Pickup Recommendations

[grimmchaos]

Been on the PAF(ish) train lately - I think all my Les Pauls either have WCR Godwoods or Wolfetone Marshallheads in them currently, at least in the bridge anyways. I have a somewhat weord one-off? ESP Horizon that I snagged earlier this year - 24.75" scale with a top mounted Floyd (which my right hand really appreciates as I slowly sell off all my recessed Floyds). Right now it sports a Duncan Hot rails and Distortion. I really dig the clarity the lower winds have given my Les Pauls, especially with chords. Will they have a similar impact on this guitar or do I need something slightly hotter to compensate for the Floyd rose? Figured I'd ask before running the racks of my normal picks (JB/Duncan Custom/etc). Thanks in advance guys.

Pic for attention:

 

[braintheory]

It’s possible you may prefer a little more heat in that guitar, but if you want that clarity and detail I’d definitely stick with pickups in the paf/general old school category. IME it should give a similar effect to what you get in your Les Paul’s. Maybe just have the pickups set a bit closer to the strings

Wolfetone Marshallhead’s and WCR’s are good for recent made pickups that aren’t too pricy, they used to be my go-to’s also, but for recent made pickups the Tone Specifc Bloombuckers or Virgil Arlo’s are another level or 2 above imo (not cheap though) and a lot more authentic to a real PAF sound if you want that (I have 3 real ‘50’s PAF’s myself and played many others)

The best (and generally cheaper) option to me though is to get some of the best vintage pickups that aren’t real PAF’s (those are crazy expensive now lol). My personal favorites are the vintage Gretsch pickups, especially the Supertrons. The ‘60’s Guild and DeArmond Humbuckers are great too. The Hagstrom and Baldwin humbuckers are almost as good imo and a lot cheaper. On the cheap Schaller’s are great. These pickups are all more snarly, grindy and tight vs Gibson PAF’s

If you want imo the best alternatives to that I’d say ‘70’s/‘80’s Tim Shaw PAF’s or ‘70’s/late ‘60’s Japanese PAF copies often branded by Maxon Or Matsumoko. They often are a little fatter, hotter and darker than the real ‘50’s Gibson PAF’s, which might be just you’d like in the guitar. Magic Sam back in the day used those and imo his tone was better than some famous guys that used real Gibson PAF’s

 

[harddriver]

If you are on a PAF kick the Duncan 78 model with the A-2 magent nicely offsets the Floyd Rose bridge brightness. For a PAFish pickup at 9K ohms resistance plays and feels very hot for 9K and it has nice grind/crunch with some clarity as well and it won't break the bank.

I've always heard the Motor City 2nd degree blackbelt and the Detrioter are great hot PAF's as well. I've almost hit BIN on these a few times but I am very satisfied with my Duncan 78 model so I didn't follow through.

 

[VonBonfire]

Might be worth trying a 57 classic plus or similar output in there. I am having fine luck with a Lollar DB in the bridge of a LP copy. If I raise it up it does that hotter tone cause it has a beefy magnet, if I lower it down it get's PAF-ish. Less compressed than a JB overall. I tried the Seth Lovers in both my axes and found them a little too thin/bright/brittle even in the darker sounding LP. I'd like to try the Lari Basilio sig bridge humbucker cause it's 9.5ohm or so and has good clarity without seeming too hot. Another one to consider is the 490 series as they are considered a modernized PAF or thereabout. I've run the neck 490 with good luck but never tried to the bridge model. I do love my 57's in both positions....

 

[MetalThrasher]

I'd stick with an SH5 TB and be done with it. I'll bet that sounds good through this guitar.

 

[rsm]

not a lot of love for DiMarzio up in here...

DiMarzio PAF Pro

...and an X2N in the bridge.

I had a guitar with a set of D Activator-X; I may have a guitar that could use them.

 

[firejack]

If you are a fan of WCR/Jim Wagner, have you tried the Iron Man Bridge? It's got Jim's DNA all through it, but with intoxicating bump and grind. It's juicy and percussive at the same time. Don't let the specs fool you... it still has that WCR singing clarity but with more saturation behind the notes. And you can run the guitar's volume backed off a hair for more clarity, then roll it back up for that singing saturation to kick back in. It's still my fave bridge bucker after all these years.

 

[Soundstorm]

Bareknuckle has the new PolyPAF that's caught my attention, might be worth checking out.

 

[Apex1Rg7X]

I really like the BKP Black Dog in one of my Horizons. It's got that PAF vibe to it but an extra push so to speak.

 

[braintheory]

The lower output BKP's and MCP's don't IME sound or fee anything like PAF's. The WCR's don't either, but imo still better to me in tone and feel. IMHO I found MCP's to be overrated and BKP's a bit sterile and 2D for my taste. In either case, for similar prices or less you can buy late 60's/early 70's Hagstrom humbuckers, Japanese PAF copies, sometimes Tarbacks, or for cheap (under $100) the low output Schaller's all of which any of these other pickups mentioned would be no contest for in tone or feel

 

[braintheory]

If you are a fan of WCR/Jim Wagner, have you tried the Iron Man Bridge? It's got Jim's DNA all through it, but with intoxicating bump and grind. It's juicy and percussive at the same time. Don't let the specs fool you... it still has that WCR singing clarity but with more saturation behind the notes. And you can run the guitar's volume backed off a hair for more clarity, then roll it back up for that singing saturation to kick back in. It's still my fave bridge bucker after all these years.

Imo for the qualities of the lower output pickups the Iron Man I find is just too different if he wants that kind of sound. As far as high output pickups go the Iron Man was my stand alone favorite for a long time, I had 5 of them at one point lol, but sold all of them once discovering vintage Mighty Mite 1400's, Dirty Fingers, Bill Lawrence's and Schaller's. As hard as it was for me to believe they were all even more juicy yet tight and the raw, organic quality of tone these older pickups have just leave these newer ones coming off really bland, polite, dare I say sterile/flat in comparison. Just my opinion/2 cents though. Other than the Dirty Fingers, these pickups can also all be had for less than what Iron Man's cost

 

[Speeddemon]

not a lot of love for DiMarzio up in here...

DiMarzio PAF Pro

...and an X2N in the bridge.

I had a guitar with a set of D Activator-X; I may have a guitar that could use them.

Did you even *look* at his guitar?
Good luck fitting the PAF Pro in that (sc) neck slot.

And the X2N would be way too overpowered.


FYI, @grimmchaos if you want to stick with S. Duncan, the SH-14 Custom 5 or SH-16 Custom/59 Hybrid would be my advice, and maybe something less hot in the neck. The main thing that the Floyd will rob you off, is low-end and sustain. So, a beefy sounding pickup will bring some of that low-end back and you could try a big brass block for the Floyd to add some sustain. Be aware that it will thicken the tone as well, and shift it towards some low-mids, but AWAY from brightness. I had this happen with a Kramer SM-1 (JB in the bridge), that sounded thicker after the brass block upgrade, but at the expense of some upper clarity. Now, since the JB is spikey enough in the high mids already, I could afford to lose something there...

I do love that guitar though! I had a Grass Roots version (the cheaper daughter brand from ESP) when I was a teenager in exactly that look;
black, H-S config, Floyd (Lic. model), no fb inlays... See attachment.

At a certain point I got 'the real deal', that is, an ESP Horizon NT-II, but ofcourse, fixed bridge, neck through and H-H config...
Still looking to add a similar nice H-S type of shredstick, either this, a DeMartini snakeskin Charvel or a Hamer Californian Elite.