Let's talk about pickups!!

gimmesometruth27

pickups are a small part of a guitar but can be a huge part of your tone. they have different applications and can help you nail the tone you are looking for.

let's make this the all purpose pickup thread.

got a guitar that you like but want to improve the tone?

what pickups do you like? what are you using?

what do you not like?

have you swapped pickups out? if so, what did you replace them with?

post your pickup demo videos here. we can all learn something.

gimmesometruth27

in my strat i have a lollar set. they sound killer. i had the old noiseless pickups in it at one time and i hated them. almost sold the guitar until someone suggested swapping out the pickups.

i have a flying v with gibson 57 classics in it. i am not a big v guy. i bought it for a punk/metal band i was in a few years ago. i think it is my best sounding guitar but i just don't play it that often because it is a v. not super practical.

i have a 76 bicentennial reverse firebird where the bridge pickup was going bad. had super low output and just sounded a bit off. replaced it with a lollar firebird pickup several years ago and it just sounds killer now. i do not use it too often because it is super long and neck dives on me because the banjo tuners are heavy. i will use it on a larger stage though. on small stages i always poke the singer in the back and it makes him mad.

i just changed out the pickups in my les paul custom. it came with custombuckers i believe. or the 490 and 498 combo. they are unmarked so i can't really tell. i was not a fan of how it sounded because the bridge pickup was ultra hot and would not clean up. the other guitar player in my band swears by pafs and has lollar imperials in his LP. i put the righteous sound pafs called the RAF (righteousness applied for) set in there and i am so happy with how it sounds. i wasn't sure about how replacing a pickup that read 15.9 with a pickup reading 7.6 but i am super happy with it.

i found out about righteous sounds when researching pickups for the tele i had built a few months ago. i based it off of a guitar that was owned by brian fallon from the gaslight anthem. i hit him up on twitter and asked what pickups he uses and he recommended the revelator set from righteous sound. the guy was super easy to work with, so i wanted to buy from him again for my les paul.

gimmesometruth27

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7jzL3FdpaI

how do pickups work?

gimmesometruth27

good info here. 5 pickup myths busted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPgwpGfO1es

gimmesometruth27

single coils vs p90s vs humbuckers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlrwHBOmoJQ

bootlegger10

Thanks for starting this thread.  I should be getting my first guitar with P90’s shipped tomorrow.  Excited to compare to the others.

gimmesometruth27

bootlegger10 said:

Thanks for starting this thread.  I should be getting my first guitar with P90’s shipped tomorrow.  Excited to compare to the others.

dude, let us know what you think. i have always kind of avoided p90s, but they are so versatile i need to get something with them at some point. i could maybe put some humbucker shaped p-90s in my sg or something.

bootlegger10

Ordered a soldering iron.  Gonna get a cheap guitar that I lent to my brother and use it to learn guitar repair on. Never changed pickups before.  Excited to head down this rabbit hole. 

Have a few guitar pedals that I need to fix as well.  Was planning to just give them away for someone else to fix but why not try to fix.  

Does anyone here do their own repair?

dudeman

Oh yes, lots. For myself and for others. I had a business repairing electronics and equipment for years.

There are many positives in doing things for yourself and the sense of accomplishment and pride you feel when your guitar or amp comes roaring back to life by your own doing is pretty great. 

pjpjpaul

My strat has Klein 1959's in it, my Gary Clark Jr. Casino has Gibson P90s, my Les Paul has Hand Wound Special Ordered JB/Jazz combo, my American pro Tele has whatever pickups come with it, and my PRS Silver Sky has the John Mayer signiture vintage-voiced single coils. Strat had a Duncan in the neck and lace sensors in the middle and bridge positions for years but I decided to shake things up last year. Kleins definitely sound vintage and have a classic tone.

itsevolution..baby

I've got the lollar blackface single coils in a 63 custom shop strat. Sound great.  I recently got one of the Hendrix Monterey strats and upgraded with the Bareknuckle mothers milk in that one.  Very different, but maybe my new favorite single coil set.  I also the BN  Peter Green blues set of humbuckers in an SG and they are fantastic. Oh, and a BN mule in the bridge of a PRS MEII.  I tried the seymour duncan antiquity set for my firebird, and they're pretty good, but I will probably swap them out for a set of lollars at some point.  I also recently put a Cream T whiskerbucker in the bridge position of  my Les Paul custom.  It's a partnership with billy gibbons ( a haw haw haw)  and it sounds good.  Not sure it was worth the premium price, but it sounds good.  It replaced a lollar high wind imperial that I need to find a home for.  Writing this I'm realizing again I have too much stuff.