Pickups for Strange ESP

[Dudeman7]

Hello everybody! I just bought another guitar. It is an ESP LTD Hybrid-300 and it's a bit of an odd one.

The Hybrid-300 is like someone took a Les Paul Jr. double cut and bred it with a Tele. Mahogany body and set mahogany neck, tilt-back 3+3 headstock, 24 3/4" scale.....those are all Gibson style.

The body is a slab, single volume and tone with 3-way switch, combination metal bridge/pickup mounting ring and Tele neck single coil pickup are totally Tele.

Anyway, I have one of these already and there's something about it that makes me reach for it over my nicer, more expensive guitars. This one just fits. Love the style, love the tones, love the simplicity and I love the fact that it's a little different than the average Strat, Tele or LP, but it's still able to have a classic range of useful tones.

The one I already own has a JB Trembucker in the bridge position and a Quarter Pound Tele in the neck spot. They pair with each other nicely. However, I'm thinking of replacing the stock pickups on the new one and contemplating a different combination.

I tend to play dirty with lots of effects. Not really into shredding, intricate metal or clean-ish bluesy tones. More J Mascis, less Joe Bonamassa if that makes sense.

So, for a full sized Trembucker for the bridge and a single coil Tele neck pickup, what would you choose?

[Dudeman7]

Sorry for the long post and the crappy pic!

[Hsb]

What pickups are in it now and what dont you like about then. What are you looking for in a new pickup, warmth, brightness, output

[Drak]

Well, you asked for shoot-from-the-hip ideas so that's where I'm shootin' from.
What I see: someone trying to be 'cute' with the design, just for the sake of being cute, period.
And that never really 'works', as there are many old Gibson ideas that followed that track into the dustbins of oblivion (Marauder, S-1, etc.)
Awesome spinal column on most of those guitars that some 'genius' attached pigs' feet and a rooster's head to.
So, this is a very similar story here, very similar.
They overshot it with the HB bridge and undershot it with the Tele neck.

Because the very bones of that thing SCREAM for a pair of rippin' P-90's innit.
The guitar has a dead-classic Gibson footprint, built for a P-90 par-tee.
And they put a kitty-kat head on it and an elephant's ass on it.
Easily solved, very easily.

I'm thinking far more like a Charlie Starr / Blackberry Smoke thing.
Knuckle-draggin, whiskey-chuggin', down-lo and Extremely Dirty South vibe.
That's how I see it.

I'd put a hot HB-sized P-90 in the bridge.
Then, I'd cut a new pickguard for it and put a regular P-90 in the neck.

So, I couldn't see your pic very well so I Google'd it for a better look.
And look what I found, someone already beat me to the punch:
So there's two votes for P-90's!

[Dudeman7]

What pickups are in it now and what dont you like about then. What are you looking for in a new pickup, warmth, brightness, output

It has the stock Duncan Designed pickups in it. They are not bad really, I just want to take the opportunity to make this guitar sound great, not "just OK" like it does now.

I'm looking for pickups that respond well to technique changes and don't turn into a mess with layers of effects. The DDs do OK but there is a harshness in the upper midrange that is fatiguing when you stack effects.

The JB/QP combo in my other one is great. They do exactly what I need and are a good complement to the woods/construction of these guitars. In fact, later production 400-series Hybrids came from the factory with a JB and Quarter Pound Tele.

Just looking to do something a little different with this one for the sake of experimentation and for variety. I guess what I'm really asking is: Is there a humbucker/Tele neck SC that you have had good experiences with?

[Dudeman7]

Well, you asked for shoot-from-the-hip ideas so that's where I'm shootin' from.
What I see: someone trying to be 'cute' with the design, just for the sake of being cute, period.
And that never really 'works', as there are many old Gibson ideas that followed that track into the dustbins of oblivion (Marauder, S-1, etc.)
Awesome spinal column on most of those guitars that some 'genius' attached pigs' feet and a rooster's head to.
So, this is a very similar story here, very similar.
They overshot it with the HB bridge and undershot it with the Tele neck.

