All Time Favorite Pickups?

[migetkotla]

For those building or have built Warmoth guitars, do you have an all time favorite set of pickups you believe sound best (or your most "preferred")?

The humbucker set I purchased I didn't get off Warmoth but instead out of the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop - they are the Concept Set which is a variation of the Jazz and JB pups.  I placed them in a Warmoth tele body and they sound very vintage.  I also have a pair of antiquity humbuckers which are also way up there on my favorite humbucker list.  On the single coil side, most likely a set of SSL-1s placed in a strat body.

Thanks for any preferences and recommendations/experience you share!

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Humbuckers: Bridge: DiMarzio DP216 Mo' Joe or DP251 PAF Pro. Neck: DiMarzio DP213 PAF Joe. A slightly hotter and a tad more trebly version of the original PAF sound. Good for crunch and gainy leads that sounds good in a band setting.

Single Coils: Suhr FL* Standards. A little fuller modern strat sound with a usable bridge sound. Fantastic neck sound.



* They are now named ML

 

[Wolfie351]

Variety is the spice of life, but if I were to choose one pickup as "my tone" it would be the Screamin' Demon.  That's been my go-to recording pickup for 20+ years.  Classic rock, jazz, country, blues, metal...doesn't matter

Although, I did try out a WCR Godwood the other day.  Was very very impressed, wish I could have taken it home for me to try on my own rig and I didn't have my main axe to do a side-by-side comparison.

 

[DangerousR6]

One favorite of mine is Dimarzio D-Activator bridge/neck. Also have one with SD Invaders, very awesome pups on both accounts. Also Ken of Roadhouse pickups made me some custom DR6 singles... :headbang1:

 

[Prometheus]

I can't say exactly "favorites" exactly, but I've only had 'em a week, so they're my favorites right now.   It's a set of DiMarzio 36th Anniversary PFAs (DP103 and DP223) to replace the stock pups in an Epiphone Les Paul. Very nice PAF sound. Pretty sweet and full cleans and though they're not "high output", they can also scream and growl fairly well. I also have a couple of magnets in the mail - AlNiCo 4, 5, and 8 to try swapping around.

 

[DarkPenguin]

I've a set of dominger hippie 68's with a stinger ii in the bridge.  Quite like them.  They are my all time favs until I find something I like better.

 

[Wizard of Wailing]

      I love, love, love the DiMarzio AT-1 humbucker.  It's just a great all around rock n roll pickup.  I have it in two of my Warmoths.  Yet, I've still never heard an Andy Timmons (AT) song in my life. 

 

[Neo Fender]

It’s easier for me to list pickups that I loathe (OK – dislike);  Fender/Lace Sensor (the original gold, quiet but anonymous character), the Quad Rail (purportedly a four coil humbucker) and its sister the (Dual Rail) that Gibson-era Kramer packed into its guitars; no punch, no grunt, no anything .  As Yngwie would once say about stock Fender pickups, the F/LS and the Dual/Quad Rails “weren't happening”.

After a few decades of casual futzing around, I’ve yet to realize pickup nirvana; though I’m hoping the modest GFS True Coil that I’m about to install in my H/S/H Kramer Striker will get me very close.  Even the fabled Seymour Duncan JB in my Jackson Dinky has yet to blow wind up my skirt as it has done for so many others. 

I’m too proud to blame my fingers, hands or ears so I will just blame my amp on being too dark.   

 

[SustainerPlayer]

      I love, love, love the DiMarzio AT-1 humbucker.  It's just a great all around rock n roll pickup.  I have it in two of my Warmoths.  Yet, I've still never heard an Andy Timmons (AT) song in my life.

You should. He's got a fantastic tone and is very emotional player (he's hairmetal days aside).

Check out this interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3V92g9tPI

 

[mrpinter]

I'm like Wolfie351 - I love the Screamin' Demon. I have one in the bridge of my 72 Thinline, and another in my Soloist (which is an unusual guitar in that it only has a neck pickup... but the Demon is great as a neck pickup, and is bright enough to do this as an only pickup)

 

[mayfly]

Anything made by Lollar has been very spectacular for me.  I have lollar special 'T' pickups in every telecaster I own. 

