what neck pickup are you guys using on your les pauls?

mooncobra

mooncobra

Well-known member
I am switching the pickups out on 2 les pauls. I got a pair of second degree black belts for one, and the other not so sure about. I have to replace the wiring anyways because its a mess in there. I posted a pic of it here, and many of you said to replace the wiring and get new wiring harness because of the mess in there.

I am trying to think of how to describe what I like in terms of neck pickups, I guess I could say I like the 59 over the jazz. I don't like it too flubby(I like the bridge pickup to be tight, articulate and defined, guess the neck could be similar) and want decent touch sensitivity, and want the pickup to remain definition and stay clear. a lot of neck pickups kind of sound mushy. I usually prefer a medium output pickup.

thanks!
 
The DiMarzio EJ Custom sounds like what you want. It has enough clarity to the point of where I forget I'm playing the neck vs. the bridge for rhythm.
 
Using a pair of PRS McCartys in my gold top atm.

Dig em for crunchy stuff, not so much for metal really, but I have other guitars for that. Gold top is my drop B doom machine.
 
I used SD 59’s for years and was happy with them and then I purchased an 06 Classic loaded with Lindy Fralin PAF’s. Now both of my LP’s have them.
 
I like the Marshallhead if you’re going for the PAFish tone. It takes gain really well and just sings. The Aldrich is great too.
 
I might be in the minority here but after trying a bunch of different pickups in my Les Paul Custom, I'm back on the stock 490r/498t chrome covered set and think they sound great. I play a Friedman BE100 and go for pretty clear, ballsy, high gain tones. The neck pickup has that woody/liquidy articulate sound that feels great to play. I also have a great Les Paul Classic that has uncovered Seymour Duncan JB/59 combo that sounds perfect, but the Custom and Classic are pretty different sounding guitars acoustically. The Classic is way brighter on its own.
 
I like the Duncan 59' neck the best out of many neck pickups I have tried, but I don't care for it in its stock form. It sounds SO much better (to me anyway) with a magnet swap. I didn't like an A4, but an A3 or UOA5 makes it sing without the flub!
 
I was going to give advice but I have the 2nd Degree Blackbelts too. :) I have an 89' Les Paul Standard and that actually has some hot Bill Lawrence pickups that came stock.
 
I’m running Duncan Antiquities in my Classic and the Duncan Slash set in my Standard. I’ve been extremely happy with both sets.
 
I've got a SD custom shop 59 in my silverburst that just sings, best neck pickup I've used - no mud. And it matches pretty well with the Afwayu in the bridge position.
 
Dimarzio Dominion bridge model in the neck position. It adds a bit more clarity and bite and thins it out a touch over the neck model I had in there. But the Dominion neck model gets a super fat and fairly articulate tone too. They're a surprisingly versatile set for ceramics. They do some great heavy blues tones :yes:
 
MetalHeadMike":1ygf3czn said:
Dimarzio Dominion bridge model in the neck position. It adds a bit more clarity and bite and thins it out a touch over the neck model I had in there. But the Dominion neck model gets a super fat and fairly articulate tone too. They're a surprisingly versatile set for ceramics. They do some great heavy blues tones :yes:
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Interesting. I have a Dominion lying around. I've always wondered how it would sound in the neck since it's so tight and articulate (almost EMG 81-ish) in the bridge. Might have to give it a try.
 
Beyond Black":3320g19n said:
WCR Darkburst. Articulate, sweet tone and never muddy or boomy.
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Agreed. The only other neck pickups I’d consider besides that would be the Tone Specific or Virgil Arlo, but the latter is expensive. The Darkburst, Virgil Arlo, and Tone Specific’s blow away any other neck pickups I’ve tried
 
Rex Rocker":2ol3h1oo said:
MetalHeadMike":2ol3h1oo said:
Dimarzio Dominion bridge model in the neck position. It adds a bit more clarity and bite and thins it out a touch over the neck model I had in there. But the Dominion neck model gets a super fat and fairly articulate tone too. They're a surprisingly versatile set for ceramics. They do some great heavy blues tones :yes:
Click to expand...
Interesting. I have a Dominion lying around. I've always wondered how it would sound in the neck since it's so tight and articulate (almost EMG 81-ish) in the bridge. Might have to give it a try.
Click to expand...

Yeah I just tried it for shits n grins one day, and it's been in there ever since. Not really worlds apart from the Dominion neck pup in the same position, but it sounds pretty cool. I'm definitely not a lead player, couldn't play leads to save my life, but I think it sounded pretty cool in that position with the little wanna be lead noodling I do.
 
Right now, I have to LPCs with the EMG 85 in the neck position, one LPC has the 57 Classic in it, and the last LPC has a SD 59 in it.

The EMGs work as expected, and work well for me. The neck pickup I absolutely love right now is the 57 Classic.
 
I recently switched around my pickups in my guitars (both are ESP Les Paul copies).

One has a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck, and the other has a Lace Sensor in the neck.
 
I had the jazz in my LP and i thought it was blah in the tone dept. Clear but no tone. 59 sounded great but I ended up going back to the original BB 1. Upgrading the pots, 50s wiring, really made the tone come alive in the guitar.
 
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