Which guitar companies supply pickups that are well-matched to the guitar?

Ben1962 · Dec 25, 2017

Re: Which guitar companies supply pickups that are well-matched to the guitar?

"498T / 490R

they go in almost everything Gibson builds because they sound the same regardless of the guitar."
The set may not be matched, but that 498 aint so bad. I have heard many killer sounding guitars with that PUP. Same with 57s. Everybody likes to kick Gibson to the curb. I like my 57s myself. I wonder, do people want to see Gibson fold and see all those American workers lose their jobs? I dont.

Little Pigbacon · Dec 25, 2017

Re: Which guitar companies supply pickups that are well-matched to the guitar?

Schecter seem to have a way of including pickups that sound good with the guitar and maybe just a little different from how I’m used to hearing them. Whether they’re Seymour Duncans, Duncan Designed, EMG, or mystery pickups, Schecters always seem to sound at least good and at best spectacular, like the wood and pickups come together to make a distinctive voice.

Mincer · Dec 25, 2017

Re: Which guitar companies supply pickups that are well-matched to the guitar?

Many Godins, Charvels & Eastmans tend to use Duncans, so I am gonna go with them.

VHTJay · Dec 25, 2017

Re: Which guitar companies supply pickups that are well-matched to the guitar?

PRS....specifically ones made in the last 10 years with the newer pickups are matched very well and sound fantastic. I have also always found pickup choice in ESP's and Ernie Balls to be good as well.

beaubrummels · Dec 25, 2017

Which guitar companies supply pickups that are well-matched to the guitar?

Ben1962 said:
"498T / 490R

they go in almost everything Gibson builds because they sound the same regardless of the guitar."
The set may not be matched, but that 498 aint so bad. I have heard many killer sounding guitars with that PUP. Same with 57s. Everybody likes to kick Gibson to the curb. I like my 57s myself. I wonder, do people want to see Gibson fold and see all those American workers lose their jobs? I dont.

For the record, I didn't say they weren't matched nor that they sound bad. My point was only that they tend to override the sound of the guitar they are in and sound consistent regardless of what guitar they are in.

In my experience, they match fine, albeit with adjustment, and additionally by adjusting nearer the strings they can cover heavy music, metal, etc. and when adjusted low away from the strings can cover vintage sounds, blues, old rock.

Based on this experience, I believe that's why Gibson puts them in their guitars. They sound the same in most any guitar, and you can adjust them to cover the most common music you want to play; provided everything else in your signal chain is good (amp, speakers, etc)

freefrog · Dec 26, 2017

Re: Which guitar companies supply pickups that are well-matched to the guitar?

Personally, I've not experienced the problem discussed as being a question of brand.

There's approximatively 1/3 of guitars with their stock pickups here, simply because they sound as I want - including a Charvel with Jackson PU's, for instance.

I've seen Hamer mentioned above and it's true that the one I've got is still stock (although I couldn't help to mod the structure of the original pickups).

I've seen PRS named and it's true that I've found the pickup choice in a PRS SE One rather coherent: the stock P90 was fitted with shorter screws than usual ; it shaped the response of the pickup in siuch a way that it ccoperated nicely with the absence of tone control and with the scale of the guitar. Surprising attention to details for a low price "student edition" (even if I've swapped the only PU in it).

I've seen Epiphone evoked and my experience with Epi's is mixed... I typically prefer a Wilshire with its stock Epi mini-HB's compared to the Epi LP's with Gibson PU's that I've played or modded... but it's not because of the pickups: it's because of the woods and finishes, making some Epi LP's sounding like anything but real LP's (and swapping PU's on these ones won't make them sound like Gibson's... been there, done that: I'll tell you for example that a same Seth Lover in a Epi LP with alder center block then in a Gibson LP doesn't sound the same at all, even with the same wiring and the closest possible hardware).

Gibson, Fender... I've often been in situations to swap pickups in modern ones (not always). But there's no need to say that I've not changed the transducers in any vintage model that I had in maintenance...

Sum up: IMHO, it's not a question of brand. YMMV.

voggin · Dec 26, 2017

Re: Which guitar companies supply pickups that are well-matched to the guitar?

Fender does a very good job of putting "crowd pleaser" sets in their guitars, which are very usable for a wide range of applications. the new Shawbucker is a great example in the HSS strats.

You can tell Godin puts a lot of thought into their sets, sometimes in house, some times Duncans.

Gibson Memphis with the Memphis buckers are pretty cool.

On the lower end of the scale, I think the PRS SE stock pickups are pretty damn good for the price point. Same with Mexican Fenders.

Epiphone has upped their game lately, too.

Gtrjunior · Dec 26, 2017