Live Sound & Production

[InACanProducti…]

I'm looking for suggestions for Humbuckers that can be coil tapped, are high gain, not prone to feedback at high gain, and sound great.  I know the last criteria is subjective, which is exactly what I'm looking for, your opinions.  I'm open to all suggestions, any brand, any model, stock inventory or boutique, it's all fair game.  When giving suggestions let me know what you like about the pick up, what kind of music you play with it, and what guitar you have it installed in.  Also note if you use the pick up in neck or bridge position, or both.

The reason I'm seeking out suggestions is that I have a Ventura guitar, it's a Japanese made Les Paul copy, that I want to completely rewire.  My friend's uncle is a garbage man and found it on his route and gave it to me (a constant reminder to never piss off the wife).  I've had it for years and only used it as a back up, but I'm playing in a project working with individuals with Developmental Disabilities where my Ibanez Destroyer II doesn't have the appropriate look.  I love the neck on the Ventura, I don't hate how it sounds, but it's got scratchy pots, and the stock PUs are noisy, prone to feedback and microphonic.  I want to wire it using the Jimmy Page Les Paul wiring schematics I've found that uses DPDT push-pull volume pots for coil tapping both humbuckers, and DPDT push-pull tone pots for series/parallel and phase reversal of one PU.  I figure if I'm going to swap out the pick ups I'll do a full rewire and give myself all the options I can.  The previous person who wrote songs for this project did a lot of blues, I typically play heavier rock.  So something that does well with high gain that can be scaled back by tapping the coils should suit my needs well.

Any suggestions are appreciated.  I'd rather get some input here before going over to the guitar forums to endure a pissing contest.

[RoadRanger]

You'd prolly have better luck over in one of the guitar forums here .

[ChiroVette]

I am a huge fan od the Dimarzio SD-2 pickups. I have them in my custom built guitar and I took the stock pickups out of my old Paul Reed Smith and replaced them with the Super Distortion II's as well. They have a lot of gain, and contrary to their name they are very clean and clear.

[Mogwix]

Bridge: Duncan JB

Neck: Duncan Alnico-II pro

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RoadRanger wrote:

You'd prolly have better luck over in one of the guitar forums here .

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yeah, good luck with that. posting in the guitar forums is like stepping into a monkey cage, with poo flying everywhere.

actually, leaving the live sound boards at all is a similar experience.

[StratGuy22]

I play guitar.

I've played guitar for 29 years. I've never changed a stock pickup.


People only care about the singer anyway.

[ChiroVette]

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StratGuy22 wrote:
I play guitar.

I've played guitar for 29 years. I've never changed a stock pickup.


People only care about the singer anyway.

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I have to respectfully reject your premise on the grounds that, A) I don't believe it's true that people only care about the singer,and, B) Even if I agreed with you, I wouldn't care. Why? Because I CARE about my sound even in the unlikely event that nobody else does. I think most guitarists, in fact, do.

[Mutha Goose]

Almost no 2 guitars I own have the same pickups except for 2 of my Les Pauls that are both setup with EMG 81/85s. One of my Strats has hand wound Van Zandts (amazing blues tone). A Jackson with SDs. And Ibenez with DiMarzio PAFs... and so on...

But in the end, I've listened to a lot of recordings of my playing... it doesn't matter which guitar I use, which pickups, or even which amps... I always sound like me. I hear MAJOR differences while I'm playing, but it is amazing how much those differences disappear when I put my playing within the context of the rest of the band.

[Shaster]

Just to add to what Strat Guy 22 and Mutha Goose said....

Have you ever looked at video clips of yourself (or others) and you stop to adjust your amp or something?  After the adjustment, there is no audible sound difference!  I've even seen clips of myself adjust something where I remembered why I was tinkering. Sometimes it was a "major" adjustment, but still the audio on the video didn't reflect it.

Anyway, I like to use Seymour Duncan stuff partially because I met him years and years ago and he seemed like a good guy. That and I like the sound of his Strat PUPs.  I also like to use the Duncan PUP audio audition page - it's worked for me in pick-up selection.

[Vinny D]

I prefer any guitar pickup that doesn't buzz like a bee's nest!

[StratGuy22]

Death to the single coil.

[Mutha Goose]

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StratGuy22 wrote:
Death to the single coil.

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I'd have to disagree with you here... for certain styles of music, nothing beats the tone of a properly wound single coil.

[Mogwix]

my strat has duncan vintage stacks... very nice.

I bought a PRS and now my strat feels horrible. guess I take it to my luthier and have him dress up the frets.

[Rob_H]

I would go with P90s, in my opinion you can't beat them and they should fit if it is a LP copy. I like the bumble bee caps and have them on a couple of my Les Pauls and on one Explorer...if you ask any reputable guitar tech he will know what they are and how to install them. Make sure you look at the ground strap as well, they are usually junk on cheap guitars and it is cheap to put a decent one in.

For what you are going to pay for pick ups though you may want to look at one of the lower end Line 6 pedals with amp modeling; you aren't going to get great sound out of that even with better pick-ups, the Line 6 will be a cheaper option and give you more variety

[ChiroVette]

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Shaster wrote:

Just to add to what Strat Guy 22 and Mutha Goose said....

Have you ever looked at video clips of yourself (or others) and you stop to adjust your amp or something?  After the adjustment, there is no audible sound difference!  I've even seen clips of myself adjust something where I remembered why I was tinkering. Sometimes it was a "major" adjustment, but still the audio on the video didn't reflect it.

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Quite frankly, no.

I am very acutely aware of my sounds live and when listening back. However, there is a caveat: While I have a ton of effects and use them when needed, the vast majority of my sound is uber-clean. I play through a Fender Twin with a pair of JBL K-120's.

In my custom guitar, I have THREE Dimarzio SD-2's. Each one can be split into single coil, played as a regular humbucker, or out of phase humbucker. I can mix the pickups via a 5-position toggle, similar to a Strat pickup selector.

When I listen back to my band's rrcordings, even the shitty quality ones, I can tell you when I am in single-coil middle pickup, bridge humbucker, neck out of phase, or whatever. I can tell you when I am mixing pickups, though I will admit that if I am mixing, say the middle and bridge pickup, I am not usually able to tell from a recording which pickup is single and which is double, if I have them selected like that.

I think that when you start mixing in a lot of effects, particularly pitch-shifting ones like Chorus and Flanging, that you will absolutely blur the lines between various pickup selection and splitting Vs humbucker. I think that distortion and overdrive, depending upon how "thick" of an effect you are playing with, I can even usually discern when I am playing single verses double coil, though I confess it is more difficult than with a totally clean sound.