Your favorite neck pickup?

[67mike]

I threw a Dimarzio Breed into my Ibanez S series Prestige, and it is OK, not blowing me away.

I have a JB in bridge and it is awesome!

So looking for a new neck pickup.

What do you use and endorse?

 

[Laputan Machine]

Neck pickups are for pussies.

 

[NowYou'rePlayingWithPower]

If I have to it's a black winter, but put in the bridge position.

 

[Matt300ZXT]

If I have to it's a black winter, but put in the bridge position.

I have a Black Winter in the bridge of the Steve Steven's signature guitar that's in my avatar. Surprisingly, to me, it wasn't super duper hot like the name/script font suggests.

 

[spguitar]

P90 clarity with a fat midrange and a smooth top end.
https://railhammer.com/products/humcutter/billy-corgan-signature-z-one-neck/
Almost the same pickup here without the design:
https://railhammer.com/products/humcutter/billy-corgan-signature-neck/

 

[Matt300ZXT]

I had a DiMarzio Red Velvet in the neck of one of my guitars, or had, I can't remember. Either way, that's probably my favorite neck pickup I've ever played.

 

[JackBootedThug]

85 or 57’s from Gibson…

 

[NowYou'rePlayingWithPower]

I have a Black Winter in the bridge of the Steve Steven's signature guitar that's in my avatar. Surprisingly, to me, it wasn't super duper hot like the name/script font suggests.

Feel like it's more of a pickup built to handle articulation for low stuff.
Seems pretty hot to me
Was just joking though, I don't use a neck pickup.

 

[SonVolt]

Isn't the Black Winter at least as hot as a Duncan Distortion?

 

[braintheory]

I’ve tried it all and for highoutput pickups it would be the ‘80’s Schaller Hex or Blade models. Incredible!

For low output it would be vintage Gretsch Supertrons, vintage mini humbuckers or PAF’s. I don’t find any Duncan or Dimarzio to be great pickups IME, even vintage ones. Just adequate

 

[NowYou'rePlayingWithPower]

Isn't the Black Winter at least as hot as a Duncan Distortion?

Mine all read around 17k.
Maybe Matt has his coil split?
Have the distortions, too and they sound pretty flat but apparently have the same output.
Not a fan, but perhaps just not in the right guitar.

 

[stratjacket]

I’ve gone through so many much pickups and these are the ones I’ve settled on. I have these across most of my guitars with a couple exceptions.

DiMarzio Humbucker From Hell
DiMarzio Air Norton is great (Air Norton S for single size)
PRS Metal \m/
Badlands M81 for single coil neck, best and most powerful true single coil I’ve found
Tom Anderson H1 and HF1
SD Jazz
Caparison SH-27F for single sized neck. I used to change these out in my Caparisons but went back to them and they’re pretty damn good.

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

I’ve tried it all and for highoutput pickups it would be the ‘80’s Schaller Hex or Blade models. Incredible!

For low output it would be vintage Gretsch Supertrons, vintage mini humbuckers or PAF’s. I don’t find any Duncan or Dimarzio to be great pickups IME, even vintage ones. Just adequate

I agree on the Supertrons. I have a TV Jones version in my LP Studio, and it does awesome clean and with high gain or fuzz. It was afaik the first rail humbucker made.

 

[braintheory]

I agree on the Supertrons. I have a TV Jones version in my LP Studio, and it does awesome clean and with high gain or fuzz. It was afaik the first rail humbucker made.

Yes first rail pickup that I know of. I haven’t tried any recent made versions, but if they’re anything like the originals then they should be incredible pickups that would put Duncan, Dimarzio and many popular brands here out of business if guys actually knew about them lol

I agree, they tick so many boxes. Some of my all time favorites for cleans, classic rock, metal, punk, and equally great as a bridge or neck pickup. I love all the vintage Gretsch pickups, but the ‘60’s Supertron’s & ‘50’s PAF Filtertrons are my clear favorites. Hard to find many pickups comparatively that would be 5/10 or better lol

 

[Nashville Riff Co]

Seymour Duncan Jazz

 

[Floyd Eye]

Mini hum or P90

Or Texas Special

 

[VonBonfire]

Or Texas Special

You like those eh?

 

[Floyd Eye]

You like those eh?

Love them in a Tele.

 

[SonVolt]

I've really been enjoying the Alnico II Pro's that came stock in my Charvel DK24 USA Select. Was considering swapping out the Full Shred in the bridge with a Black Winter.

 

[Rex Rocker]

Fishman Fluence Modern Alnico.

But I don't really have a favorite passive. Many come close, but most of them miss the mark by a little. I like the Air Norton distorted, but clean, it sounds too dark and round. I like the Duncan '59 clean, but distorted, it's all boom in the low notes and chirp in the high notes. I like the DiMarzio PAF 36th Anni, but I wished it wasn't as low output to match with hotter bridge pickups.

I find the problem often with passives is the ones that sound good clean don't sound as good distorted and viceversa. I also find that the ones that are a bit overwound to match with high output bridge pickups also tend to fatten and darken up too much for my taste. But I also hate neck pickups that are so underwound and low output that they're just plink plink plink scratch scratch scratch noises under tons of gain.