New here - pickup question

[bijo699]

Hello friend.
i am new to this forum and i am not a sound expert so sorry for some silly questions.
I have 4 guitars - 2 custom fender style , 1 prs like guitar (a cheap one) and a gibson studio.

on my fenders i have different woods and pickups
one with me over 18 years - i think it is alder body with maple neck and scalloped brazilian rosewood - active emg pickups (HSS).
the second fender style is a walnut body with maple neck and seymour duncan alnico 2 humbuckers (HH).
the gibson studio is mahagony with gibson 490-489 humbuckers (HH)
the prs lookalike guitar is very cheap and awful sound with unbranded humbuckers but the body is mahagony also.

i am looking to improve the sound of the guitar and i thought about 2 options :
1. to replace the gibson pickups with better pickups and put them on the prs.
2. to install affordable but good pickups on the prs while the gibson will stay with the 490.

I am looking for a warm sound , for allaround playing - mostly ROCK sound , i love the sound of steve lukather , gary moore , bon jovi.

there are some pickups that i thought about but any suggestion will be great :
Dimarzio Transition
Bare knuckles mule
Gibson burstbucker or classic 57
seymour duncan seth lover (that will be the affordable ones i think).

please help me with that and guide me to find the good tone.

i use Laney tube amp (i think vc30) i use vox multi effect (with a tube also).

thank you very much

 

[AlexR]

Re: New here - pickup question

Bareknuckles get a good rep, as do the Seths. I think you'd be happy with either. Stick them in the Gibson.

 

[bijo699]

Re: New here - pickup question

AlexR - thank you
and what about the PRS style ?
do you think the seths will be good there ?

 

[AlexR]

Re: New here - pickup question

Seths will work well there too. Not sure if you want to get multiple pickup sets, but if you put the 490's into the PRS clone then you can see what that is like with a moderately decent pickup. After that you can try some other pickups later once you have an idea of the 'true tonality' of that guitar.

 

[bijo699]

Re: New here - pickup question

Seths will work well there too. Not sure if you want to get multiple pickup sets, but if you put the 490's into the PRS clone then you can see what that is like with a moderately decent pickup. After that you can try some other pickups later once you have an idea of the 'true tonality' of that guitar.

i thought about different sound to each guitar , still close sound of course , warm and fat.
i just wonder if i should replace a good gibson pickup or leave them that way.....

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: New here - pickup question

Seths and/or BK units get my vote !

 

[bijo699]

Re: New here - pickup question

Seths and/or BK units get my vote !

sirjack - do you think i should put the seths on the "pr-les"
i know it is a cheap guitar but it is like "al di meola prism prs" - so very beautiful - and i am sure if i will change the electronics i can enjoy good/decent sound.

the seths are less expensive than the BK .

a friend told me to keep the gibson 490 on the studio.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: New here - pickup question

sirjack - do you think i should put the seths on the "pr-les"
i know it is a cheap guitar but it is like "al di meola prism prs" - so very beautiful - and i am sure if i will change the electronics i can enjoy good/decent sound.

the seths are less expensive than the BK .

a friend told me to keep the gibson 490 on the studio.

I can only think that the Seth will be an improvement over the stock PRS units.

I love what the Seths brings to the table.
Classic (and i mean TRUE Classic) A2 tone from the golden era of electric guitars.

I would deff upgrade that PRS with a set of Seths - if it was my guitar.

 

[bijo699]

Re: New here - pickup question

ok - thanks for all the answers...
should i replace all the other electronics too ? pots/wiring and stuff ?

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: New here - pickup question

ok - thanks for all the answers...
should i replace all the other electronics too ? pots/wiring and stuff ?

Yes, definitely change the pots on the Gibson first, before you do any swaps. Check to see if your volume pots are 300k. If they are, switch to 500k. You'll get an immediate improvement.

On the walnut strat, I think A2Pros are too bright. Walnut is very similar tonally if not brighter than Maple. I would go Duncan Jazz/Custom

On the PRS copy, try a Dean Hands Without Shadows/Dean Baker Act



You need to list what you like and don't like on the alder strat.

 

[Aceman]

Re: New here - pickup question

Here is some reading for you. One of these combo's will do it for you. Give the thread in this link a read:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...fficial-Which-PAF-Thread&highlight=Which+PAF?

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: New here - pickup question

Here is some reading for you. One of these combo's will do it for you. Give the thread in this link a read:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...fficial-Which-PAF-Thread&highlight=Which+PAF?

A Very Good read Aceman !

 

[bijo699]

Re: New here - pickup question

Here is some reading for you. One of these combo's will do it for you. Give the thread in this link a read:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...fficial-Which-PAF-Thread&highlight=Which+PAF?

thanks my friend !!! i will check it