As usual for any given day of the work week, I did not have anything for lunch, but I am heading shortly to my best friend's house for a gumbo he started several hours ago (perfect freezing weather for a good authentic, made from scratch South Louisiana gumbo). He cooked it for the folks heading to his house to watch the Saints take on Atlanta.
My G&L question is more like a theme that I will try to explore today (and possibly again later in the week, depending on responses) concerning the MFD pickups in my (and all other) S-500.
Pickups: Sense vs. Sensibility
Today's question: Has anyone changed their MFD pickups for another brand, and if so, why and which ones (brand and placement on the guitar)? And don't forget why to both parts of the question.
I love the single coil MFDs and the wide range and variety of tones that can come from them. If I were able to buy an S-500 with a humbucker MFD (if these even exist) in the bridge position then as far as I'm concerned, I would never need another guitar for the remainder of my life - but I'm sure not going to get in and do any routing to fit humbucker MFDs, even if they do exist. The guitar to to close to perfect to have me monkey around with they way if was originally cut.
Now please understand that I am relatively new to the G&L experience extraordinaire and and thrilled with the capabilities of my S-500, 3-bolt bird's eye maple neck - despite 25 years of playing a rosewood fingerboard partscaster. The concept of individually adjustable pole pieces for the player, as opposed to the factory, is quite intriguing - even though I haven't done much with adjusting anything but just a couple of turns higher on the bridge pickup high E string.
The noise factor is not bad to begin with utilizing the MFDs, and my "project" when everything comes together and I have the time, is to shield the cavity and underside of the pickguard to reduce whatever noise I can (but that's another topic for another day).
So, aking the question in another way: for those of you who play out, record, or just pluck the strings on your G&L for the pure pleasure of playing, would you - if price and labor were not a consideration (imagine if you will, someone willing to buy everything and do the work at G&L for you for no cost) - change the MFD pickups and why or why not? Think of this as you chance to imagine your "perfect" pickups in an already truly magnificent guitar. And if you don't have MFDs in your - say, Legacy, do you wonder what your guitar would be like with them?
I'm not trying to start a war over which ones are the "best." I just want to know what players think about these unique pickups as opposed to the traditional magnetic posts.
And by the way, go Saints!
If you have a favorite NFL team, by all means I expect to hear about that, too (in a friendly manner, if possible 
). Now I'm off to get that body and soul-warming gumbo...
Phillip
It's beer, seafood and sunburn all the way down here in sunny Hobart. Then afternoon 
Right now we're in a bit o' trouble.
I have to confess that I got my PRS 245 Sunburst purely because their pups were supposedly made in similar fashion and the same materials as the original PAF's. If price and labor is not an issue, I would go for another guitar anytime. So for me personally, there is no real need to experiment with different pups. And just Like Tim, I do love then wide bobbin MFD. Actually, thinking a bit harder, I like all my MFD's. Even the humbucking ones in my F-100 RE and 25th Anniversary.
