All my pickups sound the same :(

[Davey]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

Even if the digitech is on bypass? Or on a clean channel? I don't think you know what a GSP 2101 is. It's a rackmount preamp. They don't make them anymore.And if it is the preamp, then why do my EMG's sound totally different through the exact same setup?

actives force their tone a bit more than passives do AFAIK. the diferences are there, you just have to look for them.. and a power amp alone wont make them stand out on their own either

Have you ever played a 2101? It's not a junky floor pedal unit.

no, i havent played one, but so far i havent played one thing made by digitech that sounded good. sorry to generalise, but that's how it is in my eyes

I definitely, HEAR the difference. I am just saying it's very subtle. But the good news is that the pickups sound great, just too similar to one another.

under MASSIVE amounts of gain pickups will eventually drift to sounding the same. digitech makes that even more obvious

like you yourself said, get a jmp-1 it might not give you the massive amounts of gain (but it has more than enough in store) than the digitech, but it will give you an awesome tone to boot.

 

[Peterku]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

I definitely, HEAR the difference. I am just saying it's very subtle. But the good news is that the pickups sound great, just too similar to one another.

Maybe you expected too much from aftermarket pickups? On the other hand, I do envy your situation. If I found myself hearing three different models sound very similar, I'd be damn happy because that'd mean to me that I've finally learnt to look at 'electric guitar sound' from a distant perspective, and my GAS for pickups is over. :smoker:

 

[rspst14]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

Whip out the multimeter.

Measure the resistance of the guitar in each position of the switch.
Each pickup resistance should correspond with what's posted on the Semour Duncan chart on the site - Just to make sure you wired it right.

Then try playing through an expensive amplifier like a Fender Twin - really loud and clean. Or a marshall JCM2000 halfstack really loud.

If the sound is still not there for ya, then sell the SD pickups - peaople will buy them! And get some Dimarzios.

I could be mistaken, but I believe you need to remove the pickup from the guitar in order to get an accurate resistance measurement.

Ryan

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

I could be mistaken, but I believe you need to remove the pickup from the guitar in order to get an accurate resistance measurement.

Ryan

You can actually measure the tip of the cable to get within .3k or so of the DC resistance, and it definately changes alot when you switch pickups. When swapping between my Custom and Jazz, it's like:

Position one - 14.5k
Position two - 5.7k
Position three - 7.8k

 

[briankou]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

Maybe you expected too much from aftermarket pickups? On the other hand, I do envy your situation. If I found myself hearing three different models sound very similar, I'd be damn happy because that'd mean to me that I've finally learnt to look at 'electric guitar sound' from a distant perspective, and my GAS for pickups is over. :smoker:

That's funny. I've got GAS bad. Just got another guitar and have to sell a speaker cab for it. But I've had G.A.S. for a long time, and I'm sick of the bull**** that the guitar companies force feed us. Pickup companies got us the worse. Some of the best pickups I've heard are the stock pickups in my Aria Pro II CS 350 that I bought for 100 bucks. But these SD pickups are pretty sweet, awesome tone. I actually like the overall tone more than my EMGs.

The truth is, it's what's in your heart and soul more than anything else. And whether or not you can play your damn instrument.

 

[Davey]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

The truth is, it's what's in your heart and soul more than anything else. And whether or not you can play your damn instrument.

can i get an Amen here?

 

[Low_fidelity2100]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

I understand you dig your setup (as most people do), But I still say ya should try playing yer guitar though sumone else's amp. And No, not directly into your poweramp (I don't think anyone suggested that anyways Zerberus). Just take yer guitar to a guitar shopp, Plug into a "real" amp, and Tell us if you hear any more of a difference that way.

I honestly do believe its your Rack. I'm not intending any offence by this at all (and I know that pickin on sumones gear is like punching sumones grandma, Its just not kool). But still, Your preamp, is Made by DIGITECH. And They are notorious for makeing gear that takes away all character from a guitar/guitarist. Digital setups suck the life out of a guitar and make everything sound pretty much Identical.
That is why Classic Tube amps (with no dfx or any sort of digital signal processing) are still considered "the standard". They let the true identity of your guitar and the player come through, alot easyer than digital does.

