POLL: What brand of pickups do forum users prefer?

[Zado]

Schecter

 

[PDC]

I was an EMG Devotee for years and years (decades?)

Then I tripped and fell down the Rabbit Hole of DCR / Magnets / Polished v Rough / Oriented or UO...

Now - with enough passive pickups on the shelf to stock a small music store - I am a Pariah guy.

 

[CJ7]

I'm still deciding which I like best, but I voted EMG for now. EMGs are going to be replacing the fishman's that came with a couple guitars.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Hmm..tonenerd is not one of the options

 

[rsm]

1) DiMarzio
2) Duncan


I rarely change pickups tho'. They have to be really weak, unclear or sound off...I hate soldering.


I have one guitar that I replaced pickups; my white Chibanez; a set of DiMarzio D Activator-X:

 

[anomaly]

I'm surprised EMG is winning this. They would probably be my second choice.

 

[stephen sawall]

Looks like Seymour Duncan took the lead.
Not by much.

 

[The~Kid]

Gibson or Seymour Duncans.


Kramer USA pups are amazing too.

 

[Rackman]

I've got a pretty wide variety. The only really strong opinion I've got is that I've never met a DiMarzio I liked.

My most heavily used guitars have EMGs. Behind that is Bare Knuckle and Duncan.

 

[DanTravis62]

Wagner, Tonenerd, then everything else.

Everyone except for bare knuckle and dimarzio has pickups I like decently on the list, but nothing on the list is anywhere near Wagner or Tonenerd

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Wagner, Tonenerd, then everything else.

Everyone except for bare knuckle and dimarzio has pickups I like decently on the list, but nothing on the list is anywhere near Wagner or Tonenerd

The ironman was my main pickup for a good while. But I should have listened to you sooner about the roxy. Definitely my favorite pickup. I have a custom bareknuckle that I ordered that I dont think i will ever put in the guitar now

 

[DanTravis62]

The ironman was my main pickup for a good while. But I should have listened to you sooner about the roxy. Definitely my favorite pickup. I have a custom bareknuckle that I ordered that I dont think i will ever put in the guitar now

BK has excellent aesthetic options but I don't think they are anywhere even near Wagner or Scott's stuff

The roxy is the best bridge pickup for rhythm tones I've ever heard (for the alnico sound, anyways)

The ironman and the psykes are the best ceramics ive ever heard

There's a lot of great sounding big brand pickups out there for sure - you can't go wrong with a duncan distortion, custom 5, suhr aldrich, etc - but the Wagner and Tonenerd pickups are on a whole other level than the big brand stuff, just like a duncan is on a different level than an OEM manufacturer pickup

 

[BABMusic]

I vote SD, but this thread made me curious about Suhr. Might need to try one.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

1) DiMarzio
2) Duncan


I rarely change pickups tho'. They have to be really weak, unclear or sound off...I hate soldering.


I have one guitar that I replaced pickups; my white Chibanez; a set of DiMarzio D Activator-X:


View attachment 456940

How do you like the d'activators? I lean towards DiMarzio. They're ones I've wanted to try, but never got around to buying a set.

 

[TheGreatGreen]

I’m an EMG guy mostly but I’ve shied away from the standards like the 81, 85, and 60 lately.

Believe it or not, the 60A has kind of taken the lead to my ear. My Les Paul had a 60 in the neck for a while. I liked it at first but after a while i found it too shreddy and sizzly. I swapped to the 60A which is the same pickup but with an Alnico 5 magnet. It has the clarity of an active pickup and similar kind of mini humbucker vibe as the 60 but where the 60 has slice in the highs and boom in the lows, the 60A has punch in the mids without losing string definition and is a lot tighter. Awesome for a Les Paul.

I liked it so much that I tried it in the Bridge and it sounds like an 85 but with none of the tubby lows or honk in the mids, it’s almost PAF-like. Again… sounds great.

Check out the 60A.

 

[Holy-diver]

Wagner, Tonenerd, then everything else.

Everyone except for bare knuckle and dimarzio has pickups I like decently on the list, but nothing on the list is anywhere near Wagner or Tonenerd

The godwood is definitely one of the best pickups I have ever tried, have you compared it directly with any of his others? I’ve been thinking of grabbing a different set of his because of how impressive the 2 sets of godwoods I have are.

 

[DanTravis62]

The godwood is definitely one of the best pickups I have ever tried, have you compared it directly with any of his others? I’ve been thinking of grabbing a different set of his because of how impressive the 2 sets of godwoods I have are.

Yep. The Godwood is the best PAF-style for high gain imo, (mid gain as well)

but the ironman is absolutely incredible as a ceramic for high gain - kind of similar bite to a duncan distortion but much, much thicker with more complex midrange and treble

the icebuckers are the most percussive, tightest low output pickup ever made

The darkburst and crossroads are both fantastic pickups for their particular styles but I don't play blues or classic rock so I'm not the expert to ask about them

It basically depends what kind of tones youre looking to get out of another set - I would absolutely recommend an ironman for high gain stuff, or the icebucker for rhythm stuff specifically

a ton of people like the darkburst but I feel like it excels for tones that are much lower gain than I prefer

 

[Holy-diver]

Yep. The Godwood is the best PAF-style for high gain imo, (mid gain as well)

but the ironman is absolutely incredible as a ceramic for high gain - kind of similar bite to a duncan distortion but much, much thicker with more complex midrange and treble

the icebuckers are the most percussive, tightest low output pickup ever made

The darkburst and crossroads are both fantastic pickups for their particular styles but I don't play blues or classic rock so I'm not the expert to ask about them

It basically depends what kind of tones youre looking to get out of another set - I would absolutely recommend an ironman for high gain stuff, or the icebucker for rhythm stuff specifically

a ton of people like the darkburst but I feel like it excels for tones that are much lower gain than I prefer

Definitely, the godwood is absolutely incredible in my LPC it’s never coming out of that guitar.

I was thinking about a set to throw in my explorer, from what you’re saying and what I have read I think I might love the Ironmans (Ironmen?) but your description of the icebucker sounds pretty great too. I think they are discontinued though so I’d have to find a used one

 

[DanTravis62]

Definitely, the godwood is absolutely incredible in my LPC it’s never coming out of that guitar.

I was thinking about a set to throw in my explorer, from what you’re saying and what I have read I think I might love the Ironmans (Ironmen?) but your description of the icebucker sounds pretty great too. I think they are discontinued though so I’d have to find a used one

I would suggest the ironman for 90% of people - the ice bucker is an incredible pickup but it requires an absolutely stellar right hand and if you don't have one it's not going to work for you. I have watched it happen in real time with people who aren't big "metal rhythm" type players and it's just too uncompressed and relies so much on your technique. It's not for everyone.

The ironman works for everyone, and translates way more player to player, so I feel way more comfortable recommending it to people. (Especially if I haven't heard them play)

 

[Jimty]

I have Rewinds in three of my guitars - all different (different winds and magnets) but all sound great.