Sub1 Stock Pickups?

[kranog]

Anyone know what they are...or at least their output?
Are they US made by Music Man?
I'm just wondering if it is worth my while upgrading the stock pickups...they sound good I admit...but I'm wondering what the quality of the stock pickups are?
Any help is appreciated...
kran

 

[e.mate]

This has been discussed several times here, I guess.

They're designed by EBMM, but if I remember it correctly, they are of Asian birth

They sound good, one of the best stock PU i ever had in a budget guitar. However, I'm gonna upgrade to DiMarzio at some stage for a more defined character.

 

[Kaloyan]

This has been discussed several times here, I guess.

They're designed by EBMM, but if I remember it correctly, they are of Asian birth

They sound good, one of the best stock PU i ever had in a budget guitar. However, I'm gonna upgrade to DiMarzio at some stage for a more defined character.

+1. They are Korean made. As far as what I was told from the Customer Service the pickups are very similar to the PAF Pro design.

 

[telemike]

They sound great to me and I do not plan on replacing them. I may add a strat single coil for a Morse Y2D look.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

They sound great to me and I do not plan on replacing them. I may add a strat single coil for a Morse Y2D look.

That sounds like a great way to add versatility......

Another is to replace one or both pots with push/pulls and coil splitting. The pots are 250k....I plan to replace both with 500k push/pulls for on/off on my Sublhouette as I don't have a pickup selector switch.

 

[paranoid70]

I think they sound great. I wouldn't even think about swapping mine out.

 

[telemike]

I may do the coil splitting but a coil split bucker never really captures the sound of a real single coil. Probably since if you split an 8.2k bucker you get a 4.1k single coil which is kinda thin and wimpy.

The Y2D mod intrigues me but that is a ways out if I even do it.

 

[jamminjim]

I may do the coil splitting but a coil split bucker never really captures the sound of a real single coil. Probably since if you split an 8.2k bucker you get a 4.1k single coil which is kinda thin and wimpy.

The Y2D mod intrigues me but that is a ways out if I even do it.

Yeah, but Mike - there are a ton of buckers that are like 15 to 16K. That would be 7.5 to 8K for half. Wonder what they would sound like split.

 

[telemike]

I dunno.........I had a Duncan Custom5 in a Schecter PT and it was too much. The SUB-1 pickups are "just right". I really love them, nice clarity and dynamics.

 

[John C]

I may do the coil splitting but a coil split bucker never really captures the sound of a real single coil. Probably since if you split an 8.2k bucker you get a 4.1k single coil which is kinda thin and wimpy.

The Y2D mod intrigues me but that is a ways out if I even do it.

That is true; no split humbucker will sound like a true single coil.

However, I have found a couple of low output humbuckers that do a reasonable job in the split coil mode. Fralin Unbuckers are in that 8.2/8.5k range but have unbalanced coils to sound better split. Of course, I think those were designed for to provide the best split coil tone for those of us most accustomed to single coils as they give a kind of bright (almost P-90ish) sound in the humbucker mode.

While I'm 95% positive they don't have unbalanced coils, the PRS 57/08 pickups are also in that same 8.2/8.5k ballpark and sound like a reasonable single coil in the split mode.

 

[fbecir]

I'm just wondering if it is worth my while upgrading the stock pickups...they sound good I admit...but I'm wondering what the quality of the stock pickups are?
kran

Hello
If the guys of EBMM designed the SUB with those pickups, they had a good reason to do it. The SUB was an entry level EBMM but not a cheap guitar. On a cheap guitar, the pickups are generally bad because it's a good way to reduce the price.
But on the SUB, all the electronic components are really high quality. For instance the switch or the pots.
Thus, even if the SUB pickups are not DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan, it's a good idea to try them because they have their own character.

 

[telemike]

I have to agree the 3-way switch on the SUB feels high quality and not cheap at all. In fact, the SUB-1 doesn't feel cheap at all to me. I love the toughness the finish exudes. The pickups are near perfect for me and I think someday adding a Y2D style single coil would get me close enough to a Morse model.

 

[Kaloyan]

I have to agree the 3-way switch on the SUB feels high quality and not cheap at all. In fact, the SUB-1 doesn't feel cheap at all to me. I love the toughness the finish exudes. The pickups are near perfect for me and I think someday adding a Y2D style single coil would get me close enough to a Morse model.

I've always been interested in knowing what is actually the wood difference between Morse and SUB...

 

[Jack FFR1846]

I've always been interested in knowing what is actually the wood difference between Morse and SUB...

Hmmmmm.....both poplar. I can say that the sub (at least mine) didn't have the nicest looking wood for a trans finish. I don't know if any other characteristics are different.

 

[e.mate]

I guess that's why the SUB got discontinued so quickly...there were so many similarities with higher priced models, especially the Morses. But EBMM just couldn't afford to make them anymore...

I know quite a bunch of people (non-pro players) who own JPs and Morses, and then grabbed a SUB as the perfect backup guitar, as it was affordable yet a Music Man with typical features. Used SUBs on Evilbay in Germany sell constantly between EUR 350 and 450....remember that the last selling price from the dealers for a new SUB here was EUR 399 when they went out of production

 

[jamminjim]

I love the stock pickups on my Subs, the bridge pup is very much like a PAF and the neck pup is great...though I don't exactly know what to compare it to.

 

[mtenhagen]

I found the tone of the Sub 1 stock pups was too metal for me. I replaced them with Burstbucker Pros. Much fatter, creamier and grainy when needed for my taste. Any comments on BB Pros installed into ebmm guitars?

 

[jamminjim]

IMHO - not every single example of a humbucker is the same. The bridge pup in my blue subbie is a tad different than the others. So, its the one I like. No one should discount the stock sub 1 humbuckers, and certainly shouldn't toss them out prematurely.