Good Pick-Ups?

[The-Pants-Party]

Im looking to change out my stock pick ups on my IJX121. Im looking for a slightly muddy neck pick up, and a good clean bridge pick-up. Any ideas?

[loansindi]

Your descriptions don't help much.

What style of music exactly are you going to be playing? For that matter ,what kind of pickups (single coil, humbucker) are already in the guitar?

What's your amplifcation setup like?

[a22]

That's definately a question of personal taste, but a manufacturer that I've always trusted is Seymour Duncan, usually versatile and warm sounding, I don't like active pickups

[LaForge]

Working with the little bit of info you gave, I think for the muddy sound you'll want a non-active blues pickup.

For a clean, sharp sound, an active EMG or Seymour Duncan is the best bet.

[loansindi]

At 6/7/09 06:33 PM, LaForge wrote: For a clean, sharp sound, an active EMG or Seymour Duncan is the best bet.

Debatable, as I'm sure you're aware.

Active pickups on clean channels tend to be very warm, in my experience (granted I haven't listened to every possible active pickup, but that's my overall impression).

Honestly, for a good 'clean' sound, I prefer single coils. Humbuckers are almost always too sharp on clean channels for me, too percussive. Look at single coils from fender (a very old standby, and their noiseless pickups are quite good), lace, seymour duncan. All these companies produce satisfying single coil tones, which are tops for clean playing in my opinion.

As far as 'muddy'... that's kind of a vague term. Generally pickups voiced to go in the neck are fairly darker in tone quality, but depending on what kind of music you're playing, the exact model can very quite a bit.

[Nosferatu-of-Worms]

The best advice, make a list of pickups you're considering buying. Then go to their site (generally they have prerecorded takes demonstrating the sound of the pick ups. After that, find some guitars with those pick ups in it, for example: Say I wanted to buy some Seymour Duncan invaders, well I'd go to a guitar store pick up a guitar with those pick ups and play it and see what I think. Also, if you can't find guitars with those pick ups in it, then trust the quality of recording as best as you can.

Note: Always test the sound of guitar with an amp exactly like or similar to the one you're using.

[Mushroomhead18nc]

Dimarzio Evolution pickup for the bridge.. its close the hottest pickup made right now on the market.. Super clean and clear tone.. same pickup that steve vai runs in his guitars

[loansindi]

At 6/7/09 08:56 PM, Nosferatu-of-Worms wrote: Note: Always test the sound of guitar with an amp exactly like or similar to the one you're using.

this.

also, try it with a few different amps, because you probably won't always be playing on the amp you've got now. This is also a good way to get an overall impression of the pickup, as amps will color the tone in different ways, being as they're part of the instrument as much as the pickup

[Nosferatu-of-Worms]

I agree with it under terms about bringing out the character, but don't worry about trying new amps. Your main goal should be to focus on listening to the pick ups.

Unless of course in the near future (say 3-6 months) you are planning on buying a new amp, then go right ahead.

Btw, what kind of amp do you have?

[Jeffaro]

Dimarzio is a well known pickup manufacturer that's noticed for its cleanness and high quality.Dimarzio is the way to go if your more of a solo oriented guy.They do make good pickups for rhythm players too, but their pickups are more aimed towards lead players.

They also have a tool on their website to help you find a pickup that's suited for your style / guitar.

Another good brand is Seymour Duncan.Their pickups are high quality and are aimed towards rhythm and lead players alike.

SD also has a pickup finder tool as well, but it's not that helpful.I would recommend that you go to their site and read their pickup descriptions and wood recommendations.

I hope that helped.

[Nosferatu-of-Worms]

I don't believe you've informed us on what style you play.

Also, don't buy actives unless your amp is decently good, otherwise they won't sound that great.

[loansindi]

At 6/8/09 04:44 PM, Nosferatu-of-Worms wrote: Also, don't buy actives unless your amp is decently good, otherwise they won't sound that great.

Or unless you're playing stuff that's crazy high-gain and you absolutely need access to harmonics you didn't know existed. Seriously, I've played a couple guitars with EMGs and my only lasting impression was it suddenly got a LOT harder to pick out harmonics that I wanted, I kept getting crazy stuff I'd never heard before.

I don't believe active pickups have anything to offer clean playing. Granted, that's my opinion.

[LaForge]

At 6/8/09 04:52 PM, loansindi wrote: I don't believe active pickups have anything to offer clean playing. Granted, that's my opinion.

My opinion as well. Currently I've got a passive in my neck position and an active EMG 81 in the bridge (passive and active aren't supposed to work together, but for some reason mine do) and I never use the active for clean playing. It's usually too sharp and unpleasant.

[loansindi]

At 6/8/09 05:40 PM, LaForge wrote: It's usually too sharp and unpleasant.

This is how I feel about most humbuckers, honestly. For cleans I almost always prefer single coils.

[LaForge]

At 6/8/09 06:02 PM, loansindi wrote:

At 6/8/09 05:40 PM, LaForge wrote: It's usually too sharp and unpleasant.

This is how I feel about most humbuckers, honestly. For cleans I almost always prefer single coils.

Don't get me wrong, it's unbeatable for heavy rhythm, which is what I mainly play, but for clean it just isn't the right piece of equipment.

[loansindi]

At 6/8/09 07:39 PM, LaForge wrote: Don't get me wrong, it's unbeatable for heavy rhythm, which is what I mainly play, but for clean it just isn't the right piece of equipment.

No doubt. I played an 81 and really enjoyed it for anything distortion.

[jarrydn]

Splittable coils. The best of both worlds :)

I have a split coil humbucker in the bridge of one of my banged up guitars. I can go straight from high gain metal to surf with the flick of a switch :)

[loansindi]

At 6/8/09 09:47 PM, jarrydn wrote: I have a split coil humbucker in the bridge of one of my banged up guitars. I can go straight from high gain metal to surf with the flick of a switch :)

I was lucky enough to buy one of the Rogue HH's while they were still on MF, and I've been nothing but pleased with it.

5 way switch wired for coil splitting of either pickup in 2/4 position, it's wonderful.

[jarrydn]

At 6/8/09 09:53 PM, loansindi wrote: I was lucky enough to buy one of the Rogue HH's while they were still on MF, and I've been nothing but pleased with it.

5 way switch wired for coil splitting of either pickup in 2/4 position, it's wonderful.

Nice :). It is indeed a sexy guitar :)

But yeah, most pickups these days come splittable as standard. I'm pretty sure that even the old super distortion in my kramer can be wired up with a coil split switch.

[OzzFestFreak2]

At 6/7/09 03:40 PM, The-Pants-Party wrote: Im looking to change out my stock pick ups on my IJX121. Im looking for a slightly muddy neck pick up, and a good clean bridge pick-up. Any ideas?

i'd say emg's.
they've done wonders for me and i've had them for almost 3 years now. I played in a metal band and it made my bass sound sooo good.

i've also never heard a guitar with emgs sound bad

[Nosferatu-of-Worms]

I'd greatly disagree with that statement. I have tried guitars with emgs in them and they were utter crap.

[loansindi]

At 6/9/09 10:53 AM, Nosferatu-of-Worms wrote: I'd greatly disagree with that statement. I have tried guitars with emgs in them and they were utter crap.

EMGs are fine for high gain leads in a harmonic-heavy style. However, if you're not ready for the fact that they'll highlight harmonics you didn't know existed, then they're not for you.