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Need help choosing pickups


ncarey13

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I've got a Dot Studio and I want to change the pickups out. I've never modified a guitar before, and to be quite honest choosing pickups is becoming pretty confusing. I want a warm, full tone but I'm now sure which pickups would work best. I've read a lot about Gibson 57 classics and Burtsbuckers. Would either of these be good choices?

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In my very humble opinion (a relatively untrained ear re: pup comparisons):

 

BB's are a bit hotter than the 57's - if you play sloppy, you won't sound good. Furthermore, if you don't think you're sloppy now, you will when you play with BB's. O:) At least that's how it was for me. But the clarity on these pups is, to me, remarkable.

 

The 57's are nice and smooth - perfect for blues or rock leads. Lot's of clarity, plenty of bite. They're hot too, but not as much as the BB's IMO.

 

In reality, the differences between these pups aren't HUGE (actually they're very similar), that's why people often have a hard time choosing between them. If I was putting them in a LP, I'd get BB's. If I was putting them in a SG, I'd get 57 Classics. I'm not sure about a Dot as I've never owned one or played one.

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the vintage output pups are the warm ones for me.

so I'd say if those are your choices, go for the 57's.

The burstbuckers will be higher outuput and while I wouln't call them 'not warm', they aren't going to really be the same.

 

I'd bet someone in here has a set of both.... and that's whose coat I'd pull on.

 

the problem is sort of with the descriptions. heck my p90s can be as warm as I like!

especially if I put them in the toaster for half a day.

har har.

 

look at the music/bands/pickers you want to emulate most.. if they have more vintage guitars and pickups.. that's most likely the way to go.

On the other hand, newer higher output pickups like the burstbuckers are designed with the old ones in mind.. so they don't stray terribly far from vintage as to root tones, warmth, etc.

 

It's hard because warm and full are relative terms.. kinda vague!

 

Hang in. get some repsonses.. you'll be cool.

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Actually, the Burstbuckers are, when considered as a 'range' of pickups, not as hot as the '57 Classics. Basically (according to Gibson's published specs), a BB II is about equivalent in output to a '57 Classic while a 'slightly overwound' BB III is equivalent to the '57 Classic plus. This leaves the BB I, which is an 'underwound' pickup and has less output than the '57 Classic. Note that none of the so-called 'hot' versions (BB III or '57 Classic plus) are really that hot; they do not fall into the range of, say, a Seymour Duncan JB, or even an Epi Classic Hot pickup for example. The variance between the three BBs is quite small, aimed to mimic production tolerances encountered when these pickups were being wound 'by eye' back in the fifties. If you want a hotter sound you could also look into the 490R/490T/498T pickups.

 

Note that Gibson usually installs the BB I/BB II pair on its VOS Les Pauls while they use the '57 Classics on guitars like the LP Custom, the ES-335 (no 'plus' in the bridge) and the SG '61 reissue. The LP Standard has BB Pros which, essentially, are potted versions of the BB I and II.

 

Both the BBs and the '57 Classics represent different approaches to the same goal, i.e. the replication of the classic fifties PAF pickup. In the case of the '57 Classics, this is achieved using modern materials and construction techniques, so the two coils are matched and the pickups are wax potted. The BBs take the concept one step further and also attempt to mimic the fifties manufacturing process, so the coils are NOT matched and the pickups are not wax potted so as to be as authentic as possible. In my opinion the BBs do a better job of capturing that PAF 'mojo', while the '57 Classics instead provide the advantages of modern advancements to the technology.

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this is my take on Epiphone and pickups.. out of five Epiphone guitars i've had, i've not wanted or need to change them, i think they sounded great; the lone exception was a junior LP which i wanted single coil sounds from and stuck a Gibson P94 into, with spectacular results.

 

 

..you can't really go wrong with Gibson pickups, they are the best, but i wouldn't change them if the stock pickups were good, like on most of my Epis (imo)! -you can easily spend up to two thirds the cost of the actual guitar on pickups alone, you sure you can't get the warmth and tone you're after any other way?

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I have a Dot studio and replaced the pickups, which I hated, with GFS Mean 90s. One of the main reasons I chose GFS pickups is the price. It didn't make sense to me to put $200 pickups in a $200 guitar. Of course I have no idea if more expensive pickups would have sounded better but I'm very satisfied with the sound, especially for under $80. I was looking for and got the P90 sound I wanted; other GFS pickups seem to be very popular with the Epi crowd. You may want to consider the plethora of aftermarket pickups, GFS and other, that don't carry the Gibson price tag. Also, check out sound samples on Seymour Duncan and other sites, which may help you zero in on which type of pickup you want.

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Spud, you described the BBs perfectly. I've got a set of BB Pros (potted) in my DC Pro & they are the best-sounding Humbucker pickups I've ever heard. Kinda the best of both worlds since they're potted. I hate the thought of spending $130 apiece for pickups but those BB Pros are actually worth it.

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Epi pickups are OK. I don't think that they have the sonic range that aftermarket or Gibson pickups have. They do bite and they sound good, just not quite as good as their big brothers. Articulation is probably the word I'm looking for.

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I have Seymour Duncan Phatcats (a P-94 pickup) in my Dot Studio. I start grinning about 2 minutes in' date=' every time I play it - the grin lasts right up to the limit of my talent (low).

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What he said, 'cept mine are GFS Mean 90s

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