Hi people's. So basically I plan on modifying these two tobacco bursts les paul copies I got as I don't really like playing the genuine les paul custom because it's a bit too heavy, but to do that I need some advice on what pickups to get. I would like something in the mid range output wise, I personally found my customs pickups to be a little too hot for my liking. Thanks in advance; Qwack Qwack.
Pickup selection is a very personal thing IMO. What sounds great to me, may not to you and vice versa.
Your budget also comes into play with what folks will recommend. If money is not an issue, then there's heaps of boutique hand-wound options. If you have limited funds, there are lots of decent "budget" pickups available nowadays. Where you're located may affect your options and availability as well.
For the budget conscious scenario, it's hard not go past Tonerider. You can get vintage output buckers in the 7k -8k range with options of open or covered sets. Die-hard humbucker fans put them on par with many of the "big brand" ones out there.
I prefer mini HB's myself, and I recently took a punt on a cheap pair of ceramic mini's (MIC) and I was pleasantly surprised just how good they sound. So, like many things guitar, the name on the item is not always the most important part of the tone equation.
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
There's not only output but tone to consider. I'm not really a fan of hot or even medium hot output humbuckers as they always sound rather muddy and less dynamic to me than PAF style pickups.
I set up an ES-1 which had been fitted with the Tonerider AC4 pickups. They were certainly as hot as I would like to go for general playing, but still retained a good level of dynamics. My personal low-cost favourites are Iron Gear Blues Engines. I've tried a couple of SD JB pickups, but didn't like them at all and replaced them with less powerful units. I've got Bare Knuckle Mules in my main LP and they are on the slightly hotter PAF side, but are still nice sounding.
I do have a Kent Armstrong M-Bucker Hot pickup fitted in an Ibanez RG, and that's about as extreme as you can get for a passive pickup (27k DCR - though a lot of that is due to the thin wire required to wind four coils that fit in a humbucker package). I don't like it TBH, but it (and it's installation) was a birthday present from a mate (it was basically his pickup design that he got KA to make for him and then KA put it into production).
So many things to consider when selecting pickups, and so much you can only take on trust or someone else's description.
So maybe best to describe what sort of music you normally play and what your custom pickups are and how they are specced in order to get an idea of what 'a little too hot' is.
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