Talk to me about pickups

bloodninja

Inspired
With all of the tonal shaping abilities of the AX8, do you think it's necessary to swap out the stock pickups on your guitars? Do you change pickups often chasing the holy grail? Do you buy $200+ boutique pickups?

I've never been too big on changing pickups, but I have this Ibanez RGT42 that plays and feels much better than it should for a $300 guitar. I know the stock Inf pickups are considered garbage. I use it for metal in D standard, so I put a set of Duncan Invaders. They sound fine, I can't really say noticeably better or anything but they're so hot that I need to adjust the input trim and have separate presets for this guitar (and also my 7-string with Blackouts).

For some reason I'm getting the urge to change pickups again, in my PRS CE24 with stock 85/15 pickups and my Ibanez RG1750 with V7 and V8 pups. Then I start looking at all of the options and get overwhelmed and put it off for another day. Should I even bother changing them? Talk me into or out of it.
 
I don't think I can sway you either way. I do think the differences between my guitars are WAY more apparent with the AX8 than they were with any of my regular amps. I want my guitars to sound different but not so much that I have to go EQ my preset differently to accommodate the guitar. There's a thread in the forum asking the question - do you have separate presets for different guitars or single coil vs. humbucker? And there's a sizable group that does just that. They'll have a prefix or suffix to note HB or SC etc...

My goal is to have pickups that are similarly voiced so I don't have to for live settings. I have another guitar coming in that is a project guitar and it's got Duncan SH14's which are mid scooped. Both of my other guitars, except the strat have more of a mid-hump. So I'm anticipating swapping out the SH14 for a pickup with a similar EQ curve and output level. I may find that the SH14 works well with the wood and just sounds different but still cool. The thing I'm trying to educate myself on all of my pickups is the EQ curve and output. I think if I have the knowledge I won't be dead wrong on my choice of pickup. I'll be in the ballpark and the preset will work. IDEALLY....lol.

Then again, I've got blank preset spots just waiting to get used, so maybe I'm foolish for not taking advantage. I'm new so this is part of my journey.
 
I've had 25-30 guitars in my life so far and only 3 have had the stock pickups left in them. I should clarify that by stock, I mean the pickups the guitar came from the factory with. A couple of the guitars had aftermarket pickups from the factory. Pickups to me are like different types of overdrive pedals. Some sound about the same as the typical tubescreamer, some only sound a little different, then there are still others that change something in circuit that's magical.

In my experience, it's finding the right pickups for the guitar and it's intended use. I've come to really like Dimarzio pickups and would swap a certain combination between guitars when I got bored. Each guitar gave it's own unique voice to the set. As to which pickups to choose, my process begins with the core tone I'm looking for and what the stock pickups are missing, as well as the intended use for the guitar.

Some will say pickups don't make that much of a difference, other will say they are life altering. It sounds like the guitars you have aren't quite giving you what you want tonally so it's worth it in my opinion. I'm probably going to get bashed for saying this but Seymour Duncans have never wowed me with any of their pickups. They are good sounding, dependable pickups but every one of the models I've tried has sounded generic, nothing really unique. They are versatile and better than most factory pickups but it's more in clarity than character. For the style you play, Dimarzio offers some great pickups that are definitely worth checking out. They even have an exchange policy if you don't like what you hear.

Story time, read on at your leisure for an example of my process, I have a PRS CE24 that had the HFS and VIntage Bass pickups. While I like the HFS, one of the best PRS pickups IMO, the Vintage Bass was too dark in the neck position. I'm a Satriani fan and really like a lot of tones he gets so I bought and installed the Dimarzio Mo' Joe and PAF Pro, a combination that comes stock on a couple of his signature guitars. The pickups greatly improved the tone and feel of the guitar. Stumbled upon a great deal on an Ibanez JS2400 and since I don't like duplicating tones with my gear, it was time for new pickups in the PRS. I like the P90 tone but don't care for the 60 cycle hum so I found a set of Railhammer Nuevo 90's that fit the bill. The guitar sounded great and I thought I was done but again stumbled on a deal, a set of TV Jones Power'trons in humbucker configuration. I had a Gretsch Power Jet (one of the guitars I didn't change pickups on) and I absolutely loved the tone. The guitar itself was a lemon and I knew someday I would have something with the Power'trons but didn't like the idea of the Gretsch pickup style in a humbucker guitar. Put the Power'trons in the PRS and now it is finished. It's been several years in the process but now I feel the guitar gives me exactly the tone I want from it. The Dimarzios and Railhammers are still sitting on my workbench waiting for another guitar to put them in, my feeling about the tone they provide has not changed.
 
