Whatcha y'all think about the Zach Myers SE stock pickups?

[Riplead]

I think they sound pretty damn good, but I'm running it through a Kemper and then into Presonus monitors, it's hard for me to tell.
I may have to re-wire mine and was wondering if I should keep the stock pickups or not. Thanks in advance for suggestions.

 

[Ovibos]

I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by them. They’re “hot PAFs” that push the amp nicely. When I roll back the volume, I get a slightly crunchy clean.

I initially thought I’d ‘upgrade’ but I like what they do and would miss having a guitar that does that. Have defn toyed with the idea of getting a 2nd Zach to put some Alpha/Omegas in tho.

 

[Riplead]

Thanks. Yeah, I'd hate to replace them and it didn't sound as good as it does already, at least to my ears.

 

[Bogner]

I think they sound pretty damn good, but I'm running it through a Kemper and then into Presonus monitors, it's hard for me to tell.
I may have to re-wire mine and was wondering if I should keep the stock pickups or not. Thanks in advance for suggestions.

No but..

Either it sounds good or it doesn't. Zach really likes the 245 pickups so that could be an option should you choose to ever replace.

 

[andy474x]

I tried a couple of different sets in my ZM, the dearest being a set of SD Seth Lovers, and eventually came back to the stock 245 pickups (but added covers). The 245S pickups are fantastic, and probably even more so if you have the newer model with the TCI tuned version.

Don’t get me wrong, the Seths were really nice also, and a big part of me wanted to keep them in, but they rounded off the top end more than the 245’s, and the ZM (or at least mine) isn’t a super bright sounding guitar to start with.

 

[Riplead]

Thanks, I appreciate all the feedback on this. (no pun intended )

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I still kinda think 245’s are my favorite SE humbuckers, although I haven’t tried to 58/15s yet.

 

[Mozzi]

Pick ups are purely subjective and personal preference so you 'could' find something that sounds 'better' to you or shall I say, more suited to what you want, need, expect from a great pickup but you need to understand what it is about Pups that you like/dislike and/or prefer. Some prefer 'hotter' pups for example and the sounds they produce...

What I will say is that the 245 'S' Pups are well regarded considering the price of guitars vs the best Pups that cost as much as the guitars these are in - they have been in 'SE Standards' too - all the way up to their S2 line and Zach Myers himself is well happy with them, didn't want to change them when they revised the model. I think they are great in that guitar too but that's 'our' preference which may differ from yours...

The only time to really change pups is when you 'understand' what you like/dislike and where your preferences lie. Otherwise you'd get a lot saying that stick with the stocks or 'recommending' their preferred pup that's 'different' but more to their liking...

You could end up going down a rabbit hole of exploration or if you like the sounds - bare in mind you can also tweak EQ's etc really get to enjoy and explore the full capabilities of the stock instrument and whatever sounds you create...

 

[Riplead]

It's funny. I'm 61 and have been playing since I was a kid. I was never one of those guys who could tell you the sonic differences between pickups. My fav since I was young are Duncan Distortions. But the DiMarzio's on my Ibanez Prestige sound great too. I also like EMG's for heavier sounds. I heard a lot like the Fluence pickups too, but haven't tried them. I just hate that with active pickups, you have to unplug your guitar when done playing to save the battery.