Advices needed: guitar pickups

[Heabow]

Hey

I just bought a 6-string VGS (with Evertune bridge which is nice!). I'd like to change the pups as the stock ones are not that great. I'm looking for something clean yet aggressive. I prefer to not buy EMGs. I used to play with a 81/60 kit and I'd like to have something more... say organic, dynamic if that makes sense. So passive pickpups would be great I guess.

I'd tend to choose Seymour but honestly, I don't have any experience with pups in general so I'm looking for advices. What do you use? What works best for you and why? ...

Oh and I'd like to spend 200€ max. (my current budget is 150&#8364

Thanks guys!

 

[FIXXXER]

duncan distortion is pretty nice, can't tell that of the oder SD pickups.
i think 150-200€ will be ok to get a set of bareknuckle black hawks!

 

[Manicompression]

what kind of wood is the guitar made of ? What guitar tones do you like most ?

 

[Shinozoku]

More organic than the 81/60? Try the EMG 57/66.

 

[neptunian]

For bridge I keep returning to the Dimarzio Evo 2 (more balanced) and Duncan Custom (more cutting).

 

[Old Man Doom]

More organic than the 81/60? Try the EMG 57/66.

+1 I know you said no EMGs, but these are nice and dynamic. The guys in Intronaut use them.

Maybe check out the Lace Bill Kelliher sig set– lower output but super aggressive sounding. The Brent Hinds set is higher output but brighter.

http://www.lacemusic.com/kelliher_dissonant_agressors.php
http://www.lacemusic.com/Hinds_Hammer_Claws.php

I swear I'm not a Lace salesman, I just really love their stuff.

 

[CraigJohnsJr]

Bare Knuckles! The Juggernaut set feels very open and dynamic, but definitely packs the punch that active pickups are known for.

 

[Heabow]

Thanks guys. EMGs 57/66 stir up my curiosity if they really are more dynamic and less "cold sounding" than the 81/60 kit. Lace Bill Kelliher sig set looks interesting too. Unfortunately I cannot test anything... Duncan SH-6B is obviously very precise yet powerful so I'd tend to pick it up. What neck pickup should I take if I want a great clean tone?

 

[Delitzsch]

What kind of wood is the body and neck? Is it neck thru? All these things make a difference when selecting a pup. You don't want to muddy up a mahogany guitar with a bass heavy pup like a Tone Zone (which is what I have in my Swamp Ash and Maple Neck Thru guitar). You also don't want to throw a treble heavy pup (ex. Super 2) into an already bright guitar (ex. like my guitar). Playing styles also matter too. It'll payoff better if you do your homework before rushing out and buying a pup because it has an artist's name on it or some guy on a forum has one in his guitar (which could be totally opposite tone-wise of your guitar).

 

[Old Man Doom]

Thanks guys. EMGs 57/66 stir up my curiosity if they really are more dynamic and less "cold sounding" than the 81/60 kit. Lace Bill Kelliher sig set looks interesting too. Unfortunately I cannot test anything... Duncan SH-6B is obviously very precise yet powerful so I'd tend to pick it up. What neck pickup should I take if I want a great clean tone?

I played the Dissonant Aggressors at NAMM and I loved 'em. I'll be putting a set in my gibson soon. They are definitely mid-focused and raunchy. Fluff has a pretty good demo for them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUls3HRoZ1M

 

[DocSauerkraut]

Best passive PUs i ever played are the Seymour Duncan Invaders.

 

[atoragon]

i have switched from emgs to seymour duncan pegasus and sentient. the pegasus is very mid focused and rock n roll - djenty, the sentient is halfway between a 59 and a jazz. very nice.

 

[Heabow]

What kind of wood is the body and neck? Is it neck thru? All these things make a difference when selecting a pup. You don't want to muddy up a mahogany guitar with a bass heavy pup like a Tone Zone (which is what I have in my Swamp Ash and Maple Neck Thru guitar). You also don't want to throw a treble heavy pup (ex. Super 2) into an already bright guitar (ex. like my guitar). Playing styles also matter too. It'll payoff better if you do your homework before rushing out and buying a pup because it has an artist's name on it or some guy on a forum has one in his guitar (which could be totally opposite tone-wise of your guitar).

My guitar is this one: http://www.vgs-guitars.com/vgsprodu...earchBrand=276&searchGenre=2682&series=Select

You're totally right, it depends on the guitar itself but I won't buy anything because it has an artist name on it but because I read some good reviews about it. Anyway, and as I said I don't know much about pickups and to me it seems pretty difficult to choose one without trying so I prefe to ask opinions and advices

 

[Delitzsch]

There is nothing wrong with asking for opinions and advice, but for that advice to be accurate for your situation, we need to know what your guitar is made of and what kind of music you play. I'm guessing that since you are on a metal forum that your style is some type of metal. Considering your guitar specs and if it were me, I'd go with the DiMarzio Illuminator bridge pup. It's very balanced, aggressive and would sit well in a mahogany type wood (nato is similar to mahogany). That's my opinion though.