Just humor everyone, and play yer guitar through a Normal amp. And tell us what happens.

Ed

 

[briankou]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

I understand you dig your setup (as most people do), But I still say ya should try playing yer guitar though sumone else's amp. And No, not directly into your poweramp (I don't think anyone suggested that anyways Zerberus). Just take yer guitar to a guitar shopp, Plug into a "real" amp, and Tell us if you hear any more of a difference that way.

I honestly do believe its your Rack. I'm not intending any offence by this at all (and I know that pickin on sumones gear is like punching sumones grandma, Its just not kool). But still, Your preamp, is Made by DIGITECH. And They are notorious for makeing gear that takes away all character from a guitar/guitarist. Digital setups suck the life out of a guitar and make everything sound pretty much Identical.
That is why Classic Tube amps (with no dfx or any sort of digital signal processing) are still considered "the standard". They let the true identity of your guitar and the player come through, alot easyer than digital does.

Just humor everyone, and play yer guitar through a Normal amp. And tell us what happens.

Ed

I think you're pretty ignorant when it comes to "Digitech". For one, I agree, their new stuff is garbage, but so is all "modeling" amps like Line 6 and the like.

But the 2101 was built in the 90's and is a very high quality unit. It is a TUBE PREAMPLIFIER, 2 12ax7's, not to mention I've played guitar for over 14 years.

Most importantly the exact same setup, does not make my EMG's sound "all the same".

Go find a 2101 and play it through a tube power amp, and tell me differently if I'm wrong.

 

[frankencat]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

briankou, is there a possibility that the pickups are not wired correctly? I have seen this before where the blade switch on a Strat was wired incorrectly and the positions sound pretty much the same with maybe a very slight change. Go through it carefully and make sure it is wired up correctly. If you don't have the skills to do it yourself then take it to a tech. You should be hearing a difference in those three pickups. Also as someone posted earlier, even if you had three of the same pickups you would here a difference. It's worth double-checking.

 

[ranalli]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

I honestly do believe its your Rack. I'm not intending any offence by this at all (and I know that pickin on sumones gear is like punching sumones grandma, Its just not kool). But still, Your preamp, is Made by DIGITECH. And They are notorious for makeing gear that takes away all character from a guitar/guitarist. Digital setups suck the life out of a guitar and make everything sound pretty much Identical.
That is why Classic Tube amps (with no dfx or any sort of digital signal processing) are still considered "the standard". They let the true identity of your guitar and the player come through, alot easyer than digital does.

Wow, you must not have played through any quality digital gear.....quality stuff goes in quality stuff goes out....very simple.

 

[Davey]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

I think you're pretty ignorant when it comes to "Digitech". For one, I agree, their new stuff is garbage, but so is all "modeling" amps like Line 6 and the like.

now it's YOU who is ignorant. ever played a vox valvetronix? line 6 is amazing with what they do also. digitech for one, never made something groundbreaking and all their effects from day 1 (yes, i did play some of their older preamps) color the sound beyond everything else.

apart of that.. do you have quality speakers (well.. if you could afford a 9100 power amp, then i think you can get some decent speakers too =P )

but, really, go out, play some diferent amps and setups and then see what the problem is. if you've been playing for 14 years you by now should hear the diference in diferent pups

 

[Omni9X]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

hey, man. I think that maybe the pickups' tones are similar because you are using consecutively darker pickups as you go to brighter areas of your guitar. You can still tell the output level difference between the distortion, but if the tone is similar, that might be why.

