So what are the best pickups that I have found to date? I just put a JM Rolph humbucker into my Charvel guitar (yes, the EVH style single humbucking version). It (as Gearmanndude might say)....'Rocks my socks off'. The tone difference between those standard pickups that come with every middle of-the-road Les Paul is truly earth shattering. Why? I spent over an hour having a wonderful conversation with Mr Rolph, who gives his knowledge and his time freely, to those sincerely interested in what he does. He sources his own magnets (yes, the ones that go between the two single coils in a humbucker). He sources his own wire (he chooses a specific gage, which he has coated a specific way), and then winds them the way 'they used to', many years ago. A "way's back" there used to be magnet makers near where he lives, and that is just one of the secrets to why the old PAF's sounded so great... Mom and Pop companies making magnets (I guess in smaller batches than big companies do now). Well, JM still has a company to do that. Apparently, winding a humbucker takes planning, proper sourcing of materials, and then some hands-on attention to details. This means how the coils on those pickups are wound, the tension put on the wire during the winding process, and how you stack the coil with the wire. I am certainly sold on his pickups, and I know I am not alone. For me, they are the only ones for me... unless I find some old PAF's lying around in my attic somewhere...
