Have you delved into pickup swaps?

What didn't you like? I know many people in to high gain love them but they take a bit to get used to the idea of getting the gain difference from somewhere else and make the mistake of comparing them on the same settings as higher gain pickups.

That's a great point. You ain't slamming the front end of an amp with a vintage PAF. I believe that is why we had
Super Distortions from Dimarzio and the JB from Seymour Duncan, to create a hotter signal and get that first
tube driven stage to compress and saturate more than you can with a PAF.

Enter Tubescreamers and other Overdrive pedals and you can slam the front end even more. I am just not buying
that someone can get reasonably tight and percussive high gain tones with a PAF and NOT also using some kind
of additional tool to hit the front of the amp (virtual or real) harder.

Also, Alnico can mush out and get soft and flabby (especially A2 or A4) when you really ratchet up the gain levels.
Not unlike speakers, where Ceramic stays tighter and holds together better than Alnico, I find it similar with pickups.
Magnets matter. :)
 
Magnets matter. :)

Yup. In the case of speakers, the strength and stiffness of the magnetic force in the coil gap has a big effect on efficiency and compression. Generally speaking, for top efficiency, you want the static magnetic field as strong and stiff as possible, as it is the "wall" that the alternating magnetic field in the coil is pushing and pulling against. A cement wall doesn't flex much when you push against it. A framed wall with sheetrock flexes a little more. A piece of '70s paneling with no sheetrock to back it up will flex a fair bit....
 
That's a great point. You ain't slamming the front end of an amp with a vintage PAF. I believe that is why we had
Super Distortions from Dimarzio and the JB from Seymour Duncan, to create a hotter signal and get that first
tube driven stage to compress and saturate more than you can with a PAF.

Enter Tubescreamers and other Overdrive pedals and you can slam the front end even more. I am just not buying
that someone can get reasonably tight and percussive high gain tones with a PAF and NOT also using some kind
of additional tool to hit the front of the amp (virtual or real) harder.

Also, Alnico can mush out and get soft and flabby (especially A2 or A4) when you really ratchet up the gain levels.
Not unlike speakers, where Ceramic stays tighter and holds together better than Alnico, I find it similar with pickups.
Magnets matter. :)
Paf with a boost gets a great high gain tone ;)
 
Alnico VIII. Anyone into the SatChurro? I am GASefully curious.

These days, you can get humbuckers tuned for just about any specific sound — modern, vintage, warm, bright — from blistering harmonics to hammering chug. The Satchur8™ was designed for guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, and it has an expressive attack with a warm, sweet singing lead tone. It can go big when you need it, and get quiet when you back off.

When we started this project, we chose an Alnico 8 magnet because it has lots of output, with a buttery smooth mid-range, deep, full-bodied bass, and a warm, singing solo tone that suits Joe's playing style. Additionally, the coils were tuned to Joe's sound. The rich output of the Alnico 8 magnet makes the Satchur8™ great for hot humbucking tones.

The Satchur8™ is smooth yet bright, with plenty of clarity and distinction. It's loaded with dynamics, and notes have weight and authority. Joe says the Satchur8™ is the richest, most complete sounding pickup he's ever used. "I wish we could just say, 'This pickup sounds effing great!'"


 
I had an A8 pickup in a “metal” prs SE cu24 and it was a blast for what I did at the time. I have also learned more about tone and how to shape it since owning that setup. My friend has a pair of A8 pickups in a prs core starla and he always bugs me to buy a set.
 
Some guitars are perfect when they are kept stock. For example, my SRV strat, my EVH Frankie, and my newest Ibanez RG-550 all sound fantastic with their stock pickups.

Others.. not so much. About 35 years ago I put a PAF Pro in the bridge position of my stock, inexpensive Washburn guitar and - despite burning my finger a bit from the soldering iron - it was worth it because it was amazing how much better that guitar sounded. I went from being totally underwhelmed by my tone to being inspired all the time. And then I started to get compliments on my live sound. It helped that I had a 50-watt Marshall Plexi and 4x12 cab at the time, driven by green Ibanez pedals. :cool:

Since then, I've put DiMarzio (Super Distortion, Super 3, FRED, Air Norton, Evolution, etc.) and Seymour Duncans (JB, 59, etc.) in almost all of my guitars. When you find the proper pickup matched to the right guitar, it can be magical!

Conversely, I have found that almost 50% of the time I am not satisfied with a great pickup in a great guitar because they just don't jive together. I almost gave up on a Super Distortion that I thought was just a bad one, only to make a last-ditch effort and try it in one last guitar - an Ibanez RG-470 - and it really made that guitar come to life!

And.. having installed, uninstalled, and reinstalled various pickups over the years, my soldering skills are much better. I even built a BSIAB pedal a few years ago from a kit. ;)
 
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I ve tried maybe +50 pickups as I own many guitars. Every time I buy a new pickup, I try another reference. Globally I ve been never disappointed with dimarzio pickups that I use since the mid 90’s. Whatever I use from them are great. I like mid gain pickups and “neutral” tone wise without a bump in high/middle/bass. I’m not fan with Seymour Duncan, globally they are dark and got too much mids. I only have a Jeff beck in my jagstang but that’s all. I like emg too globally, not so powerful in the end. But yeah di marzio are my favorite. I like their single coil size humbuckers like the fast track, chopper…

Whatever humbucker is a good base in the end. I quite never change pickups once I have installed a new one to replace the stock ones
 
Some guitars are perfect when they are kept stock. For example, my SRV strat, my EVH Frankie, and my newest Ibanez RG-500 all sound fantastic with their stock pickups.

