Something we never really talk about is neck pickups. What tones are you after and what's your favorite?
What's your favorite neck pickup?
- Thread starter STRHelvete
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HeHasTheJazzHands
Well-Known Member
DIMarzio PAF Pro. It does the PAF thing but much cleaner and less wooly. Props to the Duncan Jazz as well that does something kinda similar.
And the EMG 60 because...
...c'mon, pair it with a JC120. It's a perfect combo.
Also as weird as it sounds; I really like those $15 hot rails ripoffs from those cheapo Fleor/Musiclily brands. I wouldn't say they're my favorite, but for the money it's shocking how much I like them.
And the EMG 60 because...
...c'mon, pair it with a JC120. It's a perfect combo.
Also as weird as it sounds; I really like those $15 hot rails ripoffs from those cheapo Fleor/Musiclily brands. I wouldn't say they're my favorite, but for the money it's shocking how much I like them.
jaxadam
Well-Known Member
^Me and this guy. The PAF Pro and EMG 60 are literally the two I would have thrown out.
I also like the Air Norton, and believe it or not a Distortion in the neck kicks some ass.
I also like the Air Norton, and believe it or not a Distortion in the neck kicks some ass.
I used to be a fan of the Black Winter as a neck pickup (hate it as a bridge)..but the SD Alnico Pro II has become my favorite. It's lower gain so run through a high gain setup it's rather juicy and articulate.
TheWarAgainstTime
"TWAT" for short
Dimarzio Gravity Storm for me 
glassy attack, nice low mid focus, and nothing extreme in the bass. I don't go for a liquidy lead sound, so it ends up working well for my tastes for both cleans and solos. As much as I like the PAF Pro by itself for cleans, I usually use the center position of a 3-way switch for cleans for cleans, along with a Dimarzio Dominion in the bridge.
Unfortunately for me, there is no 7 string equivalent of the Gravity Storm. The Bare Knuckle VH-II is my favorite 7 string neck pickup I've found and stuck with, though. It's a little more vintage-flavored than the GS, but I still really like the overall voicing and versatility for all of the same applications
glassy attack, nice low mid focus, and nothing extreme in the bass. I don't go for a liquidy lead sound, so it ends up working well for my tastes for both cleans and solos. As much as I like the PAF Pro by itself for cleans, I usually use the center position of a 3-way switch for cleans for cleans, along with a Dimarzio Dominion in the bridge. Unfortunately for me, there is no 7 string equivalent of the Gravity Storm. The Bare Knuckle VH-II is my favorite 7 string neck pickup I've found and stuck with, though. It's a little more vintage-flavored than the GS, but I still really like the overall voicing and versatility for all of the same applications
BenjaminW
Well-Known Member
EVH Wolfgang neck pickups are surprisingly pretty good for a pickup that I think a lot of people perceive as being strictly/predominantly a bridge pickup. I do like that kind of liquidy lead sound, but it cleans up really well as I switch a lot between clean/dirty and bridge/neck.
Gibson BB2
EVH Wolfgang
Peavey Wolfgang
SD 59
Dimarzio 36th
EVH Wolfgang
Peavey Wolfgang
SD 59
Dimarzio 36th
KnightBrolaire
Pickup Connoisseur
SD 59 neck
BKP Cold Sweat
BKP Silo neck.
they all do the mellower liquidy tones I love for solos. If you like the alnico pro ii then you'd probably like the 59
BKP Cold Sweat
BKP Silo neck.
they all do the mellower liquidy tones I love for solos. If you like the alnico pro ii then you'd probably like the 59
Would love to get multiple pickups if DMarzio and Seymour Duncan would implement a quick connect system. I would swap em in and out as I feel like on all my guitars.
Sadly they won't do it. So much money left on the table by these companies...
Sadly they won't do it. So much money left on the table by these companies...
