[PerishtheDay]

the OP is right. it all comes down to what makes your ticker tock. for ages i wanted to put a humbucker in my telecaster because i thought i needed that sound when i hadn't even tried a mini humbucker that could fit the stock bridge. well one day i bit the bullet and went with the mini. what do ya know? the smaller humbucker actually has a lot more chunk of the humbucker with a new kind of bite i didn't even know i liked. now the 12 year old mexican telecaster is played more than the $1200+ modified jackson pro series all because with the flip of a switch it goes from warm beautiful tones to brutal rip your face off shred animal.

its all in what you need for what you wanna play. thats why there are so many flavors of wood/pickup combos. as others have said strings help a ton too.

[lespaul59]

I just put a set of Dunlop strings(.11-.50) on my LP and I really like these strings and I'm gonna get another set this weekend for my 335 copy. They're a little brighter and the responce(spelling) is better than the GHS: Boomers and the D'Addarios that where on it before. Tone wise I would compair them more to the GHS: Bommers than the D'Addarios. I think changing strings, pot and little stuff like this is probaly a better thing to do before you throw down $100-200 or more on a new set of pickups.

[PerishtheDay]

i'm not sure if the OP was asking about alternatives to swapping the pickups but rather remarking on the reasoning behind which pickups people choose. i think the thread chased a rabbit somewhere along the way

strings can make a world of difference but pickups make the most difference for the buck.

[thesteve]

Originally Posted by PerishtheDay

strings can make a world of difference but pickups make the most difference for the buck.

Are you sure? Pots and caps are <$5. Heck, I can get a dozen or so caps for $1 or so.

[Gibson SG]

Amps make the most difference for the buck.

[PerishtheDay]

Originally Posted by thesteve

Are you sure? Pots and caps are <$5. Heck, I can get a dozen or so caps for $1 or so.

i haven't done much pot and cap swapping but if i have a strat and want a heavier crunchy sound from it i'm not sure pots and caps can do the trick. i could be very wrong but pots and caps are the equivalent of adding EQ parameters to the existing pickup. if you're trying to hit a mark outside of the existing pickup's range im not sure how much success you'd have.

but i've done like 1% of the guitar modding some guys have done on this site so i could be very wrong.

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by PerishtheDay

i haven't done much pot and cap swapping but if i have a strat and want a heavier crunchy sound from it i'm not sure pots and caps can do the trick. i could be very wrong but pots and caps are the equivalent of adding EQ parameters to the existing pickup. if you're trying to hit a mark outside of the existing pickup's range im not sure how much success you'd have.

but i've done like 1% of the guitar modding some guys have done on this site so i could be very wrong.

It can make a huge difference. It largely can increase the frequency response. A good pickup can do darn near any style, heck, maybe any style. I don't think pickups are constrained to styles. I use a rio grande vintage tallboy for hard rock sometimes. The idea that a pickup is constrained to a style is nuts. Remember, Led Zep's" LP" tones on several albums were a tele with a tone control in use.

[mulletman]

Lottery tickets make the biggest difference per buck.

[PerishtheDay]

Originally Posted by BillSPrestonEsq

It can make a huge difference. It largely can increase the frequency response. A good pickup can do darn near any style, heck, maybe any style. I don't think pickups are constrained to styles. I use a rio grande vintage tallboy for hard rock sometimes. The idea that a pickup is constrained to a style is nuts. Remember, Led Zep's" LP" tones on several albums were a tele with a tone control in use.

you know a lot more about this than me but i have to ask "why do we have lots of different kinds of pickups if pots and caps can do the work?"

[1/2-Fast Player]

> "why do we have lots of different kinds of pickups if pots and caps can do the work?"

Why do we have Ferraris if a bicycle will get you across town?

I wouldn't say pots and caps are a substitute for pups, necessarily, but there's not much money to be made selling you $3 parts. There's lots of money to be made selling you $100+ pickups.

Now when someone starts marketing a $0.50 cap for $50 with a bunch of hype about "sparkling" sound or whatnot (like the way cable builders sell ultra-expensive cables with a bunch of BS marketing hype), then maybe we'll see them become as popular as pups.

[Micahb]

Originally Posted by 1/2-Fast Player

Now when someone starts marketing a $0.50 cap for $50 with a bunch of hype about "sparkling" sound or whatnot (like the way cable builders sell ultra-expensive cables with a bunch of BS marketing hype), then maybe we'll see them become as popular as pups.

These exist.
Capacitors
Crazyparts

And more if you want to search.

EDIT:
Just realized I can't directly link for that second one. Click the second link then click Luxe Capacitors.

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by PerishtheDay

you know a lot more about this than me but i have to ask "why do we have lots of different kinds of pickups if pots and caps can do the work?"

Different pickups have different tonal range and emphasis. Some suck. Period.

However, very rarely does a pickup constrain you to style. Mostly its a matter of matching it to the wood and the sound you are going for. For example, most pickup manufacturers do overhype the product. And people do like different things in their tone.

However, usually when the pot is the problem, people go for the pickups. This is sending good money after bad.