Best Jazz Guitar Pickups

[Civil Guy]

From reading most of the items, I noted that humbuckers are the preferred pickup on jazz guitars. What particular brands, models, etc., do you feel is best? I have a Dot Deluxe Limited Edition (but not the flame maple top). Any idea which pickup Epiphone used on this model? Would changing them out for other pickups be better for jazz? If so, what is recommended? Would it be better to trade guitars and if so what is recommended?

[Jazzarian]

Originally Posted by Civil Guy

From reading most of the items, I noted that humbuckers are the preferred pickup on jazz guitars. What particular brands, models, etc., do you feel is best? I have a Dot Deluxe Limited Edition (but not the flame maple top). Any idea which pickup Epiphone used on this model? Would changing them out for other pickups be better for jazz? If so, what is recommended? Would it be better to trade guitars and if so what is recommended?

Well, is the guitar worth the $200 for a new pair of humbuckers?

I'd look around for a used Heritage H575 or GB10. Some Heritages are turkeys though. Like Norlin era Gibsons ('69 to '87).

[Civil Guy]

The Dot Deluxe is worth abit, but not sure it is worth $200 in pickup upgrades. I did think about changing out the neck with a Seymour Duncan Jazz pickup and keeping the same bridge. Not sure if that is the best route, but one way of getting a good pickup and upgraded electonics if I would do the pots. Your thoughts on what pickup you would use for the swap.

[derek]

If you like the guitar, a pup change is fine. However, you are talking about putting $200 + pups in a guitar that is worth $? So keep the originals for resale if you do that. Plenty of guys have purchased inexpensive guitars and upgraded tuners and pups, and have been very satisfied.

A recent post (can't recall who) talked about taking a Joe Pass Epi ($500 new), and upgrading all sorts of things, basically doubling the original price. His argument was that he is very pleased, and it is still approximately a third of the cost of (ES 175) the guitar it emulates.

Duncan Jazz pups are terrible for jazz imo, and very misnamed. They are one of the brightest humbuckers they make, which isn't exactly what most jazz players are going for. If you go Duncan, their 59' is probably my fav, and have had good luck with it for jazz, rock, blues, etc.

I think Gibson Classic 57 is the quintessential humbucker for that darker Wes, Martino sound. Hard to go wrong with the Gibbo, I have them in 3 of mine. Good luck.

[Civil Guy]

I will take your advise and think about trading guitars as well as consider changing out original pickups for Classic 57 Gibson pickups. I thought about trading out just the neck pickup with the Classic and leaving the original at the bridge. Is this a mistake? Is it only worth it to change out both? The guy I talked to only wanted $30 to install a neck '57 Classic, but wanted $149 for the pickup itself. Seems the bill could be $360 for two pickups in a guitar that I paid about $400 for some 6 years ago. Am I nuts?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I recently changed out the selector switch and found that relatively easy, are pickups difficult to do?

[derek]

I have a PRS Archtop. The pups that came with it are too hot for jazz, and break up too easily. I replaced the neck pup with the Gibson Classic 57, and left the bridge pup alone.

This way the guitar works fine for jazz, rock, blues, whatever. Works great. $149 is higher than MF/GC, but $30 is pretty standard for install. You can do better than the $149 online.

[Civil Guy]

Thanks for the info. Will the Dot have the jazz tone if I put in the new pickup? I bought a Roland Cube-60 and the Dot is getting close, but does not have the warm, dark, jazz tone. Thoughts please.

[AugieRhythm]

I have a les paul, I've never known too much about pickups or electronics, but I need to get a new neck pickup... what would you suggest? I need a big darker tone.

[Marcos Zarevich]

Originally Posted by Civil Guy

I will take your advise and think about trading guitars as well as consider changing out original pickups for Classic 57 Gibson pickups. I thought about trading out just the neck pickup with the Classic and leaving the original at the bridge. Is this a mistake? Is it only worth it to change out both? The guy I talked to only wanted $30 to install a neck '57 Classic, but wanted $149 for the pickup itself. Seems the bill could be $360 for two pickups in a guitar that I paid about $400 for some 6 years ago. Am I nuts?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I recently changed out the selector switch and found that relatively easy, are pickups difficult to do?

