I'm not loving my Duesenberg Pickups

[wedgehed II]

If your socks shat themselves then maybe:(

 

 

Well, they are running socks.

[seblo_15]

Maybe in the real world we are not meant to agree. However, we still have our common ground of music. What's your favorite genre?

[Frets99]

I believe I responded to you earlier request about how we are the "SAME". If I didn't answer to you liking maybe you can clarify the question? I thought you were referring to your post count, correct? Frets may ask what you are asked to do as a moderator? I assume you do more than just a regular poster. Also I am think you guys have me wrong. All I am saying is that a moderator is always a moderator. Yes he can post and have opinions, but he is still a moderator. I am not saying that Frets has done anything wrong.

 

Besides having the power of life and death, I sweep the place and make sure to put the cat out at night.

 

 

Basically, I maintain order while at the same time not spoiling the enjoyment of the majority of folks who come here. I try to maintain civility in discourse, remove spammers and OT threads. But, I get help for that from you guys. I can't read every thread. Most of my cleanup work is done in response to what you guys report. It's actually more of a shared responsibility. Probably the best analogy would be a public servant. I process your request for a license. Ask dog owners to clean up after their pets, etc. I can ban people but certainly they can request a super mod to bail them if they think I've been unfair.

 

My vote is equal to your vote in all thinks forum connected. If I'm asked my opinion, it will be because of my experience, not my position.

[Frets99]

Well, they are running socks.

 

My refrigerator is running. Fortunately, I can still keep up...

[seblo_15]

Besides having the power of life and death, I sweep the place and make sure to put the cat out at night.

 

Are you the one who has been sweeping the dust under the rug?

[Frets99]

Are you the one who has been sweeping the dust under the rug?

 

 

 

Only because when I stand on the rug now I look taller.......

[seblo_15]

 

Touche

[jrockbridge]

[Frets99]

 

I need a shave.....

[Uma Floresta]

I've compared BG Pure 90s to GFS mean 90s. The difference, both in terms of clarity and noise, is notable. The BG is a superior product. I made a simple statement that GFS pickups are not in the same league with a boutique pickup. You can argue that boutique pickups, Duesenbergs or any other boutique gear is overpriced. I'll agree with you. But there is a difference. Anyone who refuses to admit that is as much a fanboi as the one who refuses to touch anything that doesn't say custom shop on it. Myself? I don't pay boutique prices as I feel they are priced with vanity in mind but I'm honest enough to admit I can hear the difference. Sorry, but I don't see people lining up to give advice to people telling them to put GFS in their Fender custom shop guitars. EG

 

Sorry, there is nothing magical about boutique pickups that makes them automatically better than middle of the road or even cheap pickups. Despite whatever TGP may say, tone isn't in the price tag.

[GilmourD]

Nope, don't agree, he's every bit the same as us, or as different as we all are anyway.

 

This.

 

Just because he's a moderator doesn't mean he doesn't have an opinion. It's his job to keep people from being assholes to the rest of the forum. He's never abused his powers and he's not the type that ever will.

[Special J]

Sorry, there is nothing magical about boutique pickups that makes them automatically better than middle of the road or even cheap pickups. Despite whatever TGP may say, tone isn't in the price tag.

 

There's nothing "magical" per se, but boutique pickups tend to made by guys who do it for a living, have a good deal of experience doing it, and have a love for the craft. Cheap pickups tend to be made by guys who were rice farmers up until last week.

 

Not to say that you can't find great budget pickups or crappy boutique ones, but you can't really try before you buy, can you? You have to rely on crappy MP3 clips, compressed youtube vids, or the biased opinions of people on internet forums.

 

To some degree, you're going to get what you pay for. This being the case, and in direct regards to EG's advice, sometimes going for the expensive option, will be cheaper in the long run, if you only have to buy once to get something great.

[Uma Floresta]

There's nothing "magical" per se, but boutique pickups tend to made by guys who do it for a living, have a good deal of experience doing it, and have a love for the craft. Cheap pickups tend to be made by guys who were rice farmers up until last week. Not to say that you can't find great budget pickups or crappy boutique ones, but you can't really try before you buy, can you? You have to rely on crappy MP3 clips, compressed youtube vids, or the biased opinions of people on internet forums. To some degree, you're going to get what you pay for. This being the case, and in direct regards to EG's advice, sometimes going for the expensive option, will be cheaper in the long run, if you only have to buy once to get something great.

