Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

[Aceman]

What do you think the TOP TEN pickups of all time are?

- Give me a list, of your personal belief (which is not necessarily you favorite) For example - I find it hard to believe the DiMarzio Super Distortion isn't on every list - but maybe not, and maybe in different positions…..
- I'm generally NOT talking about "The first Humbucker" or the "P-90" etc… be more specific.

Let's hear brand, make, and maybe a little reason if you could!

#1 DiMarzio Super Distortion. The sound pif the 70's (and 80's and more). This is the replacement pup that launched replacements!
#2 Duncan JB. The other big Gorilla in hot rodded sounds
#3 EMG 81 - because there WAS Another way to do it!
#4 The Gibson P-90. THE quintessential P90 tone for all time
#5 DiMArzio PAF. It's the PAF we all want
#6 Duncan Pearly Gates. It's the OTHER PAF we all want!
#7 Duncan Hot Rails. BAd@$$ incarnate, that fits in a start!
#8 Duncan Distortion. Metal as hell.
#9 DiMarzio X2N. When you need it to go to 11
#10 ANything by GFS. It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

#1. 1957-1960 Gibson "PAF" Humbucker. Not only an innovative solution to the 60-cycle hum problem of single coil pickups, this pup through a Marshall amp changed the sound of rock and roll forever. With its near mythical status and the huge number of companies and winders trying to recreate this pickup make it #1.

#2 DiMarzio Super Distortion. First aftermarket pickup, all others that came after owe it a debt. Sound of the mid 70s and beyond.

#3. Seymour Duncan JB. The other quintessential hot rodded rock pickup.

#4. EMG 81. The king of active pickups.

#5. Gibson P-90. Rock, blues, jazz, punk this baby can do them all.

#6. Seymour Duncan Hot Rails. Turning Strats into fire breathing monsters for decades.

#7. DiMarzio PAF Pro. THE hot PAF of the 80s and today.

#8. Fender Nocaster Lead.. The sound of country lead guitar since 1951.

#9. 1967 Fender Strat pickups. Hendrix... that is all.

#10. Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59. The go to neck pickup of the last 30 years

 

[superpete]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

I did mainly humbuckers, because I use them a lot more and also because i'd just write vintage fender strat and tele pickups.

1. Gibson PAF - Where it all began, and still the sound so many are trying to replicate today
2. Super Distortion - Beginning of the idea of a replacement pickup, and a classic sound
3. JB - see above
4. EMG 81/85 - a new take on the humbucker that is still used today
5. Gibson P90 - just a classic sound for rock and blues
6. Maxon Super 70/Duncan 78/EVH's home rewound PAF - 35 years or so later and people are still chasing the sound and dissecting what pickup will get THAT sound.
7. Dimarzio Area series - single coil sound, no hum.
8. Duncan A2p - The sought after sound for les pauls since appetite for destruction
9. Bill Lawrence L500XL - The tone of metal since vulgar display of power
10. Bare Knuckle humbuckers. Kind of a cop out to not pick a model, but i've never played one myself. But they have become a major player in the pickup world as of late and have driven the idea of extreme clarity under high gain and the bigger companies have followed suit (titans, alpha omega, nazgul, etc)

honorable mention to the P-Rail for being a new idea in the fairly tame world of pickup design

 

[LLL]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

Gibson P90, Gibson PAF, DiMarzio SD, Seymour's JB

Bill Lawrence is in there somewhere too.

The rest? Nothing nearly as influential as the above.

EDIT: I'm not including Eddie's (1st album) pickup for the simple fact that the pickup isn't the source of the brown sound; that was a combination of gear plus Donn & Ted

As to what is was, it was most likely an old mid 60s Gibson PAF with A5 magnet (slightly overwound). He has been quoted in old interviews stating he loved
old PAFs, had paid for old PAFs... and was known to rip PAFs out of (what are now) vintage 60s Gibsons.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

MJ knows what it was.

 

[Kac]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

JB - reasons have been listed
Jazz - THE neck humbucker
Alnico II Pro - it's a pro
Pearly Gates - great tones
Invader - heaviness
'59 - rocking PAF
hot Rails - hot, strat sized
JB Jr - the rock pickup in strat sized form
SSL5 - personal addition, I love the tones from this pickup every time I pick up my guitar.
Super distortion - cuz aceman said so.

 

[Guitaraxz]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

Arrrg I wont go to the history things I'll just say the ones I have installed and loved:

1-Dimarzio X2N, the first metal pup I really liked it was my fav for a long time.

2-Duncan El Diablo, kicks but! Once I heard it I wanted to replace all my X2N's, the problem is they're more expensive.

3-Bill Lawrence L500XL. Powerfull and cheap.

4-Duncan 59/Jazz A2 hybrid on neck. Just a great sound, nice and clear yet beautifull.

5-Duncan Custom/59 on neck. Yes on neck instead of bridge, I just loved it.

6-Duncan 78, bridge, really liked that with distortion the only problem is price.

7-Duncan Hot Rails, humbuckers in singlecoil size. The rails get rid of string volume problems I had with little 59's.

8-P90's on neck with a bucker on bridge is really cool, thus the GFS Mean 90 or.........

9-Duncan P-Rails, gives me P90, single or humbucker tones, I love it in neck.

