Cult Classic Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 Hello all. I'm after some new humbuckers for my LP. the Le is just a cheap replica but some new pickups will make a big difference im sure. its also been set up. what kind of thing do you think suits me? i play anything from classic rock, to metal, to ska. so im looking for a decent all rounder. many thanks Jono. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 More info needed: Do you prefer high or low output pickups? Or medium? Are you using a hi gain amp or a old tweed? You know, saying "anything from rock to metal to ska" will yield a you an answer that is as diverse as that musical description. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cult Classic Posted December 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 im a guitar newbie, so i dunno what you mean by pickup output. amp wise im using a vox valvetronic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 You will find a lot of threads in here on this question. What a few people seem to neglect is their budget...on a cheap guitar (I am not familiar with an Le) are you prepared to put on a pair of HB's worth more than the guitar itself? Anyway...for what it is worth the standard combo is a seymour duncan JB and jazz adding coil splitting might help you get into the ska sound. Check out the SD site and others as they have some sound samples...but there is a lot of "hype" out there and if the amp has digital modeling, it will be doing a lot of tone shaping in itself. I'd avoid anything too hot (metal style pickups) as digital distortion sounds very bad and slamming a digital modeler just sounds like a really bad idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cult Classic Posted December 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 cheers for that. ill save up for those. many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IPA or death Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 (edited) Anyway...for what it is worth the standard combo is a seymour duncan JB and jazz adding coil splitting might help you get into the ska sound. That's what I've got in my LP. They're pretty nice performers imo (and many others' opinions). There are thousands of pups out there so it can be confusing. Dimarzio has a pickup selector on their website that might help. Check out what you're favorite players use and give them a try. They're fairly affordable for the most part, so if you get something that you end up not liking, change again. If money is really tight, look into GFS (guitarfetish.com) or Stewart McDonalds Golden Age, which many seem to like even if they are cheaper than boutique. Good luck. Edited December 21, 2008 by IPA or death Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 (edited) Check out the SD site and others as they have some sound samples...but there is a lot of "hype" out there and if the amp has digital modeling, it will be doing a lot of tone shaping in itself. I'd avoid anything too hot (metal style pickups) as digital distortion sounds very bad and slamming a digital modeler just sounds like a really bad idea. Agreed - my Ibanez loaded with low/medium output buckers work really well with my POD X3 Pro, but the EMG-equipped guitars turn uber-sterile from the ultra-sterile they started out at :-\ Edited December 21, 2008 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddW Posted December 21, 2008 Report Share Posted December 21, 2008 I also wouldn't spend more on PUPs than the guitar cost. I'd call up Becky at Bill Lawrence. They make amazing PUPs and sell them for less than the big guys. http://www.wildepickups.com/Wilde_Bill_s_Collection.html Becky or Bill will be able to describe the differences between their PUPs and explain how the different inductance (how hot they wind them) will affect your tone. I think I paid less than $70 per PUP for an L600 and an L609. They beautiful PUPs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 All good replies...but guitar fetish is aptly named...a lot of this is fetish especially for someone starting out on guitar. Low cost pickups all typically come from Artec or somewhere similar...nothing wrong with that...but swaping out a low grade pickup for a different low grad pickup is kind of hardly worth it. Personally, I think you should take some time to get to know hat you already have in the guitar and keep practicing and playing. Really get to know your amp, do not settle for presets, they generally have a lot of eq and other parameters to get the kind of sound you are after regardless of the pickups used, and as I say...overpowering a digital preamp is not a good idea. Hot pickups can sound good for a particular type of playing driving a marshall or something...but really suck and have no versatility in your kind of rig. Remember a huge part of the sound comes in the way you play the guitar, particularly the attack of your picking, damping and general technique...it is easy (and we all fall into it) to get caught in the trap of thinking how much better we might sound with such and such a pickup or a real LP but that is rarely the case. In vesting in some kind of recorder can do wonders...i recently got a BR600 cheap and hearing yourself, and playing against a drum machine or being able to slow things down without changing the pitch...to even making recording of yourself and burning a CD is going to be a better investment (mine cost $300 as new) than a pair of pickups... However...there are plenty of things you can do for free to learn to play any guitar better and get more sonic results without any cost...after a while you will be able to answer this question without the opinions of others...what is it about the pickups in your guitar that are lacking? That is the question you should ask, getting a name brand pickup will in no way get you to sound like the kind of player you might like to emulate. A lot of very cool classic tones were made with very ordinary lo tech pickups...look at hendrix and his seventies CBS strats...guys like that didn't worry about pickups but made what they could out of what they had. Jimmy page made some of the heaviest records with a telecaster and a little supro amp, yet we associate the image with a les paul and a wall of marshalls...and remember, there are plenty out there that are trying to get you to believe the hype and fetishize guitar hardware...give it some time and you will know what you want! