Fakebuckers

danw

danw

cheap bastard
I had heard reports online of people finding fake humbuckers in guitars of the same brand as my 15-dollar SG copy, so I decided to check mine out. Here they are, single-coils in humbucker cases, smashed in with yellow foam.
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What I'm curious about, though, is that it looks like there are two magnets in there, like you'd see on a P-90. Do these function the same way? I was thinking of putting humbucker-sized P-90s on here, but if there wouldn't be much of a sound difference, I won't bother. How much of the P-90 sound comes from that flat, wide bobbin?
 
This is gonna sound dumb, so stay with me...wouldn't ya know from the sound that it's a single coil? Or are they out of phase with each other?
 
Well yeah, I've suspected it for a long time, the biggest giveaway being that they hum a little. Plus the output seemed awfully low. I just figured they were, you know, crappy. I only have two electrics, and the other one's a strat copy. This one hums less than that one and sounds substantially darker, so I never thought much about it until recently. Harder to recognize a fake if you've never played through the real thing, I guess.
 
hey, some good advice: DO check if there's actually ANY pick-up in the neck-position - maybe the selector is a dummy too. :D:D:D:D:D:D
 
DO check if there's actually ANY pick-up in the neck-position - maybe the selector is a dummy too.
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Honestly, I wouldn't have been entirely surprised if the second pickup was just foam. But yeah, both pickups do produce sound, and the switch is a legitimate one.

and what about fake motherbuckers?
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I imagine they are entirely useless for suppression of mothers.
 
LOL, I don't even see a "coil". where's the bobbin? it looks so bad that why would you even ask technical questions about it? :D your only question should be: trash or recycling bin? or maybe keep the magnets for some other purpose :D

stock pickups = throwaway placeholders, like stock strings (oftentimes even on expensive guitars). do your guitar a favor and get yourself something like a GFS pickup (on the budget side, but very good quality/tone). I'm assuming that if you took apart a pickup, you'll be able to install a new pickup.

A single-coil is nothing bad, even in an SG or Les Paul (which tend to be more of a humbucking axe, but not always). A good humbucker will have wires to do a "coil-split" where you can have a switch that toggles between dual- and single-coil mode. On a good pickup both sounds can be very good/useable.

I use GFS Dream 180's on my lespaul-like guitar and I have a switch for coil-splitting both pickups and also a phase-reversal switch. I love all the sounds. I don't even miss not having a strat or a tele.
 
Yeah, I know it's crap. The whole thing was fifteen bucks plus an output jack; I wasn't asking for much. When I bought it I was pleasantly surprised that it made any sound at all. I never put new pickups in it because I always figured even the cheapies would be way more than the price of the guitar. You don't put gold rims on a Chevette, you know?

I've also heard good things about GFS stuff -- I'm putting a couple of those Dream 180s in the semi-hollow frankenstein-thing I'm building. I was I was thinking of putting some of those Mean 90s in this one. Anybody heard anything good about those? My main concern is that I read somewhere that the dream 90s from there have the same construction as my fakebuckers, that is, an ordinary single coil sitting on top of two flat magnets. I don't just want to upgrade to another fakebucker.
 
Gear_Junky said:
your only question should be: trash or recycling bin? or maybe keep the magnets for some other purpose
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I doubt those magnets are strong enough to hold a finger painting up on a refrigerator. I vote for recycling bin.
 
danw said:
Yeah, I know it's crap. The whole thing was fifteen bucks plus an output jack; I wasn't asking for much. When I bought it I was pleasantly surprised that it made any sound at all. I never put new pickups in it because I always figured even the cheapies would be way more than the price of the guitar. You don't put gold rims on a Chevette, you know?
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well, how good is the wood/fretwork? if the guitar plays well and sounds good unplugged, it might deserve a good pickup, even if it costs more than the guitar. think "final product".

I've also heard good things about GFS stuff -- I'm putting a couple of those Dream 180s in the semi-hollow frankenstein-thing I'm building.
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yep, great choice. but you might also consider retrotrons for that, depending on what sound you're going for. Memphis would be the Alnico 2 (weakest ones), Liverpools are Alnico 5 - they're hotter (which isn't necessarily better, depends). (Nashvilles are ceramics and I don't care for that).

I was I was thinking of putting some of those Mean 90s in this one. Anybody heard anything good about those? My main concern is that I read somewhere that the dream 90s from there have the same construction as my fakebuckers, that is, an ordinary single coil sitting on top of two flat magnets. I don't just want to upgrade to another fakebucker.
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Yes, you can hear/read plenty of good things about Mean 90's. They're nothing fake, they're a "P-90 in humbucker form factor". There's no claim to dual-coilness, they don't look like dual-coils and they're not dual coils. But they will be nice and quiet, because of the shielding (metal cover). They're also alnico, so I'm sure I would like them :) They will be a huge upgrade (soundwise).

For me, if I like a guitar visually and if it sounds good unplugged (yes, you need to do it in a quiet room) and if it's made from solid wood, I will consider it worthy of upgrades, regardless of how cheap it was. That's if I plan to keep it.
 
Thanks. This guitar is actually very comfortable to play, despite being constructed of laughably bad materials. The body is plywood, yes, which is entirely visible through the clear cherry finish. It has that kind of plastic-pink-flamingos appeal to it. It has this big fat baseball bat of a neck that I like a lot. I've had to fiddle with it quite a bit (the neck pocket is shimmed, the truss rod needed adjusting, one of the saddles had to be reversed to get it to intonate properly, etc), but the neck is straight, the frets are fine, it stays in tune, and the action is comfortably low. Playability-wise, I've got no complaints. And it sounds fine unplugged. And yeah, I'll probably upgrade the pickups at some point in time, I'm just sticking to one project at a time for right now. Mostly I just posted the picture because I thought it was funny.
 
ocnor said:
I doubt those magnets are strong enough to hold a finger painting up on a refrigerator. I vote for recycling bin.
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Nah, never throw out a working pickup, even if it's this terrible. These'll find their way into some experimental instruments someday. They'll go in a drawer for now.
 
danw said:
Nah, never throw out a working pickup, even if it's this terrible. These'll find their way into some experimental instruments someday. They'll go in a drawer for now.
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well, sure, i don't throw mine away. they can always go into a guitar i'm selling ;) I only meant figuratively.

Since your guitar is so cheap and cheaply made, you could look out for used GFS pickups - study their available lines, have a few models in mind and when a deal presents itself - make your snipe.

If I keep a guitar, I can't tolerate mediocre pickups, though.
 
I can sell you the pups I took out of my Epi LesPaul Standard. Pretty decent, really, just couldn't pass up the Alenco 5 Burstbuckers I found.
 
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