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→Major Brands/Models
==Major Brands/Models==
== Trial and Error ==
Finding the right pickups can be a major trial and error process. None of my guitars have their original pickups and some have had more than 1 swap. Even listening to all the clips and internet advice and even demo'ing in different guitars may not suffice to get a complete handle on what to expect. It isn't until you install the new pickups, verify everything is wired correctly, put some fresh strings on the guitar, and play for a month or two that you can really determine if things still need improvement. This can mean doing 2 or more swaps before you settle, which is a pain due to all the installation labor/costs and transaction costs for buying/selling pickups. In the long run, it is worth it.
The best advice I can give you is to not wire everything up exactly like you want at first. In fact, disconnect the wires connected to the output jack from whatever they are wired to (most likely the pickup selector switch and/or volume/tone pots). Install the new pickups into the guitar body, but don't wire in their electronics. Use some gator clips to connect each pickup directly to the output jack. This is like having volume and tone set to 10 (actually maybe a little hotter and brighter). It will give you a quick means to demo the pickups extensively before deciding they are keepers and wiring up the full circuit with volume/tone knob, pickup selector switch, and other frills/options.