Pickup Comparison (Duncans, EMGs & Fishman)

[Deleted member 27494]

UPDATE: Here's the pickup comparison but through a Peavey 6505 Tube Amp this time because "a modeler will obscure the differences between the pickups", at least that's what some commenters said... Check it out:



I swapped some pickups out recently in my ESP LTD Phoenix Black and Arctic Metal models so I thought I had to take this opportunity to make a comparison. I was very curious to hear the differences.

The pickups that are compared are:

- Duncan JB SH-4
- Duncan Nazgul
- Duncan Distortion SH-6
- EMG81
- EMG81tw
- Fishman Fluence Modern (both voicings)

The comparison has some clean/edge of breakup tones as well as a few heavy riffs. Some pickups here sound quite drastically different while others sound similar. Interesting! Which one sounds the best here to you?



I'm quite happy with my final choices. The EMG81 is a classic and I prefer it over the tw. The Fluence Modern is a cool pickup to have. The passive voicing sounds quite natural and sometimes for metal the active voicing is cool too.

The Duncans are great too! The Nazgul in tight yet huge and the clarity is good without getting harsh. The Distortion definitely is the brightest of the bunch but I think it works well in that big chunk of wood of a guitar.

 

[Ignoramus]

Thanks for creating this! Me recently being a big Fluence fan, I have to admit I was surprised how similar all of these pickups sounded in your video.

I've had a bias against the JB for years.... and damn, it sounded great compared to what I felt were much better pickups.

 

[anomaly]

I liked the 81 the best. They were all VERY close to each other though. I liked the Distortion as well.

I think Fishman Fluence are a bit overrated, and the passive voicing doesn't seem that much different than the active voicing.

 

[squealie]

I've had a bias against the JB for years.... and damn, it sounded great compared to what I felt were much better pickups.

The JB is a horrible, thin, nasal piece of crap pickup.

Until you blast it out of a Marshall and/or try to get it to sit in a mix.

 

[thenine]

JB sounds great. I’ve never understood all the hate it gets.

 

[RockyStar]

I liked the Nazgul and 81 the best.

 

[Nolly]

This is another extremely good comparison, thanks for the awesome service you're doing the heavy guitar-playing community Jon!

As with most gear, in the hands of a good player these differences end up just being different flavours of awesome.

I don't understand anyone who hates on the JB, especially those that call it thin. It'll always be a benchmark for me - it's a great sounding pickup that simply "works" for almost anything, and at this point has truly stood the test of time. The 81 and Distortion are also time-proven pickups and are difficult to criticise since they have so firmly established their sound. It's great to hear those three shining as they should in this comparison, this is a perfect reference video for anyone who wants to get their ear in on what makes those pickups so excellent.

It's also interesting to hear the Fluence Modern voice 2, intended to be a clone of a JB next to the real thing. It does a pretty good job!

 

[Deleted member 27494]

Here's the pickup comparison but through a Peavey 6505 Tube Amp this time because "a modeler will obscure the differences between the pickups", at least that's what some commenters said... Check it out: