Pickups that make a crap guitar sound GOOD?

[vejiita]

Can anybody recommend a humbucking pickup that can make a crap cheap guitar sound good?

[Petrovsk Mizinski]

More info! What guitar do you actually use?

[veryhungrycaterpilla]

If the guitar can't stay in tune or be properly intonated, then none.

[PFDarkside]

If it's really crappy then none. But if you are just looking for servicable, my buddy and I put EMGs in a cheap Strat copy and it sounded pretty good, some of the high output pickups might give it an interesting voice, if nothing else. I wouldn't expect '57 Strat or "59 Paul by putting vintage style replacements in it though...

[blueman335]

Its all about matching PU's to the wood, regardless of how much a guitar costs. You don't know for sure what PU's those will be, or if you'll need to replace the magnets or pots to dial in the tone. Also have to figure in your amp and playing style. What kind of music? A certain set may get you close, or your wood may sabotage you and make them sound awful. Don't know until you install them.

If it was as simple as "just buy these" this forum wouldn't exist. Getting the "right" PU's is an art, and years later, all of us are still learning. Ain't no shortcuts son.

[TimmyPage]

I would say most dimarzio's, based on the music style you play. I find the sound of Duncans is "Guitar to amp" while Dimarzios tend to be "Dimarzio in guitar to amp". I wouldn't hesitate them to put them in a crappy guitar to get a really nice sound out of it, whereas a Duncan in a crappy guitar will sound like crap.

[Reckless Abandon]

Something high output. It has more of a distinct "pickup" character. Plus it will hide the tone of a wood more. Not to say wood does not matter with High Output pickups. BUt they will cover up the poor wood better than a PAF or something. Super distortion of Ducan dist would be my choice. I have used both for that purpose

[JMSSMJ7]

What do you mean sound good? The tone? The gain?
If you are looking for a nice tone i would recommend the Alnico 2 Pro's. But then again the sound also relies on the type of wood you use.

[jmh151]

I second EMG's.

[MikeS]

Just about any high-output circuit should begin to mask the tonal properties of the guitar, especially when you start piling on the gain.

The EMG81/60 were about as good as I could cram into a POS Ibanez RG I had (well, have, in a closet and gutted). It still didn't sound great, but it certainly was serviceable and worlds beyond stock form.

[iron_iguana]

One of my first posts asked this exact same question:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=82314

I ended up with the hot rails/cool rails/cool rails like frankfalbo suggested and really like it. The "cheap" guitar sounds great.

[jimbo1]

I say that anything active should make it sound pretty good. From what I hear active pickups sound pretty much the same regardless of what guitar their in. I don't know how much truth their is to it but I'm sure there's some.

[thucydides]

Hot pups. For instance, DMZ X2Ns would make patio furniture scream.

[uOpt]

Put on a good bridge first.

[jimijames]

also, don't forget... YOU can make a crappy guitar sound good without any tomfoolery. Yes, it is much more inspiring to play when getting a good sound is effortless, but make no mistake, you can get a good sound out of many a crap guitar. Just really concentrate on the sound coming out rather than what you're playing, and adjust accordingly. It takes work, but it's cheaper than buying pickups.