Worst pickup you've played

[metalmaniac93]

DiMarzio Steve's Special!!!

 

[nigelpkay]

In thinking about my love/hate with the Holydiver and Cold Sweat, I forgot a BKP I have that does deserve mention:

BKP Trilogy ... Spend triple the amount of a Dimarzio HS3 to not sound anything like Yngwie on the Trilogy album

 

[chris lykins]

Gibson t tops in my 71 Les Paul Custom, just kind of harsh. Replaced them with some Dimarzio 36 Anniversary and really can't imagine a better pickup in this guitar. Got them with the aged gold covers and it looks like they came stock with guitar originally. Good job guys!

 

[Bloodrock]

BKP ceramic Nailbomb. Had a horrible mid frequency spike that just grated your ears to death. Like a brand new Chinese V30 mid spike times 100..

 

[neilli]

Dimarzio Super 3 (but it was in a Jackson PC1 and I'm told the Sustainer circuitry can affect the tone)
Duncan Iommis - totally dead sounding (and they look like shit LOL)

 

[Soulstealer]

Just think of all of those classic recordings and tones that were made using JBs, and how much better they'd be if they had the latest, greatest handmade boutique pickup du jour!! Right?

 

[Soulstealer]

Duncan Little '59. Never wanted to change a pu so fast.

Someone previously made a comment that the Dimebucker is the same as a L500XL. I didn't think this was necessarily true. 2 different manufactures with different materials and specs. BTW one of my favorite combos is my early Davies N4 and the L500XL.

Totally agree about the Little '59. Turned my Esquire into the most unresponsive one-trick pony ever.

 

[charvelstrat81]

Toss-up between Dimarzio EVO2 (ice-pick boosted high mids that NO amount of EQ would fix) and anything Anderson (Woof, Woof, here boy...)..

I know it is just a opinion but i am really confused by the description of the EVO2?
It was actually made to get rid of the "ice pick highs" of the regular EVO.
I have one and it lives up to its hype.
Very tight,punchy rhythm tones and a vocal, present lead tone. MUCH more musical than the original EVO.
maybe it was the guitar you had it in or maybe you meant the original EVO?
as for the worst pu i ever tried, it would be the super 3 by DMZ, that thing was a dark,muddy mess in my guitar

 

[rp108]

I am very surprised how many people dislike the JB. I think it sounds awesome in my Jackson USA SL1. Woody tone, not too hot, pumped mids, clarity, bite without ice picks, and good amount of low end with just enough sponge. I noticed though that from the factory the pickup is very low. I bet if I raised it I would hear the things people dislike about it.

As far as worst, I would have to say the DMarzio DActivator. Shrill, ice picks with that half cocked wah sound, I tried it again with 250k pots and still thought it was bad. Got rid of them fast.

 

[barnesjd]

My least favorite by far is the Lawrence L500XL. Thin, trebly, and scooped. No wonder Dimebag loved them!

 

[guitarxtc]

Bare knuckle painkiller,Dimarzio evolution and Dimarzio X2N

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Well, let's rule out EMGs and other actives right now, because everybody knows they suck

As you'll find with all input in this thread, that's a matter of opinion.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, let's rule out EMGs and other actives right now, because everybody knows they suck

As you'll find with all input in this thread, that's a matter of opinion.

Didn't want half the people on here saying EMG's, because they tend to polarize opinion (love/hate)
That was more than a year ago BTW

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Holy thread from the dead,............................

 

[barnesjd]

Holy thread from the dead,............................

Ha! And I just chimed right in without noticing.

 

[Chris6870]

for me - dimarzio x2n..

I actually threw one of these in the trash, didn't know what else to do with it. This was before Ebay of course.

 

[JimAnsell]

+1 for this thread is useless without telling us what guitar and amp combo was used.
i've had alot of success with pickups some of you guys hate.
i think the 500t is killer in gibson v's and explorers.
i've liked the custom 5, and i'm getting one put in my prs hollowbody II right now.
emgs have sounded good in some guitars, and really bad in others.
i love tone zones in the bridge of strats, hate them in mahogany guitars.
the dimarzio breeds are the opposite. sounded great in mahogany (gibson dc standard), hated it in the thinner boddied ibanez presitge (maple/mahogany). breeds sounded not so impressive with my c+, but my 5150 loved em.

so its all relative to the guitar, amp, and application.

 

[Matte23]

Lawrence XL500 (not the original one made bye Wylde pickups)
Thin and sterile!

 

[garey77]

IBZ/Dimarzio QM pickups-poo on a stick tone

 

[ke2]

Toss-up between Dimarzio EVO2 (ice-pick boosted high mids that NO amount of EQ would fix) and anything Anderson (Woof, Woof, here boy...). Anyone who can't get on with an X2N should look into bass. The X2N is a high-output pickup with an almost flat EQ curve. Most people who don't like that pickup bought it for the wrong application or reason. I have a couple and dialed in correctly, they slay, but if you add too much (really ANY) gain to them they're all fizz. You gotta know how to use your gear before you go saying, "Oh, that thing's junk." It's like saying, "I want a pickup with more mids," then going and buying a Steve's Special and saying it's a horrible pickup. No, it's not a horrible pickup, you're an idiot and didn't do your homework...

I'm obviously an idiot then, because I tried the Steve's special in:
Les Paul studio, RG 507, Fender Strat and PRS Se Åkesson.
With:
Mesa mkiic+, Koch Powertone, Mesa Caliber .50+, Randall RD 50, Diezel D-moll and an Engl 530.

I couldn't find a sound I liked, and I tweaked the pole pieces and the height in all the guitars, I flipped it around, like someone suggest.. NOPE, it's not for me


(I could not ge the attack I wanted no matter what. Maybe it was faulty? Now I have an L500XL in the PRS, and like it much more. The guitar is so dark, the brightness of the Wilde is perfect)