TheWarAgainstTime
"TWAT" for short
The Cold Sweat is more liquidy than I typically like, but it would definitely be my first choice for that sound if I had a dedicated shredding guitar
the '59 is my favorite Duncan neck pickup for the same reasons I like the VH-II as well
6 string: Probucker in my Epiphone SG standard 61. Just the right amount of bass but it's fault balanced with clarity and high end. It can be pretty for cleans or nice and thick for heavy/sludgy tones. Probably my overall favorite of anything in this list.
7 string in no particular order: Air Norton, V77's in my 1527 or '00 7420. I like the V77's quite a bit for clean tones and light overdrive tones with delays/verbs/effects. I'll use it for a more husky sounding heavy tone of needed. The AN also has that husky quality to it, maybe a little more clarity?
Honorable mention to SD 7 string Blackouts. The neck is fairly balanced, maybe even kind of neutral sounding? It has some character but I don't use it a lot.
8 string: I only have experience with the stock Ibanez pickups in the RG8 and RG8 or SD Blackouts. The stock RG8 neck was decent for cleans, okay for heavy tones. I never used it much. The RGA8 pickups are an atrocity and should be burned with fire. They were replaced with Blackouts which great on everything for me. I think I'll be happy with them for a long time in the RGA8.
7 string in no particular order: Air Norton, V77's in my 1527 or '00 7420. I like the V77's quite a bit for clean tones and light overdrive tones with delays/verbs/effects. I'll use it for a more husky sounding heavy tone of needed. The AN also has that husky quality to it, maybe a little more clarity?
Honorable mention to SD 7 string Blackouts. The neck is fairly balanced, maybe even kind of neutral sounding? It has some character but I don't use it a lot.
8 string: I only have experience with the stock Ibanez pickups in the RG8 and RG8 or SD Blackouts. The stock RG8 neck was decent for cleans, okay for heavy tones. I never used it much. The RGA8 pickups are an atrocity and should be burned with fire. They were replaced with Blackouts which great on everything for me. I think I'll be happy with them for a long time in the RGA8.
TheBolivianSniper
SS.org Regular
I don't really have a lot of neck pickups I like but I remember the Air Norton being a standout. I only like 1 neck pickup I have right now which is a sustainiac. It sounds like a big mellow single coil, really dark and smooth but with a good twang and a lot of output. The BKP Cold Sweat is close but it's too low output. Same with the jackson rail pickup in my SDK. The lundgren m7 neck is just meh and I can't get down with the Bill Lawrence L500 neck. It's too bright and while it sounds cool in certain applications, it's more harsh than the bridge pickup for soloing and I have to use the varitone and boost circuits to get it smoothed out and increase the output so it's usable.
People say the sustainiac is built to sound like a 59 so I guess I'll just say 59.
People say the sustainiac is built to sound like a 59 so I guess I'll just say 59.
Grindspine
likes pointy things
The Dimarzio LiquiFire, Dimarzio Titan 7 neck, and the Duncan Alpha are my top 3.
I used Duncan Alnico II Pro neck and Distortion neck for quite a while, and still have those equipped on three of my guitars, but am definitely liking the clarity of those three, especially the Titan neck in parallel.
As a close runner-up, the EMG 60x is no slouch. I definitely like a ceramic magnet and a wind with strong and clear fundamentals in the neck position.
I used Duncan Alnico II Pro neck and Distortion neck for quite a while, and still have those equipped on three of my guitars, but am definitely liking the clarity of those three, especially the Titan neck in parallel.
As a close runner-up, the EMG 60x is no slouch. I definitely like a ceramic magnet and a wind with strong and clear fundamentals in the neck position.
vibrantgermancities
Well-Known Member
I’m just going to echo a lot of comments above and go with the Cold Sweat or Dimarzio 36th depending on situation. Also enjoy a Dimarzio Heavy Blues 2 for some pseudo-single coil action.
ASoC
Downpicker \m/
my favorite tone is definitely a vintage style single coil with A2 pole pieces, but low output singles are not the most practical for my rig. In practice my favorites are the PAF Pro in humbucker guitars and a Chopper or Pro Track in HS or HSS setups. I'm interested in trying a Satch Track as well