 

What does the pickup builder's economic status have to do with tone? Pickups are very simple devises, and they don't require a lot of expertise to make.

 

With boutique pickups you're paying more because a Westerner is making them for you.

[Special J]

What does the pickup builder's economic status have to do with tone? Pickups are very simple devises, and they don't require a lot of expertise to make. With boutique pickups you're paying more because a Westerner is making them for you.

 

It doesn't have anything to do with economic status or location, it has to do with experience and attention to detail. I believe that a boutique builder will put more of these into their product than the average Asian factory worker, and therefore end up with a better product. They're easy to make, harder to make really well. Like I said, there are exceptions, and everyone has personal tastes, but if it were my money, I'd go for the safer option.

[Uma Floresta]

It doesn't have anything to do with economic status or location, it has to do with experience and attention to detail. I believe that a boutique builder will put more of these into their product than the average Asian factory worker, and therefore end up with a better product. They're easy to make, harder to make really well. Like I said, there are exceptions, and everyone has personal tastes, but if it were my money, I'd go for the safer option.

 

You wind the wire around the magnets. It's not rocket science.

[Norcal_GIT_r]

You wind the wire around the magnets. It's not rocket science.

 

Shows how very little you know.

[Uma Floresta]

Shows how very little you know.

 

Oh, it is rocket science?

 

My mistake

[Norcal_GIT_r]

It is science Electro-magnetic Science.

But once again it shows how little you really know about what makes a pickup work, let alone be a good one.

 

Since you're such an expert go make a set and let me know what you think when you're done.

[kulardenu]

I know one thing they are building more state of the art factories in Asia than America so them pick up winder machines are likely pretty nice these days. It's not like these Asian Farmers are using fishing fly tying spinners for a hobby. This is serious industry that will become a major force faster than you can say New World Order. Everyone used to look at Cheap Japanese Transistor Radios with disgust. Well look at em now!

 

And Frets is nothing like us. Ever seen that stache?

 

And BTW "There are no $4000 guitars" But in the late 70's I did once sell a 1/2 drank warm 48 OZ bottle of some "Vintage" Fanta Red Creme Soda one night to a stoner for $45. I wonder sometimes if he ever learned a valuable lesson over it?

[Uma Floresta]

It is science Electro-magnetic Science. But once again it shows how little you really know about what makes a pickup work, let alone be a good one. Since you're such an expert go make a set and let me know what you think when you're done.

 

It's not that hard. Many DIY hobbyists make their own.

 

You have a very clear conflict of interest in this debate, though. Of course you're going to say that hand wound pickups made in the USA are automatically superior. It's a self-serving position when it comes from you.

 

No offense intended. But it's like listening to an American Beef Council representative talk about why American beef is better.

[Uma Floresta]

I know one thing they are building more state of the art factories in Asia than America so them pick up winder machines are likely pretty nice these days. It's not like these Asian Farmers are using fishing fly tying spinners for a hobby. This is serious industry that will become a major force faster than you can say New World Order. Everyone used to look at Cheap Japanese Transistor Radios with disgust. Well look at em now! And Frets is nothing like us. Ever seen that stache? And BTW "There are no $4000 guitars" But in the late 70's I did once sell a 1/2 drank warm 48 OZ bottle of some "Vintage" Fanta Red Creme Soda one night to a stoner for $45. I wonder sometimes if he ever learned a valuable lesson over it?

 

Asians even manage to build computers, which are slightly more complex than a device composed of a bar magnet, six screws, a piece of plastic and some wire.

[Norcal_GIT_r]

It's not that hard. Many DIY hobbyists make their own. You have a very clear conflict of interest in this debate, though. Of course you're going to say that hand wound pickups made in the USA are automatically superior. It's a self-serving position when it comes from you. No offense intended. But it's like listening to an American Beef Council representative talk about why American beef is better.

 

You keep posting and I keep seeing how truly uninformed you are.

It's VERY clear you have no experience playing a quality pickup, plain and F'n simple.

 

Oh but I forgot, you live at a Holiday Inn Express:poke:

[Uma Floresta]

You keep posting and I keep seeing how truly uninformed you are. It's VERY clear you have no experience playing a quality pickup, plain and F'n simple. Oh but I forgot, you live at a Holiday Inn Express:poke:

 

I've played many different pickups, many of them high quality - certainly of a higher caliber than yours.