Wow, This is a loaded question indeed. It really depends on what you want from your tone and what you want from your guitars. I play in a cover band and exclusively use strat or strat-style guitars. I've tried a bunch of pickups over the years, eventually transitioned to exclusively using DiMarzio pickups and am now using only 1 certain bridge and 1 certain neck pickup. As a result, I install those same pickups in every guitar I intend to use live. Once I was "happy" I decided to stop experimenting because the rabbit hole is endless. My tone is consistent over the guitars I gig with and I don't make any preset changes to accommodate for different guitars. That being said, I do own other guitars where I have not made changes because I like the way they sound on their own and as their own thing. I just won't gig with them if they aren't producing a fairly similar tone to my others with my gig presets and use those instead for home noodling, rehearsals or recording.

As a starting point, find an artist who's guitar and tone most closely matches your guitar and the tone you are looking for and see what pickups they are using.
 
I know the stock Inf pickups are considered garbage.
Stock pickups are always considered garbage, even if they’re not. That’s just “common wisdom” that guitarists fall back on when they don’t trust their ears.

You already know you like your Inf’s, and the Invader didn’t sound noticeably better. So the Inf’s are your baseline. Keep them until you find something noticeably better.

The only way to find out whether you like a pickup is to try it in your guitar. It’s a long, slow process, and you can’t do immediate A/B comparisons. So take your best guess at what you might like better, and drop them into your guitar. If they’re not noticeably better, go back to your Inf’s. Rinse and repeat.
 
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Personally, I love my American Standard pickups the same as I love my Suhr ML’s. The reason I play the Suhr more is the roasted neck with an amazing profile, the stainless frets, and the fact that I can split the bridge humbucker and get an amazing sound out of the 2nd position.

There’s so much that goes into what takes a guitar from good to great, but pickups are only a part of it, and in general I would say the stock pickups are probably good enough.
 
When I purchased my AX8, I noticed that my American Strat, MIM Strat, and Squire Classic Vibe Tele and Strat all sounded "noisier" than using my old Boss GT-100 and GP-10 rigs. They sounded better because of the AX8 but the noise floor appeared to be higher IMHO.

Happened to borrow a Strat with Lace Golds and was amazed at how quiet they were and sweet sounding.

I now have Lace Golds, Lace Hot Golds, and also installed Fishman Fluence pups as well.
I am totally blown away at how all these pickups perform compared to the factory stock. My Classic Vibe Tele was also modified with Lace as well as a 4 way switch. Suweet!

This is definitely not for everybody but like having multiple guitars without the mortgage that goes goes along with buying high end. Always buy new on sale and cheap second hand.

Next is to modify the 3 guitars I have with humbuckers although the noise was not a problem. (Ibanez RG, Peavey HP Special, Ibanez Artist)

Does it show that I have GAS and a sucker for a good pickup line.....? :)
 
My Les Paul started with burstbuckers, then a set of bare knuckle mule, now it has PRS 57/08's.
My Hollowbody PRS seems much happier with those same mule pickups in it.
I'm happy now with both those guitars.

For me, yes the pickup makes a big difference and you need to find the one that works in your guitar, for your style and your environment. What works well at home alone is not the same as what works in a live band mix.
 
For solid body guitars, pickups can have more influence on the sound than wood choice. It really depends on what you want to achieve. Stock pickups even on a cheap Squire can sound fine for certain tones, but "boutique" pickups (Lollar, Don Mare, Fralin, etc) can really transform an instrument. The real question is do you want that transformation....

