H 150,,,, what pickups?

[holyroller]

Hi, new h150 owner . I might want to change pickups . What goes well with the heritages? I am thinking Gibson 57 classic neck and a 57 plus in the bridge. I never really bonded with Seymour's . So , that is my question. Thank you

[mtpatty]

I have Bill Lawrence L-500-XL in the bridge and an L-500-R in the neck of my 150 w/ ebony board- I am very very pleased!

 

I have a Dimarzio Humbucker from Hell in the neck and a Dimarzio Air Classic in the bridge of my 150 with the rosewood board...I am very pleased with that arrangement as well...

[PunkKitty]

57 Classics would work well. I have a alnico 3 set that I can sell you.

[plexirocker 68]

The 57 classics are very good pickups. But I am really liking the Dimarzio 36th anniversary set.

[bolero]

lots of flavours of humbuckers....what sounds are you after?

 

I lean towards Wolfetone Legends, Throbak SLE-101, Lollar imperials, which are all unpotted & sound great for non-high gain, pure cranked amp tone.

 

IMO

[H]

I have Burstbucker Pros in my 150 and I swapped out the neck pickup magnet for an Alnico 3 to tame a hint of mud.

 

I've heard good things about the Gibson Slash Alnico 2 pickups in 150s and, last but not least, surprise yourself and your amp with a set of Seymour Duncan Phat Cats!

[SouthpawGuy]

Duncan Pearly Gates neck and bridge on my 150. Stock Schallers on the 157, and they aren't going anywhere.

[Kuz]

lots of flavours of humbuckers....what sounds are you after?

 

I lean towards Wolfetone Legends, Throbak SLE-101, Lollar imperials, which are all unpotted & sound great for non-high gain, pure cranked amp tone.

 

IMO

This.... +10000000

[SouthpawGuy]

Might as well ask what everyone's favourite ice cream is

[SofaPlayer]

Wild honey, ice cream and pickups.

 

http://www.acys-lounge.de/wild-honey.html

[joeyh1485]

My 150 has a seth lover in the bridge and I loved the tone even before I knew what it was a kind of blind test if you will

[JeffB]

My 150 has a seth lover in the bridge and I loved the tone even before I knew what it was a kind of blind test if you will

I always thought mine had Seth Lovers in it and I thought they were awesome. Then I took them out to take a look and they were 59's!!

Ive never really liked 59's. Kind of do now.

[joeyh1485]

I think trying before you know what they are is the best way to tell if you really do like them, im pretty sure I have been influenced by the name on a pickup before now

 

I really wish I'd have pulled the neck pickup to see what that is - I think I will when I change strings next

[kidsmoke]

lots of flavours of humbuckers....what sounds are you after?

 

I lean towards Wolfetone Legends, Throbak SLE-101, Lollar imperials, which are all unpotted & sound great for non-high gain, pure cranked amp tone.

 

IMO

 

It's soooo subjective. We don't know what sound you have in your head. I tend to lean in the direction of Bolero. Another "boutique PAF clone" that can often be had pretty affordably are Sheptone Tributes. I've had great results with them, but not in a 150, yet...

 

 

[holyroller]

Thanks for the replys!! I know it's a hard question to ask, but someone has to ask it from time to time. I use plexi style amps , and all flavors of music. I don't want to limit the guitars tonal possibilities .i do use dirt pedals. Thanks again!!!

[holyroller]

Just gave it a good cleaning, and took out the pickups, it has Duncan 59 set in it, anyone ever tried these?

[SouthpawGuy]

Just gave it a good cleaning, and took out the pickups, it has Duncan 59 set in it, anyone ever tried these?

 

Have '59s in a 535 and a 575 they sound good to me, never had the urge to replace them. Also have them in a Hamer Studio, solid body double cut, same deal they sound good.

 

Only thing I did was to bring them a little close to the strings on the Hamer and the 575 ( bought used and the neck was overpowering the bridge).

[bolero]

those are pretty well regarded pickups, but they are potted so they don't squeaaaaal...like a pig!!! in higher gain/volume situtations

 

if you're after a more vintage sound you might want uinpotted pups...but they can howl at loud volumes or if you use a lot of gain

[slider313]

A great set of pickups that don't get enough credit are Lindy Fralin's Pure PAF's. I have a set of underwound A4's (7.2k neck and 8.2k bridge) that were wound for RS Guitarworks. They will feedback under high gain but that's not my thing. These replaced the Tom Short Undercover Mini's in my 140 after the refin..

[bolero]

+1 on Lindy Fralin's stuff!!

[Jmundell]

I've tried basically all of Duncan's (+custom shop bonamassa set) line outside the Seths, All of Gibsons Line, Lollars and the Wolfetone Dr V. It's going to sound funny but the Dimarzio 36th are IMHO the best Les Paul pickup on the market. They do everything: woody sound, clear dynamics, the airbucker gives it the best of A2/A5 dynamics (sweet but loud and clear). The virtual vintage gives it that amazing "electronics breaking up" character that I've only found in the antiquities besides these Dimarzios but they're just the most dynamic, perfectly voiced with all the right character PAF on the market. Regardless of price.

[smurph1]

To me, and this is strictly subjective..anything that is slightly under wound in the neck and just a slight volume increase for the bridge.. 57 classics and classics plus are nice..

[JeffB]

I've tried basically all of Duncan's (+custom shop bonamassa set) line outside the Seths, All of Gibsons Line, Lollars and the Wolfetone Dr V. It's going to sound funny but the Dimarzio 36th are IMHO the best Les Paul pickup on the market. They do everything: woody sound, clear dynamics, the airbucker gives it the best of A2/A5 dynamics (sweet but loud and clear). The virtual vintage gives it that amazing "electronics breaking up" character that I've only found in the antiquities besides these Dimarzios but they're just the most dynamic, perfectly voiced with all the right character PAF on the market. Regardless of price.

Its funny because they were p/ups I never considered. I went through a list of p/up makers and even started getting them wound to my own specs.

Then I tried the 36th and thought they were about right. They were also amongst the cheapest and easiest to get.

Ive got them in a strat a prs and a cheap LP copy. I also like the Dimarzio AT-1 in the bridge and have it in the prs.

[Jmundell]

Its funny because they were p/ups I never considered. I went through a list of p/up makers and even started getting them wound to my own specs.

Then I tried the 36th and thought they were about right. They were also amongst the cheapest and easiest to get.

Ive got them in a strat a prs and a cheap LP copy. I also like the Dimarzio AT-1 in the bridge and have it in the prs.

Yes, I met with a winder and was about to go that route. I was getting frustrated hoping to get my H150 to sound like a LP guitar should sound in my head. I sold LP and other guitars for a living for quite a while and wasn't generally stoked on the off the wall Gibson product. I bought a 150 sight unseen here and while it sounded good, it took an extensive pickup search landing on the cheapest good American made PAF on the market. I now am actually not at all into garage winders. It seems pickups are more like complicated tuning machines or bridges in that: having the right designer and a better facility/supply chain results in a better product as opposed to wood working, guitars and being a great luthier. Just because we understand that a hand built guitar makes a better product doesn't mean we want our hardware/electronics to be made in a garage.

[tbonesullivan]

you will probably get as many answers are there are responses in this thread. what exactly do you not like about seymour duncan pickups? they make a pretty wide variety. Which ones have you tried?

 

What is in your H150 right now?

 

Anyway, there are any number of pickup makers out there that might fit the bill. What kind of sound are you looking for?