maggot wrote:I know that doom isn't that pickup intensive, but I'm moving from only using single coils and fuzzes to a humbucker guitar. Tune to C Natural/Drop Bflat. Haven't decided whether I'm gonna be leaning on pedal or amp distortion, but my rig is Laney AOR 30/ w extension cab. Possibly daisy-chained into a 70s Acoustic 120 bass head, with various boosters and fuzzes. Guitar is a Hagstrom. I want to be able to to have some clarity and melody ooze out from beneath the scuzz. And I'm used to single coils, so I'm leaning toward lower output if it'll work, and I don't like gritty-sounding pickups that much. Oh, and I play quiet by doom standards (loud for regular music, though).
maggot wrote:I know that there is no real "doom" pickup, because people don't really talk so much about pickups, just looking for suggestions, especially among people using moderate-output humbuckers.
For reference, my favorite pickup is a P-90, my least favorite pickup is a Tone Zone and I'm trying to meet a humbucker that I actually like.
Deja vu... This is eerily familiar to my experience with amps and pickups. I have extensive experience with the AOR series, and found the 30 to have slightly less gain than the other models I've played. Overdrives and boosts were helpful in getting the drive I wanted, and your boost compensates as you've noted. All of mine have loved pedals (except delays in the fx loop for some reason) and I've found rolling off guitar volume for cleans hard to balance with pure amp gain specifically; you might want to take that into account, if cleans are important to you at all.
On the pickup side, I used the Tone Zone, and really didn't care for it either. I ended up with Super 2s, which are very clear, although a tiny bit lacking in the low end department. Dimarzio lists them as high output, but they don't seem that way. I've liked PAFs alright, but some I've played were a little muddy. I'm sure there's a PAF that would suit you, maybe something like a Humbucker from Hell or those newer PAF Masters might be good options.
As far as humbucker sized P90s, I didn't care for the only one I've used which was the GFS Mean 90. I think a few others on the forum did like them, so your mileage may vary.
Hope some of this gives you some ideas! Good hunting!