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I know this is an aftermarket pickup forum, but one thing I like about this place is that its brand agnostic and open to ideas.
I have been swapping pickups since the beginning and only over the past five years have I gone back to stock pickups in some guitars, listened objectively, and realized they have just as much to offer as "upgrade" pickups. I view pickups as an EQ curve, the goal is to match the pickup to your playing, your guitar, and your amps.
Most of my experience is with Ibanez guitars, and as such I have experience with Ibanez stock pickups. I still have guitars with Quantum and Infinity pickups installed. After trying nearly the whole Dimarzio catalog, I realized that the Quantum and Infinity pickups are very similar to my favorite Dimarzio models.
My impression is that often with aftermarket pickups (at least Dimarzio), they are "trying to make a point", by giving the pickup some exaggerated characteristic that you wouldn't find in a middle of the road pickup. Good examples of this are the Evolution and the Tone Zone. You can't install either of those pickups in your guitar without hearing a noticeable change in attack or thickness (respectively.) These outliers have a quality that your ear can instantly pick out, but does that make them "better"?
Regarding construction, there is nothing magic going on, the best pickups do not incorporate more expensive materials that make them "better". They are all made the same way. I used to think that a guitar company like Ibanez would "cripple" their low and mid price guitars with inferior pickups, but now I don't believe that. They put "name brand" pickups in their high end guitars, but its mostly a marketing move. High end guitars sound better because the guitar itself sounds better. I think that even with low price guitars, the company wants the player to have a good experience so they make the sale. That means the pickups are potted so they don't squeal, and they are designed to appeal to the target audience. (In the case of Ibanez pickups, they generally will work for hard rock, metal, and lead guitar.)
And its not rocket science. While it may not be legal, its not difficult to disassemble a pickup to see exactly how it was made, and to copy that design. Its my belief that all of the cheap chinese pickups are just copies of well established models. Likewise the stock brand pickups are similar if not outright copies of name brand models.
Its my belief that the value of aftermarket pickups is that you know exactly what they are. There is a chinese pickup out there that sounds exactly like a JB or a Super Distortion, but I don't know which model it is or how to get it, or even if it will be in production a year from now. ( A chinese pickup is like a packet of unknown seeds, you don't know what they are until you have planted them and grown them.)
In the case of stock pickups, you also know exactly what they are. So IMO, they have as much value as aftermarket pickups. The Ibanez stock pickups are ubiquitous; at any given time there are 10+ used sets on ebay being sold dirt cheap. And I already know what they sound like.
I'm curious if anyone else uses stock pickups as part of their "tone arsenal" or if the majority of people believe that there will always be a "better" aftermarket pickup? Also, if you are a fan of any particular stock pickup, let me know which models so I can get some from ebay to test out!
I have been swapping pickups since the beginning and only over the past five years have I gone back to stock pickups in some guitars, listened objectively, and realized they have just as much to offer as "upgrade" pickups. I view pickups as an EQ curve, the goal is to match the pickup to your playing, your guitar, and your amps.
Most of my experience is with Ibanez guitars, and as such I have experience with Ibanez stock pickups. I still have guitars with Quantum and Infinity pickups installed. After trying nearly the whole Dimarzio catalog, I realized that the Quantum and Infinity pickups are very similar to my favorite Dimarzio models.
My impression is that often with aftermarket pickups (at least Dimarzio), they are "trying to make a point", by giving the pickup some exaggerated characteristic that you wouldn't find in a middle of the road pickup. Good examples of this are the Evolution and the Tone Zone. You can't install either of those pickups in your guitar without hearing a noticeable change in attack or thickness (respectively.) These outliers have a quality that your ear can instantly pick out, but does that make them "better"?
Regarding construction, there is nothing magic going on, the best pickups do not incorporate more expensive materials that make them "better". They are all made the same way. I used to think that a guitar company like Ibanez would "cripple" their low and mid price guitars with inferior pickups, but now I don't believe that. They put "name brand" pickups in their high end guitars, but its mostly a marketing move. High end guitars sound better because the guitar itself sounds better. I think that even with low price guitars, the company wants the player to have a good experience so they make the sale. That means the pickups are potted so they don't squeal, and they are designed to appeal to the target audience. (In the case of Ibanez pickups, they generally will work for hard rock, metal, and lead guitar.)
And its not rocket science. While it may not be legal, its not difficult to disassemble a pickup to see exactly how it was made, and to copy that design. Its my belief that all of the cheap chinese pickups are just copies of well established models. Likewise the stock brand pickups are similar if not outright copies of name brand models.
Its my belief that the value of aftermarket pickups is that you know exactly what they are. There is a chinese pickup out there that sounds exactly like a JB or a Super Distortion, but I don't know which model it is or how to get it, or even if it will be in production a year from now. ( A chinese pickup is like a packet of unknown seeds, you don't know what they are until you have planted them and grown them.)
In the case of stock pickups, you also know exactly what they are. So IMO, they have as much value as aftermarket pickups. The Ibanez stock pickups are ubiquitous; at any given time there are 10+ used sets on ebay being sold dirt cheap. And I already know what they sound like.
I'm curious if anyone else uses stock pickups as part of their "tone arsenal" or if the majority of people believe that there will always be a "better" aftermarket pickup? Also, if you are a fan of any particular stock pickup, let me know which models so I can get some from ebay to test out!
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