Is it worth replacing my pickups?

[manana]

My very first guitar is very dear to me. I have it tuned to drop A using elixir mediums and it sound great. The problem i have is string clarity. Obviously, since the guitar is 250 dollars, the pickups suck. The body is agathis and the neck is maple I believe. If i play more than one string, the sound gets pretty muddy even with low gain. Is it worth putting a barenuckle whatever(im still deciding on a coldsweat, painkiller, or warpig, or getting one at all depending on you guys) Thanks

 

[Prydogga]

Short answer, yes. Long answer, Cold Sweat.

 

[manana]

Short answer, yes. Long answer, Cold Sweat.

haha, that made me laugh. Would you mind explaining please?

 

[Prydogga]

Well seeing as (to me) Cold Sweats have some great Clarity, it's very worth it, and seeing as your guitar cost about the same as a pair of them, and seeing as you like your guitar, there is no question IMO lol.

 

[manana]

lol. thanks

 

[zimbloth]

The Cold Sweat and Painkiller would both be great choices in that guitar. Agathis is usually kind of muddy and bland, those would spice things up. I personally would go with the PK unless you're using very thick strings in which case I'd go with the CS.

 

[manana]

Thanks for the reply. If i only buy a bridge pickup, would it be possible to get a clear yet aggressive rhythm and a solid lead out of the painkiller? Also, for reference(and critique, if you would be so kind) heres what my guitar sounds like now
SoundClick artist: Veil of Beauty - page with MP3 music downloads

 

[jl-austin]

Thanks for the reply. If i only buy a bridge pickup, would it be possible to get a clear yet aggressive rhythm and a solid lead out of the painkiller? Also, for reference(and critique, if you would be so kind) heres what my guitar sounds like now
SoundClick artist: Veil of Beauty - page with MP3 music downloads

Personally, I think the bland sound is coming more from your amp than your pickups. I'm not hating on you, just giving my opinion. It sounds like you have way to much mid range, and not enough gain. Pickups might help a little, but I think your problem is your amp, or its settings.

 

[sevenstringj]

Is it your first and only guitar? Because if you have another, make another clip with that, same amp settings.

Or, if a local music dealer has your amp, go there and try other guitars through it with your settings. (Preferably they'll have a 7-string so you can hear a low-A as well.)

I mean, it's just silly to spend more money on pickups than the guitar, when you don't even know for sure that it's the pickups.

And btw, it sounded clear to me. Though you say the problem is with chords, so posting a clip with only single-note runs is pretty useless, isn't it?

 

[SirChugAlot7-8]

ok i love bare knuckle and war pig. but you read up and you see what fits for your tone bro.

 

[All_¥our_Bass]

I'm in a similar situation (axe w/ agathis body + maple neck), I don't have a problem with muddiness, but I am looking to upgrade my pups. My first choice would be the painkiller, but explain why a cold sweat would be better for those who like bigger strings, since I'm in that camp.

 

[Ultraworld]

You can get a really good guitar for under $500 with decent stock pickups. This gives you a backup guitar, or one for each tuning you use