Pickups - How do you like them?

How do you like your pickups?

  • Total voters
    22
Bogner

Bogner

Redwood Original - Pure Blood
Joined
Jun 20, 2016
Messages
6,990
How do you like your pickups? What are your favorites? What guitar type and musical application? List up the ones you like and why. Maybe the info in this thread will help people searching for answers and save them some frustrations and maybe even some cash.
 
I like stock pickups in all of my guitars. If I flat out don't like the sound of stock pickups, throwing a hundred other pairs at it won't help ime.

I prefer covered pickups aesthetically.

I also like them to be fairly hot...I think. I like Epi Burstbucker Pros in my Epi LPs. I also like the HFS/VB combo in my PRSi. I also like the HFS in my parts caster.

I prefer potted. If they aren't I'll pot them myself.

I've got no idea about magnets because I prefer stock pickups to sound good so I haven't done a lot of pickup research.
 
Most of my guitars have their original stock pickups in them.
I bought those guitars because they sounded good.
Why on earth would I change the pickups???

That being said, I have an old SG with 2 original DiMarzio PAFs from the 70's in it.
I also have another old SG with an original 70's DiMarzio PAF in the bridge position
and a DiMarzio Humbucker from Hell in the neck position.
(My most gigged guitar by a wide margin)

Everything else is stock.
 
If you have read very many of my posts, it is probably already known that I love the 57/08 pickups. They are by far my favorite PRS pickup. I have been lucky in that a number of the guitars I have purchased had them put in at the factory. Some of them typically came with something other than 57/08 but for some reason the ones I found had them. I am thinking mostly of my HB SCII and my HBII. I even have a P22 trem that was loaded with uncovered 57/08s at the factory. They just work for me.

Some others that I like.
SD Pearly Gates
Suhr SSV+
SD 59
SD Seth Lovers
 
None of the poll selections are particularly meaningful to me. I like the guitar to be articulate and I like the pickups to have some range of tone.

I must especially like these ones, because I have them in multiple guitars:
GT90 - great take on a P90. I have a 3 pack in a sort-of-strat that makes for an interesting guitar

59/09 - they just work really well for me
 
Tony M. said:
Most of my guitars have their original stock pickups in them.
I bought those guitars because they sounded good.
Why on earth would I change the pickups???

That being said, I have an old SG with 2 original DiMarzio PAFs from the 70's in it.
I also have another old SG with an original 70's DiMarzio PAF in the bridge position
and a DiMarzio Humbucker from Hell in the neck position.
(My most gigged guitar by a wide margin)

Everything else is stock.
Click to expand...
Well...you could change the pickups out for a lot of reasons. There is more to a guitars sound than only the pickups. I have duplicates of some guitars so the woods and specs, etc are all identical aside from color and they all sound good but they all sound different as well. I don't mind the differences all the time but it I am taking those guitars out with me I would have to be changing settings with guitars. Ideally, if stock pickups can handle the job I am all for it. Saves time, wok and money. :)

Sounds like you have some cool guitars!!
 
veinbuster said:
None of the poll selections are particularly meaningful to me. I like the guitar to be articulate and I like the pickups to have some range of tone.

I must especially like these ones, because I have them in multiple guitars:
GT90 - great take on a P90. I have a 3 pack in a sort-of-strat that makes for an interesting guitar

59/09 - they just work really well for me
Click to expand...
They only allowed me so many poll options. I did my best to cover as much ground as possible to include all forum family. :)

59/09 isn't bad at all. I have them in a couple of guitars.
 
JasonE said:
If you have read very many of my posts, it is probably already known that I love the 57/08 pickups. They are by far my favorite PRS pickup. I have been lucky in that a number of the guitars I have purchased had them put in at the factory. Some of them typically came with something other than 57/08 but for some reason the ones I found had them. I am thinking mostly of my HB SCII and my HBII. I even have a P22 trem that was loaded with uncovered 57/08s at the factory. They just work for me.

Some others that I like.
SD Pearly Gates
Suhr SSV+
SD 59
SD Seth Lovers
Click to expand...
I have the 57/08's in several guitars as well. At times, I love them and at times I am not as impressed with them. When I am in the feeling of not being impressed my thought is they do everything ok but nothing really great. I have purchased some other pickups to try out in a few of my 57/08 equipped guitars but haven't had time to dive in and change them. The key is finding what works for you! That is wonderful that you have done so!! :)
 
Bogner said:
I have the 57/08's in several guitars as well. At times, I love them and at times I am not as impressed with them. When I am in the feeling of not being impressed my thought is they do everything ok but nothing really great. I have purchased some other pickups to try out in a few of my 57/08 equipped guitars but haven't had time to dive in and change them. The key is finding what works for you! That is wonderful that you have done so!! :)
Click to expand...
They seem to do everything I have asked of them to do pretty well. I have noticed a little difference in the hotness of them across my guitars. I have a set that I put in my SAS that came out of a special run guitar, I can't remember what it was at this moment. The covers on them are shiny and they have gold screws in them. They are probably the hottest set I have.

I would like to hear what you try in their place and how you like them. I play clean to medium gain tones. The 57/08s seem to do that pretty well. I put the Pearly Gates pickups in a Heritage H157. They work really well in that guitar. If I were replacing my pickups in my PRS guitars with non PRS pickups, these would probably be the ones.
 
JasonE said:
They seem to do everything I have asked of them to do pretty well. I have noticed a little difference in the hotness of them across my guitars. I have a set that I put in my SAS that came out of a special run guitar, I can't remember what it was at this moment. The covers on them are shiny and they have gold screws in them. They are probably the hottest set I have.

I would like to hear what you try in their place and how you like them. I play clean to medium gain tones. The 57/08s seem to do that pretty well. I put the Pearly Gates pickups in a Heritage H157. They work really well in that guitar. If I were replacing my pickups in my PRS guitars with non PRS pickups, these would probably be the ones.
Click to expand...
I picked up some Seymour Duncan Alpha & Omega sets and some Black Winter sets. I also have the Nazgul/Sentient and Pegasus/Sentient set laying around as well. On another 57/08 equipped guitar I was going to throw in a BKP Juggernaut. One of the other reasons of hesitation is the replacement pickups in most cases are not covered and the 57/08's are covered. I like the look of covered pickups best in most instances.
 
I tend more toward vintage humbuckers in that category; alnico, both potted and unpotted have worked well with different guitars.

I like a good vintage sounding P-90; I learned to play on a '65 SG Special with original pickups, and it feels kind of natural. The Duncans they used on the 594 Soapbars are pretty dang close.

The 57/08s, 59/09s, 53/10s, 58/15s, and 85/15s have all done a great job here. So have the Paul's Guitar and 408 pickups.

So much depends on the guitar, the mood, whatever.

The earlier pickups, like the Dragon I, Dragon II, T&B, Deep Dish, original McCarty, 7s, 6s, or a few other PRS pickups didn't really appeal as much to me. Doesn't mean I think they suck. Just that other types seem to work better in the context of the music I create.

In other words, there is no 'best'. There is only what works for you, and what works less well for you.
 
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