I installed a clasic 57 and a classic57 plus in my sheraton (basically the same guitar as a dot) and I'm very happy, I would advise to change the bridge pickup too, since I found the bigger improvement in this one, with the stock pup I couldn't dind an use for the sound I got, now is a different guitar whereas with the neck pup I just found more clarity. Those classic are great pickups.

[Jazzarian]

Originally Posted by Marcos Zarevich

I installed a clasic 57 and a classic57 plus in my sheraton (basically the same guitar as a dot) and I'm very happy, I would advise to change the bridge pickup too, since I found the bigger improvement in this one, with the stock pup I couldn't dind an use for the sound I got, now is a different guitar whereas with the neck pup I just found more clarity. Those classic are great pickups.

I didn't like them in my erstwhile ES335. They sound good in my ES175 and Super V CES though.

[Hidden Dog]

If you want to try changing the pots, caps, switch and pick ups yourself... you can always try Steward Macdonalds website... they sell the stuff needed for those things (even wiring kits)... I tried changing my Epi les paul with their Golden Age pickups (not bad for such cheap pups.. much better than stock humbuckers) and used their wiring kit and also converted the bridge pickup for coil swicthing ( from humbucker to single coil) and it was all easy (soldering needs practice though)...

[afbcpa]

Did you ever make those changes? I am looking for that tone and I am considering putting the gibson classic in my epi es175 reissue (neck position)...

[skei]

I did my best to get an acceptable jazz sound from my strat knock off, without paying more for the pickup than I did for the guitar. I got a seymour duncan little 59 for strat, a thin humbucker with the paf 59 specifications they state. It made a lot of difference, it's a humbucker as opposed to the single coil standard, and it's a smoother sound than I'd expected, so for a strat at the low price range it sounds ok. But I'm waiting for my 335 style german axe now, hope I won't have to change pickup (I use only neck pup) at once, but anyway, the'59 gave a smooth sound to my taste, I like it.
Peace

[gremboul]

Originally Posted by AugieRhythm

I have a les paul, I've never known too much about pickups or electronics, but I need to get a new neck pickup... what would you suggest? I need a big darker tone.

Do you have a solid body les paul or a chambered les paul. The older models are solid body. They have a thicker darker tone.

Any thoughts from anyone about the pearly gates humbucker?

[Stan_P]

There are different goals for these. Oem like 'oumth' and some like clarity. I would try kent armstrong - humbucker sized-p90s for clarity.

SIngle coils have more dynamic range, while hmbuckers have more fundamental tones.Dimarzio Bluesbucker is another very interestign pickup that may work well for jazz. I was very sastisfied with SD 59 as well, but this are very strong neck pickups.

[Stan_P]

* WD Music Products - PATENT APPLIED FOR STYLE PICKUP NICKEL 12 POLE
* WD Music Products - P90 PICKUP (HUM. RETROFIT) CREAM PLASTIC

[Funchal]

If you want the 50's to 60's classic Jazz tone, get the Original Armstrong Handmade Adjustable PAF from Archtop.com

(Not Korean Kent Armstong pickups. He sold the Koreans his name.)

[TieDyedDevil]

Personally, I'd exhaust all other low-/no-cost avenues before investing in a pickup change that's worth a significant fraction of the cost of a guitar. The problem is that you don't know exactly what you're getting into until after the upgrade is done and paid. The pickups do have some influence on the sound, but they depend upon the guitar itself: wood, strings, setup, etc. Throw in personal preferences, picking style and variations in amps and it turns into a real gamble. A combination that works well for someone else might not work for you.

Before I even thought about a pickup change I'd try:

* strings: different brands, guages, styles (flat, round, half-round) and materials (nickel, nickel-plated, stainless)
* picks: different thicknesses and materials
* picking technique (even if you play without a plectrum)
* setup (see below)
* adjustments: forget the "rules" and adjust amp and guitar settings by ear

One thing that a lot of players overlook is that the way your guitar is adjusted can have a huge influence on sound. String choice, action height and pickup adjustments can go a long way toward making your guitar sound the way you like. It takes a bit of trial-and-error, but if you do your research and are methodical it's not that difficult. Also, you get a lot more trials for a given amount of money than you do with a pickup swap.

