Replacement pickup for Heritage Sweet 16

[DonovanT]

Hey everyone, im curious if anyone has any ideas for replacing the stock pick up on a heritage sweet 16. I wanted to put on a 57 classic but its too think and my luthier says we cant do it. Not a fan of kent armstrongs or other low output “jazz” pickups.

[marcwhy]

Hi! Too many good pickup makers/companies out there!

Call Amalfitano, and he'll make you what you want! I've been pleased with Bareknuckle pickups in the UK, too! [For a great sound, try their humbucker-sized P-90!]

Happy hunting!

[wzpgsr]

Hey everyone, im curious if anyone has any ideas for replacing the stock pick up on a heritage sweet 16. I wanted to put on a 57 classic but its too think and my luthier says we cant do it. Not a fan of kent armstrongs or other low output “jazz” pickups.

I recently bought a sort of H-575 / Sweet 16 hybrid that has a single TC Doyle (Les Paul’s guitar tech) pickup in the neck position and it is the bee’s knees. Here is a Sweet 16 with the same pickup installed:

https://reverb.com/item/59666583-heritage-sweet-16-natural-1991

If you can track one down, it’s worth checking out.

[deacon Mark]

Get a Bartolini they they are great with no issues.

[busujiujitsu]

Hi
I'm using Sweet16 too.
I replaced to numbered PAF pick up.
I think it's good.

[pingu]

Hi! Too many good pickup makers/companies out there!

Call Amalfitano, and he'll make you what you want! I've been pleased with Bareknuckle pickups in the UK, too! [For a great sound, try their humbucker-sized P-90!]

Happy hunting!

i just put a Bare Knuckle in my Ibanez af120 ..... the original PU had a buzz
on it
(thanks again Franz !)

I’m really pleased ....

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Hey everyone, im curious if anyone has any ideas for replacing the stock pick up on a heritage sweet 16. I wanted to put on a 57 classic but its too think and my luthier says we cant do it. Not a fan of kent armstrongs or other low output “jazz” pickups.

It helps to know what specific things you want to change or make better. I love my Benedetto B, which brought out more wood in the tone of my 16” archtop and fattened it up a bit. But every pickup has its own characteristics, so you need to choose one that gives you what you want.

Therefore, you have to know what displeases you about your current pickup and what you want from its replacement.

[Cunamara]

Hey everyone, im curious if anyone has any ideas for replacing the stock pick up on a heritage sweet 16. I wanted to put on a 57 classic but its too think and my luthier says we cant do it. Not a fan of kent armstrongs or other low output “jazz” pickups.

"Too think" = "too thick?" Is it not a PAF style pickup already? A Classic 57 is the same size as pretty much every other PAF- length, width and thickness. Or is it a floater? That would take a lot of wrangling to mod a Classic 57 to be a floater (I've done it, it's hard; there's a thread on doing that on the site).

I'd suggest contacting Pete Biltoft at Vintage Vibe Guitars- he makes excellent custom pickups to the dimensions and tonal qualities you need, at a very reasonable price. I've had a couple of great pickups from him and he was really good to work with.