P
phil b
Well-known member
I was looking for a hotter pup and Dimarzio is usually my go to brand. Since one of our own forum members are actually producing pups and after listening to the demo I decided to order "The PSykes" pup from ToneNerd pickups. This pup is based off of a Gibby Dirty Fingers. My first watch of the demo I wasnt sure if I was digging the top end on the PSykes compared to the original, but after a proper listen with some good phones instead of garbage laptop speakers, the top end sounded much better and since these actually had no squeal like the originals, I had to try them....
I have had the original Gibby pups in an Explorer that I owned a million years ago. Didnt own it long but I remember I liked the pups but just way to noisy. Depending on what the needs are I generally like a more vintage output pup, but years ago one of my favorites was an X2N Power Plus, as well as the Dimarzio SD. I wanted something with a hot output and these definitely delivered. When I ordered from Scott, he seemed to really want to make sure I knew what I was getting and asked quite a few questions on my playing style, etc,. Its a really hot pup and I guess maybe some guys dont realize what they are getting. Either or, it was cool to have the guy making your pups actually interested in making sure its the right fit for what you are looking for.
I put these in an EPI 61 SG that is my workhorse guitar. It plays great, light as hell and I dont care if it gets dinged, dropped, or bounced around. The stock pups werent THAT bad but they werent good enough to keep either. After installing the new pups, I gotta say these really blew me away. Some pups that are really hot lose articulation, dont clean up well and are overly compressed to shit. When I was a kid with my X2N none of that stuff mattered as long it had "massive gain, man!" LOL,
These have a nice bite to them and sure they are a bit compressed, but not ridiculously and when rolled back they actually clean up very nicely. Sometimes with a hotter pup when you roll off the volume they seem to really thin out and that isnt the case here, which is a suprise!
Last thing to point out is noise. For such a high output pup the noise floor was actually very good with tons of gain. Not once did I have squeal issues. Some hot pups also seem to have a strange top end, which is noise from the pup underneath high gain, and it sounds horrible. The PSykes had none of that. Overall it was absolutely one of the best high output pups I've used. Knowing what I was getting from a high output pup I really dont have anything negative to say. Pups were packaged professionally and boxed securely. Pro setup for sure. Hope this helps anyone who might be on the fence about ToneNerd pups or maybe keep the company in mind when ya need new pups!
DISCLAIMER---- This is my honest review of these pups. Its awesome to see guys who are first starting out and sometimes go on to be huge. Andy Barta was a friend of mine who used to fix my amps and then went on to start Tech21. I am brutally honest when reviewing things and will not sugar coat anything. Like I told Momomyth, if it sucks I will tell it and if its great I will tell it. Just because your a nice guy doesnt mean your product is good! I would only EXPECT the same from anyone else if I had a product to sell. I spend my money like anyone else and dont/wont take discounts or freebees. If it sucks it sucks. Of course this is all my own opinion, but over 40 years playing, Mesa endorsed (long ago) and countless hrs of tone chasing I do "somewhat" know what I am talking about.... I think.
I have had the original Gibby pups in an Explorer that I owned a million years ago. Didnt own it long but I remember I liked the pups but just way to noisy. Depending on what the needs are I generally like a more vintage output pup, but years ago one of my favorites was an X2N Power Plus, as well as the Dimarzio SD. I wanted something with a hot output and these definitely delivered. When I ordered from Scott, he seemed to really want to make sure I knew what I was getting and asked quite a few questions on my playing style, etc,. Its a really hot pup and I guess maybe some guys dont realize what they are getting. Either or, it was cool to have the guy making your pups actually interested in making sure its the right fit for what you are looking for.
I put these in an EPI 61 SG that is my workhorse guitar. It plays great, light as hell and I dont care if it gets dinged, dropped, or bounced around. The stock pups werent THAT bad but they werent good enough to keep either. After installing the new pups, I gotta say these really blew me away. Some pups that are really hot lose articulation, dont clean up well and are overly compressed to shit. When I was a kid with my X2N none of that stuff mattered as long it had "massive gain, man!" LOL,
These have a nice bite to them and sure they are a bit compressed, but not ridiculously and when rolled back they actually clean up very nicely. Sometimes with a hotter pup when you roll off the volume they seem to really thin out and that isnt the case here, which is a suprise!
Last thing to point out is noise. For such a high output pup the noise floor was actually very good with tons of gain. Not once did I have squeal issues. Some hot pups also seem to have a strange top end, which is noise from the pup underneath high gain, and it sounds horrible. The PSykes had none of that. Overall it was absolutely one of the best high output pups I've used. Knowing what I was getting from a high output pup I really dont have anything negative to say. Pups were packaged professionally and boxed securely. Pro setup for sure. Hope this helps anyone who might be on the fence about ToneNerd pups or maybe keep the company in mind when ya need new pups!
DISCLAIMER---- This is my honest review of these pups. Its awesome to see guys who are first starting out and sometimes go on to be huge. Andy Barta was a friend of mine who used to fix my amps and then went on to start Tech21. I am brutally honest when reviewing things and will not sugar coat anything. Like I told Momomyth, if it sucks I will tell it and if its great I will tell it. Just because your a nice guy doesnt mean your product is good! I would only EXPECT the same from anyone else if I had a product to sell. I spend my money like anyone else and dont/wont take discounts or freebees. If it sucks it sucks. Of course this is all my own opinion, but over 40 years playing, Mesa endorsed (long ago) and countless hrs of tone chasing I do "somewhat" know what I am talking about.... I think.
