Pickups and their common misconceptions
Before you consider buying new pickups for your guitar, there are lots of things you should consider first.
***MOST IMPORTANTLY*** I can’t stress this enough. Kids who buy a squier strat and a Line 6 Spider. The first thing they want to do is put new pickups in it. You should probably know, after the pickup swap, your guitar is going to sound EXACTLY THE SAME.
You see no matter how amazing your pickups are, through a cheap amp, they will all sound the same.
The basic theory is, you can make a cheap guitar sound good through a good amp. But you can take the best sounding guitar in the world and it will still only sound mediocre through a cheap amp. In most cases a good tube amp is necessary for real tonal variations.
Before you swap pickups make sure you
1.Have a good amp
2.If you want more tone, start by simply raising the pickups you have now a bit. That will move them closer to the string, in turn providing a little more output from the pickup to the string.
3.Learn how to EQ your amp correctly. Simply adjusting the knobs can do a lot for your tone. Read up on how to EQ an amp the right way if you aren’t familiar.
4. Pedals also work well, and require a lot less work, and sometimes less money. Sometimes the right overdrive will blast you right into the tone you’re looking for without swapping pickups.
5.Change the type of strings you are using. Certain strings can make my guitar sound very bright, others can make it dark and warm.
6.Adjust your action. I would highly suggest having a trained professional do so.
7.Experiment with combinations of all of the above.
8.Also talking with a real tech would be helpful as well.
But if you really must swap out your pickups then I suggest you read this first;
So you want new pickups. First decide what fits your style and your guitar. Humbuckers, P90’s, Single Coils. Also if you want Actives, or Passives.(I wouldn’t suggest actives for anything other than Metal really). I think thats pretty self explanatory, and if you don’t know the differences between them then you probably shouldn’t be switching pickups.
First and foremost, I would not suggest any pickup with “Distortion” in the name. They will be muddy no matter how you use them, they will ONLY work for high gain situations, and are one trick ponies. You are much better off getting a moderate to somewhat high output pickup before buying one already distorted.
Most people instantly think Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio when looking at pickups. Let me break it to you, they are probably the last two brands I would look at.
Seymour Duncan and Dimarzio are by no means the best aftermarket pickups on the market. In fact I wouldn’t even put them top 5. They are vastly overrated, just cause they’re very popular doesn’t exactly make them good. I’ve heard a few of the SD Customs are okay, but nothing earthshattering. And the SD ‘59 is the most overrated pickup on the market today if you ask me.
Just like Boss pedals, which are arguably the most popular brand of pedals, in most cases are some of the worst you can buy. But i’ll leave pedals for another post.
Dimarzio and SD are no different. You’re much better off getting A. High end boutique pickups such as Bareknuckles, or Dean Markley. B. Stock manufactorer pickups (i.e. Fender, Gibson, etc.) 3.Even some cheaper alternatives i’ve tried have been better than some SD’s and Dimarzio’s i’ve tried, like GFS for example.
For example, I use a Gibson SG Standard through a Marshall Shredmaster Overdrive, a Laney AOR50 Pro-Tube head, and a Mesa 4X10 Cab. In my SG I use the Gibson stock 498T/490R combo. EQing my amp correctly, along with my favorite overdrive, I can easily reach tonal nirvana. And I am completely happy using it. I’ve actually enjoyed a lot of Gibson’s stock pickups, like the 490T, the 500T, ‘57 Classic, ‘57 Classic Plus, and even the Iommibucker.
If you want to experiment around without pickups, but don’t want to spend a million dollars, look at Guitarfetish.com. Now these pickups are by no means going to sound as good as $300 barknuckles or Lindy Fralins, but considering you can get pickups from at like ar $30 or cheaper it’s really not a bad deal. I’d say they’re pretty comparable to most Seymour or Dimarzio’s for half the price. I’ve suggested this website to lots of people who thanked me later. Even if you don’t find exactly the tone you are looking for from GFS, it will be a great learning experience and won’t put a dent in your wallet. They also make parts, pedals, guitars, kits, and all sorts of stuff at much lower prices than anywhere else.
If you want actives, i’d say, while they are definitely Hit or Miss, EMG isn’t a bad way to go. The 81 and 85 are cool. Whereas the HZ and some others are plain old garbage.
Although I have not been very impressed by many of the active pickups i’ve used. And I don’t really find them necessary for most, if any situations at all. Like I said the EMG 81 is okay, and probably one of the only active pickups I would ever consider. Most of the rest of the EMG’s are average at best. The Seymour Duncan Blackouts are absolute garbage despite what some may say.
When switching pickups, you really need to do a lot of research.
In conclusion 99% you really don’t need a pickup change anyway. Probably the MOST common misconception when it comes to tone shaping. I’d suggest 1000 other things to do before swapping pickups. But if you just must swap ‘em, I would highly suggest reading the above passage before you do so.
Check back for another post soon.
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I discuss theories and misconceptions when it comes to shaping guitar tones, through various techniques, pieces of gear, and general guitar knowledge.
