Pickup Suggestions (BLUES/ROCK)

[Dothraki]

Hey guys, I have played Humbuckers for the past 25 years in a heavy rock band but now I am playing solo. Blues and bluesy rock, just guitar and voice (think Chris Stapleton’s stripped down performances but not nearly as good or handsome) and was debating trading my 2006 Les Paul “Menace” towards something else, but then thought….”why don’t I just get different pickups”.

I know it’s all subjective, but in my opinion the (essentially 498T and 490R) menace pickups are not ideal for the bluesy tone I’m looking for. Would love some pickup suggestions to throw in.

Orange Rockerverb 100 MKii
Orange 4x12 Celestion Vintage 30 speakers

Looking forward to recommendations. Assuming single coil is the way to go but honestly have no clue what’s out there now-a-days.

[AX17609]

I kept it simple and went with Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers. With the amp dialed in correctly, I get a whole range of tones.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by Dothraki

Hey guys, I have played Humbuckers for the past 25 years in a heavy rock band but now I am playing solo. Blues and bluesy rock, just guitar and voice (think Chris Stapleton’s stripped down performances but not nearly as good or handsome) and was debating trading my 2006 Les Paul “Menace” towards something else, but then thought….”why don’t I just get different pickups”.

I know it’s all subjective, but in my opinion the (essentially 498T and 490R) menace pickups are not ideal for the bluesy tone I’m looking for. Would love some pickup suggestions to throw in.

Orange Rockerverb 100 MKii
Orange 4x12 Celestion Vintage 30 speakers

Looking forward to recommendations. Assuming single coil is the way to go but honestly have no clue what’s out there now-a-days.

It has not been in same guitar but my semi-hollow has Lollar low wind Imperial models and I've compared them to they 490 and other Gibson pickups. They'll very much push an amp (rock out???) but they also sound WAY more like an associate's honest vintage Gibson and more articulate or at least less muddy.

Something else I observed and why bringing up the Lollar is they don't just sound good, but are much less than people pay for ThroBak and special release Gibson pickups. It seemed like seriously diminishing returns in my mind.

There always seems to be some magic sauce special pickup of the day that can be really expensive too. At this point it seems like Lollars have been around a good while and all the ones I've experienced not just this style sounded good.

If you have a Les Paul, I've also heard them with P-90 style and tried Les Paul Special and SG style with humbuckers and P-90. The P-90s could make it different than high output or what might be hot/muddy sound.

There's also a US Les Paul Special between Epiphone and the custom shop Gibson pricing. I tried a few of them recently. Not long ago you'd see those Gibson file marks, paint runs, and all those recent decades craptacular features they excelled at. They were all missing. Those guitars were nice. It seems to me Gibson is an improved company.

[The Old Gaffer]

Have you tried a different amp / speaker combination?

[Dothraki]

Thanks everyone! I’ll take a look into all the suggestions.

Originally Posted by The Old Gaffer

Have you tried a different amp / speaker combination?

I have used many through the years, but I was using Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier through the orange cab during my performing/recording years playing heavier stuff. I am never dead set on anything though, always open to experimenting but I do love the Rockerverb and no doubt the V30s (but I do realize this setup, while great for playing large venues, is waaaaay overkill for what I need now). I have played single coil fenders through it in passing and thought the single coils offered more warmth and smooth glassy sound with less muddiness than the current humbuckers in my Gibson.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Humbuggers will never give you the tone of single-coils. Hummers have their virtues, but single-coils are more versatile. It's simple guitar physics: You can overdrive underwound pickups, but you can't underdrive overwound pickups. That's what pedals and volume knobs are for.

So I'd rather drive single-coils hard than try to catch those nuances (what you mean by blues) with humboogers. Ain't gonna happen.

But since you want to load something new into your Menace, that narrows your choices more than somewhat. One obvious compromise would be a pair of vintage-style P-90s made to fit humbungle slots. Another great choice: Jason Lollar's Imperials could also take you into sweet Luther Allison heaven.

[Dave Hicks]

How 'bout P90s?

D.H.

[RussL30]

I think the SD Antiquities are great for that type of tone. I have some in an older Epiphone Sheraton that really shine for that style of playing.

[ghostnote]

My band guitar was a Lone Star Strat, which has an HSS configuration. The two single coils are Texas Specials (SRV-type), and the humbucker is a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates.(Billy Gibbons) This made for a very versatile guitar. I could get just about any sound I wanted with it.
Pickups can lead you down the proverbial rabbit hole. There are lots of good ones to be found nowadays.

[J Patrick]

Honestly I think any PAF style humbucking pickup will work for you. They’re not overly aggressive and are in fact a well regarded pickup for blues and bluesy rock. There are many versions by many pickup makers. Personally I currently use Manlius Fat Dianes but I really liked the SD Seth Lovers as well as Gibson 57 Classics I’ve had in other guitars.

Should you desire a P-90, I had a set of Harmonic Design Z-90’s in an SG that were great sounding but pretty darn aggressive…like a P-90 usually is unless underwound.

[Dothraki]

Give it a couple months and my new post will be… “traded all my gear for Fender stuff” hahaha. They really do excel in the blues dept imo.

[Matthew Sarad]

My SG came with ThroBaks
https://www.throbak.com/paf-pickups-...pre-t-201.html
I found them not as great as the T Tops in my old Melody Maker
https://www.harmonicdesign.net/allpages/gibsons.html
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discu...-gibson-t-tops
I replaced them with Harmonic Design Z90s.

Z-90™


Large single coil pickups can have a wider tonal range than humbuckers and many players prefer the "spank", or wider dynamic range of single coils. Our Z-90 is the Original humbucker-size single coil pickup, and will drop right into your stock humbucker routing and mounting rings, with no modifications to the guitar.


"I had the Z-90 installed just days before I recorded 'Good Dog, Happy Man', and got sucked into its big, full sound. I wound up using it on every song." - Bill Frisell
The Z-90 matched set uses two completely different pickups for the neck and bridge positions. The oversize pole pieces provide a higher output and richer bass response, and allow for string bending without loss of output. The neck pickup uses an oversize magnet structure to tighten up the fat bass response. The bridge pickup uses a special bobbin and winding technique to allow 30% more turns to balance the neck pickup with an even hotter output, and give you a huge, fat sound with incredible range, punch, and clarity.
Introduced in 1994, Z-90 pickups continue to generate rave reviews from guitar magazines and pro players everywhere.

z-90 group
'Open' sound. Big, expressive tone that you can adjust from 'smokey' to 'crisp' by changing the height adjustment. Z-90’s drop right into standard mounting rings to allow height adjustment and easy retro-fitting to any humbucker type guitar. The Z-90's oversized pole pieces will accommodate both Gibson and Fender string spacing and just about anything else in the neighborhood. So replace them pesky humbuckers with the ULTIMATE single coil tone!
Z-90 Direct price for black, white or cream top is $120
User Comments

[rokdog49]

See what you think of my buddy Steve Harper using humbuckers for the blues.
Playing starts at 1:45
IMHO, blues is in the soul and the fingers.





Personally, I’m a single coils guy.

[GoPappy]

He sounds great! And he's a very talented player, who could probably make darned near anything sound great. Well done.

[Dothraki]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

See what you think of my buddy Steve Harper using humbuckers for the blues.
Playing starts at 1:45
IMHO, blues is in the soul and the fingers.





Personally, I’m a single coils guy.

I don’t like that tone for blues to be honest. But everyone has their preference.