Since I recently picked up another PGM301 and need to change the pickups in it, I've been researching pickups again. After doing this for awhile, I thought I might share my thought process on choosing pickups with the hope that others could benefit from it as well. In general, I like the pickups I choose more often than not. I almost never dislike a pickup immediately. However, over time (months or years) as I become more familiar with the nuances of a particular pickup and I may not like it any more. I have yet to find a solution to this. There may not be one though because one's tastes and ears can change over time. Anyway, here's how I go about deciding which pickup to get.
Obviously, the best way to choose a pickups is to try in your very own guitar with your rig. Even though this isn't always possible, I just wanted to state that and get it out of the way.
The next best way to choose a pickup is to do a simple comparative analysis. All that means is sit down and think about what you like and dislike about the current pickup. For example, you may like the output level but it's too bright and muddy. Based upon that, you would look for a pickup with less treble and bass but a similar output level to the pickup you currently have. Now please bear in mind that this isn't a science. This methodology is designed to get you in the ballpark and avoid hating the pickup right after you've tried it for the first time.
One key component to being able to do this is knowing the output level and tonal response data of your current pickup. Sometimes obtaining this data is difficult it not impossible. My desire to have this data is why I've stuck with Dimarzio for the past 18 years. If I had a
Dimarzio pickup I didn't like I knew that I could get data on their pickups and compare it what I did and did not like about my current one. BTW,
Seymour Duncan didn't have this data available years ago (at least not that I could find) but now they do so if you're using Duncans, you're good to go now. Keep in mind that everyone hears things differently because of their ears, their fingers and their rigs so the opinions of others should be taken with a grain of salt.
Anyway, I hope this helps some of you make better choices when selecting replacement pickups. If nothing else, I hope this post can generate some discussion on the subject.
