Expensive pickups on a cheap Guitar

IMO, it is not a waste of money if the pickups are the only things wrong with the guitar.

you need to gauge whether the cost of nicer pickups (relative to the quality of the present ones) are the only thing holding you back from the tone you seek.

ie: you may also need a new bridge, tone pots, etc.

at what point does it behoove you to just buy a better guitar?

time to go shopping, play the heck out of yours for an hour or so , then jump in the car and go try out some affordable models while the experience of your Axe is still fresh.

Some cheap guitars got bad pickups, some have nice ones. What's the case with this guitar? I have a lot of inexpensive guitars that the pickups are just fine. If it aint broke don't fix it, but if you can find fault with the pickups you have, then a upgrade might make you happy.

A cheap guitar with good pickups might sound better than a good guitar with cheap pickups. I can't think of any reason not to upgrade the pickups if you don't like the ones you have, unless you don't like the guitar itself.

I would invest in an EQ pedal first. You will be amazed at how an EQ pedal will be able to bring great tone out of a guitar or amp you didn't think was so great at first. Even if you decide to get better pickups later on, you will like and use the EQ pedal anyway.

Try the Dano Fish and Chips, very good EQ pedal for a great price.

Danelectro Fish and Chips EQ

I've got to ask the question no one else did.

What amp are you using? Mediocre pickups through a good amp will sound better than great pickups through a mediocre amp.

Every one of my 8 electrics has stock pickups, and I have 1 trashy(unless it's in the right context) amp, 4 good amps, and one great amp. I've never seen a need to upgrade the pickups.

Pickups are a lot cheaper to upgrade than buying a new amp!!

If you don't like the tone of the guitar, but like the guitar itself, I would look into swapping pickups. They definitely make a difference.

I have two amps. On stage, I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. At home, I have a Peavey Envoy 110. I love the guitar. I would just like the pickups to have a little more ooomph. That's my take on it anyway. I still feel pretty new to this, so I could be wrong. I haven't even begun to mess with effects yet.

Pickups can make a big difference in terms of output and articulation. Hotter pickups can help drive your amp to higher gain levels earlier (that can be good and bad, depending if the sound turns to mud), a better quality pickup can highlight - or expose, your picking skills. The pickups on your Brownsville are probably generic, inexpensive, ceramic's that give you an aggressive sound that muds up pretty fast, fun to start out with, but frustrating when you begin looking for a clearer sound. Upgrading isn't very difficult, you just have to decide what you can justify putting into your "investment".

Good luck and have fun with it.

If you're going to install them yourself, Dimarzios and Duncans aren't too expensive, maybe $130 for a pair of very good quality humbuckers.

This is a classic combination for a LP-style guitar:
http://www.zzounds.com/item--SEMHOTRODDED

But, like Wes said, a simple 7-band EQ might give you great results.

I put a $20 set of hot strat single coil GFH pickups in my $200 strat copy and now it sounds incredible. Playing through a good amp and an E.Q pedal is helpful too.

I have two amps. On stage, I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. At home, I have a Peavey Envoy 110.

Ok, just wanted to make sure you weren't using something out of a starter pak and expecting miracles from it :shock:

I'd recommend Lindy Fralin if you're thinking of tossing a set of Seymour Duncans or EMGs in the axe. Get in touch with him, tell him what you're looking for in the way of sound, and he'll help you choose a set from his inventory, or custom wind a set for you. Plus, the price will be about the same as the SDs and EMGs.

Here's the link to his website: http://www.fralinpickups.com/

Fralin ... the price will be about the same as the SDs

But they're $120 each! :shock:

The SD price is for the set of two.

I plan on putting some real hot humbuckers in my PRS ripoff eventually. It's better than going out and buying a new guitar to wail on, the 24 frets and wammy bar are real nice :). So yeah, putting decent pickups in a guitar you like is totally worth it :p

I've gone the GFH route on a cheap Ibanez. Did exactly what drewsdad mentioned, in that it went from getting muddy real quick to staying, um, more agressive (?) longer.