 

But here's your chance, rocket scientist. Explain why your pickups are better than GFS, without appeals to anti-Asian prejudice or shots in the dark about where I live. Go!

[Norcal_GIT_r]

I've played many different pickups, many of them high quality - certainly of a higher caliber than yours. !

 

Certainly must be higher quality than mine for such an illustrious knowledgeable player as yourself to actual have used.

 

Move on Mr. Troll:wave:

 

BTW I will not stoop to brand comparisons. There's enough players in this world who have already done this and you can get your info elsewhere.

[kulardenu]

Here are some eye openers from The Secrets of Electric Guitar Pickups.

 

Some pretty interesting observations for sure:

To be precise: A pickup does not "have" a sound, it only has a "transfer characteristic". It transfers the sound material that it gets from the strings and alters it, every model in its own fashion. For instance: Mount the same Gibson humbucker on a Les Paul and on a Super 400 CES: you will hear completely different sounds. And the best pickup is useless when you have a poor guitar body with poor strings. The basic rule is always: garbage in - garbage out!

 

Seems all I ever hear is people talking about the resistance in this pickup or that pickup. Seems to not be the major deal after all. And even the cable has significance. I would not doubt that tone woods do have an effect on what is reproduced by a pick up as well. A point always discussed here.

 

There are some books that deal especially with electric guitar pickups. They pay much attention to the resistance and the magnet materials. But the resistance is the least interesting magnitude of all. And statements like "Alnico 5 sounds like this, Alnico 2 sounds like that" are completely misleading. Many "pickup experts" have never heard the term "inductance". What you find in those books is an obsolete "geocentric" view on pickups that will never work. The integral "heliocentric" view on pickups: Pickup, pots in the guitar, cable capacitance, and amp input impedance are an interactive system that must not be split up into its parts. If you analyze the properties of the parts separately you will never understand how the system works as a whole. The sound material a pickup receives from the strings is not flavoured by the pickup alone but by the complete system. This includes the guitar cable. Another cable, another sound! This is a shame but it is true. You can easily check it up. A few pickup manufacturers know that fact but they conceal it. The majority seems to be totally ignorant.

 

And where is that Tonestyler guy?

 

Basically, there are three different ways to change a guitar's sound as it relates to pickups: 1. Install new pickups. This method is most common, but also the most expensive. 2. Change the coil configuration of the built in pickups. This is possible with nearly all humbucking pickups. Normally, both coils are switched in series. Switching them in parallel cuts the inductance to a quarter of the initial value, so the resonant frequency (all other factors including the guitar cable being equal) will be twice as high. Using only one of the coils halves the inductance, so the resonant frequency will increase by the factor of the square root of 2 (approximately 1.4). In both cases, the sound will have more treble than before. Many humbucking pickups have four output wires - two for each coil - so different coil combinations can be tried without having to open the pickup. Some single coil pickups have a coil tap to provide a similar flexibility. 3. Change the external load. This method is inexpensive but can be very effective. With only a little expense for electronic components, the sound can be shaped within wide limits. Standard tone controls lower the resonant frequency by connecting a capacitor in parallel with the pickup (usually through a variable resistor to give some control over how much the capacitor affects the pickup). Therefore, one way to change the sound is to replace the standard tone control potentiometer with a rotary switch that connects different capacitors across the pickup (a recommended range is 470 pF to 10 nF). This will give you much more sound variation than a standard tone control Changing the frequency response with different external capacitors parallel to a pickup coil These rotary switches are commercially available now, handmade by the author, embedded in epoxy resin Rotary switch with a selection of different capacitors, embedded in epoxy resin Also, adding an internal buffer amplifier can isolate the pickup from some of the loading effects of cable capacitance, thus giving a brighter sound with higher resonance frequency and higher peak. The table correlates some well-known pickups and their electrical characteristics. However, note that pickups are not precision devices and that old pickups in particular (eg. Fender and Gibson pickups of the fifties) vary so much that almost each one sounds different from the next. Thus, the values of the resonant frequency in the table are rounded to the nearest 100 Hz. Also note that peaks become very flat and large below 1,000 Hz. As the height of the resonance peak depends on the external load resistance (volume pot, tone pot and amplifier input resistance), lowering this load (e.g. by switching resistors in parallel to the pickup) lowers the height. For raising the height of the peak, the load resistance must be increased. In many cases this is only possible by installing a FET or other high-impedance preamp in the guitar.

 

Bet they have this in Chinese too!