15 pickups later…..

It's funny how some of you describe the sound of pickups. They all do the same thing with subtle differences, but you talk like certain humbuckers are worlds apart, when they're not really.
 
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anomaly said:
It's funny how some of you describe the sound of pickups. They all do the same thing with subtle differences, but you talk like certain humbuckers are worlds apart, when they're not really.
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Yeah, well. I guess it's reverse Glenn Fricker syndrome, LOL.
 
my aha moment with pick ups was when I removed a duncan designed humbucker from a Jackson dk2 and installed a custom 5. it was like you removed a blanket from my amp. more everything....night and day difference.
 
You hear a lot more what pickups are doing with less gain and how they respond with volume roll off. Into high gain, you could probably tailor most differences with changes in EQ. In high gain I definitely hear differences between Alnico and Ceramic, especially when rolling back on guitar volume.
 
JackBootedThug said:
my aha moment with pick ups was when I removed a duncan designed humbucker from a Jackson dk2 and installed a custom 5. it was like you removed a blanket from my amp. more everything....night and day difference.
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Yes, I understand this more when it's a pricey pickup vs cheap shit. But once you gotta Duncan in there, they all kinda sound similar, well an Invader and a Dimebucker don't, but you know? most of them are in the same ballpark as each other, because what sounds good is generally a balanced pickup with a lot of the same frequency content.
 
skoora said:
You hear a lot more what pickups are doing with less gain and how they respond with volume roll off. Into high gain, you could probably tailor most differences with changes in EQ. In high gain I definitely hear differences between Alnico and Ceramic, especially when rolling back on guitar volume.
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I agree, but some guitars have treble bleed circuits or depending on how the tone pot is wired, can be deceptive how the pickup reacts when rolled of. I come from the camp of having no tone pot or treble bleed circuits.
 
skoora said:
You hear a lot more what pickups are doing with less gain and how they respond with volume roll off. Into high gain, you could probably tailor most differences with changes in EQ. In high gain I definitely hear differences between Alnico and Ceramic, especially when rolling back on guitar volume.
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Yes, I hear those differences a lot more. Rolling the volume back and seeing how well they clean up. A JB which is alnico, cleans up pretty nice, a Distortion, not as nice but it's probably a better pickup for metal. More output, tighter low end, the JB is more a rock/hard rock pickup, but it does it all pretty good.
 
scottosan said:
I agree, but some guitars have treble bleed circuits or depending on how the tone pot is wired, can be deceptive how the pickup reacts when rolled of. I come from the camp of having no tone pot or treble bleed circuits.
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I tend to prefer just a volume pot and no tone pot as well. Tone pot's are kinda useless unless you play Jazz or doom sludge.
 
JackBootedThug said:
my aha moment with pick ups was when I removed a duncan designed humbucker from a Jackson dk2 and installed a custom 5. it was like you removed a blanket from my amp. more everything....night and day difference.
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Yep. Had Duncan Designed in my Schector and put in the Custom Custom. Huge difference. But I hear what @anomaly is saying.

I really like this comparison vid. This is the short form of the 12min video. But you won't hear a ton of difference for high gain as mentioned. Some extreme examples in here though.

 
JackBootedThug said:
my aha moment with pick ups was when I removed a duncan designed humbucker from a Jackson dk2 and installed a custom 5. it was like you removed a blanket from my amp. more everything....night and day difference.
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Well, you did change a relatively dark overwound pickup to one that's brighter and less overwound. The lowest in wind you you, the more "blanket off the speakers" effect you get.

But a full-on USA Duncan JB would just be marginally "better" sounding than the Duncan Designed version of the JB you swapped out. At least IME. I wouldn't change out a DD HB-102 for a SD TB-4, personally.
 
anomaly said:
It's funny how some of you describe the sound of pickups. They all do the same thing with subtle differences, but you talk like certain humbuckers are worlds apart, when they're not really.
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For most over the counter mass produced pickups, Id somewhat agree. Mainly because they stay with similar TPL/Patterns so they don't have to reset the winders for every model, just swap magnets and add/subtract winds or wire gauges. That said, in the handwound camps, you have alot more control and can drastically loosen or tighten up the tones.

Listen to these first 2 pickups in the clip. Preferably through full range monitors. Both are around 17k and same A5 magnets, you there's nothing subtle about the tone or feel. The first is super tight and aggressive. The seconds is looser and warmer.

 
Should have just tried the old original stock JB Trembucker. Cheap and just right. But glad you found a pickup even though it s$1500 too late.
 
For some, what might be a small difference is a much larger difference to others. I find there are big differences when it comes to say a Duncan Custom, my fav Duncan, and an MCP Afwayu which is my fav MCP. But, then compare the Afwayu to a Shaw Dirty Fingers or Scott's Psyches, and those two are on another level completely.
It's all just opinion, and everyone's ears are different. But the journey is the fun part for me.
 
Racerxrated said:
For some, what might be a small difference is a much larger difference to others. I find there are big differences when it comes to say a Duncan Custom, my fav Duncan, and an MCP Afwayu which is my fav MCP. But, then compare the Afwayu to a Shaw Dirty Fingers or Scott's Psyches, and those two are on another level completely.
It's all just opinion, and everyone's ears are different. But the journey is the fun part for me.
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please tell me more....Pretty Please. I have and so far LOVE My Afwayu in my Jackson T-1000.
 
Detroit1973 said:
please tell me more....Pretty Please. I have and so far LOVE My Afwayu in my Jackson T-1000.
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I still like the Afwayu…but after switching it out for Scott’s Psyches, the Afwayu sounded kinda flat to me…and I know it’s still a great pickup. The Psyches just gives ‘more’ of what the Afwayu does, with better detail and clarity. A Shaw Dirty Fingers is a small notch above the Psyches; but they are unpotted and expensive. Both have that great tight low end that punches hard.
 
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