Do any bargain PAF style pickups beat the Epi ProBuckers?
Long story short: I am considering teplacing the high output pickups in my LP studio, and Epi Probuckers seem pretty hard to beat for the price ($40 for a new set). However, I do have a stock Epi standard from 2010, so I'm guessing those are Probuckers in it, not sure if its worthwhile to put a different pickup in the studio or leave the ones I have in it.
Are there any other really good PAF style pickups that can be had for under $100 a set that I should be considering?
The long version: I picked up a used LP Studio that had been upgraded with Seymour Duncan pickups.
They sound fine to me, but the volume pot seems to go from silent to full volume in the 0-3 range, and oddly, the neck pickup seemed louder than the bridge at the same volume.
I figured maybe there was a wiring issue or something, and when I checked the wiring, its a real hack job. Twisted wires covered in painters tape and bad solder joints. Figure I am going to redo do that, possibly upgrade the pots while I am at it.
When I checked the pickups, they were SD's "SH-6" neck and bridge - Duncan Distortion pickupsaka the "Mayhem" set. These are high output pickups for metal, rated at 12.7k for the neck and 16.6k for the bridge, snd they have 4 conductor wiring.
I am more of a blues and classic rock guy, and since I am going to redo the wiring anyways, I am wondering if I should just swap these out out for Epiphone Probuckers to go for a more PAF style pickup. Looks like brand new Probuckers can be had for about 40 bucks for a set. Should I keep searching, or just go with them?
Thanks for your feedback!