Forums

Help needed on guitar pickups
  • Ally's Avatar
  • Ally
  • Location: Swindon
  • Posts: 200
Thu 4 Sep 2008 14:16
Hey all,

I need some much needed advice on some guitar pickups. I have wrestled with the idea of buying either a top of the range strat or les paul style guitar, however with me being me I always look for the cheapest options possible. I figured the actual body does not really bother me as such, its more the quality of the sound.

Basically I would like to change the pickups on a squire strat or a les paul copy. Could anybody suggest the best pickups with the closest sound and tone to a decent quality sounding strat or les paul? Anything under £100 to £150 is ideal, the cheaper the better. The best quality at the cheapest price's. I want something that sounds as close to a top of the range without paying over the odds.

Could you also name where these can be purchased from also?

Also who and where could do the transformation for me?

All the help and information you could give me would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Ally : )
__________________________
http://www.myspace.com/mercuryriverofficial
Thu 4 Sep 2008 14:31
get a middle range guitar at the least. like a mexican strat or something. especially if you're doing poppy stuff as i suspect you are.

the pickups are only a part of the sound quality. very important is also the quality/type of wood, build and amp.

but er

ebay and kempsters
Thu 4 Sep 2008 15:49
Depends what you want to play..... as has been said the amp is just as important.

As an example, to get the Authentic Pistols punk sound I use the same (Updated obviously) amp (Fender Deville 212) as the Pistols used on Max Overdrive with an extended overdrive pedal.

The pick ups that are most widely used for the authentic punk sound are Humbuckers but it is down to your personal choice.
Thu 4 Sep 2008 18:41
dude

Can't recommend Bare Knuckle p/ups highly enough! You'd be withing budget, and they're hand-wound, and sound GREAT. Google them and see what you think.

With regards to body wood, yes it certainly does impart a hell of a lot to the tone, but if you've only got £150 to spend now then upgrading the pups is the best option - you can always transfer them over to a better guitar when you have the money for one!

My 2p worth. Good luck with it all : )
__________________________
Hello, my name is Sam Bates. I play, produce and promote music. If you would like to gorge on me-related info, here is some stuff I do:

www.myspace.com/matthewkilford

www.myspace.com/ratsruinedmybrain

www.playdead events.co.uk

Competetive rates for live and studio sound engineering. Mixing, mastering and production contracts all considered. PM me!
Sun 7 Sep 2008 12:46
Reply to Post 28192 by Ally in Help needed on guitar pickups Hey all,

I need some much needed advice on some guitar pickups. I have wrestled with the idea of buying either a top of the range strat or les paul style guitar, however with me being me I always look for the cheapest options possible. I figured the actual body does not really bother me as such, its more the quality of the sound.

Basically I would like to change the pickups on a squire strat or a les paul copy. Could anybody suggest the best pickups with the closest sound and tone to a decent quality sounding strat or les paul? Anything under £100 to £150 is ideal, the cheaper the better. The best quality at the cheapest price's. I want something that sounds as close to a top of the range without paying over the odds.

Could you also name where these can be purchased from also?

Also who and where could do the transformation for me?

All the help and information you could give me would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Ally : )

Checkout www.audio-tech.co.uk
Post last edited by theampman - 07/09/08 - 12:49
  • edo's Avatar
  • edo
  • Location: shrivenham/swindon
  • Posts: 198
Wed 1 Oct 2008 17:56
Reply to Post 28210 by MisterUrOnFireMister in Help needed on guitar pickups dude

Can't recommend Bare Knuckle p/ups highly enough! You'd be withing budget, and they're hand-wound, and sound GREAT. Google them and see what you think.

With regards to body wood, yes it certainly does impart a hell of a lot to the tone, but if you've only got £150 to spend now then upgrading the pups is the best option - you can always transfer them over to a better guitar when you have the money for one!

My 2p worth. Good luck with it all : )


good pickups wont make a plywood guitar sound any better, if anything they will pull out the imperfections and make the roughness louder. your better off with a better body and worse pickups. a mex strat is good advice, i have one. a smooth easy ride! there us crafted and shipped to mexico where amigos assemble them.
__________________________
www.myspace.com/edo69devolution

download album free at www.ezfolk.com/audio/bands/4653/
Tue 4 Nov 2008 13:23
I have 50s reissue Mex Strat and a 72 reissue Mex Tele and both sound bloody lovely, especially the Tele.

It's all about what sound you're looking for. Don't buy a guitar because someone else said it's good, go to a shop and try some out and see which you prefer. Also, think about what amp you're going to be using when you try it out, so when you try a guitar out, ask the shopkeeper to hook you up to an amp that's similar to what you have, so you have a clear reference point.
Tue 4 Nov 2008 14:27
I'd disagree with Edo and say that pickups are far more important to sound than the wood or build of a guitar - a cheap guitar with decent pickups can often sound just as good as a much more expensive instrument. The worse thing about cheap pickups is how microphonic they can be - the really unpleasant squealing you get at high gain. Decent pickups are well sealed to prevent this.

My personal recommendation would be Wizard Pickups. Hand made, great quality, reasonable price, and they've give you some excellent advice if you call or email them.

In terms of fitting, if you can handle a soldering iron (or have a friend who can) then it's a doddle to do it yourself. It's useful to know how the innards af your guitar work because then you can fix it yourself when you have problems. If in doubt though just take it to a shop, Kempsters are the best locally in my opinion.
__________________________
Seven Years On

The Dacoits
Post last edited by captaineasychord - 04/11/08 - 14:32
Tue 4 Nov 2008 19:04
Captain-easy-chord is correct, Edo got that entirely back-to-front.

Bareknuckle, Jason Lollar, Seymour Duncan etc... Are all great for the higher price tag but, you also have Kent Armstrong and Wilkinson for those of you with more modest outlay available.
Post last edited by davetfdurban - 04/11/08 - 19:06
Tue 4 Nov 2008 19:33
Seconded (ok, technically 3rd-ed I guess) - I put some s/h Kinmans in a very old Korean Squier Strat and it sounds fantastic. Same thing when I put some nice PAF-alikes in an Epi Sheraton - turned out much better than I expected.
  • edo's Avatar
  • edo
  • Location: shrivenham/swindon
  • Posts: 198
Mon 24 Nov 2008 01:39
Reply to Post 32863 by davetfdurban in Help needed on guitar pickups Captain-easy-chord is correct, Edo got that entirely back-to-front.

Bareknuckle, Jason Lollar, Seymour Duncan etc... Are all great for the higher price tag but, you also have Kent Armstrong and Wilkinson for those of you with more modest outlay available.


bity of an old argument now but i only just saw it .... what i said was correct. its about ballance. cheap pickups in a nice solid body just wont utalise the woods full potentail. there will be gaps in the sound. it just wont sound as good as it could. good pickups in a less solid body will be trying to pickup sound the body just wont produce cos its made from layers of wood pulp or some cheap knot ridden cut offs from the fender section of the factory. its like putting a v8 in an escort , its just gonna tear the gear box apart and shake off the mounts. well....kind of, y'now what i mean?
__________________________
www.myspace.com/edo69devolution

download album free at www.ezfolk.com/audio/bands/4653/