One of my favourite picks ups ever was a Dimarzio Super 3 in an old Fender HM Strat I had. That thing was all kinds of awesome.
Surprisingly, since then, I’ve never bought another DiMarzio. It’s like the name itself causes a mental block in my head, lol
I have a Seymour Duncan Pegasus-Sentient combo in my Strandberg Boden 8. Not too shabby, but I often think I’d like to try out Lundgrens instead. They’re very bell-like and clear, but I wish they had a bit of a different character to them, or perhaps more output.
I have a Seymour Duncan Alpha Omega set in the Aristides I acquired recently. I know it’s billed as a high output passive pickup, but I’m often left wishing it was more ballsy. Super percussive though.
Also loved SD Invaders. I really should get another set for one of my guitars.
The Bareknuckles Blackhawk I installed in my Caparison Horus was a huge improvement in tone over the stock pickup, which is OEM. It’s the passive pup I’ve found to be most like EMGs.
Other BKP pups I’ve tried are Ragnaroks (very high output, I liked them a lot in my stolen seven-string Mayones), Aftermaths (I want to change them out, too mid-focused for me and not percussive enough) and Juggernauts (these really brought the goods, but I sold the guitar. Maybe it’s nostalgia talking).
I’m not feeling the Fishman Fluences in my Flying V guitar. Honestly, I wish it had come with EMGs. Maybe I need to approach tones with them differently.
I used to have a Wilde Bill Lawrence L500XL and L500R in an Ibanez RG. That was another amazing pickup, but I would not order from (the sadly deceased) Bill Lawrence again. He sold me the pickup in a housing that was double the height of the pickup cavity.
I’ve never seen a pickup that tall before, or since. I had to gouge wood out of the guitar cavity just to fit it in. Sounded awesome after that, but I would not order from someone who cannot design a pickup that is of standard dimensions.
Favourite pickup combination has got to be EMG 81/85 though. I just love the compression and they really have an even response. Really good for tight and percussive playing. Very old school sounding, I know, but the 80s and 90s are where my influences mainly come from.