Deciding on pickups is tough

[Ceramic Lion]

I like the at1 in the right guitar. It has too much bass for a les paul, great for super strats. The dimarzio pickup picker on their site does a pretty good job when you're trying to wade through their offereings.

I know what ya mean, I’ve got it in a custom 22 and it’s borderline too bassy.

 

[BABMusic]

The 89 is the 85 but spiltable with a separate preamp for the single.

Very good to know. I had no idea, thanks. I guess that was the one weakness of the 85.

I remember years ago I ordered an 85 and put it in the bridge. A few months later, I bought an 81 for the bridge. I was really surprised by being very disappointed with the 81. I thought maybe I got a bad one because I didn't understand how so many artists loved it. I put the 85 back in and it was a huge relief. There's just something much more balanced about the 85, and it sustains very well. I mostly use passives right now in my guitars, but the 85 was my favorite EMG active that I've tried. The SA single coils are pretty good too.

 

[Geo]

Very good to know. I had no idea, thanks. I guess that was the one weakness of the 85.

I remember years ago I ordered an 85 and put it in the bridge. A few months later, I bought an 81 for the bridge. I was really surprised by being very disappointed with the 81. I thought maybe I got a bad one because I didn't understand how so many artists loved it. I put the 85 back in and it was a huge relief. There's just something much more balanced about the 85, and it sustains very well. I mostly use passives right now in my guitars, but the 85 was my favorite EMG active that I've tried. The SA single coils are pretty good too.

I have always found the 81 to be a bit thin. Maybe not as thin as some high output passives but, thinner sounding than the 85 or 89.

Once you dial in the 85/89, it's hard to live without the creamy thick sustain but now I am a bit older and play with a lot less distortion.

 

[rsm]

@sandman did you decide on a pickup? what did you get?

 

[sandman]

@sandman did you decide on a pickup? what did you get?

I only had a 3 way tele switch but i kinda like the tophat knob anyway. Looks a bit different on an rg but who cares. Havent had a chance to test out tones yet but figured since i had the arcane hum/single set i should give them a chance before buying something else.

 

[just42dave]

Im obviously an 80’s fan but im wondering about Dimarzio At1 and a cruiser in neck. I like melodic and ambient stuff also so Im not sure what to do lol

I've used that quite a while in various guitars. I put a true velvet in the middle. Coil split both HH.

 

[BABMusic]

I have always found the 81 to be a bit thin. Maybe not as thin as some high output passives but, thinner sounding than the 85 or 89.

Once you dial in the 85/89, it's hard to live without the creamy thick sustain but now I am a bit older and play with a lot less distortion.

I was looking at EMG's site, but I couldn't find anything that was an 85 as a passive pickup. It would be nice if there was such a thing. I'm looking for an alternative passive humbucker for my Friedman Classic Plus. It's a good pickup, but interestingly does not sound the best with my Friedman amp. It sounds much better with my Boogie Mark IV. My other guitars sound great with the Friedman amp, so it's odd that the Friedman pickup doesn't sound outstanding.

 

[midnightlaundry]

I was looking at EMG's site, but I couldn't find anything that was an 85 as a passive pickup. It would be nice if there was such a thing. I'm looking for an alternative passive humbucker for my Friedman Classic Plus. It's a good pickup, but interestingly does not sound the best with my Friedman amp. It sounds much better with my Boogie Mark IV. My other guitars sound great with the Friedman amp, so it's odd that the Friedman pickup doesn't sound outstanding.

https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-product/pegasus

 

[stratjacket]

I love changing out pickups and trying things out. I mean I enjoy the act of jamming some music or listening to YouTube guitar talk, sipping a bourbon and swapping out pickups or just working on a guitar.

I have drawers full of pickups and I do it often.

One thing I’ve found though, I don’t care much about materials or how it’s made, the final result produces an EQ curve and output level. Find a EQ curve and/or output level you like and any brand will work. There is no vintage magic or magic anything. It’s just math. And like many said, it’s just one piece.

 

[DanTravis62]

I was looking at EMG's site, but I couldn't find anything that was an 85 as a passive pickup. It would be nice if there was such a thing. I'm looking for an alternative passive humbucker for my Friedman Classic Plus. It's a good pickup, but interestingly does not sound the best with my Friedman amp. It sounds much better with my Boogie Mark IV. My other guitars sound great with the Friedman amp, so it's odd that the Friedman pickup doesn't sound outstanding.

If you want to try something different, you might want to give the EMG retroactives a shot. The Fat 55's, although they sound like they would be for PAF tones, hold up really really well for gainy sounds, and remind me of the sound of the 85 a lot.

