Best pickups made by a guitar manufacturer

[RVA]

I am always impressed by manufacturers who excell in pickup manufacturing as well as making a great guitar. I fee they are completely seperate skills, so these manufacturers deserve credit twice.

For me, it is PRS. They have made many incredible and innovative pickups.

How about you? Who gets the double star?

There may be more, so feel free to add in your "other" in the responses and I will add them up.

 

[JohnnyGoo]

The stock Tex-Mex pickups in my 2015 Fender Road Worn Series Telecaster.Great pickups.

 

[Gahr]

I voted "other". Just because I really like the Throbaks in my Derek Trucks SG.

But of course there is no "best" pickup. Only a "my favorite" one.

 

[RVA]

I voted "other". Just because I really like the Throbaks in my Derek Trucks SG.

But of course there is no "best" pickup. Only a "my favorite" one.

The vote is for pickups made by a guitar manufacturers.

And yes, of course it is best in your opinion. It is just most easily phrased this way!

 

[Gahr]

The vote is for pickups made by a guitar manufacturers.

And yes, of course it is best in your opinion. It is just most easily phrased this way!

Ok, I'm now officially illiterate.

I've changed my vote to Gibson...

 

[BlackSG91]

They are all good. It depends on personal preference. People put way too much emphases on guitar pickups. I personally like the Squier Affinity pickups...very Jimi Hendrix sounding in a good way. Here's a good video where he said he put in new pickups...he did not. They are stock Affinities.

;>)/

 

[RVA]

They are all good. It depends on personal preference. People put way too much emphases on guitar pickups. I personally like the Squier Affinity pickups...very Jimi Hendrix sounding in a good way. Here's a good video where he said he put in new pickups...he did not. They are stock Affinities.

;>)/

I would have put squire and epiphone, but I was sure people would tell me that they do not make the pickups, that they are outsourced.

What do you mean that people put too much emphasis on pickups? It seems you think they are important. Maybe you mean they are too critical of stock, less expensive pickups? Sorry if I am making inaccurate assumptions.

 

[eSGEe]

WHy was epiphone not an option?????

I vote Epiphone

 

[RVA]

WHy was epiphone not an option?????

I vote Epiphone

I said above, I though people would say that Epi does not make pickups, they outsource them. Is this wrong?

 

[eSGEe]

well ---true I guess....probably Aretec....but supposedly the new Gibson Pickups in the M2 are made overseas.....

O.K. I change my vote
DEAN USA---- I have SEEN the machines and TOUCHED the wax potting table so I KNOW they are made in TAMPA--- and the one I own sounds AWESOME.

 

[Thatbastarddon]

I voted Gibson. Mostly because I've had good experiences with them over the years. It used to be that I would just grab whatever Seymour Duncan fit the bill for the time...I was a fan of the Seth Lovers for a long time. Then I got my Les Paul faded with Burstbucker Pros...then some Gibson P90s...then 57&57+...all have been good enough for rock n roll for me.
But to be fair, some of my non Gibson guitars had/have Duncans in them when new...

 

[Sp8ctre]

How many guitars a year does the shop have to build to be considered a manufacturer? I notice you have Tom Anderson in there...

 

[RVA]

How many guitars a year does the shop have to build to be considered a manufacturer? I notice you have Tom Anderson in there...

Tom Anderson makes all their own pickups. As longs as they build the guitars and the pickups that go in them, they qualify

 

[BlackSG91]

I would have put squire and epiphone, but I was sure people would tell me that they do not make the pickups, that they are outsourced.

What do you mean that people put too much emphasis on pickups? It seems you think they are important. Maybe you mean they are too critical of stock, less expensive pickups? Sorry if I am making inaccurate assumptions.

Putting too much emphazise on pickups it is what it is. I'm saying just that over-priced boutique pickups sound great on their own. Even stock pickups on a Gibson, Fender,etc. But the Affinity Series Strat pickups sound pretty awesome in my books.

That's why I own about 3 Affinity Strats. They are very brite in tone but considered a low end pickup for some reason. They are ceramic and they really sparkle in their sound. To each pickup to their own.


:>)/

 

[Tony M.]

Once you turn on your compressor, overdrive, distortion, fuzz, delay, reverb and looper aren't they all pretty much the same, even without using your wah pedal?

 

[RVA]

Once you turn on your compressor, overdrive, distortion, fuzz, delay, reverb and looper aren't they all pretty much the same, even without using your wah pedal?

I would have to say yes. However, I would also say that lots of people spend lots of time thinking about them, adjusting them swapping them and searching for the right ones for them.

This thread has proved interesting so far. My general impression, from much time spend on forums and gear talk with other players, was that people care a lot about the pickups in their guitar. Was I off base?

 

[Sp8ctre]

I would have to say yes. However, I would also say that lots of people spend lots of time thinking about them, adjusting them swapping them and searching for the right ones for them.

This thread has proved interesting so far. My general impression, from much time spend on forums and gear talk with other players, was that people care a lot about the pickups in their guitar. Was I off base?

Not off base in my opinion. Pickups are very important to me. I rarely use many effects and the pups mean a lot to me. You know how I've been fretting over those Bill Lawrence pups...my vote for a major manufacturer is Gibson, but my favorite pups by any manufacturer of guitars are Ian Anderson....another but in here though...NO Pickup I've ever heard personally can compare to the Bernie Marsden Beast Buckers in my Les Paul...

 

[Thatbastarddon]

I would have to say yes. However, I would also say that lots of people spend lots of time thinking about them, adjusting them swapping them and searching for the right ones for them.

This thread has proved interesting so far. My general impression, from much time spend on forums and gear talk with other players, was that people care a lot about the pickups in their guitar. Was I off base?

I think that if you were off base, it wasn't far. I think what a lot of us care the most about is that whatever pickups in whatever guitar make that guitar sound, and perform as expected.
If the stock pickups work...cool.
If they don't live up, some of us look elsewhere for an alternative.

 

[RVA]

I think that if you were off base, it wasn't far. I think what a lot of us care the most about is that whatever pickups in whatever guitar make that guitar sound, and perform as expected.
If the stock pickups work...cool.
If they don't live up, some of us look elsewhere for an alternative.

Cool. The whole point of this was to figure out what manufacturers do not make players look elsewhere...more specifically the one who, in each person's opinion, has managed to produce the best pups while also selling guitars

 

[Mr Grumpy]

The pups that Gibson put in their guitars are decent, imho - not all are great though; the 490T and P94T are a bit average, you can buy better pickups at less money (far less money), imho.

My PRS P90 was average, sounded even more average in comparison with a Bare Knuckle I replaced it with.

Ibanez, HB (Wilkinson), Epi and Squire stuff I've owned in the last couple of years have all been below par, imho. A MIJ Fender I had came with very nice sounding pups; I bought a Fender 64 reissue set to put in then promptly took them out again, as the original pups sounded better to my ears. Mid to high level Fenders seem to come with decent puppies.

The Bartolini stuff, made under licence, that Ibanez use in SR basses are dire, imho; the originals are probably a lot better.

If your Gibson comes with 57s or 490R/498T or burstbuckers then you're probably in a good space.

That's my limited experience in this space.