anybody switch pickups around on your SD

[veniculum]

Hey guys...for the third time in a week, someone mentioned to me that their favorite pickup setup is a Duncan 59 in the bridge.
Don't get me wrong....I absolutely love the stock setups on the Pro Mods...but these folks telling me this have definitely sparked my interest.

Any of you swap your pickups around on your SDs? If so, if you can actually describe a difference, I'd sure love to hear about it.
I don't know if I'm going to do this simply because (as I stated above) I love the stock setup. But I sure would love to get some input on the 59 in the bridge. And considering, 99 percent of my playing is in the bridge, it's even more of a curiosity for me.

I'd sure love to hear your comments if you're familiar with this setup.
Thanks guys

Todd

[LegendaryTones]

I can see that working for a lot of people as well. The JB is high output and pretty strong in the mids and the '59 would have a bit more presence bite and behave like a PAF-style pickup. Not sure how the JB would do in the neck, but the '59 is certainly a great pickup to use to get a bit of a wider frequency response. Then again, I'd think it would depend on your amp setup too. My JB liked running into a Marshall and wasn't quite to my liking nearly as much running through a Mesa Roadster.

[AndyK]

I took out the horrible JB pickup as soon as I got the guitar. I never liked the mid hump sound of that pickup. I just recently put a Screamin Deamon bridge in - and I think I like it. It's a medium output PAF style pickup with a little less brightness. Much better definition than the higher output JB or others.

Pickups make a big difference in the sound. Worth buying used ones on eBay and experimenting.

[veniculum]

Thanks for the replies...I've been playing a long time, but I never really worked on my guitars (other than string changes and setting the intonation)

So the idea of switching pickups all the time until I find one I like (and I should say again...I like the JB), may not be the best option for me. I've never done a pickup install...so while it's easy enough to adjust the pickup height as per manufacturer's specs (or whatever sounds best for me)...a full swap/install might be out of my skill set.

What's actually involved in swapping pickups...soldering, adjustment, etc?

Anyway...I appreciate the comments. I do like the JB alot...but I'm always looking for different sounds from my various instruments. I've got a Style 2 SD (Telly)....that I wouldn't touch...I absolutely love the way this thing sings...it's the perfect sound - exactly what I was going for.
At the same time, I've got a Style 1 SD HSS...and while it's very similar to the Telly, I wouldn't mind experimenting with a different bridge pickup. The 59 seems to be the choice of many.

[aceinet]

Maybe

I've thought about changing pickups on my SD. The JB sounds good but I think the guitar could sound better. Some options of pickups I have around the house are a Super Distortion, Invader, Evolution and I just bought a Crunch Lab.

But yes changing pickups involves getting the soldering iron out and praying you don't burn the wrong cable or jack (at least with my limited soldering experience).

But tone is such a subjective subject. No two people play the same so the tone one guy gets is always going to be different then the next player.

[cvansickle]

I love the stock Duncans in my San Dimas. I've never been a fan of the JB in the past, but to my ears it's just right for this guitar.

However, I was not sold on the Dimarzio set in my So-Cal. Earlier today, I made the first mod to my Charvel So-Cal. I've been planning to build a bunch of different loaded pickguards to drop in when I wanted to change the sound. Here's the first, a single pickup variant:



The pickup is a Duncan Custom Custom, an Alnico 2 model. I tried the Custom 5 first, and it wasn't right for this guitar. So far, I love the top end on the pickup but the bottom end is a little soft. I may try the Duncan 5-2 mod on this one. That is, cut the two magnets in half and stick the Alnico 2 side on the treble strings and the Alnico 5 side on the bass strings. Hmm...

Instead of the Charvel's three-way toggle switch, I put a Stellartone ToneStyler in that position. I had a spare one, and I figured it would give me some tone variation. I can dial it down all the way so the bridge pickup sounds like a neck pickup, or I can dial it all the way up and bypass the tone pot altogether like the original Charvel configuration did. The mini toggle is a pickup coil split switch, I figured what the hell. It makes a difference in clean and medium gain settings. It doesn't sound like a Strat pickup when split; it sounds more like a P90.

The new pickguard is a custom Warmoth. Buyer beware. I had to shave a little plastic off around the neck slot to get the guard to fit.

[roodyrocker]

I like the JB but for the heck of it I put in a Bare Knuckles Pickups Painkiller in the bridge of my SD Style 1. Its quite a bit different than most Duncan and Dimarzios I've tried in the past. Its an extremely clear sounding pickup. A bit harder to get pinch harmonics out of but sounds good with high gain amps and doesn't get lost or too jumbled up in distrotion. You literally hear every note in a chord and thats through amps like a Marshall Randy Rhoads or Soldano SLO 100. Doesn't hide mistakes very well is the only downside

[veniculum]

I love the stock Duncans in my San Dimas. I've never been a fan of the JB in the past, but to my ears it's just right for this guitar.

However, I was not sold on the Dimarzio set in my So-Cal. Earlier today, I made the first mod to my Charvel So-Cal. I've been planning to build a bunch of different loaded pickguards to drop in when I wanted to change the sound. Here's the first, a single pickup variant:



The pickup is a Duncan Custom Custom, an Alnico 2 model. I tried the Custom 5 first, and it wasn't right for this guitar. So far, I love the top end on the pickup but the bottom end is a little soft. I may try the Duncan 5-2 mod on this one. That is, cut the two magnets in half and stick the Alnico 2 side on the treble strings and the Alnico 5 side on the bass strings. Hmm...

Instead of the Charvel's three-way toggle switch, I put a Stellartone ToneStyler in that position. I had a spare one, and I figured it would give me some tone variation. I can dial it down all the way so the bridge pickup sounds like a neck pickup, or I can dial it all the way up and bypass the tone pot altogether like the original Charvel configuration did. The mini toggle is a pickup coil split switch, I figured what the hell. It makes a difference in clean and medium gain settings. It doesn't sound like a Strat pickup when split; it sounds more like a P90.

The new pickguard is a custom Warmoth. Buyer beware. I had to shave a little plastic off around the neck slot to get the guard to fit.

Interesting mod man. I love the guitar...I had the same one...for a week...I exchanged it for the 'Trans Kandy Gold' (lucky 7) San Dimas Strat....I will say, I miss having the choice between the Duncans in my Telly, and the Dimarzio in the SoCal. In the end, though, the SoCal had obviously been on the shelf for a while...it needed a setup bad, and I still wasn't convinced that I liked the Dimarzios...at least in the Charvels. I don't regret the exchange...but I see yours, and I do miss it. I plan to pickup another SoCal at some point.

Anyway...I recently put a JB Jr in my American Strat Dlx...to replace the stock single coil. That sounds good, but it's not nearly as hot as a standard JB...better than a single coil fender pickup though...at least for the type of music that I play.
At the same time, I have a J Custom IBZ with Dimarzios, and they sound great in that particular guitar.

I guess just because I have two new Charvels, I'd like to see what I can do with at least one of them...the necks are perfect...can fix perfection...but pickups can always be swapped...I also plan on putting a brass block (from floydupgrades.com) in. I think I'm going to be doing that first...and if there's a noticeable difference, I'll probably leave the JB alone..as I mentioned, I do like it a lot...just think there's always room for improvement.

Good luck with your setup.