Should you stay with the stock pickup or not?

[El Chiguete]

When companys pick what pickups to go on a guitar, do they do research on wich one acctually sound better on that particular guitar expecially on there high end models?

I have a Kramer Stagemaster (for those who don't know it its a nect-thru body with ebony fretboard guitar) comes with a JB from factory but the guy that had it before me put an Air Zone in it, it sounds good, but I think and it can sound way better. I don't have the experience on many pickups to actually know how each one sounds like, but my ¨guess¨ is that maybe with a SD Distortion or Custom it will sound better. What do you all think?

[Inazone]

Do you know what kind of wood the body is made of? That's a huge factor when choosing a pickup. Some manufacturers get it, some don't. I generally don't care for Jackson's choice of the JB/Jazz combo in so many of their guitars, but it does sound good in some. My ash DR2 USA came with a Screamin' Demon in the bridge stock and sounded like garbage, but I switched to a Full Shred and loved it. Meanwhile, the Demon was a much better match for a basswood body.

I would guess that most builders probably opt for a good middle-of-the-road pickup that is fairly "compatible" with their core market. For example, you can certainly play most styles of rock and metal with a JB, and get a decent clean tone from a Jazz, but I don't consider them to be specialized compared to other makes and models. I don't care for EMGs either, so I find it strange that someone would take a guitar made out of a great tonewood like mahogany and then put active pickups in it.

But that's just me.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

i have a gibson flying V that sounded very muddy when i first got it. i thought it was the pickups at first. then i changed the pots and caps with an upgrade kit from RS guitarworks and now i love the stock pickups.

[Newc]

The amp you're playing through and your own personal finger/picking tone will affect the overall tone as much as the pickups, if not more.

Listen to Jimmy and SRV on that one track where they swap the same guitar back and forth - same amp, same pickups, 2 different tones.

As Inazone said, manufacturers go with a balanced pickup choice to suit most styles of music. You should experiment with different pickups to find what works best for you. Also consider that you might have to work the knobs on the amp to address tonal variations between different guitars. That is, if you want all your guitars of different pickups and different woods to sound identical.

[DocNrock]

When companys pick what pickups to go on a guitar, do they do research on wich one acctually sound better on that particular guitar expecially on there high end models?

I have a Kramer Stagemaster (for those who don't know it its a nect-thru body with ebony fretboard guitar) comes with a JB from factory but the guy that had it before me put an Air Zone in it, it sounds good, but I think and it can sound way better. I don't have the experience on many pickups to actually know how each one sounds like, but my ¨guess¨ is that maybe with a SD Distortion or Custom it will sound better. What do you all think?

I had one of those and had to sell it a number of years ago because I was flat broke at the time. I still kick myself in the ass for selling it. That was a great axe.

That said, I had taken the JB out of it and put in a SD Lynch Screamin Demon. I think you'll find that you'll get a great tone out of that guitar with that pup.

I believe the guitar is a neck thru maple with alder wings.

[El Chiguete]

Yes the guys at the Kramer forum are saying that they are maple neck-thru with alder wings.


Question for Newc: what song is the one that you are talking about of Jimmy and Stevie? I sure would like to hear that one.

[El Chiguete]

Are you talking about Pipeline?