And telecasters are like Keith's IPA "Those that like them, like them a lot"

 

[mark1178]

LOVE the GFS Loudmouth humbuckers on my 'moth. Nice and loud, but not metal sounding...saving the metal sounds for when I upgrade the pups on my Dean.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Humbuckers:
Duncan Screamin' Demon, JB, & Jazz. Dimarzio Air Norton makes a nice neck 'bucker.

S/Cs: 
Dimarzio Area 61, Area 67, Injector neck, and Super Distortion-S.

 

[Strat Avenger]

      I love, love, love the DiMarzio AT-1 humbucker.  It's just a great all around rock n roll pickup.  I have it in two of my Warmoths.  Yet, I've still never heard an Andy Timmons (AT) song in my life.

I've never tried one, but I know that Andy gets some amazing tones from his, so I don't doubt you.

 

[DangerousR6]

LOVE the GFS Loudmouth humbuckers on my 'moth. Nice and loud, but not metal sounding...saving the metal sounds for when I upgrade the pups on my Dean.

I have a set also, cool ass pups...sound good with a tube screamer...

 

[AutoBat]

I have very limited experience with pickups, but the ones I've got are nice.
Fender Vintage Noiseless (1st gen) in my strat, EMG 81X & 85X in my VIP.

The pots are getting salty in the Fenders, but they've got me through quite a lot of hours of use.

 

[DslDwg]

Put my first S/D distortion in a guitar back in '86. Nothing has yet to top it IMO.

I like trying different pick-ups in every guitar I own. Owned lots of S/D's, Dimarzios and EMGs but always come back to the distortion.

Of course the issue for most non-metal players is it's a very high-output ceramic so it's probably not as versatile as many others mentioned.

I do want to give honorable mention to the EMG 81TW and 89. I had another set of pick-ups in one my Warmoth's that just weren't working - put those in and wow. Always like having a single "mode" for cleaner sounds and the 81TW screams for high gain a la 81 and cleans up nice in single coil mode.

Again hi-gain ceramic - are we seeing a pattern here?

 

[jay4321]

Custom Custom, Custom 5, Tone Zone, Alnico 2 Pro, EMG 81 all great in the bridge depending on the guitar and what I'm doing.

For rock rhythms (clean or dirty) in a LP, and specifically for non-metal needs, the A2P is the best all-around bridge. Something about how it sounds with a little grit on the cleans through a good Marshall sets it apart. Wish I could find a metal pickup as good but I haven't yet. They rest all have their strengths and weaknesses. For example I think the EMG sounds relatively meh in the higher register with solo notes but great for the lower stuff. 

Not sure about neck pickups yet, but I don't use them enough. CS 69s is nice in fenders but hard to match

 

[TBurst Std]

Hmmmm pups that have made me go wow, at least for a while

Replacements
Timbuckers - and I am still wow

Jim Wagner Goodwoods (not the new Godwoods) - I was still wow when I pulled them for the Timbuckers,,,they will go into the VIP build whenever I complete that

Fralin blues set for the strat - still a little wowed

Zhangbucker Paul Bunyan (serial #2) tele bridge - this pup is licensed to kill, P90 gritty to Tele twag at the flip of a switch

I am quite happy with the Filtertrons that came in my White Falcon

Something that I think will wow me - Novack HB sized wide ranges in my Godin. It has the equivalent of the 24 fret reposition, which places the inner coils of the pups very close to the spacing between the neck/middle and middle/bridge strat positions. That means quack opportunities. Right now the Godin is the most csapable guitar for sound options. This would expand that. When I go to an unknown tonal need audition, I grab the Godin. With the piezo bridge and an acoustic IR in the AXE-FX, it even pulls off a decent acoustic.

 

[mark1178]

For single coils my favorites are Fender Texas Specials and SD lil 59'er