STIRMling

Okay, so I have been looking at this guitar for awhile:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...electric-guitar

And one of the common complaints is that the pickups are shit. I'm a poor kid, so this may be a deal breaker. Anyone tried it out and had a bad experience?

Also, I heard the bridge sucks too.

And if it does indeed suck, could you recommend a good replacement pickup?

jetwash69

If money's an issue, then get a Squier and mod it however you want.

Cloudkicker

I was reading somewhere that they just need wax potting covers and the noises are from the covers vibrating.

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JustRooster

The bridge is just fine. What amp are you playing through and what sound are you looking to achieve?

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MrFlibble

Whether a pickup is 'bad' or not is completely subjective. Jeff Beck loves the Hot Noiseless pickups he has in his Strat, but Kerry King would probably say they sound crap.

Besides pickup quality being purely a matter of taste, there is the additional problem that a lot of people ascribe tone to the pickups more than any other element of their rig, quite wrongly. Many times you'll get people saying their pickups suck and they want to change pickups for a better tone, when they're playing through some utter crap practice amp which is the real source of their problems.

So, to that end, whether the Blacktop's pickups are 'bad' or not is entirely subjective, to your tastes, your playing style, your amp, what (if any) pedals you use, etc.

Though a note on the bridge pickup, there's quite a few blues, rock, pop and metal bands now using the stock Blacktop Tele, Jazzmaster and Jaguar (all of which have the same bridge humbucker) and sound just fine.

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STIRMling

Im playing through a Fender Super Champ XD. And I really want to get an indie rock tone. Something like Black Francis' tone on Doolittle, or Brad Shultz's tone on Around My Head (both rhythm guitarists for the Pixies and Cage the Elephant, respectively.)

But then I also want good lead tone, but I will be playing probably 60-70% rhythm.

kangaxxter

For those sounds, in particular, you might be fine with the Telecaster you have (or might not have anymore, I read your earlier posts). Black Francis, in particular, is famous for his almost exclusive use of a Telecaster, and Brad Shultz actually uses a MIM Telecaster (Source:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJZlHaiyUZE). The BT Jazzmaster is a different beast entirely. What you might want to invest in is a decent Fuzz Pedal, like a Big Muff Pi, to get the sounds you're looking for.

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Guitar

Whenever I hear someone say that they play exclusively a single genre, I always assume that they're just a terrible guitarist.

JustRooster

Kang nailed it. There's really nothing wrong with the amp you have. A good Fuzz and a decent delay and you'll have most of your sound right there.

I'd had to be the guy... but what you really (might) want is a new amp. You can find the Peavey Classic 30 or Fender Hot Rod Deluxe all over for about the price of the BT Jazzmaster.

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