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 Still to Little info for me to be able to help, sorry. I mean hard rock range from almost ultra clean Malcolm Young to quite heavy distortion, so if you name a few players you like the sound of, it would definitely help. High output means that you can easily drive a standard amp into overdrive without much gain. A low output pickup might need a bit of help (read overdrive or boost stompbox or similar). Having a Vox valvetronics means that you have plenty av available gain in the amp (if I'm not misinformed). So you can choose a pickup because its sound, not its abilitie to overdrive an amp. The SD JB and Jazz combo is fairly usual. Slash uses them (at least the JB in the bridge) and there are tons of other players using that combo. Me, I think that the JB sounds like crap! But these pickups are for your guitar so don't listen to me. Listen to soundclips available at the manufacturers home pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 the JB/Jazz combo is so versatile as to be the best "generic" answer...I like that combo myself...but I would take the time to split the coils for a truly versatile array of sounds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Ross Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 I have the JB / '59 (4-wire) combo in two guitars, and it's extremely versatile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted December 25, 2008 Report Share Posted December 25, 2008 Throwing in my whatever-it's-worth here... I was recommended by someone on the forums (can't rightly remember, it was a while ago) when picking pickups for my second guitar, to look for a medium-output humbucker with a flat frequency response when using a modeling amp, because most (read: all?) of your sound is supposed to be coming from the amp itself. I decided on the Dimarzio PAF Pro, which has a fairly flat response and isn't too high-output. Maybe you could look into something similar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 25, 2008 Report Share Posted December 25, 2008 Me, I think that the JB sounds like crap! glad i am not the only one! in fairness i think its more that they dont suit every guitar or player - thats my diplomatic way of calling them crap but then i am a bare knuckle pickup fan boy so i would always recommend them, they will have come down a lot in price as well for all of you benefitting from the weaker pound I think its always worth going for something with an output around 7-10k if you are after versatility - not too hot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted December 25, 2008 Report Share Posted December 25, 2008 Well...i am glad to see that the recommendations are now in the "not so hot" arena...with so many people using modeling amps or other digital stuff...a lot of the old hotter the better attitude is loosing favour. JB's are the obvious standard...I have one...but in my real LP for years I used their stock pickups from about 69-70. Go too hot and you will sound like mud and with a digital effect slam the input something shocking. Personally, i quite like the JB and have one in an HSS strat...but it is not the "best pickup" by any means, just something of a standard. By vintage standards it is reasonably hot but retains a lot of harmonics...but there are plenty of others. Active is also a consideration...or use some active electronics to get more power from what you already have. But...a lot of pickups are expensive considering the kind of guitar they are being put into and I do think this should kind of be considered. I am as guilty as any other with this kind of thing with name or exotic pickups in my squiers...and there are a lot of good cheap guitars that play well which could be improved with a little pickup magic. I think though, we are all easily sucked into the idea of gear and it is a danger for people starting out that they think the pickups is a solve all. Far more can be achieved with technique and what you desire will change as your playing matures. The pickups are just one part of the equation...things like action and scale length probably have just as much influence as is the type of stuff you play. The pickups need to be considered with what they are driving too...giving a valve amp a kick can sound great...kick a digital or solid state too hard and the results tend to be ugly. A cool overdrive or distortion pedal may provide a lot more joy that an new set of pickups for most in the first few years of playing. Hopefully this thread will aid others with this too often asked question... pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I'll second the medium output Seymour Duncans. You might consider just replacing one position with an SD P-Rail, since it'll cover more ground and give you an idea of what type of pickup you like since it's like 3 pickups in one. The rail coil will probably do ska, the p-90 will definitely do classic rock, and the humbucker will be good for anything from classic rock to metal, especially with your amp. Here's their page on them: http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/elec...e/prails_shpr1/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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