We've all been scammed!

[Gitfiddler]

From the YT image, i thought the video was going to be about Gibson LPs and tuning issues

 

[The~Kid]

You are really putting a damper on my vacation. Are you wanting me to play guitar, you bastard?!

Good time as any, it's hot as fuck too. Some lemonade/6-Pack and a jam doesn't sound bad

 

[70 Mach 1]

I been down that rabbit hole yanking pups for over 4 decades.
Never happy.

Only then a few yrs later put it back to stock and loving it

One of the best sets i have is whatever Chinese pups are in my squire affinity tele. They just rock.

I find if youre in the ballpark with output and tone a pot and cap change goes a very long way.

And only cost about $10 each

I prefer as a blues guy 300/300 with a .015 cap in the bridge and .005 in the neck
Or sometimes if the neck is a bit muddy ill go 500/500 or 500/300.

I alligator clip them in for a few days to decide then hard wire them

 

[scottosan]

You are a custom high quality low count builder, mass market bullshit indeed can come at couple dollars with their scale and qc I believe

I disagree. I just did the math with current pricing and I’m comer to $28 just in parts, no boxes, perishable supplies packaging etc. I looked into buying large qantities early on and the difference was maybe 10-15 percent at best on most parts. Seymour still doesn’t make most of his parts in house. II suspect that Larry and Seymour are doing well, it’s far from being a billion dollar industry as the YT asshat claims. Seymour Duncan is estimated at $60 million net worth. That far from scamming anyone considering he’s been top dog for nearly 50 years serving a global community. I think most boutique builders are running an honest business and most aren’t getting rich.

 

[stratjacket]

I recognize that video, I clicked one of his the other day and watched the first 5 minutes and gave up. I thought this was a really weird take on strings saying the strings are great but the reason you buy them is because you basically follow the herd. I guess the rest of the video may have been different, didn’t watch to the end.

 

[CrystalSky]

I disagree. I just did the math with current pricing and I’m comer to $28 just in parts, no boxes, perishable supplies packaging etc. I looked into buying large qantities early on and the difference was maybe 10-15 percent at best on most parts. Seymour still doesn’t make most of his parts in house. II suspect that Larry and Seymour are doing well, it’s far from being a billion dollar industry as the YT asshat claims. Seymour Duncan is estimated at $60 million net worth. That far from scamming anyone considering he’s been top dog for nearly 50 years serving a global community. I think most boutique builders are running an honest business and most aren’t getting rich.

I’m not saying Seymours ofc, they have standarts. I’m saying this noname shit they put into lower end guitars.

 

[vultures]

I used to build pedals and sell them much like Griff (much respect sir) and u would not belive the amount of messages I would get saying "this pedal is like $20 in parts why are you charging $75?" That's cool I guess my knowledge, hours of research, testing, sourcing materials and equipment are worth nothing. Like I was fucking printing money lol.

Reminds me of the stupid pedal arguments I hear from people. Absolutely moronic take. There are things you can save money on, like learning how to set up your own gear, etc that really stack some change in your pocket. Then you can use that extra change to pay a professional for a professional product. Hell, I can get just about any part 'cheap', it most certainly won't be any good.

I want to wind pickups for the learning and experimentation - never could imagine it actually saving me any real money over what I get them for now.....

When I sold *footswitches* for Mesa IIC+'s under the IICPlus banner, it cost me $51.57+/- in raw parts. Mainly because I did custom color printing for each one. The PCB's were cheap, cost me $11.84 for a batch of 30 and I used 3 boards per pedal. I sold them for around $75 shipped. No accounting for my time. I did it for the love of the game.

I just completed a run of 30 boost pedals. My total cost for parts, enclosures, printing, enclosure drilling service, paying someone to help with PCB design, PCBs, tariffs, cool picks to throw in with each pedal, velvet bags, boxes, etc.. cost me about $1290. That's about $43/pedal. Then my time assembling/cleaning. Then my time stress testing and running an oscilloscope thru them. Also take into account some switches might be bad or caps not within spec, so you have to eat money on "bad" ones. - I imagine this happens with pickups. Accidentally breaking a wire in the middle of a wind has got to cost $$$.

