Pickups of your choice

  • Thread starter Thread starter musicsdarkangel
  • Start date Start date

What are the pickups of your choice?

  • Dimarzio's

    Votes: 2 13.3%

  • Duncan's

    Votes: 7 46.7%

  • Lawrence's

    Votes: 1 6.7%

  • Anderson's

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Fralin's

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Strat stock

    Votes: 2 13.3%

  • Ibanez Stock pickups

    Votes: 1 6.7%

  • I could care less.....

    Votes: 2 13.3%
  • Total voters
    15
M

musicsdarkangel

New member
For electric guitar...just curious

Share.... I dig Frailin's, Duncan's, then probably Tom Anderson's, Bill Lawrence's, Dimarzio's....somethin like that.

Share yours!!

POST!! POLL!!!
 
I've been talking pickups with the guys at cyberfret.com. I really got their pantties in a wad. :rolleyes:

The only real differance in pickups is their output. I know that saying this I might be starting a fight, but it's all just basic electronics. Wires and magnets, that's all there is to it.
 
Nothing like the sound of both PAF's selected playing clean through a Fender twin with the verb set at 6 or 7. Thats the stuff!
 
64Firebird said:
I've been talking pickups with the guys at cyberfret.com. I really got their pantties in a wad. :rolleyes:

The only real differance in pickups is their output. I know that saying this I might be starting a fight, but it's all just basic electronics. Wires and magnets, that's all there is to it.
Click to expand...

Thats true bird, but the differences in those wires and magnets (coil wounds, coil guage and magnet types) is what gives them their individual tone.
 
64Firebird said:
I've been talking pickups with the guys at cyberfret.com. I really got their pantties in a wad. :rolleyes:

The only real differance in pickups is their output. I know that saying this I might be starting a fight, but it's all just basic electronics. Wires and magnets, that's all there is to it.
Click to expand...

So what you are saying is that all pickups with an output of, say, 6k sound exactly the same. Lets take this a step further. All electric guitars are the same. They're just wood with strings. Also, all people are exactly the same--they're just a bunch of carbon. Oh, and all recordings are basically the same--just a bunch of sound waves. :D
 
musicsdarkangel, you forgot EMG's!

EMG-81. So far, the best sounding pickup through my Boogie. It's great for tube stuff, but not as good with SS amps/modelers/emulators.

My Duncans come in second (actually first if I'm using a SansAmp).
 
Okay, here we go.

Pickups are a hunk of metal with wire wrapped around it. If you add more wire, you'll get a higher output. If the iron content of the metal is higher, again you get higher output.

When the output goes up, The highs and lows increase at a greater rate than the mids do. This produces the "balanced sound" of those expencive pickups. You can do the same thing if you turn up your amp or tweek your EQ. It's sometimes called "scooped mids."

Sence a guiter lives in the middle of the sonic spectrum, adding these extra highs and lows only serves to muddy up the overall mix.

When a guitar player sounds good it's because he (or she) has found his place in the sonic spectrum. They don't have to be loud because their not fighting with the bass or keyboards or whatever for space in the music.

If you play solo all the time, or your band doesn't have a bass player, then higher output pickups might be worth the extra effort. But, if you play in a band your better off with your stock low output pickups with the more mid range tone.
 
Although what Firebird says makes complete sense, I have experienced the opposite:
 
Although what Firebird says makes complete sense, I have experienced the opposite: I have a GrassRoots strat; 1 sc (neck), 1 hb (bridge), 24 frets. I always hated the sound of those stock pick ups, they were thinny, harsh and low on output, even the humbucker! So I had them changed with 2 Duncan's: A Lil' 59 for the neck, and a 59'er for the brigde. I tried that guitar on a Marshall JCM900, (normally these amps suck, and need extensive tweaking to get a 'passable' sound IMHO), and It sounded great/huge/fat/round, all that shit. These pick ups have a far higher output, but IT COMES WITH A BETTER PERCEPTIBLE MID RANGE!!!!!! And that's a bit opposite to what Firebird told us...
Anyway, I voted for the Duncans, now you know why...
 
64Firebird said:
Okay, here we go.

Pickups are a hunk of metal with wire wrapped around it. If you add more wire, you'll get a higher output. If the iron content of the metal is higher, again you get higher output.

When the output goes up, The highs and lows increase at a greater rate than the mids do. This produces the "balanced sound" of those expencive pickups. You can do the same thing if you turn up your amp or tweek your EQ. It's sometimes called "scooped mids."

Sence a guiter lives in the middle of the sonic spectrum, adding these extra highs and lows only serves to muddy up the overall mix.

When a guitar player sounds good it's because he (or she) has found his place in the sonic spectrum. They don't have to be loud because their not fighting with the bass or keyboards or whatever for space in the music.

If you play solo all the time, or your band doesn't have a bass player, then higher output pickups might be worth the extra effort. But, if you play in a band your better off with your stock low output pickups with the more mid range tone.
Click to expand...

Too bad ignorance isn't painful.:p

Chock up another vote for EMG's. I use the 89's myself.
 
I like Reflex active pickups. In fact if anyone knows where to get them these days, please let me know. I'm going to be building another guitar and I need to find out where to get another set of these....Awsome!:D
 
I bought a strat kit -- the neck and body are very nice, but I plan on updating the pickups based on all the reviews I've read.

I am considering a Duncan 59er, but have also heard good things about the Fender lace sensors.

Any ideas on what position I should put these in?

I am looking for a clean, warm, jazzy tone for rhythm and a warm bite for the bridge/lead.

Thanks!
:confused:
 
64Firebird said:
Okay, here we go.

Pickups are a hunk of metal with wire wrapped around it. If you add more wire, you'll get a higher output. If the iron content of the metal is higher, again you get higher output.

When the output goes up, The highs and lows increase at a greater rate than the mids do. This produces the "balanced sound" of those expencive pickups. You can do the same thing if you turn up your amp or tweek your EQ. It's sometimes called "scooped mids."
Click to expand...

If you have a standard strat pickup with 5000 turns of wire on it and rewire it with 7500 turns, you will get more output from the pickup. You will also get less bass, less highs and more midrange--not more highs and lows. The more turns of wire you add, the more the midrange goes up and the highs and lows go down.

As for emulating those expensive pickups with amp EQ, it all depends on the amp and the voicing of the EQ, doesn't it?

I agree that high output pickups are not needed. If all you want is more midrange honk, they'll give you that, but not much else. And, yes, if you need to be louder, thats what the volume knob on the amp is for.

It all depends on the sound the player is looking for. If you play power chords all night long, you might love an overwound pickup. I prefer to have clean pickups with wide frequency response. I can add all the extra gumbo with pedals if need be. But saying all pickups are the same? That, simply put, is untrue.
 
From the EMG website:

The EMG Model 89 is a Dual Mode pickup.
It can be switched from a single coil pickup to a humbucking pickup.

Logo Color Copper
Output Impedance (Kohm) 10
Current @ 9V (Microamps) 160
Battery Life (Hours) 1500

Single Coil/ Humbucker
Resonant Frequency (kHz) 3.75 / 2.55
RMS Output Voltage 0.6 / 1.0
Peak Output Voltage 0.85 / 1.75
Output Noise (dBV) -94 / -99
Click to expand...


What this translates to in the real world is the best sounding, quietest and most versatile pickups I've ever played. I still have a couple of guitars with passive humbuckers and singles for truly authentic tones but most people would be unable to tell the difference. Another advantage to the active design is when you back off the volume the tone stays the same- unlike passive pickups which lose freq. response from the loading of the volume pot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top