What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

Ptolemaeus

Ptolemaeus

New member
Title says it all; please go into detail. I'm trying to expand my horizons, so to speak, and everyone's input is welcome.
 
Re: What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

HSS with auto split. This gives all the best strat tones, and replaces the weak bridge single coil with a humbucker.

I like true single coils rather than noiseless ones, and in my opinion the best ones are Surfers.

I don't want a flame thrower in the bridge humbucker. The humbucker must be dynamic and touch sensitive, and I don't want too an abrupt transition from the singles to the humbucker in terms of output. Any good PAF clone will do, and they are bright enough in a strat that I can run 250k pots if needed. Currently the humbucker see's 500k pots but I have to turn the tone down a bit. I always run it so that the second tone control is on the bridge pickup (all my strats). I'm thinking of trying the Whole Lotta Humbucker but currently I am using a particularly magical Dimarzio.

The notch position tone I get from the split to the slug coil and the middle pickup is pretty good.
 
Re: What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

At this exact point in time, mine is an Epiphone '57 neck with the slug coil disconnected running in an Epi Dot. I wanted to learn how to mod pickups so I used the pickups I had initially ripped out of the Dot. I shredded the coil wire on the slug coil so made it a single.

I haven't bothered wiring the bridge pickup back in yet cos I'm having so much fun with a single pickup, single coiled Epiphone that sounds somewhere in between Jeff Buckley's tele and Hendrix's strat.
 
What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

Ideal? Not sure. But I always seem to come back to a 59 set in my Les Pauls. I swap stuff around from time to time to tune the guitar for what I'm doing, but the 59s can do so much if you can let the amp do some of the lifting in the gain department.
 
Re: What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

SFW said:
Ideal? Not sure. But I always seem to come back to a 59 set in my Les Pauls. I swap stuff around from time to time to tune the guitar for what I'm doing, but the 59s can do so much if you can let the amp do some of the lifting in the gain department.
Click to expand...

Do the 59s get muddy under high gain? I've heard it both ways.
 
Re: What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

I have faith in my Duncan '59 set over the last dozen years in my Les Paul. My reason is versatility, so I hesitate when from time to time, I get to wondering if it's time for a change. I get good cleans and I like them when playing with gain on my amp. I can say that for all three switch positions. Tip: Make sure you take the time to "dial" in the pickups' heights and string balance (with the pole screws). It makes a big difference in your tone.

Studioplayer
 
Re: What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

Studioplayer said:
I have faith in my Duncan '59 set over the last dozen years in my Les Paul. My reason is versatility, so I hesitate when from time to time, I get to wondering if it's time for a change. I get good cleans and I like them when playing with gain on my amp. I can say that for all three switch positions. Tip: Make sure you take the time to "dial" in the pickups' heights and string balance (with the pole screws). It makes a big difference in your tone.

Studioplayer
Click to expand...

How does altering the pole screws change the sound?
 
Re: What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

Ptolemaeus said:
How does altering the pole screws change the sound?
Click to expand...

Try it and find out. Adjusting the pole screws wil make a string (or strings) a bit louder or softer depending on whether you raise or lower the screw.

Studioplayer
 
Re: What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

I'd have to say the SH-6n RCA4 neck with the TB-15 Alternative 8 bridge, both in Triple Shots. If I could just find a mahogany RG series body FS...
 
Re: What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

Really depends on what guitar it's in, but the Super Distortion / Air Classic and Screamin' Demon / Jazz combos have always worked for me for just about any style in any guitar.
 
Re: What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

I really don't have one. I honestly love a bunch of different sounds. It just depends on my mood/music at the moment.

I will say that I REALLY like a set of Pearly Gates
A Distortion and a 59 are a great pair too.

But I LOVE the Blackout, Custom, and P-90's too.
 
Re: What's your favorite pickup or pickup combination and why?

Ptolemaeus said:
How does altering the pole screws change the sound?
Click to expand...

A lot of ways

1. Increases volume (or decreases) of a particular string to achieve balance
2. Is different than just raising the whole pup - which puts more magnetic field on strings - which can add/subtract from tone and/or sustain depending…
3. Short BOTTOMS on the screws (under the pickup) or shorter screws - regardless of how close to the strings are generally tighter than long screws
4. Big Pole caps (like invader) will change the tone and soften the sound a little (IMO)
5. Raising ALL the screws, while LOWERING the pup will add some "air" (See comment #2) and get rid of woof, and help control volume in a neck position.


And as mentioned above, can't say enough about a GOOD overall height adjust with screws arced for the string radius. Not too high, not too low.
 
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