 

[briankou]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

now it's YOU who is ignorant. ever played a vox valvetronix? line 6 is amazing with what they do also. digitech for one, never made something groundbreaking and all their effects from day 1 (yes, i did play some of their older preamps) color the sound beyond everything else.

apart of that.. do you have quality speakers (well.. if you could afford a 9100 power amp, then i think you can get some decent speakers too =P )

but, really, go out, play some diferent amps and setups and then see what the problem is. if you've been playing for 14 years you by now should hear the diference in diferent pups

Hmmmmm. Okay. Man if you say so. A Pod is better than a 2101? Okay dude, thanks. Did you ever play a GSP 2101 Artist? It was VERY ground breaking at it's time, and most guitar fanatics do know what it is and what it's about. I still think it's the only one [modeling amp] that has TUBE DISTORTION and a digital BYPASS. Not to mention it has true limitless routing options which I do not think the Pod's can do.

Ignorant guitar players who don't know what they're talking about say Oh it's a digitech then it must be crap! That's just ignorant. In fact, you never really know until you play them yourself! That's my opinion on the whole thing. You must play it and experience it to judge it.

So if you did play a GSP 2101 and say it "color's the sound" well I just think you must be wrong. Given the fact that a 2101 is a tube preamplifier, that can go pure analog. Not to mention a 2101 retailed for 900 bucks back in the day. It has retained it's value, they go from 300-400 on ebay, and just so you know JMP-1s go from 400-500.

And I'm not alone in my opinion. If you look at Pod's typical Harmony-Central rating, it is significantly lower than the Digitech 2101's. 8.6 vs. 7.7. That's significant drop off.

Not really sure why I'm getting so much attitude and insults. The only reason I respond to it is because it is all INCORRECT. It is not my amplifier setup. As I've said a million times, when I switch the EMGs, or the generic Pickups on my spare guitar, there is pronounced change that I can notice. With the SD's it's very subtle.

I have said the entire time, that I can hear the difference, but that it is not as pronounced as my EMG SA and 81.

I am very disappointed in the Seymour Duncan Fanatacism that has taken place with this post. Out of every 5 or 6 posts, one person actually takes into consideration that EMG's might just sound better than SD's. Not to mention another person believes it is the wiring.

So please, don't insult me and my guitar knowledge. I mean, what do you have to get respect around here? What makes your opinion so superior to mine? Should I go post every piece of guitar gear I have?

 

[SwedeNuck]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

I've been watching this post for a while and I think that maybe it should be deleted, it is turning into a simple gear bash fest. Some people think that Line 6 gear sounds incredible, some people swear by vintage tube gear, and some people's ears have lead them down the Digitech route. It's all a personal perception of tone, not everyone here listens to the same music, not everyone here has the same interpetation of great tone. That said you have nothing to lose by bringing your guitar into a shop and trying it with a different amp, in fact if you're right, you can rub it in other people's faces here. I personally think that all companies pickups have a certain "air" about them and they all sound similar to a certain extent due to construstion methods, magnet suppliers, material types, etc... I personally can pick out most major companies pickups on most recordings just by listening to it for a length of time, I've trained my ears to do so. Of course your EMG's are going to sound different than the duncans going through your rack, they are active and have a completely different flavour to them. The pick attack is translated differently, sustain and decay are different, harmonics are changed, and most of all the overall sensitivity is greatly altered.

hmmmm, guess I'm done for now.

 

[SwedeNuck]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

Wait, it also seems you did an incredible job in pickup matching, which I believe someone already said before.

 

[dd12939]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned (though I merely skimmed a lot of the latter part of this thread) is the mess around with the pickup heights a bit. Changing the pickups' positions in relation to the strings just a little can result in a massive change in tone. First, perhaps try lowering the neck pickup and raising the bridge pickup - that will, if nothing else, change the percieved outputs of the pickups. Then, if you'd like a brighter sound, lower the pickup itself, but raise the polepiece screws. Start with them following the curve of the fretboard and go from there. If you want a fatter sound, lower the screws and raise the whole pickup. I hope that helps - You have some great pickups and *should* get quite a variety of tones from that setup.

