Are high output pickups outdated?

[Wayne27]

Are passive high output pickups outdated since you can use a high gain amp and distortion pedals?

 

[jeremy]

i dont think so. there is a different response and feel with high output pups, its not just the output

 

[Wayne27]

i dont think so. there is a different response and feel with high output pups, its not just the output

Can't you just use a compressor pedal?

 

[Securb]

The way high-gain pickups respond is much different from driving high gain later in the signal chain. That edge-of-feedback feeling is like riding a motorbike at high speed and feeling the front tire wobble.

 

[jeremy]

i dont get the same response from an eq and compressor, you can simulate some of it, but it still isnt the same to me

 

[xxxplorer]

To quote Dimebag... paraphrasing at least... a lot of low output pickups feel like you're just riding the distortion on top of the clean pickup. They can not mesh right.

The right 'high output pickup' squishes just right and the gain and the pickup squish together and become this thing.

The tire wobbling analogy is a good one too

 

[Chistopher]

Habib, it's not just the high output pickups, everything you can find at a guitar store is outdated.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Nope. The way they drive they interact with amps/pedals is different. The way they're EQ'd, the compression, the feel, so many complexities that it's not just about gain.

I like how lower output pickups can sound doing high gain, but these days, I prefer medium-high output. There's downsides and upsides to both. For example, with low output pickups, you have to run the gain higher to copensate, right? That introduces some problems. Amps usually have bright caps, so the higher you run the gain, the tubbier the distortion character gets. Also, there is more preamp hiss from running the gain higher. Just to name a couple of issues that arise.

Sometimes, some reviewers claim that people who use "high output pickups are using the wrong kinds of pickups for high gain" like they discovered something that hasn't been there for decades, LOL. But there's arguments for and against both camps. Just pick whichever you like.

 

[Wayne27]

Nope. The way they drive they interact with amps/pedals is different. The way they're EQ'd, the compression, the feel, so many complexities that it's not just about gain.

I like how lower output pickups can sound doing high gain, but these days, I prefer medium-high output. There's downsides and upsides to both. For example, with low output pickups, you have to run the gain higher to copensate, right? That introduces some problems. Amps usually have bright caps, so the higher you run the gain, the tubbier the distortion character gets. Also, there is more preamp hiss from running the gain higher. Just to name a couple of issues that arise.

Sometimes, some reviewers claim that people who use "high output pickups are using the wrong kinds of pickups for high gain" like they discovered something that hasn't been there for decades, LOL. But there's arguments for and against both camps. Just pick whichever you like.

So even a compressor pedal can't make a low output pickup have the exact dynamics like a high output? What about stacking compressor pedals or combining different pedals?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

So even a compressor pedal can't make a low output pickup have the exact dynamics like a high output? What about stacking compressor pedals or combining diferent pedals?

Compressor pedals add noise. I suppose you could stack a compressor, an EQ, and a noise gate, but why even bother when you could just get a pickup that does what you want with less complications? Like, what's the advantage of a pickup that just makes you have a more complex signal chain to get you what you want?

 

[jeremy]

sounds like a lot of work to replicate what a high output pup does naturally

 

[Wayne27]

Compressor pedals add noise. I suppose you could stack a compressor, an EQ, and a noise gate, but why even bother when you could just get a pickup that does what you want with less complications? Like, what's the advantage of a pickup that just makes you have a more complex signal chain to get you what you want?

Good point!

 

[Wayne27]

Compressor pedals add noise. I suppose you could stack a compressor, an EQ, and a noise gate, but why even bother when you could just get a pickup that does what you want with less complications? Like, what's the advantage of a pickup that just makes you have a more complex signal chain to get you what you want?

What kind of noise do compressor pedals add? Is it similar to single coil hum? Can a noise gate fix it?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

What kind of noise do compressor pedals add? Is it similar to single coil hum? Can a noise gate fix it?

Hiss.

A compressor knocks off level off the highest peaks. Then the makeup gain raises the overall level to even out the volume. When you raise the level back up, up go the quietest sounds. There always noise inherent to all pickups. So you're basically raising the level of the noise inherent to the pickups.

 

[Wayne27]

Hiss.

A compressor knocks off level off the highest peaks. Then the makeup gain raises the overall level to even out the volume. When you raise the level back up, up go the quietest sounds. There always noise inherent to all pickups. So you're basically raising the level of the noise inherent to the pickups.

But a noise get can get rid of the hiss right?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

But a noise get can get rid of the hiss right?

Yep.

I use a noise gate regardless if I'm using hot pickups or not, honestly.

 

[beaubrummels]

Noise gates don't work well with compressed signals because there isn't enough transient range to trigger the gate vs it being open all the time. If you reverse the order, you get a different problem where the compressor turns up the sound of the gate opening and closing.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Noise gates don't work well with compressed signals because there isn't enough transient range to trigger the gate vs it being open all the time. If you reverse the order, you get a different problem where the compressor turns up the sound of the gate opening and closing.

But you can run compressor in the loop of the gate. Or you can use one of those gates that have a key input. Most modern gates have either option.

 

[jeremy]

again, this sounds like a lot of work to fix something that isnt broken

 

[beaubrummels]

But you can run compressor in the loop of the gate. Or you can use one of those gates that have a key input. Most modern gates have either option.

IME That's the same effect as running it after - the compressor makes you hear the gate open and close.