Best Pickups?

[Carolxu]

I have a PRS SE Custom 22 fret guitar and I've been thinking of changing the bridge pickup. I'm looking for a good distorted tone. Like a thick yet chuggy tone. I would also like this pickup to have a great clean tone for jazz and dreamy cleans. Sorry if this is vague. I've never changed pickups before and I'm not 100% sure about what I'm talking about. The stock pickups that are in my guitar sound flat and odd to my tastes, so I just want a pickup that's thicker but has a good overall sound. Again, apologies if this is vague. I'll try to any questions you guys have.

useful links for leisure time:

🍰 Culos Porn, Mujeres Culonas, Culos Grandes Xxx - CulonasXxx.cc

🍰 Descubre la última fuente de traseros impecables en nuestra popular página - con las películas mejor valoradas de la mejor web de tubes porno de culos grandes. - CulonasXxx.cc

culonasxxx.cc

😋 Culos Grandes, Xxx Culonas - PornoCulonas.cc

😋 Explora la mejor web porno de culos grandes y sumérgete en el mundo de las curvas seductoras, impresionantes nenas con botas y acción tórrida. - PornoCulonas.cc

pornoculonas.cc

🍩 Big Asses, Big Asses, Perfect Ass Xxx, Big Ass Porn Videos - Culonas.Tv

🍩 ¿Buscas una gran selección de las mejores películas porno de culos grandes? No busque más allá de nuestro sitio, el destino final para todos sus deseos de gran botín. - Culonas.Tv

culonas.tv

 

[vchizzle]

It’s not really vague but you’re asking for 2 things that don’t usually come in the same pickup.

 

[vchizzle]

Maybe if you could give an example of each tone you’d like, that would help us give suggestions.

 

[Bogner]

What is your desired outcome? What type of music are you playing? What does your guitar do well on its own sonically acoustically and what does it not do well sonically acoustically? Is it naturally bright or dark? Etc. What is your set up (amps, pedals)? Are there certain tones/bands etc that you are trying to get a similar sound? ANYTHING like that will help me to help you.

 

[jxe]

i want that glassy direct into the board clean, plus i want a pickup that sounds like a fuzz face.

 

[Mark Ray]

I'm not the right person to ask, because I'm going to tell you that the correct answer is ALWAYS Dragon 1's.

 

[Mozzi]

I have a PRS SE Custom 22 fret guitar and I've been thinking of changing the bridge pickup. I'm looking for a good distorted tone. Like a thick yet chuggy tone. I would also like this pickup to have a great clean tone for jazz and dreamy cleans. Sorry if this is vague. I've never changed pickups before and I'm not 100% sure about what I'm talking about. The stock pickups that are in my guitar sound flat and odd to my tastes, so I just want a pickup that's thicker but has a good overall sound. Again, apologies if this is vague. I'll try to any questions you guys have.

Generally, you get that thick, Chuggy tone from a High output pick-up that's really pushing the amp hard into distortion and often a Low Output Pick-up for Jazz and cleans - at least if you are not using Pedals to boost, distort and whatever else you want to do to affect the sound.

Maybe a Boost pedal(for example) would work for you before considering swapping pick-ups. There is also an 'EQ' or changing settings on the amp to adjust the balance to taste and stop it sounding 'flat' to you. An Electric guitars 'sound' is very much dependant on the Rig you are playing through - especially when you are talking about Distorted tones as that is down to the set-up more than the Pick-ups. Even a Low output pup can be boosted and distorted, used with heavy gain amps and EQ'd to give a thick, chuggy tone.......

 

[JuliaGilleland]

Ok, but how can a low-output Pup be amplified and distorted? Or how to adjust the amplifiers accordingly? I have this passion, but I am keen on basketball besides music. My bad luck is that they cost and I can buy neither guitar nor basketball courses to learn and get skills. So, even the best pickup or ball can't help me excel in sports or music.

