Your top 5 neck pickups?
- Thread starter UnderTheFlame83
- Start date
Can't read? Can't count? Great first choice in the Demon.
weepingminotaur
Well-known member
1. Black Winter neck. Super versatile, splits very well, produces a great jazz tone in my Les Paul.
2. Sentient. I love the articulation in this pickup. It really sings under gain.
3. Classic Stack Plus. Lovely, glassy tone.
4. '59. Smooth and warm.
5. Jazz. I've really grown to like this pickup in the past year. A lot more than I thought I would.
2. Sentient. I love the articulation in this pickup. It really sings under gain.
3. Classic Stack Plus. Lovely, glassy tone.
4. '59. Smooth and warm.
5. Jazz. I've really grown to like this pickup in the past year. A lot more than I thought I would.
stevie_bees
Cat In The Hatministrator
Psyclone Vintage (Tele with no tone for it)
Antiquity Surfer (G&L Legacy)
Whole Lotta Humbucker (PRS McCarty)
Fralin Tele Blues Special (Tele)
Jazz (Fret-King Esprit 5)
Antiquity Surfer (G&L Legacy)
Whole Lotta Humbucker (PRS McCarty)
Fralin Tele Blues Special (Tele)
Jazz (Fret-King Esprit 5)
weepingminotaur
Well-known member
Me too! I listed 5 pickups because I have loved the '59 every chance I've had to play it. I don't actually own one at the moment. Or a fifth guitar to put it in.
Artie
Peaveyologist
I have the "Lil" version. I wonder how far off it is from the full size unit?
It's been my experience that the Lil versions are not as bright and clear as their full-sized versions.
maug2122
New member
I found the Screamin' Demon to be touch sensitive and hotter than a standard neck humbucker, but the way it' Eq'ed , it' like a Swiss army knife of pickups.
It blends well with vintage toned single coil S, S, H configured guitars.
And it's a ballsy neck pickup, in either 22 fret or 24 fret guitars.
And when you split it, it's dead on like a classic single coil in the neck position.
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Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
For me, I like my neck pickups to balance with my bridge pickups. I like PAF's just fine, I just hate how they match to any mid/high output bridge pickup. In all honesty, I like neck pickups in context of what bridge pickup they're matched with. For me, they're more of a compliment to my bridge pickup, rather than a standalone tone.
So for me, it would have to be:
Seymour Duncan Black Winter Neck: Nice and powerful. It's the only passive that I've found has enough juice to match well with my favorite passive, the BW Bridge. It's not as bright and open as PAF-types, but it's not dark and muddy either. Much less scooped and plinky too. Splits much better than PAF-types, too. Much less anemic.
EMG 60: I like the 85 as well, but the 60 just has a nicer chime when clean. The 85 has a cool lead tone higher up the fretboard, but I don't really like how it responds to the low strings.
Fishman Fluence Alnico: Clearer and tighter than the 85, while still maintaining girth and balance with the bridge pickup. Sorta like a less twangy 60 but fuller like an 85 with more string clarity than either, and the added bonus of an added fat passive voicing.
DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary: I know I said I didn't like how PAF types matched with hot bridge pickups (which is what I normally use), but I do like me some PAF goodness occasionally in the bridge. The 36th Anni is the only PAF I've found that's round and fat and not plinky at all while still being clear. I find it's too weak output-wise for most of my applications, but with the right bridge pickup (like the '59B, which I also like a lot), it's just the perfect vintage-y voiced neck pickup, IMO.
That's it. I honestly can't name a 5th neck pickup that I like, LOL. I'm not much of a neck pickup guy, TBH.
So for me, it would have to be:
Seymour Duncan Black Winter Neck: Nice and powerful. It's the only passive that I've found has enough juice to match well with my favorite passive, the BW Bridge. It's not as bright and open as PAF-types, but it's not dark and muddy either. Much less scooped and plinky too. Splits much better than PAF-types, too. Much less anemic.
EMG 60: I like the 85 as well, but the 60 just has a nicer chime when clean. The 85 has a cool lead tone higher up the fretboard, but I don't really like how it responds to the low strings.
Fishman Fluence Alnico: Clearer and tighter than the 85, while still maintaining girth and balance with the bridge pickup. Sorta like a less twangy 60 but fuller like an 85 with more string clarity than either, and the added bonus of an added fat passive voicing.
DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary: I know I said I didn't like how PAF types matched with hot bridge pickups (which is what I normally use), but I do like me some PAF goodness occasionally in the bridge. The 36th Anni is the only PAF I've found that's round and fat and not plinky at all while still being clear. I find it's too weak output-wise for most of my applications, but with the right bridge pickup (like the '59B, which I also like a lot), it's just the perfect vintage-y voiced neck pickup, IMO.
That's it. I honestly can't name a 5th neck pickup that I like, LOL. I'm not much of a neck pickup guy, TBH.