10-Gibsons original PAF's, handwound when Seth was there, since they are no longer available for a reasonable price I will choose Duncans Seth Lover.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

1. Duncan Jazz neck. - IMO the best neck humbucker to ever grace my ears.
2. Duncan Alnico II Pro bridge. IMO the best bridge humbucker available. Smooth treble with some fat chunk.
3. Duncan STK-S4. When it comes to getting the Strat tone in a hum free package this is it.
4. Duncan JB. C'mon, it's the JB.
5. Duncan Seth Lover. Self-explanatory.
6. Duncan SSL-1 or it's non-staggered twin. The vintage Strat tone. Enough said.
7. Duncan WLH set. Nothing screams Rock n Roll more than he who shall not be named.
8. Dimarzio Super Distortion. This is Aceman's pick. To me, it's cool but wouldn't be in my personal top 10. I'm a Duncan man myself.
9. Duncan Pearly Gates bridge. In guitars without a lot of natural mids this pup really balances things out.
10. Gibson 498t. One of Gibson's modern workhorses.[/QUOTE]

 

[Gibson 1964]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

I'd have to put the Charlie Christian as the most important. While individually not probably the most popular, it was one of the early designs which allowed guitar to be heard with drums and other louder instruments.
1) Charlie Christian
2) Gibson P90
3) Gibson (Seth Lover)PAF
4) Fender Broadcaster bridge pickup
5) Fender stratocaster pickup
6) Bill Lawrence early pickups. (I don't know the early models but they represent an early entry into the aftermarket realm and influential to Dimarzio, Barden, and Armstrong.)
7) Dimarzio SD
8) Duncan JB
9) EMG Actives
10) Bill Lawrence L90s - I include these because they are early aftermarket and an early blade style humbucker.

 

[orpheo]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

1: Gibson PAF: since it changed the voice of popular music in ways that are just too complex to put into words.
2: Super Distortion: 'reasons'.
3: Bill Lawrence L500XL: first pickup to be backwards engineered and one of the quintessential tones of rock music, imho.
4: SD JB. See #2 and #3 but a bit lower than L500 cause I adore BL and the SuperDistortion was first. Sorry.
5: Charlie christian pickup. The pickup that electrified a guitar and made money. arguably the first?
6: Zepher Silver pickups: a totally new look at a passive pickup
7: Fluence: a totally new look at PICKUPS.
8: EMG81: the basis for so, so, SO MANY metal albums. should be in everybody's rig at least once, next to a PAF, good single coil set, JB, p90 and super distortion. No argument (imho).
9: Tele bridge pickup: in the right guitar, the original tele bridge pickup is heaven. it's gnarly, it's mean, it's tight but sings. it's articulate but forgiving. It's... a tele?
10: tele rhythm pickup: in the right guitar, this pickup is heaven, too. It's the perfect pickup for so many stuff.

Honorable mention:
11: Jazz. Cause the JB 'needs' the jazz and put together, this set smokes.

 

[iamthesuck]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

One I haven't used but would submit for your consideration: Lace Alumitone. Electronically it seems very revolutionary, and I want to give one a shot at some point. not sure how they sound but it's almost as big a revolution as going from a mic to a magnetic pickup

 

[oneblackened]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

1. Gibson PAF. Inventing the humbucker is a pretty big deal.
2. Dimarzio Super Distortion. I mean, it's the first replacement pickup.
3. Duncan JB. It's ubiquitous.
4. EMG 81. It's where the "Active Sound" came from.
5. Bareknuckle Aftermath. It is, to me, the quintessential modern high output pickup.
6. Dimarzio Evolution. Defines the screaming shred sound.
7. Blackwater Guitar Co. Neo Modern. One of the few pickups that uses a neodymium magnet.
8. Bareknuckle Blackhawk. Proof that high output pickups don't have to be hyped in EQ.
9. Fishman Fluence. A very different take on pickup voicing and manufacture.
10. Duncan Distortion. The JB's meaner brother.

 

[superpete]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

EDIT: I'm not including Eddie's (1st album) pickup for the simple fact that the pickup isn't the source of the brown sound; that was a combination of gear plus Donn & Ted

As to what is was, it was most likely an old mid 60s Gibson PAF with A5 magnet (slightly overwound). He has been quoted in old interviews stating he loved
old PAFs, had paid for old PAFs... and was known to rip PAFs out of (what are now) vintage 60s Gibsons.

Whether it was the reason for the tone or not, it was responsible for plenty of people trying to package it in humbucker form

-SD 78
-SD custom custom
-SD IM1
-GFS VEH
-Arcane Brownbucker
-BK VHII
-SIN EV79 Brown Sound
-EVH Frankenstein
-Smits Brown Sound
-KNE Brown Sound Kewl
-Guitarforce Eruptor
-Attackbucker

i couldn't leave it off my list.

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

Not in specific order, not complete, I pick these for the love of the songs I know these are part of, I prefer to reference the artist rather than the description

SSL-5 Pink Floyd, D. Guilmour
HS-3 Yngwie Malmsteen
Super Distortion Dave Murray's 80s tone
Pearly Gates Joe Satriani's Live in San Francisco. The sound of Billy Gibbons, etc.
JB Megadeth and all the countless artists using it. My current bridge pickup too
Alnico ii Pro GnR, Slash.
Lace Sensor Gold Ritchie Blackmore but noiseless

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

Most of ya'll got this right, some of you think its a list your favorite pickup thread.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Top 10 Pickups of all time - take two (with specific instructions)

I see like 99% of what's being listed is humbuckers! I'll play along since I don't really listen to a lot of single-coil-driven music anyway.

1. Gibson original PAF
2. DiMarzio Super Distortion
3. Seymour Duncan JB
4. EMG 81

That's it, really, for me at least. I think that if you play any style of rock music, and haven't at least tried those, you must. Some guys might dig them and others might not, but all of those sound good and are historic stepping stones. Period.