how to compare pickups
- Thread starter vespa
- Start date
marshall_law
New member
Hmmm... i try to help you as much. Usually the output determines how much it'll be distorted. Usually pickups with stronger magnets has higher output. For the loudness, i think all pickups' amplitude will be the same. If you think your pickup is soft even the amp's setting is way past 10, try adjusting your pickup height higher.
For the resonant peak, i'm not too sure. I guess it's how rich in sound it'll be. But if you wanna compare pickups, the output, the magnet and the mids, treble and bass it produce is what most people would use to compare.
For the resonant peak, i'm not too sure. I guess it's how rich in sound it'll be. But if you wanna compare pickups, the output, the magnet and the mids, treble and bass it produce is what most people would use to compare.
pooo
New member
Magnet Type
Alnico II - Good for Warming up a bright-sounding guitar
General Tone - Warm, smooth, round, enhanced mids, soft and spongy bass, soft attack
Neck & Body Woods - Maple, Ash, Walnut, Pao Ferro, Alder, Graphite Composites
Fingerboard Woods - Maple, Ebony, Carbon Graphite Composites
Alnico V - Adding punch to a warm guitar
General Tone - Bright and glassy, exceptional dynamics and tight bass end, sharp attack
Neck & Body Woods - Mahogany, Korina, Koa, Bass, Alder, Poplar, Ash
Fingerboard Woods - Rosewood, Walnut
Ceramic - Adding punch and output to a warm guitar
General Tone - Bright with enhanced upper mids, hard, aggressive harmonics, compressed dynamics and punchy bass
Neck & Body Woods - Mahogany, Korina, Koa, Bass, Alder, Poplar, Ash
Fingerboard Woods - Rosewood, Walnut
*courtesy of Seymour Duncan FAQ
I suppose pickups with ceramic magnets would generally be louder than pickups with alnico 2s & 5s. It's like comparing an SD Invader(ceramic) with an SD Alnico 2.
pooo
New member
pooo
New member
According to Seymour Duncan, Alnico 2 goes well with maple. But then again this is really subjective. No absolute rules as to which pickups to go with which type of guitars, some pickups just sound right in certain guitars, of which the combination totally contrasts that of the Seymour Duncan FAQ.
Hmm, your best bet with familiarizing with pickups is to try out various types of guitars with different pickups in them to give you a rough idea of their character. Another is to look up artists from different genres of music, check out their gear, pickup combinations and such. Reading up and listening to sound samples on pickup manufacturers websites also helps.
Hmm, your best bet with familiarizing with pickups is to try out various types of guitars with different pickups in them to give you a rough idea of their character. Another is to look up artists from different genres of music, check out their gear, pickup combinations and such. Reading up and listening to sound samples on pickup manufacturers websites also helps.
bluepowder
New member
wow...i dont understand anything.....how about this...can someone tell about the kind of sound one will get by each pickup by taking song names or player names....???anyone???
bluepowder said:
The thing is, pickup manufacturers like to hype up their products to such an extent that what is a myth has now become "fact". Pickups are like microphones to a certain extent. Some are more transparent and some are more middy etc. However, a player's tone rarely revolves around just using a particular set of pickups. Buying pickups is a hit and miss affair and usually if you're upgrading from a stock set of i korean/china pickups, things will usually turn out better. How much better, you be the judge. It's always better to get a good amp first then decide if the pickups need changing, or the guitar for that matter.
To add to what pooo has said, basically pickups should 'balance' the tone of your guitar's body.
dense and heavy woods, like mahogany etc, sound 'warm' so they should be paired with 'bright' pickups like those alnico V or ceramics
'brighter' sounding woods like maple etc, should be paired with 'warmer' sounding pickups like the alnico II
note: 'should' is of course subjective, but it's a guide to getting a balanced tone from your guitar, i.e. not too bright nor too muddy
dense and heavy woods, like mahogany etc, sound 'warm' so they should be paired with 'bright' pickups like those alnico V or ceramics
'brighter' sounding woods like maple etc, should be paired with 'warmer' sounding pickups like the alnico II
note: 'should' is of course subjective, but it's a guide to getting a balanced tone from your guitar, i.e. not too bright nor too muddy
bluepowder said:
Metallica uses active EMG pickups. Many metal bands do.
Vai uses Dimarzio Evolution pickups ( I love the Breeds though).
Satch uses Dimarzio PAF Pro and FRED pickups.
Paul Gilbert uses Dimarzio Tonezones.
Malmsteem uses Dimarzio single coiled YJM pickups.
Megadeth (Dave Mustaine in particular) uses Duncan pickups. Not sure what but can check www.espguitars.com his signature guitar is there.
This is worth mentioning. Blues Saraceno has a signature pickup from Duncan. Its in the trembucker series. And his tone SMOKES!!!
Victor something-I-can't-rem, guitarist of the excellent heavy metal band Rage uses a Dimarzio Norton pickup as his bridge pickup and he has a very unique, crisp and articulate crunch tone.
But like what the rest has said, choosing pickups is really a matter of taste. Trial and error. Listen to the bands you like and check out the pickups they use. If you like the tone that the pickups will give, get it. There will be many many other factors to their sound but you'd get the general tone.
All the best!
bluepowder
New member
ok right now i have an ibanez rg 1550 basswood body,maple neck and fretboard...and i got dimarzio designed ibanez pickups.....what i wanna know is.....if i get dimarzio evos or summin...does it mean i cannot get the kinda heavy sound say metallica has....i mean will it always be warm and smoot like vais....i presume u can get any sound outta any pickup right??
pooo
New member
It's subjective. Say you install Dimarzio Evolutions in your RG, with the right set up, pedals/amp combination(mesa boogie for eg) + eq settings, you can get your guitar to sound really heavy that kicks ass.
As for this, i would say not every pickup can do extremes. Take for example Fender Jazzmaster pickups, or regular P90s, these won't be able to achieve high gain metallica sort of sound.
As for this, i would say not every pickup can do extremes. Take for example Fender Jazzmaster pickups, or regular P90s, these won't be able to achieve high gain metallica sort of sound.
I'm using a custom made fender stratocaster. I'm thinking about changing all 2 of the pickups. I'm considering Hot Rails from Seymour Duncan... but i'm stumped as to what to replace for the other one. Can anyone make any reccomendations? Would emgs go well with the hot rails? What can i expect from the hot rails with my guitar (looking for personalized opinions not the description from seymour duncan's website which i absolutely dont understand what they're talking about).
thanks!
thanks!