 

[Davey]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

Hmmmmm. Okay. Man if you say so. A Pod is better than a 2101? Okay dude, thanks. Did you ever play a GSP 2101 Artist? It was VERY ground breaking at it's time, and most guitar fanatics do know what it is and what it's about. I still think it's the only one [modeling amp] that has TUBE DISTORTION and a digital BYPASS. Not to mention it has true limitless routing options which I do not think the Pod's can do.

pods are good for what they are.. i take it you never played an jmp1 .. cos THAT is the mother of ALL tube preamps

Ignorant guitar players who don't know what they're talking about say Oh it's a digitech then it must be crap! That's just ignorant. In fact, you never really know until you play them yourself! That's my opinion on the whole thing. You must play it and experience it to judge it.

i tried enough digitech stuff to be fully convinced that all their stuff sucks. in a company, where not one thing out of 50 sounds even mediocre, i can draw the conclusion

So if you did play a GSP 2101 and say it "color's the sound" well I just think you must be wrong. Given the fact that a 2101 is a tube preamplifier, that can go pure analog. Not to mention a 2101 retailed for 900 bucks back in the day. It has retained it's value, they go from 300-400 on ebay, and just so you know JMP-1s go from 400-500.

i know very well how much a jmp1 is going for. but it's a million times better than the digitech that much i'll wager

And I'm not alone in my opinion. If you look at Pod's typical Harmony-Central rating, it is significantly lower than the Digitech 2101's. 8.6 vs. 7.7. That's significant drop off.

and harmony central has been accurate since when? the only good reviews i read were the ones of Rip Glitter

Not really sure why I'm getting so much attitude and insults. The only reason I respond to it is because it is all INCORRECT. It is not my amplifier setup. As I've said a million times, when I switch the EMGs, or the generic Pickups on my spare guitar, there is pronounced change that I can notice. With the SD's it's very subtle.

I have said the entire time, that I can hear the difference, but that it is not as pronounced as my EMG SA and 81.

and i said before, actives have a more pronounced character (forced even) than passives

I am very disappointed in the Seymour Duncan Fanatacism that has taken place with this post. Out of every 5 or 6 posts, one person actually takes into consideration that EMG's might just sound better than SD's. Not to mention another person believes it is the wiring.

sound better or not sound better is totaly subjective. actives are cleaner and more forced, more powerfull (not in terms of output), have their EQ'd preamp built in and might react to your rig far better than duncans

So please, don't insult me and my guitar knowledge. I mean, what do you have to get respect around here? What makes your opinion so superior to mine? Should I go post every piece of guitar gear I have?

nothing makes my opinion supperior than yours. it's just your perspective on it.if you want to believe that, fine by me.
but i still stand and WILL stand to myopinion that it's the digitech's fault. ground breakin it might have been at that time, but that doesnt neccessarily mean it's good

 

[Peterku]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

Ignorant guitar players who don't know what they're talking about say Oh it's a digitech then it must be crap! That's just ignorant. In fact, you never really know until you play them yourself! That's my opinion on the whole thing. You must play it and experience it to judge it.

I am very disappointed in the Seymour Duncan Fanatacism that has taken place with this post.

So please, don't insult me and my guitar knowledge. I mean, what do you have to get respect around here? What makes your opinion so superior to mine? Should I go post every piece of guitar gear I have?

If you no longer wish to read it, you can kill your thread by deleting its first post when editing.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

Back on topic here, I'd monkey around with my heights if I were you. If you have your bridge pup too low it will sound like a neck pup.

Luke

 

[WICKED LESTER]

Re: All my pickups sound the same

Jazz Lil 59 and DD.

All sound pretty much the same.

Bummed out about that. Really dissapointed in Seymour Duncan.

I have to really strain my ears to hear any difference.

Anyone else have this problem? Is there a solution?

IF they are sounding the same it is your ears not the pups
I have a JB,custom and DD,jazz,59 and trust me they all sound very different from one another :burnout:
here is a overview of why,
DD, 16.8K,large ceramic magnet (5 bass/8 mids/9 treble)
JB, 16.7K, alnico 5 magnet(5 bass/6 mids/8 treble)
custom,14.2K,ceramic magnet(6 bass/5mids/ 9 treble)
59,7.6K,alnico 5(6 bass/3mids/8 treble)
jazz, 7.7K,alnico 5(bass 5/mids 3/treble 9)

as you can see no two have the same eq curve or exact specs