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Is my guitar a candidate for new pickups?

We get a lot of requests about which pickups we’d recommend from our line and upgrading stock pickups in various guitars. One of the things I enjoy about running Porter Pickups, is talking to customers and helping them find their tone. We often ask several questions about their styles of music, artists they like, and their specific guitar to develop a Porter Pickup just for them. Our models are meant as a starting point for custom color, cover and wind options. All those factors together make Porter Pickups truly custom.
We like to know about the guitar that the pickups are going in to. If the guitar has certain qualities, the new Porter Pickups will shine better in it. Here’s some of the things we look for:
1. How does the Guitar sound unplugged?
If the Guitar has a nice ring to it, and is generally pretty resonant, it will be a great candidate for new pickups. Not that if it doesn’t ring well new pickups won’t help, but it makes a big difference in the end result. Pickups are just a translation of the string vibration, so if thats good, the translation will be even better.
2. Do you like the playability and feel of the guitar? If the guitar plays and feels “right” to you, but you’re not happy with the sound, new pickups can help. We often tell customers to make sure they love the guitar before upgrading it. With all the mass produced guitars out there, there’s some that aren’t special and some that are. If it feels comfortable in your hands, you like the setup, action and frets, then it’s probably worth putting the money into for new pickups. If the guitar has issues with the frets, setup, nut or anything like that, get that fixed FIRST. Playability is #1.
3. What are the electronics like?
Since all the signal path is important, we recommend upgrading the pots, caps, switches and jack of most guitars. Even higher end made in USA guitars can benefit from high quality components. We often sell new parts with pickups, so we (And the customer) knows that the best stuff is going into their guitar. Guitar companies are using cheaper parts to save money, so new pickups deserve better pots. Better taper on your volume and tone pots, better capacitors etc.

4. What are your pickups NOT doing for you?
This may be a hard question for some to answer, but we usually go through what you like to play on the neck position, what you like to play on the bridge, etc. Some guitars can generally be muddy, or the pickups are too bright in one position. Some of those things can be adjusted with new pickups, specific wire, and magnets. Some of our models (Like the Smooth/Classic Humbucker set) are specifically designed for versatility and to pair with an otherwise muddy guitar. Your guitar should not be too muddy that you’d never thing of using the tone knob. Maybe the customer wants a bridge pickup that can cut through the rest of the band on a solo, or a neck humbucker that can handle jazz. We take all this into account when recommending models.

Usually with those 4 questions, we can recommend some pickups for you. We have a wide range of models for that reason. There’s been plenty of times we’ve steered customers away from certain models, because they might not be the best fit for their setup.

Strangely enough, I enjoy talking tone and making sure we’re sending the customer the best possible set for their specific guitar. Email us today at info@porterpickups.com and we’ll take a look at your tonal needs for your specific guitar.

Brian