That's right. When I recently purchased a worn-out S540FM I though that it would be ideal to swap pickups. After all, where is the appeal in naming the pickups IBZ/USA F1, F2 and C3? But I still cannot believe how good they are. The tone is so great that I cannot stop playing with this guitar. I won't change a thing. They are part of its DNA
 
I have changed out a few pickups but tend to like the stock pickups on the guitars I have purchased. However, there have been some that I have not liked at all or had something about them that just nagged me over time. In those situations, I identified what I didn't like about the pickups that were in the guitar and looked at the specs like the type of magnet and how hot they were wound then looked for something that would be more in the direction that I wanted for that particular guitar. That has worked well for me. I have achieved what I wanted on the first swap almost every time.

I have purchased a couple of sets of pickups from Lindy Fralin. I spoke directly with him on the phone and described the guitar that I have and what I didn't like about the pickups that were in the guitar. He asked what I wanted to achieve for a change. He hit it out of the park on each occasion. This is a good way to go if you have the money to do it.
 
Then there are the guitars that sound amazing with their stock pickups, and then even sound better with aftermarkets…..you just never know.
This is the battle right now. It sounds pretty good with stock pickups. It sounds somewhat different and pretty good with swap #1. Im wondering if the recommended set is gonna make it hard not to call in sick lol.
 
This is the battle right now. It sounds pretty good with stock pickups. It sounds somewhat different and pretty good with swap #1. Im wondering if the recommended set is gonna make it hard not to call in sick lol.
You can only hope that it does….. ;)
 
I haven't been much of a pickup swapper in my humbucker guitars, but I was changing pickups in my tele almost twice a week for a few months. I love how telecasters feel, I love their simplicity, but I've never been real happy with the tele bridge pickup. I'm also a nut job, because I want it to not sound too much like a single coil, but I also don't want a humbucker. I settled on Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounds after trying just about everything else out there.
 
That's right. When I recently purchased a worn-out S540FM I though that it would be ideal to swap pickups. After all, where is the appeal in naming the pickups IBZ/USA F1, F2 and C3? But I still cannot believe how good they are. The tone is so great that I cannot stop playing with this guitar. I won't change a thing. They are part of its DNA
Those pickups are Dimarzio and pretty good the V series were Ibanez's own and most people swap them out.
 
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I am fiddling with the Keyztone Exchanger for almost a week now (at least when I find some time) and I like it so far. It makes the guitar you are holding so much more versatile. Sure it needs tweaking for the details but for general practice and noodling it just gets the job done if you seek a specific tone. That way I can even play some Rammstein on my Tele or some funky quacky stuff on my PRS (that sounds better than split coil). So far it adds versatility and gives me quick possibilities to change the tone / feel of the pickups without so much guitar switching.
You can also use it as a simple "input bright" switch to brighten up a humbucker tone when going into your Fractal.
 
Kind of....but not much, honestly.

I tried a few sets of pickups in my G&L legacy over a couples years or so...eventually went back to stock and sold it. I've still got most of the pickups and no desire to actually use them.

I have Seth Lovers in my LP and my 594. They seem plenty good enough to me. I think they sound better than stock, but mostly I get a kick out of them being wound on SD's fancy old pickup winder. I get the sounds I want and have managed not to have to go further down the rabbit hole. And the cool factor of the Seth Lovers is enough to give me that little mental push to really like the guitars a bit better than....that's why I did it. And, that's why I'd probably do about the same in the future. IDK...maybe the next set will be Antiquities basically for the same reason.

I also have Golden Age pickups in a couple cheaper guitars, but I don't really play them anymore and should probably get around to selling them. They were fine, and I liked them better than stock.

IDK...it's just one of the things where "optimizing" becomes its own hobby that almost seems counterproductive to the hobby of playing. But, that's just for how I think about it.

Whatever you can afford that makes you excited is probably a good upgrade.

Any upgrade that you can't afford and makes you feel like you're missing out seems like a problem.
 
Kind of....but not much, honestly.

I tried a few sets of pickups in my G&L legacy over a couples years or so...eventually went back to stock and sold it. I've still got most of the pickups and no desire to actually use them.

I have Seth Lovers in my LP and my 594. They seem plenty good enough to me. I think they sound better than stock, but mostly I get a kick out of them being wound on SD's fancy old pickup winder. I get the sounds I want and have managed not to have to go further down the rabbit hole. And the cool factor of the Seth Lovers is enough to give me that little mental push to really like the guitars a bit better than....that's why I did it. And, that's why I'd probably do about the same in the future. IDK...maybe the next set will be Antiquities basically for the same reason.

I also have Golden Age pickups in a couple cheaper guitars, but I don't really play them anymore and should probably get around to selling them. They were fine, and I liked them better than stock.

IDK...it's just one of the things where "optimizing" becomes its own hobby that almost seems counterproductive to the hobby of playing. But, that's just for how I think about it.

Whatever you can afford that makes you excited is probably a good upgrade.

Any upgrade that you can't afford and makes you feel like you're missing out seems like a problem.
^^^ Yeah that there.

But it's hard not to play. Lots of folks here are clearly a couple tax brackets north of me, with guitars and other goodies to match.
 
A $350 pick up is cheap if it is right for you and you end up keeping the guitar. If as the OP you are starting with a guitar of the caliber of an R0 .
I don't advocate that you should fit a TB 101 in a Epiphone , the platform matters enormously but the R7~R0 deserve a top pickup to fully realise the potential .
 
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