What pups do you play besides Duncans?

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

Fralin SP43 Strat bridge
Fender Fat 50s Neck and middle
Fender Nocaster bridge pickup
Fender 52 Tele Reissue Neck
Fender Texas Special Tele neck
Dimarzio Fred bridge

 

[ranalli]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

I also use Dimarzio, EMGs and I even have a Kent Armstrong PAF which blows away the '59n IMO.

I'll use whatever pickup is right for the job....each brand has alot to offer.

 

[papersoul]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

EMGs are very clear and dynamic and are well worth the investment - very versatile.

WCR passives are the best passives I've tried.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

Chubtone strat pickups wound to my specs 7.5K/6.3/6.3 SRV/KWS/Mayer tone.
Fender Fat 50's. I'll always love those strat pickups.
PRS McCarty stock pickups. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Schecter Monstertones in my Tele. Basically the same as Tom Anderson or Duncan QP

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

PRS and Lindy Fralin humbuckers.

 

[theodie]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

Bill Lawrence XL-500 and L-500C. They are killer!!!

I forgot to mention, I play a set of Lace Red/silver/blue in a strat and I found then to be most versatile. I think they have great tone.

 

[wixedmords]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

I have played and do play many EMG, Dimarzio, and Duncan pickups.

Blu, you would need to explain what guitar and amp you have to give me some direction on how to get you something "interesting".

 

[More-Gear-Than-Skill]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

tried an EMG once... not for me

 

[WICKED LESTER]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

EMGs are very clear and dynamic and are well worth the investment - very versatile.

WCR passives are the best passives I've tried.

het papersoul, i heard the HERC set is incredible?

 

[WICKED LESTER]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

tried an EMG once... not for me

Understandable.
thats just the thing about EMG you either love em or hate em
for what i play they simply SLAY :dance:

 

[SoCalSteve]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

Lace Sensor Hot Golds in my MIM Strat. What initially made me purchase them was the price ($115 for the set of three) - I didn't want to spend alot on this guitar but the stock pups had to go - they really didn't even have that Strat sound to my ears. I'm extremely satisfied with the sound of these and would not hesitate to recommend them.

 

[Demonufo]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

Fender Strat and Lindy Fralin (Yum yum). Superbly clear choppy and chimey, but with Bass!
Old Gordon Smith (thin bodied) with Duncan Pearly Gates. Very very nice, classic rawk!
EMG seem very nice in my Steinberger if a little cold and thin (sorry thin's a bit strong, they're just a little bit uncharacterful).
Also have a super strat type thing with some cheap Kent Armstrong designed Rainbow pickups (STR-1) which sound very nice for the money, but the bridge pickup is the most amazing thing ever. It was a freebie, a Rainbow pickup made for a Patrick Eggle Berlin. Very hot, very full, lovely distortion, not much compression, and stacks of mids. Lovely clear treble and not too much bottom. Unfortunately, these pickups are not available. If only I could get another for my steinberger.

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

i have used EMG and Dimarzio in the past and have 2 guitars now that have Dimarzios in them and another which will be getting EMGs but the majority of my guitars have Duncans! i'll also be trying a Lace chrome dome in the neck of one of my strats!! i'd like to try bare knuckles in near future.

-Mike

 

[TremoloKing]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

re single coils

I use a mid sixties Strat with original pups but the bridge was rewound by Fralin back in the late 80s. It's about 5% overwound. I have that whole assembly out of the guitar now because the volume pot needs to be repaired.

In it's place I have an pg assembly that uses Duncan SSL-1 for the neck and middle and a Van Zandt Blues at the bridge. The Duncans sound a lot like the original middle and neck pickups. I use the Van Zandt Blues at the bridge because it's a little more like the original bridge pup that Fralin rewound. This setup is a little warmer (less bright) than say Fender 57/62 pickups or Custom 54s (see below).

I had the Duncan/VZ set in an Ash body hardtail mid 70s strat for a while and it was a GREAT combination. The guitar tended to be bright and the warmth of those pickups balanced out very nicely.

I still have a set of early Fender Custom 54s, which were called American 50s when I bought them. They are pretty dang nice sounding too. But they're a little brighter than my '65's original and the Duncan SSL-1s. I may end up putting them in a custom Strat that I'm starting to build.

Past and present guitars of mine

I have some Van Zandt Vintage Plus that are nice, but they don't seem to bring much personality to the table. I've only tried them in one guitar so I may not have given them a fair shake. I had an early 90s Custom Shop 54 Strat for a few years that had a set of them in it and I never seemed to get much out of that guitar.


re humbuckers

I have a 1981 Ibanez AR-50 Artist with its original Super 70 humbuckers. These are like straight late 60s/mid 70s Gibson T-top hummers with slightly hotter windings on the bridge pickup. They are very good pickups, much better to my ears than the tapped pickups Ibanez replaced them with a few years later. I dropped a set of Gibson T-top humbuckers in that guitar to see if they improved the sound and decided that the Super 70s were better, a little warmer and sweeter sounding. I'm really happy with that guitar just the way it it. See link above.


re single coil sized humbuckers

Of the ones I've tried I've never found any I liked. I've tried

SD Vintage Rails
SD Hot Rails
Dimarzio Fast Tracks
Fender Vintage Noiseless

 

[WICKED LESTER]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

And how/what do they sound like? I'm on the quest for different, interesting pups.

HET BIU, you
stealing my thunder :laugh2: der

 

[Randy Combs]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

My main guitar a 1975 Les Paul has a WCR Shredder in the bridge and a Duncan Pearly Gates in the neck. I have the best of both worlds. Very pleased with my tone.

 

[wixomwhat]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

My main guitar a 1975 Les Paul has a WCR Shredder in the bridge and a Duncan Pearly Gates in the neck. I have the best of both worlds. Very pleased with my tone.

whats WCR?

 

[Peterku]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

Bare Knuckle 'Mule' set - Imagine the ideal PAF tone, add a hint of sad bluesy feel and finally a great open top end...

DiMarzio 'Air Zone' - It has a very dense and warm, but airy and friendly sound, quite like a very fat-sounding PAF. It was very balanced in my ash Strat, even with a nickel cover. The Mule blew it away.

DiMarzio 'Bluesbucker' - It has a P90-like sound and behaviour, but with less mids and an overall more modern feel. It's noiseless, too. I didn't like it too much, it lacked the Alnico vibe.

DiMarzio 'Tone Zone' - I used to have one in a cheap Squier. It's a very bassy, middy and modern sound. It has a 'pushed' feel. According to a tech friend of mine, the Tone Zone cuts through a busy mix better than most of the other models by DiMarzio. However, as my ears got more experienced, I slowly started to dislike the TZ.

(Benedetto A-6 - Supposed to be one of the finest jazz humbuckers, but I haven't tried it, although I have one. The reason is that now the Mules are going into my Artist, not the A-6. )

Ooops...I've forgotten to tell you that I've never owned any SD pickups but only tried some... :wink:

 

[Chace]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

I've got dimarzio Evolutions in my JEM and EMG 81's in my Jackson... the EMG's are far better IMO

 

[war pig]

Re: What pups do you play besides Duncans?

i've got a set of WCR Darkbursts, Kinman Woodstocks, and a Rio Grande BBQ in addition to my jb/jazz and pearly gates sets.