 

[MariaMalone]

So, what's your budget for a pickup? It depends on it since a nice price means under 200 USD for me. So, I can suggest a set of Fender Original '57/'62 Strat, but Idk what an ok price means for you. However, if the budget is unlimited and doesn't matter to you, then I can recommend nothing because I have no idea of rich proposals)

 

[Rod/]

There is no best pickup IMHO….Just Different flavors…….
Check out the PRS \m/ pickup… pretty high output…yet versatile
or more vintage tones and output, the 57/08’s..or a bit more aggressive, the 59/09’s

 

[Rod/]

So, what's your budget for a pickup? It depends on it since a nice price means under 200 USD for me. So, I can suggest a set of Fender Original '57/'62 Strat, but Idk what an ok price means for you. However, if the budget is unlimited and doesn't matter to you, then I can recommend nothing because I have no idea of rich proposals)

It’s a 2 humbucker guitar….

 

[Rod/]

I'm not the right person to ask, because I'm going to tell you that the correct answer is ALWAYS Dragon 1's.

Me too, but ya can’t find them anymore…..

 

[Tone Deaf]

Not being familiar with your SE Custom 22, I can not comment on it's inherent tone.
What does it sound like to you in the stock configuration? Please try to describe it.
"Flat & Odd" is a nebulous descriptor.

How is the setup on your guitar?
Done, and intonated recently?
How old are the strings - new and fresh, or old and lifeless?

You don't mention what amp(s) you play thru, but that is always a major contributing factor to your tone.

Want distortion?
You can always try some Overdrive or Distortion pedals.
Want clean?
Dial back the volume control a bit?

 

[Tone Deaf]

Ok, but how can a low-output Pup be amplified and distorted? Or how to adjust the amplifiers accordingly?

Hey Julia.

Low output pickups GENERALLY have a D.C. resistance under 7,000 Ohms.
That's for single coil pickups, Humbuckers generally have more.
This resistance reading is Because of the length of wire and number of turns ( wraps ) of wire around the magnets and/or pole pieces used. The result is a guitar signal - a Sin wave of lower amplitude ( or less power ). Lower power signals can pass into and thru some amplifier sections unchanged. Your guitar Volume control affects this signal strength.

Now, think of the input jack to your amp. After the signal passes the jack, it encounters the initial amp section input. Think of the amp input as a doorway. If a 8 foot tall human tries to run and pass thru a 7 foot high door, they would hit their head possibly cutting off their head. Same thing with an electronic signal. That results in distortion ( squaring off the top of the pure Sin wave signal )

Pedals ( many ) have amplifier sections ( signal gain ) built in, to increase the amplitude
( power ) of the guitar signal. So when these more powerful signals encounter the input "doorway" of an amp section, the Sin wave signal is clipped at both top and bottom resulting in distortion.

Volume and Gain controls on an amp also control the signal. Upping the gain can get more distortion in the signal

 

[Rod/]

The SE pickups in general are ok, but an upgrade to some USA PRS pickups will make a difference

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

I think there are a whole bunch of "solutions" to get where you want to go. I have "upgraded" pickups in one of my SE CU24's to go to a pickup that has pretty much the tonal balance of the stock 85/15S, but eliminates their tendency to sound "thin" or muddy".( Vaughn Skow PRS Replacements)

But after doing this, I have come to the conclusion that to really improve the tone of any CU24/22 SE ... You gotta UPGRADE (I used caps here, because this is not a lateral move) To Johns Mann's 2040 alll brass tremolo bridge. This change will improve the tone of any set of pickups you up put in the beast.

Then to get good distortion & creamy jazzy tones out of the guitar (not a single pickup) , a tried and true solution appears to be the Seymour Duncan JB/ Jazz combo. Sweetwater recently did a comparo of about 15 different bridge pickups ... and the old stalwart SD JB did quite well. The takeaway was , maybe this pickup has been around awhile, because it works...

BUT ... BRIDGE FIRST ! If you do pickups first, you will find there will be plenty improvement in whatever you added ... once you do the bridge ...

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

Ok, but how can a low-output Pup be amplified and distorted? Or how to adjust the amplifiers accordingly?

