Bridge Pickup Suggestions

[MWebster]

Hello all. So my newer Paul's guitar SE in faded blue has suffered a mortal wound and the bridge pickup died. Nothing really happened it just stopped producing volume. It might not be a bad opportunity to just put something else in there as opposed to doing a warranty claim because the rest of the guitar is really really good.

I found the bridge kind of thin and pokey sounding anyway. On a side note, these new TCI "s" pickups sound lower output compared to the original iteration that came out in 2018 ish.

If anyone has any suggestions for a nice bridge humbucker that has body, smoother highs yet good attack and y'know nice powerfully defined lows.. let me know? I was thinking the \M/ bridge
or a Suhr pickup... 59/09.. No brand off limits though.

Thank you for your insights.

 

[Going Modal]

The Seymour Duncan "Duncan Custom" is good & powerful, meaty lows, and rock-n-roll powerful but not too powerful. It's a really cool, versatile bridge pickup if you typically want overdrive out of the bridge position, but it can do cleans too though. On the plus side, too--standard ol' Seymour Duncan pickups are not quite as expensive as a lot of the competition.

 

[SinSir]

Can't go wrong with the Metal or 5909.

 

[MWebster]

The Seymour Duncan "Duncan Custom" is good & powerful, meaty lows, and rock-n-roll powerful but not too powerful. It's a really cool, versatile bridge pickup if you typically want overdrive out of the bridge position, but it can do cleans too though. On the plus side, too--standard ol' Seymour Duncan pickups are not quite as expensive as a lot of the competition.

Is that the SH-5? I've heard good things and that description is essentially what I'm after. Any experience with the alnico 2 version?

 

[Lewguitar]

Is that the SH-5? I've heard good things and that description is essentially what I'm after. Any experience with the alnico 2 version?

No. I liked the regular ceramic magnet version but not enough to use it again.

It's a rock pickup. That's how i see it. Not a jazz or blues or warm pickup

 

[Going Modal]

Is that the SH-5? I've heard good things and that description is essentially what I'm after. Any experience with the alnico 2 version?

Yes, the Duncan Custom is the SH-5. I do not have any experience with the A2 version, but I did switch the ceramic SH-5 out for the A5 version (the SH-14 Custom 5) because my neck pickup in that guitar is also an A5 "59 Model" SH-1. But I'll tell you what... think I kinda liked the SH-5 a little better and I'll probably be putting it back in there.

The A2 version (the SH-11 Custom Custom) could be cool, but for some reason I think I'd only do that if the neck pickup were also A2 (like a Pearly Gates or an Alnico II Pro). Can't explain why, necessarily.. but that's just me.

 

[ViperDoc]

Unless by mortal wound you mean the pickup was physically damaged, no sound is likely a bad connection or faulty ground connection. Pop the hood and see what the wiring looks like.

 

[gush]

5909 is a pretty safe bet if you're doing stuff mid to heavy overdrive.

If you're doing detuned stuff, D tuning or lower then M pickup is a better choice

 

[GuitarJammin]

"IF" you just want to replace it. Can't go wrong with PRS pickups. However a set of Suhr Thornbuckers are pretty good too.


All that said, might have just been a solder joint that came loose. However I've experienced dead pickups twice, once in a epi and once in a Gibby. Both were GC purchases. So I do believe it can happen however it's rare.

 

[MWebster]

Yes, the Duncan Custom is the SH-5. I do not have any experience with the A2 version, but I did switch the ceramic SH-5 out for the A5 version (the SH-14 Custom 5) because my neck pickup in that guitar is also an A5 "59 Model" SH-1. But I'll tell you what... think I kinda liked the SH-5 a little better and I'll probably be putting it back in there.

The A2 version (the SH-11 Custom Custom) could be cool, but for some reason I think I'd only do that if the neck pickup were also A2 (like a Pearly Gates or an Alnico II Pro). Can't explain why, necessarily.. but that's just me.

This guitar is a little on the bright side funnily enough. You think the Duncan custom would still be a good choice if the guitar is a bit brighter? That's the only reason I was thinking of the A2 version.

 

[MWebster]

These sentiments are true. It's probably something minor. But maybe it's a sign to move on to new sonic lands... In that pickup position anyway..

 

[ViperDoc]

These sentiments are true. It's probably something minor. But maybe it's a sign to move on to new sonic lands... In that pickup position anyway..

I've got no dog in this fight, but if you have a bad/faulty connection, it's possible that's all you've heard out of the pickup. Take a soldering iron and reflow the connections. If that's your problem, it could be an easy fix. You can always swap it.

 

[Lewguitar]

Yes, the Duncan Custom is the SH-5. I do not have any experience with the A2 version, but I did switch the ceramic SH-5 out for the A5 version (the SH-14 Custom 5) because my neck pickup in that guitar is also an A5 "59 Model" SH-1. But I'll tell you what... think I kinda liked the SH-5 a little better and I'll probably be putting it back in there.

The A2 version (the SH-11 Custom Custom) could be cool, but for some reason I think I'd only do that if the neck pickup were also A2 (like a Pearly Gates or an Alnico II Pro). Can't explain why, necessarily.. but that's just me.

Yep. The Duncan Custom (ceramic magnet), Custom Custom (A2 magnet), and Custom 5 (A5 magnet) are all the exact same pickup with different magnets.

Each sounds very different from the others.

For me, the A5 Custom 5 is too bright and sharp.

The A2 Custom Custom used to be thought of as getting an EVH sort of sound. It's a nice warm pickup but not bright enough for me.

The Ceramic Duncan Custom is one I used in a Strat for about three months. It's very good but lacks the organic quality of an alnico pickup and eventually i got tired of the sound.

I would look at a Marshallhead bridge pickup. I prefer the Alnico 2 version but Wolfe likes the grainier, brighter, sharper Alnico 5 version.

If you're into magnet swapping, the Duncan JB from the custom shop uses a ROUGHCAST A5 magnet not polished. Gives the JB a smoother, rounder, warmer sound that I like. You can get that magnet from AddictionFX on eBay. Love the RCA5 version but the stock version is like an icepick in the ear for me.

Or a PRS 57/08 bridge pickup if you like a pickup with a cover. It's Alnico 2 and I don't think there's a better pickup for 50's paf tone...which is my favorite humbucker tone. Think Allman Brothers...