Okay, I'm relatively new to this stuff, so bear with me. So, pickups are sold in sets or individually. What's the rationale for installing a set of matched pickups (like Texas Specials, Fat 50's, etc.) as opposed to individual pickups? If you go with individual pickups, do you just need to consider how well they match in terms of output? Or, should all the pickups match in terms of basic sound qualities (such as vintage-style, etc.)?

I know there aren't any "rules" you have to follow but I am interested in knowing what considerations typically go into selecting pickups.. Usually what I read here is to pick the type of music you play. So, if you've got three pickups, can't you address more than one type of music by selecting individual pickups, each addressing a specific type of music?

Do you typically use one pickup for lead stuff and another for rhythm stuff?..

Well... yer gonna get a lot of responses on this so I'll just give you a brief breakdown of how I use my pickups. Hope this helps.
I play hard rock/ metal. Younger people would call my band hard rock and older folks might refer to it as metal (old school metal if you will...).
I use my bridge pickup for all my rhythm and the neck for all my lead playing. I never use my middle pickup and it is actually lowered flush with the pickguard. This is only due to the type of playing I use my guitar for. Middle pickups can conjure up some really cool sounds if you use them.
Generally speaking, you will want higher output pickups for harder heavier music and lower output pickups for mellower prettier music. The blues guys love clean or mildly distorted tones and like to hear what is refered to as "chime" and "snap" coming out of their guitar amp. Sort of a bell like quality in the sound (don't worry, others are going to elaborate for you if this is what you are going for). I prefer high output pickups that are good for a scorching tone much like a chainsaw running on nitromethane or the sound you might get if you took a flame thrower to a pissed off cat.
Other than the output of the pickup I think the only factor is really just a question of if it is made of quality materials. Hope this gives you some insight.

...and I guess with matched pickups the idea is that one isn't way louder than another, that way you don't wind up with a significant increase or decrease in volume when you switch to a different pickup...

Okay, so you use a set of pickups that all fit the "hard rock" type of music you play. And, you use one pickup for lead and one for rhythm. I'm curious to see if that's what most people say here -- one for lead, one for rhythm, all for a specific type of music.. Thanks!

First of all, you should be careful buying any pickup used. You just never know if its going to work, or how its been beaten. Those copper coils can become damaged. So, I would recommend you only consider new pups.

There's not physical/engineering reason you cant use any combination of standard, passive single coil pickups. However, they are not all the same. Different pickup designs produce different sounds. Different poles, different windings (the way the wire is wound around the pole) each make the pickup sound differently. But that's the biggest difference....the sound. Some will be very delicate and "sweet" sounding...like Custom Shop '69s. These delicate sounding pickups sound incredible with a very high gain amplifier (Think Jimi Hendrix through Marshall stacks). Other pups are designed to produce a very fat and warm sound. If you push them through a high gain amp, you might find its too dirty or muddy for your taste.

Humbuckers tend to produce a warmer or more powerful output than single coils. Double coil pickups (humbuckers) usually require slightly different circuitry. If you just mix/match single and double coils, you will likely need to swap out tone-pots and maybe a capacitor. But if youre handy with a soldering pen, you can handle swapping them out. If you dont really understand or want to understand these basics, ask your local guitar tech to guide you. Its really nothing to be scared of, but you will need to pay attention. BTW....there are double coil pickups in a single coil form factor. They fit in the same slot as a standard single coil. They are easy to spot though..usually with a couple steel bars across the length of the pickup, rather than single posts under each string.

There are also "active" pickups, which use a battery to energize the pickup for even higher sensativity and gain. Lots of the heavy metal style guitars use active pups, but so do some famous players. I believe David Gilmour and Eric Clapton each use active pickup (I think).

One more thing....Pickups are typically wound/designed for its intended position (bridge/middle/neck). There isnt a huge reason you cant put a bridge pup in the neck position, for example, I dont think. But you should explore that before you just start plopping pups in any old slot.

Anyway, probably the biggest difference between pickups is the sound they produce. Like I said...they are designed to accent some part of the sound spectrum...highs, mids, lows, "bell tones", bright, "fat", "warm"....You need to figure out what sound you like and then find out what pickups produce that sound.

Think of a player whose sound you LOVE and ask around these boards what gear he used or uses. Ask your local tech what pickups would produce "that" sound.

You could go to the Fender Signature/Artist lines of guitars and check out the specifications to see what pickups they use. Then go buy the one you like.

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BigJay's Custom '69 Kickassocaster
'90 Les Paul Standard "Vintage"
'00 MIJ '62 Tele RI
'76 Fender BandMaster Reverb
'71 Acoustic Control 2x12 w/Celestion V30s
'71 Martin D18
Mesa Mark IV
'65 Deluxe Reverb RI

I use all three of my pickups, and all five positions on the switch. I play Classic Rock style, Blues, Funk, R&B, and Soul type music nowadays. I mostly use neck and middle alone and together. I also like the middle and bridge, the bridge alone not too often, but sometimes. Hopefully when I get the Dimarzio set I bought installed, It will fatten up the bridge a little more, and I'll go there more often. Some people like to get extreme when matching up a pickup set, But I like to stay a little more balanced. being that I like to switch between pickups a lot.