Unlike some of the others here, all my guitars are very different - and I use them for different tasks. Sure, several are similar enough that I can use them for backups at a gig, but I don't have enough $$$ or space to keep all the guitars I'd like, so I see no point having several guitars that sound the same. And yes, like any self respecting guitarist, I have more guitars than most women have shoes....
 
I just changed the pickups in both my Les Pauls from a SD Hot Rodded Humbucker set (JB bridge and Jazz neck). In one guitar I have the Suhr Aldrich set (which are some of the hottest passive humbuckers you can get), and in the other I have the Bare Knuckle Rebel Yell set.

And let me tell you, they both sound amazing now - seems the AX8 really brings the nuances out!
 
I'm probably going to get bashed for saying this but Seymour Duncans have never wowed me with any of their pickups. They are good sounding, dependable pickups but every one of the models I've tried has sounded generic, nothing really unique.
I do disagree with you but not going to bash you. :D Just a side-note. I got my first electric guitar in 1981 and pretty much started swapping pickups right away as time went on got more guitars and pickups. Anyway: when I look at my collection as a whole it seems my guitars with the heavy woods (mostly Gibson's) I prefer Duncan's, and lighter wood guitars I prefer DiMarzio. This was never by design but 30+ years later seems to be a pattern with me. Maybe its not even the woods maybe its the scale length.

John
 
When thinking about pickups I usually try, "So what's your sign"? Just kidding.

Personally, I find pickups make a yuuuuge difference in how a guitar sings. Currently, my favorites are Suhr SSH and SSV for humbuckers, and Suhr ML for single coils. I also lean towards Duncan Antiquity humbuckers, and Lollar single coils, but that is just what appeals to me. I find that the that FAS gear really does bring out the nuances in the pickups, especially with the guitar gain backed off for tastier sounds. Some stock pickups sound pretty bad to my ears, but to make such a broad sweeping statement that all stock pickups suck seems rather pointless to me. I think the real question is are you unhappy with how your guitar(s) sound? If so, then a pickup swap can be a good solution, but do your homework because buying and trying a bunch of pickups can be a pretty expensive rabbit hole. Just my $0.02.
 
I tend to buy relatively inexpensive guitars (used or sale-priced MIM Strats and PRS SEs, mostly) and on most of them I've upgraded the pickups because the factory pups didn't really strike a chord with me (no pun intended). Like Mark above, I like each of my guitars to have somewhat different tone, and I've achieved that with various DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, and Fender Custom Shop models. There's really been no method to my selection process. I just shop around and read recommendations from others, and if something sounds good on paper, I'll buy a set and install them.

I do have one or two guitars with hotter output than the others, but since I use a specific guitar for each song we play live, and I use song-specific presets, I compensate for the output differences when I set up the presets.
 
I also keep the same pickups in all my gigging guitars. My co-guitarist likes to experiment and volumes fluctuate just as you would expect with the different outputs.
 
I think nowadays, most stock pickups are fine. I have the same pickup in my 2 gigging guitars so it sounds the same, but it's only an output thing really. I think we as guitarists can talk ourselves into hearing shit that is not there, or improvements that are not there. The cache of having XYZ's newest pickup in their guitar makes us feel better too.
 
Hearing very good things about the Fluence pickups. Might need to throw a set in to my Strat!

You will love the sound! Also the kit includes the volume/tone controls with a lift toggle on the bottom pot to switch between vintage and hotter sort of "Texas Special" mode. The only downfall is active pickups require battery power but consumption is very, very low and you can buy an optional rechargeable back plate battery pack.
Found them relatively cheap on eBay while shopping for Lace Sensors which I also have and quite pleased I took the plunge.
 
This is possibly a backhanded compliment to the concept, but I can say that I have never replaced a stock pickup with an aftermarket and had the guitar sound worse. Sometimes not any better, but at least as good. Dimarzios in the 70s, Duncans 80s to early 90s, Fralins after that. Some of those have been particularly good, and I felt that they made already good guitars into great ones.

On the other hand, I have a variety of guitars that sound great in totally unaltered, from-the-box stock condition. In the end, it is what it always is... up to you and your ear. If your stock pickups sound good to you, then the heck with what I think!
 
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