how the heck do i choose an electric guitar pickup? there's 75 kinds

junplugged

junplugged

Taking the slow road
of course i'm not going to test them. so if i don't hear them, but that's the ultimate goal, i'll be buying one and having to guess what it sounds like and then after installing it find out.

and then there's different models of the same type and different prices for them and they use subjective terms to describe the differences. but even if they said, like 50 more turns of wire, or fatter pole pieces, or whatever, i don't know what that would mean anyway. then there's 'like the vintage,' etc....
 
Some basic questions.

1. What kind of guitar?

2. What kind of music do you play?

3. What kind of amp is used?

4. Is this for live use or recording use?

Ed
 
Buying replacement pickups is the biggest X-factor in the world of guitars. You can read and get opinions all you want, and it really won't amount to squat. You can gain a basic understanding of the "general conventions" of pickupology, i.e. the general sonic differences between Alnico 5, Alnico 2, and Ceramic magnets; the general sonic differences in the amount of coil turns; etc, but the only way you can know how a pickup will sound in your guitar is to buy and install it.

My suggestion is that you buy the most popular pickup of a given manufacturer. They are the most popular for a reason. Then, if you don't like it, you at least have a good tonal reference point for that brand and you can make a better guess at another model based on the descriptions provided by that manufacturer.

In the world of humbuckers that would be the PAF Pro for DiMarzio and the JB model for Seymour Duncan. Single coils would be the SL-1 for SD and the hmmmm..... well, maybe the Blue Velvet for DiMarzio. If you're not sure what a brands best seller is, call them up and ask them.

A
 
Well, you can test drive pickups, as long as you want a Seymour Duncan. Seymour Duncan has a 21 day (or 28, I don't remember) exchange program. You get the pickup from a dealer, and you try it for 21 days (I think it is 21), and if you don't like it, you can get a different Seymour Duncan pickup for free, though you do have to cover any price difference between the two pickups. I don't know if they have a limit on the number of times you can do this, but I don't think there is. You can either get the pickup direct from Duncan (if you are enough of a solder jockey to swap them yourself), or you can go to a dealer and have them replace it from their stock. We will, of course, have to charge you for the labor involved, so learning to solder might be a good idea in this situation.

So yeah, you can test drive pickups. I don't know of any other company which does this, by the way.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
There are wave files at the Seymour Duncan site that give you an idea of what the pickups sound like.

I ended up not liking any of the standard models and had them build me a pickup of my own design. This is an option for not much more money.
 
I've always used the old fashioned method of buying guitars that already have pickups I like on them. I know it seems silly, but it's always worked for me.
 
That works for me too. However given he asked, it sounds like something is changing.

One key question is that will it fit. Trying to put a 2" wide humbucker in a 1" hole in a Strat is not so easy. Knowing the guitar and what's there now makes it easier to suggest replacements that install more easily.

Ed
 
junplugged said:
of course i'm not going to test them. so if i don't hear them, but that's the ultimate goal, i'll be buying one and having to guess what it sounds like and then after installing it find out.

and then there's different models of the same type and different prices for them and they use subjective terms to describe the differences. but even if they said, like 50 more turns of wire, or fatter pole pieces, or whatever, i don't know what that would mean anyway. then there's 'like the vintage,' etc....
Click to expand...


If your looking for a humbucker for electric guitar you could give a Seymour Duncan JB a shot. I don't mean to plug any brand but I've used those in the past and they cover alot of ground.


I've also loaded a guitar with an EMG81-bridge, EMG85neck and found that to my taste, they are simply too "active". That's why I liked the JB, because although it's not the hottest pickup out there it's got enough grind to cover much of the heavy stuff yet retains enough warmth to be smooth and sweet.

... just a thought.
 
i'm in a somewhat similar situation.
is there a place online besides seymour duncan's site where i can hear different pickups?
also where's the best place to get pu's online? both price and selection-wise.
 
Pickups...

If money is not an issue, these are my 2 favorite pickups..

EMG-81 - great for metal comes stock with the better ESP's and LTD's as well as the passive EMG "HZ" version (incase you didin't know what they looked like) These are around 120 without the active electronics. You would still have to purchase the active electronics.

Tony Iommi Signature - These run for around 120 dollars new... It's passive, and is probably (in scale with the hot output it has) the quietest pickup I have ever heard. This pickup has great tone for pretty much any style of music from blues to heavy metal and the term I hate using.."Nu" metal. With the pickup in the neck position it's extremely nice clean as well.

I would pick the 81 over the Iommi if all you do is strictly metal. They are both amazing pickups I think.
 
eww


Anyways, for my dime, I like the new Burstbucker Pros on a LP or SG and I like Texas Specials on a Strat. Though I have 2 Strats with the Powerhouse pickups and active circuit that I really like, too. My Texas Special loaded Strat is the more Strat sounding. The Burstbucker Pros are IMO the best pickups Gibson has made in a really long time.

H2H
 
eww?

Hard2Hear said:
eww


Anyways, for my dime, I like the new Burstbucker Pros on a LP or SG and I like Texas Specials on a Strat. Though I have 2 Strats with the Powerhouse pickups and active circuit that I really like, too. My Texas Special loaded Strat is the more Strat sounding. The Burstbucker Pros are IMO the best pickups Gibson has made in a really long time.

