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

  • Thread starter Thread starter junplugged
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hey all. I just got a seymour duncan duncan distortion sh-6 pickup. i havent put it in my guitar yet and i was just wonderin if anybody had played one. thanks. :)
 
guitarguy1012 said:
hey all. I just got a seymour duncan duncan distortion sh-6 pickup. i havent put it in my guitar yet and i was just wonderin if anybody had played one. thanks. :)
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Yeah, they are quite hot. I like it, though I much prefer the more vintage pickups (Alnico II and the Pearly Gates). But that is me. Get that thing in there so you can decide for yourself.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Just thought I'd throw a little more mud onto an already cloudy situation. :D

All pickups have different tones. It's a personal preference. Some prefer a certain type of magnet, or type of wire, or number of windings. Single coil, humbucker, P-90, are all different types of pickups that have inherently different tones as well. It's hard to recommend something without knowing what type of guitar, style of music, type of amp you're using.

The hotter pickups will push the tubes more, i.e. more distortion. So conversely, the cleans won't be as, er, clean. Not that it's a bad thing. It still depends on what you're going for tone wise.

I personally am using an SD Jazz in the neck and a SD Custom in the bridge of my EPI Les Paul Custom. The stock pickups were too muddy. Kinda warm but lacking definition. Most aftermarket pickups will be an improvement over stock. From what I've heard, the Duncan Designed pickups are not as good as the original Duncans.

Here's a website that has tons of info and also sells Duncans, DiMarzio's, Lindy Fralin's and Bill Lawrence pickups.

http://www.torresengineering.com/index.html

Hope that wasn't too confusing.

OP
 
I've been really tempted to try Rio Grande BBQ in my les paul, but am going only on reviews. Wish I could find a clip of them somewhere.
 
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Although what pickups you get really depend on the style of music you play and what kind of sound you want to get from them as well as what guitar you have, I can give my recommendations. I would definately go with Ducan pickups. I have no idea what guitar you have but I would take a look at the JB (SH-4) and the Jazz (SH-2N). These are the most popular combination of S Ducans.
 
I finally did get around to getting that humbucker I wanted to, and it's on a new guitar. Cheaper and less work, can you believe $129 ?!
 

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Hmmmm this is realy a simple question. Who is your favourite guitarst(s) and is that the sound you want. If it is, simply find out what they are playing (easy to do by asking on these forums or Google) and just buy what they use. Of course you'll need an amp that's suitable for your pickups as well, can hardly ever go wrong with tubes though ;)

Gabriel
 
Hmmmm this is realy a simple question. Who is your favourite guitarst(s) and is that the sound you want. If it is, simply find out what they are playing (easy to do by asking on these forums or Google) and just buy what they use. Of course you'll need an amp that's suitable for your pickups as well, can hardly ever go wrong with any Fender tube amp though ;)

Gabriel
 
that cheap as heck guitar is now my favorite one, except that I have to adjust the truss rod often because the neck is actually twisted, love the humbuckers, they sold out of that guitar, too bad, i wanted a red one also. wow, old thread....
 
Does the strat have a single bridge pup or a 'bucker? Les Paulish and less hum??? You want a humbucker. For singles, you might like the Hot Rails.
For buckers, the sky is the limit. Since your request is not too extreme, try getting a used one pulled from another guitar. Just because it was pulled does not mean it sounds bad. Some people are just whack about tone.
 
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