Closest pickup to shawbucker?

[BurntAlmonds]

Hi all. I'm looking at getting a Player 2 HSS strat, and the bridge pickup it comes with from fender is a Shawbucker.


Fender lists it as Alnico 2, 7.6k. Looking around at videos and opinions it seems like it may be a bit underpowered. But I'm not sure -- it's hard to find much information on this pickup so I'm hoping some of you guys can tell me more about it.


Any idea which SD pickup it is closest to?
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[jeremy]

welcome to the forum!

ive heard that pup and its ok. i didnt find it under powered, but its also matched with single coils. im not sure there is a good duncan analog to that pup, but i have limited experience with it

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Sounds like a generic-y PAF-type. Or at least within that vintage output realm. I think an A2P or a Pearly Gates might get you in the ballpark, maybe?

 

[Chistopher]

I would try the guitar out before I decided to spend extra $$$ on new hardware, especially if the only idea you have for what you want out of it is that it will be similar to the one already in there

 

[jeremy]

Sounds like a generic-y PAF-type. Or at least within that vintage output realm. I think an A2P or a Pearly Gates might get you in the ballpark, maybe?

i love those two pups, and the shawbucker didnt sound much like them to my ears

 

[Mincer]

Keep in mind, replacing that pickup would mean a few things...
Fender uses 3 screws to mount their humbucker, and most aftermarket company use 2. you either have to live with holes in your pickguard or budget for another pickguard as well. Also (and this is less important), Fender and at least Seymour Duncan are out of phase, so you have to reverse the black and green in every diagram when putting in a Duncan.

As far as the Shawbucker goes, it sounds pretty good. It isn't a metal pickup, but it isn't a metal guitar. It will do everything up to modern metal well with the right amp.

 

[BurntAlmonds]

Good tip on the 3 screw mount, I hadn't realized that!

 

[Bowtomecha]

That’s a lovely sounding pickup I don’t think it’s like a pearly gates though.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

i love those two pups, and the shawbucker didnt sound much like them to my ears

Not even ballpark?

 

[beaubrummels]

Not even ballpark?

Pearly Gates and A2P don't even sound close to each other, so that's a pretty wide ballpark.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Pearly Gates and A2P don't even sound close to each other, so that's a pretty wide ballpark.

I know. That's why I mentioned two different 7K-ish A2 pickups I could think of in the Duncan Range. If it doesn't resemble one, then maybe the other.

 

[Chistopher]

I would say that while they sound pretty different as far as 7k A2 PAFs go, in the grand scheme of things they sound pretty similar

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I guess it depends on who you're asking. For me, who don't normally use A2 7K-ish pickups... yeah, while they don't sound exactly the same, there are definitely similarities. That's why I asked "ballpark".

But much like if someone came to the forum asking what would be the Duncan equivalent of the 500T, people would inevitably recommend the Distortion, Black Winter, or Custom, even if none of them are the exact same. Though they can get you in the ballpark, depending on what you want. That's what I meant.

 

[jeremy]

the aph is warm, smooth, clear, and fairly balanced. the pg has a bit of grit to the bottom, a big upper mid punch, and some snarl on the top end without being overly sharp. the shawbucker was pretty middle of the road