Shoot... replied but think I messed up posting... anyway... Big Jay's advice is really good. get what your favorite player uses and try that. Just FYI, I use the stock highway one pickups which are very high output for a traditional single coil pickup. Just my preference. There are so many options out there it will make your head spin...

Here is a prime example of how pick up selection and use can differ..Naughtnius Maximus who i will refer to as NM from here out use his pick ups exactly opposite as how i use mine..
The majority of time i use my neck pick up for rhythm and the bridge for lead ..As a studio musician i play anything that pays the bills..I myself prefer Blues and Classic Blues based or rock n roll based rock..
I want a warm thicker tone from my neck pick up and a more piercing darker hotter tone from my bridge pickup.
I do not use the mid alone much so my main focus for a mid pick up is one that will harmonically enhance both neck and bridge pickups when the selector is in the 2 and 4 hole..
NM speaks of wanting a heavy pulsing tone from hot pickups..I prefer warmth of tone from the neck along with clarity from the bridge..Another way to put this in my neck position i look for a combination of warmth and thickness with less individual not definition..
In the bridge position i want more sustain and clarity so each note when played will sing out..
I also prefer the vintage tones of the 50's and 60's on my neck and mid pickups with a more modern tone on the bridge..
You may also find that there is no one pickup combination that can get you every tone you are looking for.That is why many of us own several of the same type guitar..
If you describe the tone you are looking for many will be able to point you in the right direction..
Such as if you want a Robin Trower type tone i would suggest using a vintage low output vintage 50 in the neck a reverse wound 60's in the mid and a hot modern in the bridge ..I know this is what Trower plays due to his many interviews and articles written plus i have a Strat set up this way.
For David Gilmour type tones you may want to consider EMG single coils..
SRV= Texas Specials
SRV mixed with Billy Gibbons you would look towards Texas Specials in the neck and mid with a Humbucker Pearly gate in the bridge position..
Eric Clapton= SCN (Single coil noiseless) or Gold lace sensors

The combination's are virtually endless with today's almost endless supply of pickup vendors..

There is no right or wrong..I myself very seldom have i been happy buying a full set of pickups because i want different tones from different pups so i mostly buy individual pickups even though it is more costly..

It's all trail and error..Do your research ask questions listen to audio samples then make and educated guess and hope it works out..Thats about the best you can hope for..

+1

Marvin, you might try adding a base plate to your bridge pickup to "put some fat on its back". Wiring it to your lower tone pot would also give you some control over the "bite".

HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Okay, it looks like it all comes down to personal preference and maybe a lot of trial and error to get exactly what I want. To put this into some perspective, I just play guitar as a hobby and most of what I do now is play along with MP3's by myself in my music room. Next step is to get a loop station (thinking about the new Boss RC-30) so I can play the chords, then play lead over the chords. (With the RC-30, I'd have the option of adding drums to the mix.) I have no plans to go much further than that, for now...

So, I've got three Strats -- Am Deluxe HSS w/SCN's, a CP 50's, and a MIM Standard HSS (one of those Sunfire Orange FSRs). So, I think I pretty much have the basics covered with the first two Strats. But, I got the MIM Standard so I could tinker with one and learn more about how to do modifications and do basic setup stuff. At one time, I worked as an electronic tech so soldering, etc. doesn't scare me. So, I appreciate all the suggestions for choosing pickups, revising switch wiring, etc. (Martian's recent Strat-building thread was great for this kinda thing, by the way.)

Right now, my goal is to change some things to make it my "surf-oriented" Strat. I'm planning to use CS Fat 50's, based on what I've read, plus the Dick Dale signature Strat uses those (or something really close to Fat 50's). What got me thinking about strategies/considerations for selecting pickups was that I'm starting out with an HSS Strat and I got to looking at it and thinking I could use Fat 50's in the neck and middle and maybe add a humbucker in the bridge position, though I'll probably just switch to an SSS configuration, using a complete set of Fat 50's. Right now, I don't have a reason to put something with a different sound in the bridge position.

But, the whole process of selecting pickups got me wondering if there was a relatively standard approach to combining pickups in a particular guitar. So far, it sounds like there isn't a standard approach -- just determine your goals, then select the appropriate combination...

I have the RC-2. It comes with drum beats etc... Use it to sort out solo's and stuff for my band at home. I really like that it is small. Highly recomend it.

I try different pickups because the stock ones don't excite me...although when I buy pickups I buy sets,mostly.
The last set I bought was the Lollar brand just a few weeks ago,I really like what I'm hearing with them,they have beaten out the Lindy Fralins and VanZandts that were some of my favorites.
When I'm playing I use the neck and middle for most everything,the in between positions very seldom and the bridge depending on what amp I'm playing at the time....the different amps I own have different characteristic tones and they are vintage Fenders.....quite a difference between a tweed or brown or blackface amp,imho.