Beyond Black
Well-known member
Being owners of and familiar with original Shaw Dirty Fingers pickups, Scott was kind enough to let Tom Racerxrated and myself have first crack at the first two Psykes‘ available to compare with DF’s.
Shaw DF’s are nasty. They’re dark, yet have wicked ceramic bite. They’re raw, hot, have a menacing low mid grunt, and a touch of gummy sag to them, all while having excellent clarity. Oddly, as thick as they are, pick harmonics fly from them and they have a bouncy feel. They actually have a raw, vintage sound and feel to them reminiscent of an old Marshall or Mesa, but in a pickup.
Listen to John Sykes “Bad Boy Live” for an extremely accurate representation of a DF in action.
They’re only shortcoming imo is that they’re unpotted, so they squeal like a bitch at high gain/volume, and require a noisegate or some really quick volume knob action.
Well, besides being potted and dead quiet, Scott’s Psykes pretty much nails all of that. I replaced the DF in my Sykes Greco with a Psykes and the difference between the two is barely discernible. I’ve also got a DF in a Bacchus V, and I’ll be damned if the only difference I’m hearing is the inherent differences between the guitars themselves, not the pickups. Considering that Scott replicated a 40 year old vintage pickup with modern day materials, got this close, and his can be had for roughly half to a third of the cost of a Shaw, its pretty incredible imo. I won’t say that it’s exact, but I’d put it at a solid 98%, only because you’d have to compare them in the same guitar, and back to back instantaneously to really split hairs.
Scott’s making some killer pickups, and imo they’re as good as anybody‘s, and better than most. The Psykes far exceeded my expectations and is my favorite offering of his to date.…VIVA TONENERD!!!!
Shaw DF’s are nasty. They’re dark, yet have wicked ceramic bite. They’re raw, hot, have a menacing low mid grunt, and a touch of gummy sag to them, all while having excellent clarity. Oddly, as thick as they are, pick harmonics fly from them and they have a bouncy feel. They actually have a raw, vintage sound and feel to them reminiscent of an old Marshall or Mesa, but in a pickup.
Listen to John Sykes “Bad Boy Live” for an extremely accurate representation of a DF in action.
They’re only shortcoming imo is that they’re unpotted, so they squeal like a bitch at high gain/volume, and require a noisegate or some really quick volume knob action.
Well, besides being potted and dead quiet, Scott’s Psykes pretty much nails all of that. I replaced the DF in my Sykes Greco with a Psykes and the difference between the two is barely discernible. I’ve also got a DF in a Bacchus V, and I’ll be damned if the only difference I’m hearing is the inherent differences between the guitars themselves, not the pickups. Considering that Scott replicated a 40 year old vintage pickup with modern day materials, got this close, and his can be had for roughly half to a third of the cost of a Shaw, its pretty incredible imo. I won’t say that it’s exact, but I’d put it at a solid 98%, only because you’d have to compare them in the same guitar, and back to back instantaneously to really split hairs.
Scott’s making some killer pickups, and imo they’re as good as anybody‘s, and better than most. The Psykes far exceeded my expectations and is my favorite offering of his to date.…VIVA TONENERD!!!!
