Best Jazz Pickups?

[gtr_5155]

Originally Posted by TSP

benedetto A6 B6 or PAF

Call Bob bennedtto. Ask him why he uses Kent Armstrong pickups,rather than the new Bennedtto that was long made by Kent,but he was made to have manufactured by duncan when he had the Guild/Fender deal.He now uses Kent Armstrong on his own guitars,once more.

[Paul J Edwards]

No matter what pup I have used I still sound like me. My cheap Jazz box sounds a bit warmer than my Vintage reissue Strat I got like 20 years ago

I just don't care as long as it's shielded well and is not microphonic.
I just don't have the time or money to obsess over this stuff.

[Sphereacidburn]

I am have Dimarzio's I know they seem to be for Rockbut htey give a nice creamy full thick jazz tone. But On other Guitars I really Love My Seymour Duncans

[Vihar]

If anyone's interested in EMGs, I have a pair of EMG HA pickups installed in my Ibanez Jet King, and they are amazing. I can get any tones I want, from bright and clean to dark and overdriven.

Some sound samples:

- bridge pickup

- both pickups parallel

- neck pickup

And here's a solo I played over Mats Nermark's wonderful backing track: "15 Years Later"

In case anyone's interested, I also have a brief review here, with more sound samples.

[Schadenfreudian]

Vihar: Great job!

[Vihar]

Thanks, Schadenfreudian.

[gcb]

I have had a number of Gibsons along the years, including a Norlin Super 400, and have come to the conclusion that today Classic 57s do not compare even with an 80s Norlin HB. In my Gibson L5 Studio I have replaced the Classic 57s with a pair of Vintage Vibe Guitars Alnico II HBs and could'nt be happier. With the stock pickups the guitar's sound was muddy, thin in the high registers and dull. Now it has opened up, has less volume bur more articulation, bite and a woody sound. Of course it depends on the tone one is seeking. And also in the hands.

[timski]

They're not cheap but IMO you can't get better than Bare Knuckles:
For humbuckers I'd go for Stormy Mondays (alnico 2, unpotted).
For a more single-coil tone their Manhattan (alnico 3, humbucker sized P90, also available P90 sized if you ask them) is hard to beat.
Lifetime guarantee and exceptional customer service. Their tele and strat pickups are also outstanding.

[customxke]

I've become a huge fan of Gibson Alnico Vs.

[mattymel]

lollar low wind HB or for jazz possibly the standard imperials. sound old.

[rgraf]

Originally Posted by trvlrtom

Does anyone use an EMG in the neck position of a tele?

Yes, the EMG tele neck pickup is the sweetest sounding pickup I have ever heard. I was telling a pickup winder (worked for Mel Lace) who hated EMG pickups. He claimed they distorted, and claimed he could hear the distortion and to prove it grabbed a guitar off the store wall to compare. Hearing the difference, he tried to excuse by saying the guitar he grabbed had cheap pickups. But then he looked at them, with his jaw dropped and said, but these are the DiMarzios, which were the upscale pickups for that line. In fact, there are at least a couple of Strat players who have the EMG tele neck pickup potted in a Strat cover to use on their Strats.

[oldane]

Originally Posted by Paul J Edwards

No matter what pup I have used I still sound like me. My cheap Jazz box sounds a bit warmer than my Vintage reissue Strat I got like 20 years ago

I just don't care as long as it's shielded well and is not microphonic.
I just don't have the time or money to obsess over this stuff.

You may very well be right. I like to add, though, that I prefer single coils to humbuckers, because single coils to my ears is more uniform from buttom to top and has better tone separation in the buttom, whereas a humbucker often gets a bit muddy in the bass. Apart from that, the exact sound can be dialled in on the amp or with an external EQ. I'm using a Vintage Vibe HCC in one guitar, a BG P90 in another, and I have a Strat with stock PUs, and all can sound almost the same with appropriate amp/EQ settings. Whatever difference there is, it's more a matter of the rest of the instrument (solid body/hollow body, choice of woods etc.) than the PU.

[kris]

if you have guitar from very good wood instal pick up with good name/Benedetto,Armstrong, Shadow AZ/.
If not it is not so important!!!
quality of guitar is most important !