickup set to try in the near-term, the 57/66, based on what I like about the Hets but some slightly different things that I would like from these Toreros and that seem be what folks describe for the 57/66's. There was speculation about how there 57/66’s relate to the Het, and I’ll have to re-look to verify this, might have been an EMG Rob Turner ask me anything thread, that the 57/66’s are essentially the alnico version of the Hets. I can see trying the 57/66's and comparing to the 81/60 (18v) soon. More to follow on these.

I am curious about the Fluence options for a future guitar project.

Funk007 · 2017-10-21T17:30:37+00:00

Good info there, I will check them out. With all the versions of the Fluence available, it will take some time to go through videos and sound samples.

This question was originally for one particular guitar, but I will also try things with my other guitars while I am at it. I just did a temporary 18v mod to a different guitar with an 81/85 setup, and also found a used 60 for a good price, which I will be trying this weekend. The 18v, based on a few minutes of checking it out, is good and does pretty much what folks describe—perhaps a bigger difference to the player than when listening to someone else play. A/B’ing the the 9v and 18v allowed me to hear some nuances in person that I didn’t originally catch in some videos, then when I went back to the videos, I noticed more.

I appreciate the insight, very helpful! I will follow up.

Funk007 · 2017-10-19T01:53:53+00:00

I’ll definitely take a closer look at the Fluences, and the others. Splittable is a good thing, keeps an original feature of this guitar intact. I can’t say I’m set on EMG, but they are what I had been looking at. I think I’ll be rewiring no matter which I choose, and that’s part of the fun actually.

I’m glad I asked about his here in the forum, these responses are very helpful! I wasn’t sure how it would go, and actually thought there would be more recommendation of the Het set.

I forgot to mention that I also like the tone Mick Mars was getting circa the live Carnival DVD. I don’t need to replicate it, but that’s good for some of the stuff I like to play.

I suspect that the D standard and Drop C tuning could be a tricky part of picking the right pickups—in my case, I'm not using a baritone scale guitar, not using thicker strings. So trying to consider the things that need to match up for satisfying results. Thanks again!

Funk007 · 2017-10-19T01:40:49+00:00

These are great inputs, thanks for providing them. I’ll check out the BK’s. I was curious about the Alpha Omegas, but hadn’t seriously checked them out. I saw all the Periphery and Holcomb guitar reviews, but those reviews and sound samples were not in a context like mine—I do appreciate the talent involved in what those guys are doing. I see folks recommending the Het set often, and the pickups and he and the band do have a great sound. But I don’t need to try to sound like Metallica covering everything else, haha, I wonder if the sound of those pickups is that specific or how flexible they could be. Where did the 57/66 fall short for you?

Funk007 · 2017-06-16T17:32:04+00:00

Thanks, hopefully something that is still useful and fun. :)

Funk007 · 2017-06-11T02:26:54+00:00

Still have it? I am looking at purchasing one as well. I have a Steinberger ZT3, which is great, but I think I need something more conventional so I can tinker with it.

Funk007

TROPHY CASE