Because the very bones of that thing SCREAM for a pair of rippin' P-90's innit.
The guitar has a dead-classic Gibson footprint, built for a P-90 par-tee.
And they put a kitty-kat head on it and an elephant's ass on it.
Easily solved, very easily.

I'm thinking far more like a Charlie Starr / Blackberry Smoke thing.
Knuckle-draggin, whiskey-chuggin', down-lo and Extremely Dirty South vibe.
That's how I see it.

I'd put a hot HB-sized P-90 in the bridge.
Then, I'd cut a new pickguard for it and put a regular P-90 in the neck.

So, I couldn't see your pic very well so I Google'd it for a better look.
And look what I found, someone already beat me to the punch:
So there's two votes for P-90's!

I like the idea of P90s! At least one in the bridge position. Maybe a Phat Cat?

The neck would be a little trickier since the route for the neck pickup is barely big enough for the single coil in it. Worth considering though. Thanks!

I also have a Pearly Gates floating around here that would fit perfectly in the bridge spot. I like the PG in my alder/rosewood Strat but it might be a little too light on output for what I want from this guitar. Might experiment anyway.

The "knuckle draggin', whiskey chuggin', down and dirty" vibe is definitely the goal for this one.

[playas]

Did someone from Gibson design that?

I also thought P-90 (phat cat I guess) at least for the bridge.

[Drak]

I like the idea of P90s! At least one in the bridge position. Maybe a Phat Cat?
The neck would be a little trickier since the route for the neck pickup is barely big enough for the single coil in it. Worth considering though. Thanks!
I also have a Pearly Gates floating around here that would fit perfectly in the bridge spot. I like the PG in my alder/rosewood Strat but it might be a little too light on output for what I want from this guitar. Might experiment anyway.
The "knuckle draggin', whiskey chuggin', down and dirty" vibe is definitely the goal for this one.

Since your other one already has a HB, I would opt more for the Phat Cat, a valid P-90 choice.
P-90's and HB's just have different basic sounds, so I'd go authentic P-90 of some description.

30 seconds in...that was what I had in mind.
His doesn't even have a neck pickup, so I guess the field is open to you there.
But the bridge P-90, it will be the core sound of that guitar, choose wisely!

[Despair]

I'd probably go with P-Rails in the bridge (rail towards bridge), and push/pull pots to control switching with a scheme similar to a Triple Shot pickup ring. Odds are I'd leave it in P-90 mode most of the time, but being able to flip to a more tele-like bridge would be fun.

I'd probably go with an STK-S4m in the neck, if I didn't like that tele neck pickup opposite the P-90.

[Synapsys]

I'd also go with a P-Rails bridge, but would go with a Vintage Tele Stack.

[Dudeman7]

P-Rails might be cool. I had considered them for a guitar a while back but went in a different direction for that one.

I'll take another look at them now.

Thanks!

[jeremy]

i think a prail is a great choice. good p90 tone and some other options if you want them. for the neck... i might leave it be but if you wanted to swap it and need to use a tele pup, id go quarter pound. i do love a pearly bridge though

[Dudeman7]

i think a prail is a great choice. good p90 tone and some other options if you want them. for the neck... i might leave it be but if you wanted to swap it and need to use a tele pup, id go quarter pound. i do love a pearly bridge though

Good call! I really like the QP in my other guitar. It's a good balance of warmth and detail but it has enough output to not be obnoxiously quiet compared to the JB in the bridge.

I'm having a hell of a hard time finding a trembucker P-Rails, though. I know, I know, regular spacing sounds fine. It's just that I'm an idiot and kind of anal about little details like that.

A lot more option for HB-sized P90s than I was expecting! Getting wide spacing looks like a custom order from most companies though. Not sure I want to drop a couple hundred dollars into a beat up guitar I paid $180.00 for.

Decisions, decisions....

[Dave Locher]

No advice, i just want to say I dig that guitar!

[allbutromeo]

They did make a trembucker spaced P-rail. On Duncans website it says temporarily unavailable, but I'd you Google search it "Seymour Duncan TBPR-1b" you'll find places that still have them.