Hot neck pickups... who likes them? Favorites?

[Rex_Rocker]

I've never been a fan of 7-8K-ish underwound neck pickups in my guitars. They always seem weak and scooped, no matter the magnet. They're fine on their own, but whenever I switch to a good, beefy, hot bridge pickup, they all fall apart for me. It's probably just me, though, since many people seem to make those kind of combos work!

But I'm sure there are others who like beefy, smooth, overwound neck pickups to go with their high-gain bridge monsters! I've not tried many, TBH, since they're not all that common, but I have really liked the Duncan Distortion Neck and the Black Winter Neck. I've also tried the JB in the neck, but I wasn't a fan. That one goes a bit too far in the opposite direction for my taste. The EMG 60 is also cool, but that's a bit in a different world altogether.

So I wonder, what else is out there? What do you guys like? What overwound neck pickups are cool? And how do you like underwound neck pickups with strong magnets (like the Super 2 or the Invader Neck)?

Cheers!

 

[ErikH]

While I love the '57 Classic, the Pearly Gates neck, the Whole Lotta Humbucker neck, I also love the Screamin' Demon in the neck. The Super Distortion in the neck can be a bit much but in paralle it is amazing. Sure, lower output but what a sweet sound for the neck slot.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Is the Super Distortion in parallel lower output?

 

[ErikH]

Yes, it is lower in output. But it is cleaner for the neck. In series it's just too much.

 

[Blille]

I prefer lower output in the neck. My all time fave is the A2Pro HB.

That said, a beefy sound I liked was the Stag Mag in series in the neck. I usually would just used it split but sometimes I would use it in series for a wooly over the top (for me) sound.

 

[Securb]

I have a TV Jones Classic + bridge in the neck of my Tele, SD Hotrails in the bridge. I love it. It is very Malcolm Youngish. I just took a Maxon Super 70 bridge out of my Strat. This morning, I ordered a H pickguard to try out as a neck pickup in my green Tele, Dimarzio SD in the bridge. I love a hot neck pickup.

 

[veil]

I once read that the Distortion Neck used to be called the Seymourizer and is the missing model SH-7 (now it's SH-6n)

 

[alex1fly]

I like the JB in the neck. More like a hot fat single coil than I would've thought.

Tried the Norton in the neck - too fat. It was only fat.

 

[Artie]

I once read that the Distortion Neck used to be called the Seymourizer and is the missing model SH-7 (now it's SH-6n)

Yup. And the Distortion is one of my favorite (hot) neck pickups. Along with a Pearly and Invader.

 

[GuitarStv]

Typically I like lower output neck pickups . . . but I've found the quarter pounder with 500k pots to be surprisingly usable in the neck and matches well with a hot humbucker (Superdistortion) in the bridge.

 

[solspirit]

Name some signature mini humbuckers from the early 2000's

EDIT: Screamin demon

 

[Mincer]

Hotter neck pickups take out all of the dynamics to me, so I have to say I can't do them justice.

 

[solspirit]

Hotter neck pickups take out all of the dynamics to me, so I have to say I can't do them justice.

Maybe because you're more of an ambient player?

 

[Mincer]

Maybe because you're more of an ambient player?

Well, I play in a jazzy blues band, so I need the dynamics for that.

 

[bigcupholder]

Does the PAF Pro count? It's always seemed like a hot neck pickup to me regardless of its 8k-ish impedance, and Dimarzio rates its output similar to many neck pickups in the 10k-13k impedance range. As always, impedance is not output.

On that note, Dimarzio has a ton of options for hotter neck pickups, even if you just go by impedance. The Utopia, Transition, Titan, Steve Morse, Sonic Ecstacy, Rainmaker, Liquifire, Illuminator, Gravity Storm, Evolution and Pandemonium are over 10k. Of those, I've only tried the Liquifire, but it's a cool pickup for shredding leads.

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I was about to post that I don't have any experience with powerful neck pickups.
But while that's true for things like the JB or the Super D, I've liked some others that are - for me - fairly beefy.

I've had very good results with the Demon in neck position, and the Air Norton is super fat & smooth at the neck.
Breed neck is another really good one. Duncan Distortion neck is pretty great too.
All of those have enough juice to be qualify as hotter-than-vintage bridge pickups.

EDIT: I also had a DiMarzio Super II in a Kramer back in the 80s. Great as a neck pickup; quite bright as a bridge.

 

[Dave Locher]

I just took a Maxon Super 70 bridge out of my Strat. This morning, I ordered a H pickguard to try out as a neck pickup in my green Tele, Dimarzio SD in the bridge. I love a hot neck pickup.

I had a Super 70 in the neck of an Ibanez years ago with a Super D in the bridge. I liked it. The Super 70 gives great sustain but is bright & thin enough to still sound "necky." I think it will work well in your Tele

 

[alex1fly]

Besides the JB I guess the 8 string I had for a brief period had a Fishman Fluence Modern in the neck and it was HOT. It had the chime of a neck pickup, but didn't have any of the juicy expressiveness that neck pickups usually have. The JB and FFM both sounded good, but were compressed in feel. I just don't really like that in a neck spot. I do have a PAF Pro ready for install in the neck spot of an SG, but that's more medium output than hot.

Back to the OP, sounds like you just want a little more beef - or better balance between neck and bridge. You could get that by getting a medium output pickup in there, swapping a bigger magnet into your existing pickup, or raising the neck pickup closer to the strings and lowering the bridge pickup a hair. Or if your guitar has independent volume knobs, just compensate there for the difference in output.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Does the PAF Pro count? It's always seemed like a hot neck pickup to me regardless of its 8k-ish impedance, and Dimarzio rates its output similar to many neck pickups in the 10k-13k impedance range. As always, impedance is not output.

I didn't find it to be very high output. I always keep one around because it's my favorite low output bridge pickup, but I wouldn't say it's miles above an actual PAF-type in terms of output. JME.

Interesting I found about it is that it's actually a tiny bit hotter than an actual PAF-type because it has a slightly oversized Alnico 5 magnet.

In the neck position, anything from the JB and up in the bridge position overpowered it, IME.

 

[DonP]

I've never been a fan of 7-8K-ish underwound neck pickups in my guitars. They always seem weak and scooped, no matter the magnet. They're fine on their own, but whenever I switch to a good, beefy, hot bridge pickup, they all fall apart for me. It's probably just me, though, since many people seem to make those kind of combos work!

But I'm sure there are others who like beefy, smooth, overwound neck pickups to go with their high-gain bridge monsters! I've not tried many, TBH, since they're not all that common, but I have really liked the Duncan Distortion Neck and the Black Winter Neck. I've also tried the JB in the neck, but I wasn't a fan. That one goes a bit too far in the opposite direction for my taste. The EMG 60 is also cool, but that's a bit in a different world altogether.

So I wonder, what else is out there? What do you guys like? What overwound neck pickups are cool? And how do you like underwound neck pickups with strong magnets (like the Super 2 or the Invader Neck)?

Cheers!

I put a De-Activator X neck in the neck of my Charvel ProMod to match the X2N that it came with used. I didn't expect to like it looking at the tone chart and power but I am really happy with it. Same with the X2N - I thought I wouldn't like that either but instead I bought 2 more.

In another ProMod I have a Screamin Demon in the neck to go with a JB2 I put in the bridge.

Both of these guitars kick ass.