H2H
Click to expand...

For one thing, your pickup and guitar choice suits you for what you might play? For that deep hardcore metal sound, many may prefer EMG's in some sort of ESP. I've a'd an SG with burstbuckers with an ESP with EMG's in them through a decent sounding high gain Hughes and Kettner solid state head (Vortex) and the ESP totally ate the Gibson when it came to that darkerdeeper sounding crunch and metal sound. To each his own. For that modern rock sound, I think LP's and SG's with BB Pro's in them sound amazing. I'm not going to add any "eww's", I can accept someone elses opinion with a smile :p Unless that "eww" wasn't towards me; in that case, I apologize :) :)
 
eww, it's more a really crazy question, like you said there are too many variables in this equation.

By the way, check out a guitar with Burstbucker Pros in it. They are really different from the Burstbucker 1,2,and 3. They're still not up your alley for metal or thrash stuff, but the Pros are some of the nicest pickups since the original PAF.

H2H

Oh, here ya go :)
 
Well, you guys hit it right on the head. Considering the price of some pickups, I could get an entire cheap new guitar, even new for the price of one or 2 of some of these pickups.

Or at least, I could go try guitars out that have pickups I could identify and test that way. That makes me wonder how much effect the wood/the guitar has on an electric sound.

I wonder if you put strat single coils on a semi-hollow body or p-90's on a strat or a Les Paul with singles or humbuckers on strat body, etc. Or, how much difference is the Gibson vs. the Epiphone models as far as sound, materials, and pickups.

It would be easier if I was just replacing pickups, but I have a strat I don't mind cutting up, so I could put anything in there, rotate it to adjust for string and pole alignment, add switches, reverse polarity switches, etc. Soldering, routing, etc, not a problem.

So for sound, I'd like a fatter, lower hum if possible, Les Paulish, bluesy, classic, not metalish sound. I have the middle and neck posistions open, wide open.
 
What kind of car should I buy?

Once you've made th choice of whether you need an SUV, two-door boy racer or four-door saloon etc, then it's the brand name.

BMW, Mercedes, Lexus etc. all make great versions of all of the above that virtually anybody would be happy with.

Make a choice about the pickup manufacturer the same way.

I like Seymour Duncan's.
Lots of guys like DiMarzio (I don't, but that's me).

BIll Lawrence? EMG? Lindy Fralin?

All great pickups.

Choose the brand and then the type of music your'e going to play with it and buy them. Don't look back.

Your technique and amp is going to have a lot to do with your sound, so just buy something good and have at it.
 
junplugged said:
Well, you guys hit it right on the head. Considering the price of some pickups, I could get an entire cheap new guitar, even new for the price of one or 2 of some of these pickups.

Or at least, I could go try guitars out that have pickups I could identify and test that way. That makes me wonder how much effect the wood/the guitar has on an electric sound.

I wonder if you put strat single coils on a semi-hollow body or p-90's on a strat or a Les Paul with singles or humbuckers on strat body, etc. Or, how much difference is the Gibson vs. the Epiphone models as far as sound, materials, and pickups.

It would be easier if I was just replacing pickups, but I have a strat I don't mind cutting up, so I could put anything in there, rotate it to adjust for string and pole alignment, add switches, reverse polarity switches, etc. Soldering, routing, etc, not a problem.

So for sound, I'd like a fatter, lower hum if possible, Les Paulish, bluesy, classic, not metalish sound. I have the middle and neck posistions open, wide open.
Click to expand...

The density of the wood and type of wood does make a difference in the overwall tone of the guitar. If anyone disagrees with me, that's ok - I can take it.

Anyways, I was a'ing an Epiphone G-310 and an ESP LTD Viper-50. Both had Tony Iommi signature pickups in them, and both had Diadarrio 10's. The epiphone had more string characteristic - you could really hear the sound of the string cut through the distortion where as the LTD did not as much. The LTD was alot darker and had more crunch to it. The Epiphone's body is lighter, and the LTD's body is as heavy or heavier than most basses I pick up. There's the two contrasting tones in guitar body density. Also, I heard a 1996 Jagstang with an Iommi in it; was thinner sounding in the Jagstang, but still had a very nice classic rock tone. Truthfully, I believe every technical spec contributes to the tone in a guitar.. even the guitar having a complete professional paint and gloss finish, or having just a color stain. If I come across an opportunity, I'm willing to compare any scenario just to know.
 
I listened to the S Duncan sound clips, they're helpful. They group them into what fits in what guitar, and that makes sense, except that I didn't like the p/ups that fit in the strat. I liked the '59, it's $70 and that's not too bad. I might try it.
 
I found I really liked the Vintage Telecaster Bridge pickup for my Tele. In fact I asked them to builid two of these into a humbucker. I tapped the pickup so I can shut off one of the coils and get a traditional tele sound but can also use both coils for a beefier humbucker sound.

They will build you anything that comes to mind which is very cool in my book.
 
ibanez infinity pickups are really nice, they have them on the high end rgs and the noodles signature. they're some of the nicest pickups ive ever played, and is one of the main reasons i bought my guitar. if you could find a place that would order them theyd definitely be worth a try.
 
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