Buying Pickups

[adferrendelli]

I have a mexican strat, i like how it plays, but i would really like a better sound. I want to get new pickups, but i dont know where to start. ive heard good and bad things about all different sorts of pickups and i dont want to go buying somthing that is going to end up sounding not-so-great. how can i hear different pickups, and what are some reccommendations for pickups that sound good both clean and distorted.

 

[MatchBookNotes]

most here suggest guitarfetish.com good pickups and cheaper than name brands from all the reviews but the customer service leaves something to be desired.

 

[lpdeluxe]

The real problem is hearing them before you buy.

Seymour Duncan http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/ has a feature where you can listen to each pickup.

I didn't check out the current setup, but when the neck pickup on my Les Paul demagnetized I checked out the various mini-humbuckers at their website, and found a model that had the sound I wanted.

I happen to like SD pickups. All of my basses (a '51 Precision reissue, two split-coil Ps and a fretless Jazz: Quarter Pound on the first three, Antiquity II on the last) and my LP have them.

I've played guitars with DiMarzios (come to think of it, I had DiMarzios in my Carvin bass) but somehow the SDs are my current faves.