As stated by Mozzi above :
"Even a Low output pup can be boosted and distorted, used with heavy gain amps and EQ'd to give a thick, chuggy tone."

I maybe waay wrong here ... But I think back in the day, when Jimi and others were playing wildly distorted psychedelic riffs... their Fender Strats were equipped with general low output single coils designed for chicken pickin !

It was rows and rows of 100 watt Marshall Amps (with 4x12 cabs) with high output gain stages that produced the classic distortion tones we came to know & love. Nuclear pickups came later ...

 

[Mozzi]

As stated by Mozzi above :
"Even a Low output pup can be boosted and distorted, used with heavy gain amps and EQ'd to give a thick, chuggy tone."

I maybe waay wrong here ... But I think back in the day, when Jimi and others were playing wildly distorted psychedelic riffs... their Fender Strats were equipped with general low output single coils designed for chicken pickin !

It was rows and rows of 100 watt Marshall Amps (with 4x12 cabs) with high output gain stages that produced the classic distortion tones we came to know & love. Nuclear pickups came later ...

And as Paul himself also said, back in the 80's, they were making hotter pick-ups to drive the Amps harder and harder, but nowadays, Amps, Pedals, Plug-ins etc have so much gain. Its also much harder to make a low output Pick-up sound great, because a high output pick-up will often distort anyway - hence a LOT of very cheap pick-ups are high output to 'hide' their weaknesses - also use 'ceramic' magnets too so ceramic magnets got a 'bad' reputation when in reality, it's just a 'cheap' pickup that pushes an amp to break-up/distort which also hides how poor it is. .

Personally I much prefer a 'lower' output Pup as I can always 'boost' the output to push any Amp harder, use Amps with higher gain or use Pedals to add Distortion.

Back in the 80's, the JCM800 was a VERY popular Amp for Rock/Metal but compared to JVM410 for example, the JVM has a LOT more Gain stages and there are a LOT of 'high gain' amps. That's why aftermarket Pups were getting hotter and hotter as well as increasingly popular too to push the Amps of the day harder and harder. Now, you can just switch to a channel with more Gain.

So you are not wrong, the artists made do with what they had - and they didn't have 'high' output Pick-ups or high gain amps in the 60's and 70's they started to get more after-market Pups - like Dimarzio Super Distortion - designed to push the Amps of the day 'harder' than stock Pups were....

 

[Rod/]

I think there are a whole bunch of "solutions" to get where you want to go. I have "upgraded" pickups in one of my SE CU24's to go to a pickup that has pretty much the tonal balance of the stock 85/15S, but eliminates their tendency to sound "thin" or muddy".( Vaughn Skow PRS Replacements)

But after doing this, I have come to the conclusion that to really improve the tone of any CU24/22 SE ... You gotta UPGRADE (I used caps here, because this is not a lateral move) To Johns Mann's 2040 alll brass tremolo bridge. This change will improve the tone of any set of pickups you up put in the beast.

Then to get good distortion & creamy jazzy tones out of the guitar (not a single pickup) , a tried and true solution appears to be the Seymour Duncan JB/ Jazz combo. Sweetwater recently did a comparo of about 15 different bridge pickups ... and the old stalwart SD JB did quite well. The takeaway was , maybe this pickup has been around awhile, because it works...

BUT ... BRIDGE FIRST ! If you do pickups first, you will find there will be plenty improvement in whatever you added ... once you do the bridge ...

I put an all brass Mann bridge on my Santana SE and it made quite a difference in sustain and tone….Also changed the pickups to 59/09’s … That helped as well…
I Just couldn’t justify spending the $$ on a core Santana with all the home improvements I’d been dealing with at the time…..

 

[Tone Deaf]

So you are not wrong, the artists made do with what they had - and they didn't have 'high' output Pick-ups or high gain amps in the 60's and 70's they started to get more after-market Pups - like Dimarzio Super Distortion - designed to push the Amps of the day 'harder' than stock Pups were....

True-True

I replaced the mini-humbuckers in my 1974 Les Paul Deluxe with full size DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups a few years later.