Baritone pickups?

AustrianJohn

I have a baritone neck that I'd planned on using on one of my Strat type guitars, but then I felt the urge to build a new body using fancy wood. If I'm building a baritone from scratch, do I just use normal pickups and electrics, or should I do something different? What do you recommend? (I'm probably going for a 2 x humbucker guitar.)

Alegree

Something bright and clear. Low wind with alnico 5 or hotter winds with ceramic magnet.
You could also get away with hot rodded bridges with alnico 5 as they have such a huge mid hump that provides clarity.

guitarfishbay

Yes go bright and clear, also not too bassy.

My favourite is an EMG 81, but if you're not playing metal then look at a passive that doesn't have too much low end and has nice clear highs... lots of things can work - even PAF types. The only stuff I'd avoid is anything very bassy or fat sounding really, as those characteristics can lead to a muddy sound in low tunings 

Sporky

Q-tuners. I went through loads with my MMM1, and the Q-tuners stood out a mile. Loads of clarity but not harsh.

DiMarzio Humbucker from Hell is a decent neck choice if you want to stay conventional.

Funkfingers

My ex-HarrySeven Harley Benton Mosrite-alike sports two Kent Armstrong P90s- one "vintage", one "hot". It manages to combine the clarity of single coils with the girth of humbuckers. The downside, of course, is RF interference under high gain. 

For what musical styles is the project guitar likely to be used?

AustrianJohn

Funkfingers said:

For what musical styles is the project guitar likely to be used?

Blues and prog rock, not metal.

guitarfishbay

In that case I'd personally look at some PAFs, especially anything known to have a nice high end and not boomy lows.

Alegree

I'd stay away from PAFs to be honest, the plain enamel wire contributes to boomy lows.
Something in that output range with poly or heavy formvar wire would be perfect.