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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Favorite Pickups

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Not guitars this time or amps, effects, reverb tanks - and all this does affect the sound of course, but just list your favorite pickup and why - (tone, noise or lackthereof, fidelity, highs, midrange, lows, strengh, volume, looks, etc.

How's your digestion now?

I can't really rank pickups, so much of it depends on the guitar.

My favs

Supro Single-Coil disguised as a humbucker
The harmonic frequency on these are amazing. Just super deep and still refined with the mids. Love these. Great as a canvas for building off of, a very even timbre. Made by Rowe

The Rowe Gold Foils
These can go on most guitars and Novak makes a repro that fits in a Jazzmaster pickup cover. Super hot pickups. Reminds me a of a Mosrite pickup, but fuller/better. These have more of a unique tone but can also make a good base.

My love for the Jag/Jazz is probably due to the extra string length and break angle of the area between the bridge and tailpiece.

Also, always been a big fan of PAFs and the Patent Applied For pickups. My ES-355 is a hell of an instrument, sounds amazing.

Durfbones wrote: list your favorite pickup

I play mostly Strats these days, so I will mention the pickups I like on my Strats.

Fender 57/62. I really like the tone of this pickup. Each pickup is wound exactly the same. That means the middle is not reverse wound and the bridge pickup is not compensated (hoter). I have used the 57/62 on a couple of my Strats. I have project Strat set up with a 57/62 at the neck and mid posiitons and a DiMarizo Area 61 at the bridge. I use a 3 way switch with that. I originally had a 57/62 in the bridge position, but decided to put something slightly hotter in thee, but something still very close to the 57/62. This is one of my favorite Strats. It is quite bridge. It has a swamp ash body.

I have a MIM 50s Strat with a 57/62 in the neck position and a Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s in the mid and bridge positions. That one has a 5 way switch. The Fat 50s have a reverse wound middle pickup and a compensated bridge pickup. This Strat as a little fuller tone. Also it has an alder body.

DiMarzio Area 61 and 58. As I mentioned, I used an Area 61 in the bridge with the 57/62 pickups on my project Strat. I also like the tone of the Area 58. It is differnt from the Area 61. I have a gold project Strat with an Area 58 at the neck and mid positions. At the bridge position I used a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage 54.

Fender CS 69. I like these pickups, but not for surf. I have a project Strat set up for early CBS (68 to 70), that I have CS 69s (signed by Abbie) in all three position. I use a 3 way switch this these. The CS 69 is wound identical. No reverse wound middle pickup and no compensated pickup for the bridge. I consider this my Woodstock Strat.

I like the pickups used in the Fullerton made AVRI 57s. I have an 83 AVRI 57. I really like the tone of those pickups. I supoose a lot of that also goes to the guitar itself. It is a very light weight alder body. My pickups on that Strat are the grey bottom ones. This is probably my favorite Strat to play.

Talk to you later,
Norm

JakeDobner wrote: The Rowe Gold Foils

Are you referring to the old Rowe Industry DeArmond Gold Foil pickups from the 60s? I really like those. I have an 63 Harmony Bobkat with one of those on it. I hate how that guitar plays, but love the sound of that pickup. It is so full and rich sounding for a single coil.

Later,
Norm

I agree with JakeDobner in that pickups are guitar dependent. As a builder and repairman I've learned this firsthand by testing, in some cases, up to 15 different "kinds" of pickups in one guitar. Not 15 different Strat or similar construction pickups, but truly different pickups, P-90, Filtertron, DeArmond Dynasonics, Teisco Goldfoils, Rowe Goldfoils, Mini-Humbuckers etc., all in the same guitar.
The guitar will dictate what sounds best. That being said:
I love Teisco Square Pole pickups
Teisco and Rowe Goldfoils
Early Guaytone LG-50 style pickups
Supro Non Polepiece humbucker looking pickups
The Lollar Jaguar pickups in my JazzGuar help to make that guitar an MVP for stage and recording.

http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock
http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic

normj wrote:

JakeDobner wrote: The Rowe Gold Foils

Are you referring to the old Rowe Industry DeArmond Gold Foil pickups from the 60s? I really like those. I have an 63 Harmony Bobkat with one of those on it. I hate how that guitar plays, but love the sound of that pickup. It is so full and rich sounding for a single coil.

Later,
Norm

Yep! Those are them.

CrazyAces wrote:

Rowe Goldfoils
Supro Non Polepiece humbucker looking pickups
The Lollar Jaguar pickups in my JazzGuar help to make that guitar an MVP for stage and recording.

I love my Lollar Jazzmaster pickups, damn fine pickups. I've got them in a custom build. And great minds think alike on the Rowe and the Supro pickups!

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