Besides that, like for actual passives, try the duncan custom 5 (SH14) - it's as close as youre going to get to an 85 with a passive IMO

 

[demondestroyer]

I only had a 3 way tele switch but i kinda like the tophat knob anyway. Looks a bit different on an rg but who cares. Havent had a chance to test out tones yet but figured since i had the arcane hum/single set i should give them a chance before buying something else.

Wow, just got the same guitar but in neon yellow and trying to figure what pups I am going to use. How do the arcanes sound in it?

 

[SFW]

Im obviously an 80’s fan but im wondering about Dimarzio At1 and a cruiser in neck. I like melodic and ambient stuff also so Im not sure what to do lol

I have an AT-1 in one of my Charvels. It's a great pickup.

 

[sandman]

Wow, just got the same guitar but in neon yellow and trying to figure what pups I am going to use. How do the arcanes sound in it?

I installed them but havent had a chance to play yet. Life extremely busy right now. Good stuff thankfully but beyond busy lol

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I know what ya mean, I’ve got it in a custom 22 and it’s borderline too bassy.

Also found that with the AT-1 in Les Paul type.. but that's why the old JB still gets er done in an LP if you are in a pinch.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I've always wondered what exactly it is about dimarzios that I dislike so much - i've traditionally been a duncan guy as well, though I like emgs, and the last few years i've really loved Wagner and Tone Nerd and a few others

Whatever "it" is, it's not in all dimarzios, but the main popular pickups have that weird upper mid artifact thing is always there. I don't know of any material/construction difference between dimarzio and other brands, so I really have no idea what this thing is.

I should bug @scottosan about this, he would know.

Scott, what in god's name is the cause of that "signature dimarzio sound" that people either love or hate? It's like a brittle transient sound that's really apparent in palm muted notes on a super distortion. (thought it appears in other pickups they make to varying degrees)

Slayer's old stuff is actually a good example tone of what the haters are talking about - instead of the palm mute "booming" or "blooming" its like a smaller, more constrained "tick tick" or "scratch scratch" sound. You can hear it really well in a couple of other "classic" tones as well, like the early Kiss stuff.

When you compare it to like the famous JB or Mighty Mite tones of the same time period, it's not there. What the heck IS going on?

I'm with you guys.. Dimarzio have a few stand out singles and the Chopper and Cruiser are good but humbuckers are tough for me. Always have that hi fi or overly compressed tone where Duncans keep the rawness going. The 36 anniversary humbuckers and a good old super D I do think are very good but it's a tough sale for me on a lot of their hot pafs and other types.

Tonenerd I think was a great venture and I have a proto type alnico 8 and the sunset and Scottosan has a great ear. It's too bad that venture didn't continue because honestly, I'd grab more of those for my strat types. I always look for what i term juicy and raw in a pickup and his had those. For anyone that cares, if I had to just go with one humbucker at the moment to put in a strat without hearing what the guitar sounds like, I'd just throw a duncan RTM in there and call it a day. That thing is killer.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I really love the Alnico2 sounds but with some attributes of the A5 like the tighter lows and more attack
Is there any pickup that kind of blends the 2 worlds like having a Slash 2.0 or a Frankenstein but with the tightness of an A5 ?
Or is it kind of similar to amps
Comparing the sag of a recto (a2)
To a Fortin (a5) for example
Would a UOA5 or rough cast tighten up an A2
Also any tried the 3rd power riot bucker ? Or praxis. For high gain
They look intresting

Duncan RTM for me and I am picky when it comes to my lows. I like a tight low end.

 

[SonVolt]

Duncan RTM for me and I am picky when it comes to my lows. I like a tight low end.

I've also been interested in this pickup. I've been a Distortion fan since the '90s and it's hard for me to deviate too far from it. I like certain things about the JB, but the low end response always leaves me missing the Distortion. I'm curious how the RTM would hold up.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I've also been interested in this pickup. I've been a Distortion fan since the '90s and it's hard for me to deviate too far from it. I like certain things about the JB, but the low end response always leaves me missing the Distortion. I'm curious how the RTM would hold up.

Check this out.. way less woof with the RTM when the guy plays them back to back. I like both but yes the RTM def addresses that wild low end.

 

[BABMusic]

If you want to try something different, you might want to give the EMG retroactives a shot. The Fat 55's, although they sound like they would be for PAF tones, hold up really really well for gainy sounds, and remind me of the sound of the 85 a lot.

Besides that, like for actual passives, try the duncan custom 5 (SH14) - it's as close as youre going to get to an 85 with a passive IMO

Very interesting. I searched that SH14 on the Duncan site, and I was surprised to see that it was called "medium output" yet it tested at 14.1K. Times have changed with what is considered medium output.

 

[NowYou'rePlayingWithPower]

Very interesting. I searched that SH14 on the Duncan site, and I was surprised to see that it was called "medium output" yet it tested at 14.1K. Times have changed with what is considered medium output.

Seymour Duncan SLUGs are apparently medium output: