I would have to disagree with aftermarket pups being a scam or waste of money.Upgrading your pickups is the most cost/effective upgrade you can do to your guitar besides changing the very wood the guitar is crafted from(which isnt realistic or feasable).The results are instant and the change in tone/sound is noticable depending on what your upgrading from to.You can tell a crappy pickup a mile away with its dry/stale distortion,fast decay/no sustain and horrible response.The funny thing is there arnt to many "true aftermarket" pups.Most guitars above $500 carry one of the "big 3"(Duncan,Dimarzio,EMG).Unless your getting hand wound pickups made by a small luthier that cant be found in a line of guitars,there really not "aftermarket".