That's the hard part, where do you value your time as a small time builder. Will people pay $300 for my small unknown builder pedal? People like to pay big $$$ for rarified pedals. Is $150 a more of a safe bet to pay my time and not "rip" people off. I also have no business expenses because me in my home. I chose $150. I don't think I could open up a shop, build them and/or hire help without charging more though.


I hate that I spec'd out a pair of BKP that would cost $377. I hate that a set of Dimarzio's I spec'd out would cost $277.. But they gotta eat too.

 

[scottosan]

I’m not saying Seymours ofc, they have standarts. I’m saying this noname shit they put into lower end guitars.

For sure, but I think the YT guy was attacking the upgrade market

 

[creep66]

When I sold *footswitches* for Mesa IIC+'s under the IICPlus banner, it cost me $51.57+/- in raw parts. Mainly because I did custom color printing for each one. The PCB's were cheap, cost me $11.84 for a batch of 30 and I used 3 boards per pedal. I sold them for around $75 shipped. No accounting for my time. I did it for the love of the game.

I just completed a run of 30 boost pedals. My total cost for parts, enclosures, printing, enclosure drilling service, paying someone to help with PCB design, PCBs, tariffs, cool picks to throw in with each pedal, velvet bags, boxes, etc.. cost me about $1290. That's about $43/pedal. Then my time assembling/cleaning. Then my time stress testing and running an oscilloscope thru them. Also take into account some switches might be bad or caps not within spec, so you have to eat money on "bad" ones. - I imagine this happens with pickups. Accidentally breaking a wire in the middle of a wind has got to cost $$$.

That's the hard part, where do you value your time as a small time builder. Will people pay $300 for my small unknown builder pedal? People like to pay big $$$ for rarified pedals. Is $150 a more of a safe bet to pay my time and not "rip" people off. I also have no business expenses because me in my home. I chose $150. I don't think I could open up a shop, build them and/or hire help without charging more though.


I hate that I spec'd out a pair of BKP that would cost $377. I hate that a set of Dimarzio's I spec'd out would cost $277.. But they gotta eat too.

This all tracks with my experience as well. I figured it up once and I made somewhere between $15 to $20 an hour building pedals. Not 8 hours a day either. Like 2 to 3 hours a pedal. So i wasnt making enough to justify doing it. At that point I quit, id really rather just buy em. I can make more sitting at a desk pretending to be interested in meetings while I read my phone.

 

[midnightlaundry]

My aching ass..

 

[PDC]

I love it when people try to simplify or justify optimism without placing value on the non-material costs.

^^^ This ^^^

A very wise man once said: "If it was really that easy, everyone would do it."

 

[PDC]

^^^ This ^^^

A very wise man once said: "If it was really that easy, everyone would do it."

I have a few of Scott's pickups. I wish I had snapped more of them up when he was still winding. First and foremost, they just sound incredible. Subtle or not, after playing for 35+ years, you know when you are hearing / feeling a difference and when you aren't - whether adjusting bias, swapping tubes, or swapping pickups. Maybe one can source the raw materials for less than the finished product - but that does not impart the knowledge, skill and experience of knowing how to combine and assemble those raw materials to achieve the desired results. I can go to my grocery story and buy the ingredients that go into a meal at a 5-star restaurant for far less than the cost of dining there. But that does not make me a chef.

 

[Noch]

Lace sensor realized this truth long ago…. Lol let’s build them with no wire…. Look at all the money we will save….

haha, love it

 

[nightlight]

I suppose the YTer succeeded in what he was trying, which was to stoke outrage on either side of the debate about pickups. He wins.

Pickups sound nothing alike, even from the same brand and model. So it's either just ignorant, or intended to get a rise out of people.

His personal views may be completely different when he gets into a debate on tone is in the fingers, where he'll switch over to "The pickups make the most difference".