Help needed in pick ups for modification

[Puddle Smasher]

Hey guys, i need help regarding pick ups and stuff as i recently bought a new guitar and i feel like modifying my old one, seen in the below link

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/washburn/x10/index.html

from what i've known so far, the better pick ups to choose from are, dimarzio, seymour duncan, EMGs, alnico , infinity bla bla bla

i know seymour duncans has blackouts, EMGs got the active stuff bla bla but im confused i don't really know what to choose

can someone give me something to start with? the guitar i have has 2 singles and one humbucker

is it advisable to change a single to a humbucker?

I'm also thinking about getting the dimarzio crunchlab(John petrucci's if im not mistaken) or liquid fire pickups, anyone got insight on these?

as to the sound i want, i play mostly rock or metal and some blues and since my new guitar can handle most of the metal
I would rather this modified guitar to handle more rock and blues/jazz kinda stuff, but im not really sure of the actual sound i want so yeah

many also tell me pickups don't have much effect on the sound? is that true? can someone tell me what has the most effect on tone then?

sorry for such a long post but yeah cause i really want to know what to do with this guitar

other advice on what else to modify please cause i was thinking of adding a kill switch and stuff
i also plan on doing this shits myself as, well i got a new guitar might as well experiment and stuff with this guitar

 

[carboxymoron]

You should give some of the smaller names a try, like Tesla pickups (available at SV). Since you're DIYing, keep the costs low and big brands aren't always better. Pickups definitely have a huge effect on the sound.

If you want, there are single coil sized humbuckers, or just "noiseless" single coils, but I'd keep a mix of sc and humbuckers for variety. Or you could have all humbuckers and install some coil tap switches for single coil sound.

Killswitch is easy and fun. Other things you can try are onboard effects kits (like this http://www.guitarfetish.com/MODboards_c_30.html ), series/parallel/out-of-phase combinations of the different pickups

 

[J.custom]

What guitar are you using? Personally I like the Dimarzio Crunchlab a lot, quite defined pickup, high output. For your other 2 single coils, I highly recommend the Dimarzio cruiser or injector.

Andy Timmons uses the cruiser, Paul Gilbert uses the Injector on his new fireman.

But like carboxymoron said, you might also want to consider in trying out some pickups from smaller pickup making companies.

Branded not equals to good all the time.

One more thing to note is that high output pickups doesnt mean that they are better. Eg, John Mayer's pickups are quite low output, but he really cranks them, resulting in this awesome tone!!!!!

Lower output pickups tend to give you more clarity, but that doesnt mean that you wont get clarity out of high output pickups.

In a nutshell it's what you prefer la.

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

Are you DIYing?
If so try out with those cheaper pups( if it's your first time). Don't wanna be screwing up a 300 dollar pup...
Anyway, hmm... Since it's just for fun i'd change it to triple humbucker! And of course can coil split... But what's the fun in DIY if you don't do crazy stuff eh.
If you want smth crap just to trytry, can ge those allparts, ultra cheap, good for experimenting/DIY first time.

 

[Puddle Smasher]

ok thanks for the advise..so first time DIY..i might as well buy some cheap brand pick up..maybe from ranking or smth LOL..yeah if i get the hang of it eventually can change..hopefully this will make me better at fixing shit too

thanks for the advice guys and btw..what pickups do john mayer use? haha first time iheard about the high low output thing on clarity..

low output good for bluesy crunchy tones isit?
Thanks anyway guys your feedback helps alot

this is my old guitar thats gonna be modified
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/revie...x10/index.html

New guitar (modifying maybe 2,3 years later when my balls grow to a sufficient size to do so)

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/ibanez/xpt700/index.html

 

[Puddle Smasher]

wow shit looking at the mod kit.. i honestly wish i paid more attention in DnT..well too late have to learn everything from scratch

 

[J.custom]

ok thanks for the advise..so first time DIY..i might as well buy some cheap brand pick up..maybe from ranking or smth LOL..yeah if i get the hang of it eventually can change..hopefully this will make me better at fixing shit too

thanks for the advice guys and btw..what pickups do john mayer use? haha first time iheard about the high low output thing on clarity..

low output good for bluesy crunchy tones isit?
Thanks anyway guys your feedback helps alot

this is my old guitar thats gonna be modified
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/revie...x10/index.html

New guitar (modifying maybe 2,3 years later when my balls grow to a sufficient size to do so)

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/ibanez/xpt700/index.html

The pickups John Mayer uses are called Big Dipper pickups, I dont think they are readily availabe and you have to order them from Fender.

Why not just go for the normal brand people normally go for eg Dimarzios and Seymour Duncans. Those are extremely safe buys and will only cost you $100 plus, sometimes less. I dont recommend going for some cheap brand because you wont know much abt how they sound and quality of the pup etc.

If you want a bluesy crunch tone, I suggest you try out the Dimarzio Cruisers or Choppers. Love those.

I wanna install them in a new guitar i'm getting.

 

[Puddle Smasher]

haha cause need to like learn how to do it first lah..ill do it with smth cheap the first time ..need to take the risk and grow as a guitarist i think

after the first success then i probably would get a dimarzio crunchlab due to it's famed used by petrucci..and..uh..something else..LOL not sure but thanks for the advice everyone

 

[J.custom]

Go for the teslas, not bad.under 100 if i'm not wrong.