How do you like them pickups?

[Stiltzkin]

No, I'm not asking for pickupadvice. I'm already set on
the sound I'm going for.

But ... it would be cool to know your pickuppreferences

You want hi-output, lo-output? DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan or any other manufacturer?

Tell me ...

[sytharnia]

humbuckers.......all high output

dimarzio super distortion and tone zone rule
duncan Jb in certain guitars rule (my mahogany RRV for one)....I have found they sound best when mounted directly into the body

bareknuckles nailbomb (again with certain body woods)

single coils.......

DUNCAN QUARTER POUNDS....end of story ...these are the only single coil I use, because they rule....just ask warren demartini

I am looking at getting some P90's just for something different

[dannyahansen]

I mostly enjoy humbuckers of various stripes. I really like Bill Lawrence and Dimarzio pickups. One of the nicest neck pick ups is the air norton. I really like EMG's 81 and 85. Not much of seymour duncan fan. I have used just about all of their pick ups (humbuckers) in the past. Full shred and alnico II pro are the best, I think, from SD.

I also enjy most of Gibson's pick ups, particularly the burst buckers. Those are really nice sounding.

When it comes to single coil pick ups I really like the vintage pick ups found in tele's They just sound so good. I think vintage is the only way to go in single coil.

Never had much use for a p-90. Oh well.

[rice_pudding]

After all this time... I still don't know

My LP is currently loaded with a SD Pearly gates Bridge and 59' Neck and I'm pretty happy with it to be honest. The Pearly Gates has gorgeous midrange characteristics, straight into the amp it puts you in AC/DC, Aerosmith, ZZ Top territory. Some people have looked at me like i was an idiot for putting a PG in a LP, and maybe they are right. Clean tones are probably better suited for country and you really have to roll off the treble, it has a very crisp, compressed, top end, which I find painful to the ears.

The 59' may seem a boring choice for the neck, but it is a classic LP spec which is why I went with it. It's brilliant for Joe Walsh type tones, clean strumming or mild overdrive, Rocky mountain way etc.

My Fret King Strat is packing the stock pickups, which are effectively 'old school' single coils in neck and mid and a 59' style humbucker in the bridge. I love the mid position for anything clean, it's just wonderful, the neck will get nice texas blues and the bridge does a very convincing early Van Halen.

I do love vintage pickups, and would never dream of anything else in a LP, but I think I may need to move onto something higher output, it's not that i need more drive. Vintage humbuckers have a big open sound and when you're cranked that can translate into 'wishy washy' overtones imo. So i think i maybe need something a bit 'tighter' for my next axe.

I'm thinking maybe a dimarzio super distortion in the strat!? Don't want to go to modern though, and rob it of that Van Haleny goodness

If any of my rambling strikes a chord with anyone, let me know what you think, the vintage vs modern debate is always an interesting one.

Rob

[rice_pudding]

I've always been curious to try the single coils Mr Malmsteen uses (cant remember exact model atm). They seem pretty damn sexy. Might stick some in my other strat one day

Rob

[Paul Wolfe]

I've always gone with the stock pickups that came with whatever axe I bought. The only time I ever bought a pickup and installed it was a Gibson Tony Iommi that I put in a Gibson Les Paul Studio. It sounded muddier than the stock PAF...

[sytharnia]

I've always been curious to try the single coils Mr Malmsteen uses (cant remember exact model atm). They seem pretty damn sexy. Might stick some in my other strat one day

Rob

I took the HS3's out of my malmsteen strat (mainly because of the low output I think)...they just sounded dull to me

[Stiltzkin]

I took the HS3's out of my malmsteen strat (mainly because of the low output I think)...they just sounded dull to me

yeah, they're not for everyone.
also, to make them work like they should, one have to use a
50w Marshall at full volume and the DOD OD at 10, just like
Mr Malmsteen himself full-on tubepower

[tedeeoo]

I will admit I am a bit biased to this guy, but the new Suhr Doug Aldrich pick-ups are just the bomb in a Les Paul, just a fabulous sounding pick-up (both the bridge and neck model)

I recently starting playing both a Schecter Solo 6 Custom and a Standard and I like the Seymour Duncans that are in those as well, especially the 59 neck, JB's are cool also but just were never quite my thing.

As far as Dimarzio's, I have experimented and played with these for years in my Vandenbergs, my favorite humbuckers are their Tone Zone, Air Zone and Norton (seriously great pick-up in a Vandy), I also like to pair a Tone Zone in the bridge with a Fred in the neck, that is a sweet combo.

I have tried a bunch of their virtual vintage stacked humbuckers and while they sound good, they are just a little sterile to my ear. To me the best strat pick-up Dimarzio has ever made, and granted I only use one in the neck position, is the SDS. Yes, I can thank Jake E. Lee for that, having said that, the SDS is just a monster sounding neck pick-up, it really has more characteristics of a P90 than a strat pick-up, really fat sounding but also has some bite to it. One thing about that pick-up, is to get the best out of it, you will probably have to adjust the pole pieces on it (at least I did).

My all-time favorite single coil pick-up is the stock neck pick-up in my 64' Gibson Melodymaker, all I can say about that one is WOW!!!


Love threads like this one!!!