Most versatile pickups?

Lebarque

I know the perceived wisdom is that one guitar can't do everything, but if you could only have one (and needed to cover a wide range of musical genres), what pickups would you choose to 'do it all'? It's got to be P90's hasn't it? I think I'm going to grab some underwound ones for a partscaster I'm building.

Ben_McCarthy

It’s so personal, I’ve always found p90’s to be great for almost everything and I often find myself blown anyway by guitars with p90’s.

I’m of the opinion that as long as they are good quality, low output of any pickup type can do a great deal.

it doesn’t stop me wanting all different guitars and pickup types though! I wish it did....

xscaramanga

I think it's a set of vintage-ish output Strat pickups. I have never found anything I can't play on them. Takes a bit more persuasion to get them to do METAAAAAAAL (a Strat into a JCM800 with no pedals is hard work to shred on), but they can absolutely do it.

No pro guitarist worthy of the name has ever turned up at a gig and said "Sorry, we can't do that one, I've only got the Strat with me."

The perceived wisdom that no guitar can sound absolutely like a Strat, a Tele, and a Les Paul (etc) is true, but the idea that because of that there's no guitar that can play all styles is absolute rot.

guitarfishbay

A slightly hot PAF. P90s are pretty noisy if you do any kind of heavy music, and low output humbuckers can sound a bit weedy for higher gain. High output passives tend to sound a bit harsh at low/mid gain and actives similarly tend to excel at either end of the spectrum but something like a Fluence Modern Ceramic can cover a lot of ground.

Telecaster bridge pickup is probably the most versatile singlecoil

LastMantra

It really depends on all the other bits. A decent amp and some pedals will make a lot more difference than a pickup change, surely? 
A vintage strat and basic amp will do teh metalz if you stick a decent pedal(s) in between. 

NelsonP

Seymour Duncan p rails
https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/p-rails-set

stickyfiddle

A nice trebly PAF, for me. Or really decent Tele pickups. 

You can do just about anything except Strat in-between sounds with either of those, and careful use of volume & tone controls.

bbill335

i can make most pickups work for me, except for boomy neck humbuckers. 

Matt_McG

More or less what @stickyfiddle said.

Although, honourable mention for the G&L MFDs (the big soap bar looking ones). Less noisy than a lot of single coils, take gain well, very nice clean sounds. Slightly less character than the best tele or strat pickups, bit noisier than humbuckers. But they can do a lot, well.

earwighoney

Lebarque said:

 what pickups would you choose to 'do it all'? 

A HB and a single coil. 

DulcetJones

DiMarzio dual sound humbuckers with switches wired for "dual coil/single coil".

DrCornelius

Original wide range HBs are awesome. They have clarity, sparkle, string separation etc but can get filthy when cranked. Not tried the modern day replacements but heard good things about the Creamery ones.

HAL9000

Splittable HB and P90.

OilCityPickups

The most versatile pickups are the ones in the guitar of a knowledgeable and versatile guitarist. End of story.

ICBM

EMG Dual Mode.

Roland

guitarfishbay said:

Telecaster bridge pickup is probably the most versatile single coil

... particularly if you use a tapped one. You can then pair it with a neck humbucker or P90 for a wide range of sounds.

Teyeplayer

Underwound pafs that have the volume and controls 50s wired are so articulate I’d have to go for them. They just nail it and can still dirty up perfectly.

earwighoney

Roland said:

guitarfishbay said:

Telecaster bridge pickup is probably the most versatile single coil

... particularly if you use a tapped one. You can then pair it with a neck humbucker or P90 for a wide range of sounds.

Can you elaborate? I have no idea when it comes to tapped T Bridges.  Do you mean tapped as HB to SC or different outputs (eg low and high) and what's good about having different outputs? 

ToneControl

best set I have is EMGs with active bass and treble
I learned from our bassist friends, and decided to try it

Wonky

NelsonP said:

Seymour Duncan p rails
https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/p-rails-set

Haven't seen those before.  Are you any good then?

FelineGuitars

I had a pair of BKP Abraxas in a guitar I built @peteri has it now - what made them really versatile was I used the Seymour Duncan triple shot rings with the switches built in. -4 possibilities from each HB and then the option to mix the two...very versatile. Of course you could use any pickup - such as a hot PAF or whatever 

I also like the Freeway switching systems.

OilCityPickups said:

The most versatile pickups are the ones in the guitar of a knowledgeable and versatile guitarist. End of story.

Can't argue with that though!