Experiment with the controls on your guitar, too. There's a wide variety of sounds that most players never explore because they assume that a particular setting is the one correct way. For example, try running both pickups at the same time and use the volume and tone controls. Try lots of combinations where neither pickup is set to full volume.

Likewise with your amp's controls... I'm not a huge fan of the Roland Cubes. They're reasonably-priced and quite loud for the rated power, but they get that loudness through an inherent EQ that's better (IMO) for rock than for jazz. That said, experiment with the tone controls on the amp.

Don't be afraid to set the amp's tone controls to extreme positions if a particular setting pleases your ears. Also, be methodical and give your ears *frequent* rests. Your ears very quickly adapt to a new tone. When you have a setting that seems OK, walk away for a few hours. If it still sounds good when you come back, you're done. If not, try to analyze what you don't like about the tone and correct it. Repeat until satisfied.

[JohnW400]

Guitars N Jazz - Kent Armstrong Pickups
Pickups


Here's 2 more places incase you want to check price

[mauro]

the whole thing about pickups, is a little complicated, is not only the picckups, the guitar construccion,the amp(tubes or solid state), and the type of amp, ¿is a rock amp or blues amp...?.
so i think the pickups is a very important fact, but is not the only thing for change in a guitar player gear.
but the oldies PAF(gibson,dimarzio,ibanez...) hambuckers, have this mellow tone that the jazz players are looking for, so if you find some of this pickups go ahead, and pay for a better sound.

[lakehaus]

Originally Posted by TieDyedDevil

One thing that a lot of players overlook is that the way your guitar is adjusted can have a huge influence on sound. String choice, action height and pickup adjustments can go a long way toward making your guitar sound the way you like. It takes a bit of trial-and-error, but if you do your research and are methodical it's not that difficult. Also, you get a lot more trials for a given amount of money than you do with a pickup swap. .... Repeat until satisfied.

Yeah... +1 on that! I wound up with a Seth Lover in the neck and a Pearly Gates in the bridge to get the tone I wanted, plus new 500K pots and fresh caps. I was looking for that George Benson "Breezin'" tone and was able to dial it in, but it took much trail and error to acheive it. I also switch between a nickel saddle and rosewood saddle to brighten/darken the timbre.

[gtr_5155]

Originally Posted by Funchal

If you want the 50's to 60's classic Jazz tone, get the Original Armstrong Handmade Adjustable PAF from Archtop.com

(Not Korean Kent Armstong pickups. He sold the Koreans his name.)

It is amazing how rumors get fabricated.Being a longtime friend of Dan and Kent Armstrong I can attest to the fact that Kent NEVER sold the name to/or authorized any knock-off such as "Duncan Designed" has done. Kent Armstrong pickups are made at his factory,by workers that he trained,on machines that he specified,with wire,magnets and all other components selected by Kent.Does anyone believe that Duncans are not made in a factory?Kent does have a line of handwound USA pickups,as well.Kent's son,Aaron is also making some custom wound pickups in the U.K.
WD music is the authorized and exclusive USA distributor for the Kent Armstrong factory made pickups,and also carries the hand wound models.

[Stevebol]

Originally Posted by gtr_5155

It is amazing how rumors get fabricated.Being a longtime friend of Dan and Kent Armstrong I can attest to the fact that Kent NEVER sold the name to/or authorized any knock-off such as "Duncan Designed" has done. Kent Armstrong pickups are made at his factory,by workers that he trained,on machines that he specified,with wire,magnets and all other components selected by Kent.Does anyone believe that Duncans are not made in a factory?Kent does have a line of handwound USA pickups,as well.Kent's son,Aaron is also making some custom wound pickups in the U.K.
WD music is the authorized and exclusive USA distributor for the Kent Armstrong factory made pickups,and also carries the hand wound models.

gtr,
Is there much difference between the US and Korean Armstrong factory made pickups? I was going to go with a hand-wound slimbucker but I might go with the US factory made ones.
I guess there are 4 kinds of KA's now;
Hand-wound by Kent
Korean factory
US factory
UK factory

[spiral]

Originally Posted by Stevebol

gtr,
Is there much difference between the US and Korean Armstrong factory made pickups? I was going to go with a hand-wound slimbucker but I might go with the US factory made ones.

Yes. I tried a Korean one in an Ibanez and it was mud-city. I also used a US-made one in an American Archtop and it is the best floating pickup i've used. You can custom order one by emailing Kent directly. He will build whatever you want for $150.

[gtr_5155]

I use both handwounds and factory models,and have received high marks for both from my customers. There are only 2 Kent Armstrong pickup lines-both are distruted in the USA and England by WD UK,and WD Music in the USA.There are Kent's handwound models from his USA facility in Vermont,and Kent's factory models from his Korean facility.There is no USA factory. There is no UK factory.The other is Aaron Armstrong,Kent's son,who winds only hand wound pickups and uses WD UK as his outlet.I don't consider Aaron's UK facility as a factory,since he hand winds all his pickups.There was an unscrupulous ebayer selling plain "Armstrong" pickups with no reference to a first name, on ebay,but he had no connection to the real Kent or Aaron Armstrong lines.He has since been stopped from this practice. I hope this helps.

[Stevebol]

Originally Posted by gtr_5155

I use both handwounds and factory models,and have received high marks for both from my customers. There are only 2 Kent Armstrong pickup lines-both are distruted in the USA and England by WD UK,and WD Music in the USA.There are Kent's handwound models from his USA facility in Vermont,and Kent's factory models from his Korean facility.There is no USA factory. There is no UK factory.The other is Aaron Armstrong,Kent's son,who winds only hand wound pickups and uses WD UK as his outlet.I don't consider Aaron's UK facility as a factory,since he hand winds all his pickups.There was an unscrupulous ebayer selling plain "Armstrong" pickups with no reference to a first name, on ebay,but he had no connection to the real Kent or Aaron Armstrong lines.He has since been stopped from this practice. I hope this helps.

Thanks gtr.

[gtr_5155]

Originally Posted by Funchal

If you want the 50's to 60's classic Jazz tone, get the Original Armstrong Handmade Adjustable PAF from Archtop.com

(Not Korean Kent Armstong pickups. He sold the Koreans his name.)

There are many places that sell Kent's handwound pickups.WD music is the sole USA distributor for the factory models,and sell to many dealers throughout the USA.Handwounds can also be purchased through them,as well. P.S. Kent NEVER sold his name.I am a longtime friend of Kent's,and cann attest to the fact that this is a rumor. See other posts regarding this.

[edspyhill01]

Anyone try Guitar Fetish Humbuckers?

GFS professional Series Alnico II Humbucker Nickel Case Neck Pickup

[gianluca]

Originally Posted by TieDyedDevil

Personally, I'd exhaust all other low-/no-cost avenues before investing in a pickup change
...
Before I even thought about a pickup change I'd try:

* strings: different brands, guages, styles (flat, round, half-round) and materials (nickel, nickel-plated, stainless)
* picks: different thicknesses and materials
* picking technique (even if you play without a plectrum)
* setup (see below)
* adjustments: forget the "rules" and adjust amp and guitar settings by ear

+ 1 again

first make your guitar have a good unplugged tone working on strings, action and the others things written above;
then, work on the electric tone: a pick up alone can not do magic...

[Ceejay]

Good advice there, however as we all know it's hard to resist new, shiny things and well get "GAS" from time to time. If you're anything like me you'll have already got it into your head that you're getting new pickups and that's final! Beware though, once you go down that route it'll be all "I want vintage style wiring and NOS capacitors"...That's how it was with me anyway!

I currently play a cheapo Vintage SG copy that isn't finished that well but is constructed "properly" (set neck, mahogony body) and it plays really well and sound great acoustically, with loads of sustain. Cost me £100 on fleabay and then i put these in (Yes, I'm aware they cost double what i paid for the guitar):

Bareknuckle Pickups - Stormy Monday

Totally handmade (in Devon, England) and well worth the money over factory jobs, IMO. They come potted or unpotted according to preference. Really nice blokes to deal with too. (And, no I don't work for them and they're not my mates, I just think it's important to give true craftsmen like this as much free publicity as possible!)

Not saying they're the "best" for jazz, but they sound wonderful for blues, funk, soul, vintage rock and now I'm learning jazz, I find they sound fantastic for it too. Warm, vintage and articulate. Check out their forum for some sound samples. Oh, and if you're replacing pickups it can be worth looking at the wiring and capacitors too