Which Pickup? How do these compare?

[Uncle Thor's Hamer]

How do these pickups compare in tone, clarity, and especially in brightness? I want to replace the Seth Lover in the bridge position on my Newport with something less bright. I'd be interesting in opinions on the differences between the choices, and any personal experiences.

The choices are narrowed down to:

Rio BBQ. Recommended by several on this forum as being a bit darker than the Seth Lover.

Gibson 57. Recommended by a trusted sales guy at the local shop. Says it is what comes stock on the Gibson ES335. Is this really just a PAF like the Seth Lover?

Gibson 57 Plus. Slightly overwound version of the 57. Does the overwinding make it brighter?

DiMarzio Air Zone. Seems to be just right for me, at least from their marketing description on their website. The price is better than the others, though it is difficult to find with the chrome cover. Maybe a bit hot compared to the Seth Lover, at 323mV output, compared to PAF at 285mV. Good price.

Seymour Duncan Custom Custom or Alnico II Pro. Both described as better for bright guitars. Custom Custom is hotter output.

[atquinn]

Never played an 57's, but I think the BBQ and Custom Custom, while definitely darker than the Seth are quite a bit higher output and would probably be quite out-of-balance output-wise with the Seth Neck. If you want a similar output balance, but you just want a darker pickup, I'd pick the AIIPro over those 2. If you don't mind higher output, I'd go with the Custom Custom.

-Austin

[Punkavenger]

I've heard the SD antiquities sound good in there ... but you should probabaly get a matched set and theyre a bit on the high side.

Budget ... What budget?

[bubs_42]

Out of those choices, I would go with the Alnico Pro2. Very warm and round pup. I played a Slash LP through a Valve JR and nearly creamed myself. I'm definetly going to give them a spin when I get another guitar.

[murkat]

surprized to har the seth to be bright... not at all for my ears and guitars, I like the seth verymuch in the bridge with a 59 in the neck.

th 57' is close to a seth but more compressed and a lil more brown..., modern. have the seth potted a lil, should warm it up nicely, works for me ( i have to due to high gain)

[The Shark]

I love the Rio BBQ. It begs you to dig the top end out of it. A bit of an adjustment will even out the difference in volume. Picking dynamics really shine w/ the BBQ. Very underrated.

[Always Broke]

I'm no pickup expert, but has anyone tried out the Dimarzio 36th anniversary models? *ducks* I haven't done any pickup swapping thus I can only judge a guitar on its own sounds, but this pickup caught my attention and I've found some positive remarks about it made on other boards.

Any comments?

[atquinn]

I'm no pickup expert, but has anyone tried out the Dimarzio 36th anniversary models? *ducks* I haven't done any pickup swapping thus I can only judge a guitar on its own sounds, but this pickup caught my attention and I've found some positive remarks about it made on other boards.

Any comments?

Haven't had a chance to try those out. Yet.

-Austin

[luis]

Seth Lovers and '57 Classic are different to me.I prefer Seths and I agree Jay 57´s are more compressed.I do prefer W&B over them however

[bubs_42]

I love the Rio BBQ. It begs you to dig the top end out of it. A bit of an adjustment will even out the difference in volume. Picking dynamics really shine w/ the BBQ. Very underrated.

I did not see that as an option. I absolutely love that pup, it sounds great in my Sunburst!

[bruce919]

I have tried most of the PAF clones out there. Here ar emy picks.

1. Dimarzio Virtual PAF- no too bright - sound good clean & dirty

2. Rio Buffallobuckers. - Neck pos. on this pickup just kills.

3. Gibson Burstbuckers- to me sounds bette then the 57 classics

[BubbaVO]

I'm no pickup expert, but has anyone tried out the Dimarzio 36th anniversary models? *ducks* I haven't done any pickup swapping thus I can only judge a guitar on its own sounds, but this pickup caught my attention and I've found some positive remarks about it made on other boards.

Any comments?

I have them in an all mahogany Ibanez ST50 (fender scale) from the 70s - I love them.

Here's a review: