Your top 5 neck pickups?

[UnderTheFlame83 Super Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close UnderTheFlame83]

1. Sentient - All around my favorite neck pickup. Mixed between a 59/ Jazz. You get the best of both but little bit darker, little more edge. More bite. This is a versatile pickup and I think underrated.

2. Black Winter - Very close to being my number one pick. Very clear with just the right balance for a neck pickup. Works well with many high output Duncans. Excellent when split.

3. DiMarzio D Activator. Possibly the cleanest sounding neck pickup I've ever used. Not as high output as you would think. Not very bassy. Just enough treble and mids. Excellent shred neck with good harmonics. There's a reason I have this pickup in 4 of my guitars. My favorite DiMarzio neck

4. EMG 85 - Most people would probably say the 60 is their favorite EMG neck, but I like the 85 better. More volume and more chunk. Also its a lot more versatile than most think. Sounds good for any genre of music.

5. Duncan 59 - This pickup is popular for a reason. A classic. Everyone needs this pickup. My favorite neck pickup in a Les Paul.

[EC Strat Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close EC Strat]

For me:
1. SSL 1 - so mellow smooth and chimey A gold standard strat neck pickup
2. Klein epic 65 - see above but with a bit more mids
3. Fender PV 59 - very similar to the ssl 1 but a tad more presence / trebles
4. Fender PV 65 - a notch below the Klein 65
5. SD Texas Hot - a nice warm mellow sound that’s lower output -

[maug2122 Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close maug2122]

SD Pearly Gates
SD Screamin Demon
Dragonfire Modbucker
Bill Lawrence L250
Dimarzio HS 4
Dragonfire Duo Rail
Bill Lawrence Xl 500

[ErikH Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close ErikH]

SD Screamin' Demon
SD Classic Stack Plus
Gibson '57 Classic
Gibson P-90
DiMarzio PAF (pre-36th anniversary model)

[Jeffblue Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close Jeffblue]

Seymour Duncan '59
SD Five-Two for tele
SD Vintage P90
SD Phat Cat
Bill Lawrence 500XL

[Securb One of Jerry's Kids Find all posts View Profile Close Securb]

SD Jazz
Fralin Pure PAF
Pearly Gates
WLH
NULL - My favorite

[JOLLY Super Simonologist Find all posts View Profile Close JOLLY]

In no particular order:

Alnico II Pro Pearly Gates
Blackouts

EMTY Blackouts

59

Jazz/Jazz bridge

[LLL Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close LLL]

SH-10n
SH-55n
Callaham H/SRV single coil

[beaubrummels Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close beaubrummels]

[Humbucker]
59/A4
Pearly Gates
Jazz
Seth
496R

[Single Coil]
Fender 1966 Stratocaster (original)
Antiquity I Texas Hot
Fender Twisted Tele
DiMarzio Injector
DiMarzio '54 Pro

[GuitarStv Sock Market Trader Find all posts View Profile Close GuitarStv]

SSL-2
'59
SSL-4 Quarter Pounder
SM-1
SLS-1

They all kinda do very different things, but I've really liked all of them for what they do.

[IMENATOR Ultimate Tone Slacker Find all posts View Profile Close IMENATOR]

I have not used that many but here are my fav. No particular order.

1.- SSL-1, the Strat sound, period.
2.- STK-S6. Not as straty as the SSL-1 but it does sound very bluesy. if you split it and put an SSL-2 or SSL-1 in the middle the quack is very good.
3.- Full Shred. Great for lead but also great for rhythm as it cleans up very nice. Into a clean amp with chorus sounds amazing. This is the closest I have got to a single coil tone using a humbucker, use a FS bridge and you have a killer and super versatile HH guitar.
4.- Jazz. Great for lead but also great for rhythm as it cleans up very nice.
5.- STK-S10 YJM Fury. Less Straty than the STK-S6 and far from being a vintage tone but still a usable single coil tone. The lead sound was my favorite of all these 5 and can be used in an HSS config with a medium output hb.

[pskorz Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close pskorz]

I’m finding more and more that my favorite neck pickup is largely dependent on what’s in the bridge. How the two blend and work together will vary a bit.
I’ve been loving the Duncan 59 with a hybrid or super distortion, whereas it was underwhelming to me paired with a JB. But with the other two I can dial the amp in to get them both how I like them.

having said that, based on their own merits:
1. Epiphone p90 (only p90 I’ve had, but I love it’s vibe)
2. Dimarzio Fred
3. Mojotone 59 clone.
4. 85/15 S (this is a case where the bridge position isn’t my favorite of its own accord, but does sound good in relation to the neck)
5. Duncan 59. (One of these days I’ll have more experience with some of its contemporaries, like the APH, Demarzio 103 PAF, etc.) gives a great clean sound, and the exact smoothness I’m looking for in my Les Paul.

[Mononoaware Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close Mononoaware]

DiMarzio PAF (pre-36th anniversary model)

An under-appreciated pickup, imo. My list, in no particular order:

PAF Pro
59 neck
Jazz neck
Air Norton (flipped, in the right guitar)
Evolution neck

I'm a simple man with simple needs, I guess.

[soulforger Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close soulforger]

#1: I still love the Custom Custom in the neck with a Dimarzio Super Distortion bridge, I thought I was nuts till I read Larry Dimarzio's EVH article talking about how Eddie loved a CC in the neck of his EBMM prototype so much that he wanted to keep it and just have Dimarzio make a bridge pickup and use the Seymour and Dimarzio together in the EVH model. Maybe I'm not so dumb!

#2 Screamin' Demon

#3 PAF Pro

#4 Peavey Wolfgang neck pickup

#5 I've always been very fond of the PRS Tremonti neck pickup! (It has been used in several PRS guitars under different names as is Paul's way! I think it's just a #7 neck as well as Santana)

[Spaghetti Bolo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Spaghetti Bolo]

First ones that sprung to mind:

Jazz (My favourite for the last few years)
Seth
Harmonic Design Z-90
L-500
Wilde Tele Microcoil