Looking at pickups, I think my ears may be broken.

[SirJackdeFuzz]

hear hear! I agree - APB, what have you had the best luck with out of the lower gain range?

 

 

I LOVE the A2P's that is in my SG right now !

My brother has a Pearly Gate/'59 set in is Epi LP Custom.

Also, you can NOT go wrong w any of the TV Jones units

[Mesa/Kramer]

You need to listen to the clips with Headphones.

I've been listening to the clips a lot lately, and can hear a lot of difference between each pickup.

I really like that the Duncan site does this type of comparison using the same exact setttings guitar etc. playing the same riffs, so you can really hear the differences between the pickups.
Though they need to re-record and update the site with clips from the latest 7 or so newer pickups released since the original clips were recorded.


The Dimarzio site sound clips are absoululty usless, using tracks from artists CD releases. As if you can really tell any differences after all the productions guitars and amps used.

[brandass]

Yeah, headphones get me there as well. Only familiar with the SD site though, don't know about the others mentioned here.

For me, the trick is figuring out how any one of the pups will sound in a particular axe through a particular amp - I don't blow through a ton of gear, so it's pretty much a guessing game for me. In general it seems to work out OK though. Having the clips is definitely better than not.

[Robsickle]

I def agree with Mesa/Kramer, you hear all sorts of nuances you just never get from pc speakers.

 

Ultimately I replace pups because brand ones tend to be louder, clearer, more responsive to your playing, and make less noise/interference even if the actual tone is pretty much the same.

 

I will NEVER live happily with 60-cycle hum, thankfully Kinmans "woodstock plus" set have that taken care of!

[Beckman]

Thanks for all the feedback. I will have to listen through headphones. Listening to youtube videos demos of equipment do sound different. Although, they are always using different guitars, amps or effects. That makes me think the amp is more important. I know that is the general consensus.

I actually took my wife to GC one day and played her a bunch of different guitars: PRS custom, Ibanez JS100, G&L Legacy, Schecter semi-hollow C1, cheap ibanez RG, and Washburn Mercury. I played them through a Mesa Nomad with medium gain. She said they all sound the same to her. Go figure. they Obviously all have different pickups, all HB though.