Every guitar I get I update the pickups. Its a fun little thing to do.
I like Dimarzio pickups the best overall.
Some Dimarzio pickups I have owned, and/or used over the years are:
Humbuckers Air Norton Breed D-Sonic Evolution Fred Humbucker From Hell Mo Joe Norton PAF Classic PAF Pro Steve's Special Super Distortion Super 2 Tone Zone X2N
Single Coils Air Norton SC Area 58 Area 61 Area 67 BC-1 BC-2 Blue Velvet Chopper HS-2 HS-3 Super Distortion SC Tone Zone SC YJM
I have also Used Seymour Duncan pickups as well.
Humbuckers 59 Alnico II Pro Blackouts Custom Custom Custom Dimebucker Full Shred Invader JB Jazz P-Rail Screamin Demon
Single Coils Cool Rails Hot Rails JB jr Little Screamin Demon Little 59 Quarter Pound Vintage Rails
Also I have used EMGS
Humbuckers 60 81 85 89
Single Coil SA
I have Wolfetone pickups as well. Marshallhead The Legend
For me, versatility is key. I play a majority of styles/genres and I need great clean, crunch and heavy sounds. For my tone, I need to hear every note no matter how much gain I am using, so the pickups need to be very clear and articulate. I also like to hear the nuances in my playing. For this kind of versatility I find that Dimarzio seems to work best for me.
My favorite shredder style guitar HH combo is Dimarzio D-sonic/Humbucker From Hell.
My favorite Les Paul combo is Dimarzio Norton/PAF Pro.
My favorite strat SSS combo is Dimarzio HS-3/HS-2/YJM.
My least favorite pickups are the Duncans. They all are very similar in their voicing, which is a good sound, but it is just not for me. I can see/hear the appeal that draws many people into them.
EMGs are ok pickups. I use them in my guitars that don't have a great tone wood because the EMG sound overpowers any tone coming off the wood. I use the 81/85 combo the most. I get great clean tones even though this board says EMGs cannot do cleans and sound lifeless/sterile.
Myths of UG There are a few things I read occasionally on the UG forums that just are not true.
1. EMGs have horrible cleans. I get great cleans with my 81/85 combo. They have a unique sound to them that some say are sterile/lifeless, but in reality nine times out of ten it is a combination of the amp, EQ, and player.
2. Single coil sized humbuckers sound nothing like true single coils. While this is certainly true with pickups such as the jb jr, hot rails, super distortion sc, tone zone sc, air norton sc. It is certainly untrue with pickups like the HS-2, HS-3, YJM, Area 58, Area 61, and Area 67.
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Man I love pickups! need advice I could help. blog
