Who can give me a good advice about a pickupswap?

jutter · Feb 16, 2014

Last week I bought a Tokai LS60 from 1985. Great guitar and I love it! But.... the pickups sounds a little harsh and weak. So I'm searching for a pickup swap that's sounds not harsh and weak but really don't know what pickups I need. What do you recommend?

brokentoes · Feb 16, 2014

Putting in your price range would be a be a good idea. Many great pickups out there but we need to know your budget.

jutter · Feb 17, 2014

brokentoes said:
Putting in your price range would be a be a good idea. Many great pickups out there but we need to know your budget.

I'm sorry I forgot to say. Price range between 100-250 dollars.

jutter · Feb 17, 2014

And I playing clean, blues and classic rock.

Paladin2019 · Feb 17, 2014

Can't go wrong with a PAF clone for that sort of thing.

I use bareknuckle Mules for the same kind of sound and they are amazing but possibly out of your price range if you were talking about US dollars.

Dave_Mc · Feb 17, 2014

Paladin2019 said:
Can't go wrong with a PAF clone for that sort of thing.

Agreed- only thing is, if he thinks the current pickups are too weak, I could be wrong but I doubt they're any lower output than PAF-types....

jutter · Feb 17, 2014

Are SD pickups a good match?
http://www.seymourduncan.com/2011products/antiquity-jb-jazz-set.php
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/vintage-output/sh2_jazz_model/
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/vintage-output/shpg1_pearly_ga/
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/vintage-output/sh55_seth_lover/

Paladin2019 · Feb 17, 2014

Dave_Mc said:
Agreed- only thing is, if he thinks the current pickups are too weak, I could be wrong but I doubt they're any lower output than PAF-types....

You're right, and the MK2's may even be a little higher output than many PAF types, but IMO for blues/rock levels of gain you shouldn't need anything more. I'm wondering if the 'weakness' problem exists elsewhere in his chain, or even if it's just an issue of inappropriate pickup height.

Paladin2019 · Feb 17, 2014

jutter said:
Are SD pickups a good match?
http://www.seymourduncan.com/2011products/antiquity-jb-jazz-set.php
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/vintage-output/sh2_jazz_model/
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/vintage-output/shpg1_pearly_ga/
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/humbucker/vintage-output/sh55_seth_lover/

Entirely up to you - this is very much a personal taste issue. From your previous posts I think the JB/Jazz combo would suit nicely. Smooth at the neck, and more kick at the bridge.

Dave_Mc · Feb 18, 2014

Paladin2019 said:
You're right, and the MK2's may even be a little higher output than many PAF types, but IMO for blues/rock levels of gain you shouldn't need anything more. I'm wondering if the 'weakness' problem exists elsewhere in his chain, or even if it's just an issue of inappropriate pickup height.

I agree- just if he thought the current ones were too weak then buying something weaker is likely to disappoint him! :lol:

And yeah the JB (if it's not too muddy in a LP- if he's after blues/rock tones probably not, but worth bearing in mind) and jazz or '59 in the neck would likely work well. The JB is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades and has a slightly weird almost vintage-ish voicing combined with hot output, but that might actually work well for what he wants (whereas for me it ends up being too hot, middy and compressed for the vintage stuff but too muddy for the more modern stuff :lol: ).

Pepe · Feb 18, 2014

jutter said:
Last week I bought a Tokai LS60 from 1985. Great guitar and I love it! But.... the pickups sounds a little harsh and weak. So I'm searching for a pickup swap that's sounds not harsh and weak but really don't know what pickups I need. What do you recommend?

The Seymour Duncan 59's are really nice. They have a beautiful warm tone. Good for rock or blues.

The Seymour Duncan Slash pickups are nice too. Even if you don't like him they're really versatile. A friend of mine has some on his Les Paul and he's a cabaret act.

Bare Knuckles are nice, but twice the price of Seymour Duncans. They may be a bit better but they ain't twice as good. Check out the reviews on Youtube.

Paladin2019 · Feb 18, 2014

Pepe said:
Bare Knuckles are nice, but twice the price of Seymour Duncans. They may be a bit better but they ain't twice as good.

Depends where in the world you are. Here in the UK they aren't much more expensive than Duncans.

It's nice to have something cheaper than the US for once :lol:

jutter · Feb 18, 2014

I live in the Netherlands. BK are here very expensive, a lot more then SD.

There are a lot off replacements pickups and I really don't know which I need, despite the advice here.

Clean must be that 'wooden sound' and with overdrive classic rock. My amp is a Koch Studiotone.

Paladin2019 · Feb 18, 2014

jutter said:
There are a lot off replacements pickups and I really don't know which I need, despite the advice here.

I still say a PAF clone of some sort, but if you don't know what you want then don't go wasting money; wait until you have a better idea of what you're looking for.

I would also recommend that you experiment with the height of your current pickups. People are too eager to swap them out when a tweak of the height can make a big difference by itself. And it's free!

Dave_Mc · Feb 19, 2014

It's worth pointing out that there are handwinders who are a lot cheaper than BKP- I haven't tried them but I've heard good things (and I have a set of Swinesheads, who are now out of business unfortunately, which were cheap and are nice). Oil City, Mojo (in Northern Ireland, confusingly there's a more expensive Mojo in England too), Catswhisker, Jesse Loureiro in Spain and Leosounds in Germany all do handwound pickups for less than most Duncans.

Don't get me wrong- if you want to get Duncans, go for it, especially (in my opinion) with the more vintage-voiced pickups you won't go too far wrong with Duncans (and they should be easy to sell if you decide you don't like them), but I'm just saying you have options.

marcusnieman · Feb 19, 2014

Tonerider makes killer pickups at a bargain price. Here is their humbucker lineup:

http://www.tonerider.com/pickups/humbuckers.html

andyp81 · Feb 19, 2014

+1 for Tonerider and at a great price.

jutter · Feb 19, 2014

Are Tonerider made in China?

andyp81 · Feb 19, 2014

My Tonerider P90s say on the box

Made in China from parts sourced internationally.
Wire : USA/Japan
Magnets : China
Forbon : USA
Nickel-Silver : Japan/Taiwan

Hence the price I guess but they do sound very very good.

jutter · Feb 19, 2014

andyp81 said:
My Tonerider P90s say on the box

Made in China from parts sourced internationally.
Wire : USA/Japan
Magnets : China
Forbon : USA
Nickel-Silver : Japan/Taiwan

Hence the price I guess but they do sound very very good.

Thanks Andy! I'm interested in the TR Rocksong humbuckers. Did you experience with it?

Who can give me a good advice about a pickupswap?

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