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Pickup choices


macman

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Hi,

 

I am looking to purchase a Sprit GT-Pro Deluxe and want to replace all 3 pickups. Not sure whether to go with Seymour Duncans, DiMarzios or even stick with EMG's. Which pickups would you guys recommend (brand, type, etc..) for all 3 positions. I play a mixture of jazz, fusion, rock, some r&b, Christian; pretty much everything...LOL.

 

Thanks guys & ladies,

 

Macman

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Hey, I asked the exact same question awhile back and got no answers. I don't think this is very busy forum.

based on what most people I have talked with suggest, the stock EMG selects have to go... I have read that if you pull those pickups you could sell all three for about $25 so...they need to be changed.

 

I am trying to decide on which ones I want to swap to also. I am pretty sure the new Steinberger Synapses us EMG actives if that is any help. I have a GT-Pro Deluxe on the way also and I am pulling the entire pickups and electronics and installing new PUP's and doing a custom electronics setup to my specs.

To tell you the truth though, I haven't really decide on which PUPS I want yet. I have really been looking at DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan with EMG's at the bottom of my short list. Many suggest the GT-Pro is voiced more to the high range so a pickup that is darker would help give you an overall balanced tone.

 

If you decide on a set and install them, let me know how it sound when you have tested it out.

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Hey, I asked the exact same question awhile back and got no answers. I don't think this is very busy forum.

based on what most people I have talked with suggest, the stock EMG selects have to go... I have read that if you pull those pickups you could sell all three for about $25 so...they need to be changed.

 

I am trying to decide on which ones I want to swap to also. I am pretty sure the new Steinberger Synapses us EMG actives if that is any help. I have a GT-Pro Deluxe on the way also and I am pulling the entire pickups and electronics and installing new PUP's and doing a custom electronics setup to my specs.

To tell you the truth though, I haven't really decide on which PUPS I want yet. I have really been looking at DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan with EMG's at the bottom of my short list. Many suggest the GT-Pro is voiced more to the high range so a pickup that is darker would help give you an overall balanced tone.

 

If you decide on a set and install them, let me know how it sound when you have tested it out.

 

Hey Guitarrob.... I'm really trying to decide my friend. So many choices...LOL. I was thinking of Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck, and perhaps SD Pearlie Gates in the Bridge. That what I was going to put in my Parker. Not sure though about the middle position; a powerful single coil for sure. I'm just going to keep checking and various forums and see which others have chosen for their GT-Pros. I don't think I want to go active pups right now. I will be getting more Steinbergers/Headless guitars (kind of an addict now) so I 'm looking to go with active pups moving forward but for my first Steiny; looks like passive. Thanks for the info. regarding the GT-Pro's voicing being high range; that helps a lot.

 

Peace... Marvin

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Hey Guitarrob.... I'm really trying to decide my friend. So many choices...LOL. I was thinking of Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck, and perhaps SD Pearlie Gates in the Bridge. That what I was going to put in my Parker. Not sure though about the middle position; a powerful single coil for sure. I'm just going to keep checking and various forums and see which others have chosen for their GT-Pros. I don't think I want to go active pups right now. I will be getting more Steinbergers/Headless guitars (kind of an addict now) so I 'm looking to go with active pups moving forward but for my first Steiny; looks like passive. Thanks for the info. regarding the GT-Pro's voicing being high range; that helps a lot.

 

Update: Check out EMG's SRO Series pickups. They look like they may be worth considering: http://www.emgpickups.com/products/index/337/259/1

 

Peace... Marvin

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Hi MacMan & Guitarob,

 

I got my new Spirit DeLuxe on Saturday, air freight from the States to Australia. I was expecting, like you, to change the pickups sooner rather than later. I must say though, that I was very surprised just how good the stock pickups are. Everybody bags the Spirit's pickups but I would recommend trying them out for a while and not buying those Seymores or DiMarzios yet till you are sure you can't stand them! [sneaky]

 

I find the sound to be warm and jazzy, with plenty of overtones. Not muddy at all. I am interested in blues, jazz and traditional rock. I use a VOX AC15 and a Blackstar HT1 amp so that may serve as a guide to the type of sound that I like to hear. I don't think the pickups would cut it though, if you are wanting to do any heavy metal, in which case, the active EMGs might be the way to go.

