pick ups of choice

[Tim Plains]

That comparative output chart has nothing to do do with sound - just output. That's why I have to turn my amp down when I switch from my Standard (BBs) to my Custom (490/498).

 

As for the original question...there is no 'best pickup.' If there was, then there would only be one choice and everybody would buy that pickup.

 

I agree with what was said previously, why spend thousands on a guitar and then modify it. I like keeping guitars in their original state.

[Sancho]

can some one tell me more about these "bare knuckles" pups?

 

Bare Knuckle website

Click there;-)

A British boutique pickup maker who has some very cool classic rock names to describe the tone of the pickups.

Not cheap.

[Deftone]

I've always liked the 498T in my bridge and I don't use the neck pup much. 496R/498T came stock in my 2002 LP Standard Raw Power and I loved the tone. The 500T in my SG faded seems a bit too bright, I'll probably use a 498T in that too. I also put a 500T in my Strat...WAY too bright. I'll have to try a something different there, maybe something that sounds muddy in an LP. Somehting similar to what EVH used.

[stryker69]

i love the bb pros!

i also think the seymour duncan alnicoII's sound good!

[Archer993]

That comparative output chart has nothing to do do with sound - just output. That's why I have to turn my amp down when I switch from my Standard (BBs) to my Custom (490/498).

 

As for the original question...there is no 'best pickup.' If there was' date=' then there would only be one choice and everybody would buy that pickup.

 

I agree with what was said previously, why spend thousands on a guitar and then modify it. I like keeping guitars in their original state.[/quote']

 

Can you explain your first statement? Output Ok, but the difference in tone depending on the PU, I believe, is quite significant.

[Plank_Spanker]

I love the BB Pros in my Standard. I'm not so keen anymore on the 498T / 490R in my Studio. The Studio will soon be getting a Doug Aldrich set. I played a friend's Standard with them and it sounded godly.

[Gibson CS]

 

Can you explain your first statement? Output Ok' date=' but the difference in tone depending on the PU, I believe, is quite significant.[/quote']

 

output can be used to measure @ what volume levels give you more or less distortion,how agressive your pick harmonics can be, and how saturated, or how clean and defined your sound is

 

overwound, hotter pickups are DUH hotter more agressive, and have more treble bite.

they can give you more agressive harmonics.

 

but the tone really comes from what kind of magnet, what wire, and what pots ect

[RIPRIDER]

Anyone using Dirty Fingers in thier LP...? And how do they sound..?

[MGrd]

Anyone using Dirty Fingers in thier LP...? And how do they sound..?

Not on a LP but on a SG. I replaced the brigde pickup with it.

 

It sounds very aggressive and deserves the name "Dirty". It's very beefy.

Single notes of chords sound differentiated even played with high gain.

I have no problem with noise comming from it.

 

It's a special pickup and for me it's the best I've played so far.

If I ever sell my SG I'll swap the pickup back to the 490 to put the Dirty Fingers into the next guitar.

[RichCI]

When it's not broken' date=' I don't fix it. [/quote']

 

That's my philosophy as well and I rarely swap pickups anymore (I already went down that road years ago). When I do change pickups, it's because I'm looking for a relatively minor tweak in my tone; radical changes require radical measures like grabbing a different guitar or amp and different pickups will get you only so far - a Strat is a Strat is a Strat and they all sound like variations of Strats no matter which Strat pickups you put into them. When I start thinking about changing the stock pups in my LP, it always ends up meaning that I needed to change the strings; after I change them and it sounds brighter again, I always think "Ooh! Yeah!" so that takes care of that.

 

The first thing to do is determine exactly what you want to be different in a new set up pickups. Hotter output? Brighter tone? Something else? After you know what you want, then it's a matter of tracking down the pickups that are going to do the job which, IMO, is a pain in the *** outside of trial and error because most companies spout off adjectives like "vintage" and "creamy" as if they really means anything outside of marketing jargon.

 

Probably the best web site for comparing a particular brand of pickups is Seymour Duncan's. They have sound clips of all their pickups that were created by putting them into the same guitar, into the same amp with the same player playing the same riffs. The way I approach it is that I find the pickup that sounds closest to what I have already then compare the rest to that so I have a point of reference. Sure, the starting tone most likely won't be exactly like what you use overall, but listen to the attack of the strings and how the amp is reacting to the pickups more than the overall tone; that will get you pretty close. Trust your ears and ignore the names of the pickups and web forum hype.

 

Another method is to contact a small pickup builder who is willing to consult with you personally and is familiar with the pickups you have already. I replaced the pickups in my Strat with a set from Don Mare who was extremely helpful and I ended up getting exactly what I asked for. Mare doesn't make humbuckers so he isn't going to be able to help you with your Les Paul, but others like Jason Lollar, Lindy Frailin and Jim Wagner (WCR Coils) all build humbuckers and are small enough operations to still be able to lend a personal ear. The downside is that smaller builders tend to be more expensive than the big guys like Duncan and Dimarzio. More expensive does not necessarily equal better; tone is subjective.

 

Whatever route you decide to go, do your homework first and really think about your tone and what you're trying to achieve otherwise you'll just be throwing darts at a wall. Changing pickups is good only if you can find what you know you're after.

[This one goes to 11]

 

Bare Knuckle website

Click there;-)

A British boutique pickup maker who has some very cool classic rock names to describe the tone of the pickups.

Not cheap.

 

I haven't yet tried out their gear, but I've been hearing a lot of good things about them. There are links off their website to guys on places like YouTube jamming with Bare Knuckle pickups. Saw some good clips (wish I could remember the guy's name) of a guy with Mules fitted to his les, and they sound damn good.

 

Like Sancho says, not cheap, but then what's a good pickup set worth to you? As they say in Afrikaans, "Goedkoop is duurkoop" (roughly transplated: buying cheap is costly).