New Pickups on a CIJ Jag

impeh

Hey, just need a bit of quick advice.

After some problems running my Jag through a lot of pedals into sub-standard amps and just wanting a bit more out of the guitar itself i've decided its time to replace the original japanese pickups with some new ones.

The only ones i've seen available seem to be the Seymour Duncans. I know the differences between the Quarter Pounder and Hot pickups and was wondering:

1. Are there any better choices for replacement Jag pickups besides Duncans?

2. If I placed a Hot pickup in the Neck and a Quarter Pounder in the bridge would that cause any issues or just be too ####ed up? Just curious as to how that would work.

Thanks for the help.

Dehumanized

1. There are other options available from botique pickup craftsmen, but Seymour Duncan ones are quite excellent, and well priced.

2. Quarter Pounder bridge and Hot neck is a fine combo. I have the same thing, except on my Jazzmaster and it's well balanced and sounds great (especially the bridge... huge improvement over the tinny sounding stock pickup).

lamp

It depends on what sound you are looking for. I fairly recently replaced my bridge pup with an SD Quarter Pound, and whilst this is definitely a nice sounding pickup and a lot better than the stock CIJ ones, it

Doog

Agreed, a decent amp makes so much difference, much more than a pickup will. Although I appreciate this might not be an option and would cost a fair bit more than a pair of replacement pickups..

Dehumanized

I didn't really like the bridge pickup much on my JM even after picking up my Classic 30. Just couldn't get any really usable tones out of it.

superfuzz

if you want the "jaguar-iest" sounding pickups 62 av fender issues should run about 100 bucks each.

Rick

nah, $50 each. but i wouldn't suggest this guy bought them. maybe one for the neck, but it sounds like he wants something hotter, or a mini humbucker

johnniespring

or a better amp.

emanon

What kind of amp are you using?

impeh

Originally I was going to upgrade the pickups as soon as I got my jag (about 3 or so months ago), but I thought I would just keep them and go for a bigger amp.

But I want to buy 'the' amp, or atelast something big enough to not need an upgrade any time soon and saving up the cash is going to take a while, so I've decided to go all out and upgrade the pickups to save problems now and also get a great amp down the line. The amp i've got now is a 50W peavey that I started out with when I got my first electric. It holds its own, but when playing with a band it just can't keep up the volume.

Thing is that i'm not one of those players who needs the 'jag' sound of the original pickups, and i do find them to be a bit too much in the high end and lacking a bit of a bite. I'm playing a lot of indie-rock/experiemental stuff which usues a lot of effects and odd EQ so I think getting some more out of the guitar itself will help somewhat.

Thanks for the opinions. Keep them coming if there are any more.

Aug

impeh said: I'm playing a lot of indie-rock/experiemental stuff which usues a lot of effects and odd EQ so I think getting some more out of the guitar itself will help somewhat.

And you haven't been able to find your sound with all that equipment?

impeh

Its not that I haven't found 'my' sound. Its just that it my sound gets drowned out in larger band situations. I can have myself heard if I pump up stuff to the max, but in the process it just wipes out the sound that I like. Most of what I like about my guitar style is coming more from the combination of effects, not the pickups themselves, thats why i'm thinking of changing them to something that will put out some more to the overall signal then the original ones.

Aug

you need a bigger amp...not pups

impeh

Yeah, i'm aware of that.

But i'm impaitient and want more right now. Pickups I can afford, an amp will take a lot more time.

Will new Pickups make no difference?

Aug

oh, they will make a little difference, but not enough to even come close to solving your problem. Save your money and get the amp. You will thank me later.

emanon

Yeah, what he said...a loud amp w/headroom is what you need...save all yr.$. I learned the hard way too...when the drummer asks, no, begs, you to turn it down, you've got a keeper.[/i][/u]

BrandanW

I just got new pickups put in my MIJ jag today (SD sjag-1n, sjag-2b), really like them, sound great, but don't expect a huge difference or you will be sadly disappointed.