 

Hope you like your new Spirit as much as I do mine. The finish is wonderful, such a nice guitar. The one major problem now though is my fingers are so sore! :)

 

Cheers

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Hi MacMan & Guitarob,

 

I got my new Spirit DeLuxe on Saturday, air freight from the States to Australia. I was expecting, like you, to change the pickups sooner rather than later. I must say though, that I was very surprised just how good the stock pickups are. Everybody bags the Spirit's pickups but I would recommend trying them out for a while and not buying those Seymores or DiMarzios yet till you are sure you can't stand them! [sneaky]

 

I find the sound to be warm and jazzy, with plenty of overtones. Not muddy at all. I am interested in blues, jazz and traditional rock. I use a VOX AC15 and a Blackstar HT1 amp so that may serve as a guide to the type of sound that I like to hear. I don't think the pickups would cut it though, if you are wanting to do any heavy metal, in which case, the active EMGs might be the way to go. You are right though as I am looking to Seymours or DiMarzio's. EMG's are on my list but at the bottom as the actives might take a bit of work to install in such a small bodied guitar.

 

Hope you like your new Spirit as much as I do mine. The finish is wonderful, such a nice guitar. The one major problem now though is my fingers are so sore! :)

 

Cheers

Well, if you like them stick with them.

I will check the guitars stock sound out for a bit before I change out the electronics but I also want to change the switching system aswell as the pickups.

 

I can't see me staying with the stock pickups but others might like them. I am more into the harder styles of music so I require something with a bit more punch.

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+1 for sticking with the originals for a bit as a new set will cost the same as a new guitar .

Well I wouldn't go that far, you can get a new Dimarzio Distortion for about $60.

DiMarzio Tone Zone is about $55 used in some places. You can find many great seymour for good

deals also, new or used.

You can get a set of active EMG's 81/85 combo for about $110 used if you look.

There are lots of great pickups out there for great deals.

Look around if you are interested in a swap out.

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Well I wouldn't go that far, you can get a new Dimarzio Distortion for about $60.

DiMarzio Tone Zone is about $55 used in some places. You can find many great seymour for good

deals also, new or used.

You can get a set of active EMG's 81/85 combo for about $110 used if you look.

There are lots of great pickups out there for great deals.

Look around if you are interested in a swap out.

 

Quite right too. I recently bought a pair of DiMarzio Air Classics to replace the stock pickups on my Epiphone Dot. The original stock pickups sounded muddy right from the start and I was amazed in the difference once I had the new ones installed. I think I paid around $65 for them from Musicians' Friend. It sounds great now, really nice.

The Steinberger stock pickups though, are better than the ones I pulled out of the Epiphone so they might stay, but then I love to fiddle around so maybe not... If I were to swap them out finally, I might go for something from DiMarzio again, perhaps something a bit hotter than the Epi has now got, such as Tone Zones.

I am quite pleased even with the middle stock pickup. It looks like a low-noise single coil and sounds kind of twangy, like a Tele. Does anybody know more about these stock pickups; who makes them? (are they out-sourced to EMG like in the Synapse range?)

 

Cheers

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Quite right too. I recently bought a pair of DiMarzio Air Classics to replace the stock pickups on my Epiphone Dot. The original stock pickups sounded muddy right from the start and I was amazed in the difference once I had the new ones installed. I think I paid around $65 for them from Musicians' Friend. It sounds great now, really nice.

The Steinberger stock pickups though, are better than the ones I pulled out of the Epiphone so they might stay, but then I love to fiddle around so maybe not... If I were to swap them out finally, I might go for something from DiMarzio again, perhaps something a bit hotter than the Epi has now got, such as Tone Zones.

I am quite pleased even with the middle stock pickup. It looks like a low-noise single coil and sounds kind of twangy, like a Tele. Does anybody know more about these stock pickups; who makes them? (are they out-sourced to EMG like in the Synapse range?)

 

Cheers

If you are asking about the Spirit GT-Pro, they use those EMG selects IIRC...most I have spoke with though pull them out. For the price these lower end pickups are to be expected. It is pretty hard to keep the GT-Pro at $399 and use a couple hundred in pickups.

I have been doing alot of research, so I am going to try out a few different models and hopefully I will find the tone I want. A high output humbuckers is probably the right way to go for me. I have also been considering actives such as SD blackouts or EMG 81/85...well atleast the 81.

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  • 1 year later...

If you are asking about the Spirit GT-Pro, they use those EMG selects IIRC...most I have spoke with though pull them out. For the price these lower end pickups are to be expected. It is pretty hard to keep the GT-Pro at $399 and use a couple hundred in pickups.

I have been doing alot of research, so I am going to try out a few different models and hopefully I will find the tone I want. A high output humbuckers is probably the right way to go for me. I have also been considering actives such as SD blackouts or EMG 81/85...well atleast the 81.

 

hello

i tried sh1 +vintage rails +sh4

 

vintage rails is a powerful single pickup (not a loud as a humbucker but not a single coil)

 

sh1: gary moore's tone, santana etc

or funk chic

 

middle positions not very good

 

sH4 is better than the original pickups!!

 

the guitar does not have a real good clean sound

put a bb sonic stomp too

 

sh1 is superb

i prefer let you try a ssl1 or ssl2 in the middle

and sh4 is ok but not for clean just distorsion

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  • 1 year later...

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