Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

[Reverend Storm]

I've been doing some research, and have a Washburn Idol series electric. She's a beast, and I just got the frets redressed, and the neck straightened. (I've had this guitar for about 5 years now) The pus in her are the factory originals, They're good, and I've used dimebuckers with my old Washy. I've been looking for pups with more bite, and some that wouldn't murder my wallet. Has anyone ordered the pups off of Amazon, and if so. How do they compare to the big hitters like Seymour, Dimarzio, or Bare Knuckles?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

Couldn't tell you.

But before I'd put a "cheap" and unknown pickup set in my own guitar, I'd patiently scour the used listings on Reverb for a few days or weeks, looking for a used set of Duncans.

I found a used set of Antiquity humbuckers for $189 recently and put them in my PRS. Couldn't be happier.

I see used 59's, PG's, etc. for $50 each fairly regularly on Reverb. $100 a set.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

have a Washburn Idol series electric. She's a beast, and I just got the frets redressed, and the neck straightened.

Wait and save up for decent p'ups for that guitar.

HTH,

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

I've never tried them. eBay and a little patience is all it takes to get a set of Duncans fairly cheap. I see Duncan Distortions on there all the time going pretty cheap. I have won dozens of Duncan and Dimarzios off there for somewhere between 25 and 45 dollars. You just have to be patient. There aren't good deals every day. For some sets I own, I have found the bridge pickup and had to wait several months to get the neck pickup.

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

I guess you'd have to define CHEAP.
If you want inexpensive - Bill Lawrence humbuckers are $55 all day on Squeebay, with free shipping.
They are top quality units.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

I am just going to repeat what everyone else has said: if you just follow eBay and Reverb long enough you can easily score used name-brand pickups for $20-50 each. It just takes patience. The less common a pickup is, the longer it takes to find one.
If you are too impatient for that, I have heard a lot of good things about Tonerider pickups. They arent super-cheap like some you can find, but they are less expensive than new Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan.

 

[waltschwarzkopf]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

I guess you'd have to define CHEAP.
If you want inexpensive - Bill Lawrence humbuckers are $55 all day on Squeebay, with free shipping.
They are top quality units.

Exactly. Toneriders SC go for about 20-30$ and their HB for 40-50$ which I think is great bang for the buck. However, if you are talking about the chinese pickups that sell for 8$ a pair of HB, I'll save for something better. UNLESS you can spare those 8 bucks in case they are that trash, some of them have good reviews.


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[thebingopete]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

Unbranded pups are a gamble. Sure there's cherries out there. I've found a couple that were surprising. If you're on a budget GFS are a popular choice. Really good stuff for the price. Many unbranded pups below $30 need to be wax potted. Branded will be potted per customer specs.

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[devastone]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

I guess you'd have to define CHEAP.
If you want inexpensive - Bill Lawrence humbuckers are $55 all day on Squeebay, with free shipping.
They are top quality units.

That's what the "real" ones sell for straight from the company, so why not help keep them in business - http://wildepickups.com/

That's also the price range for used Duncans or DMZs.

If you want a $30 pickups, try GFS, going cheaper than that is a total crap shoot, and the odds are probably not in your favor.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

I guess you'd have to define CHEAP.
If you want inexpensive - Bill Lawrence humbuckers are $55 all day on Squeebay, with free shipping.
They are top quality units.

This. Bill Lawrence pickups are "cheap" compared to the big brands and, IMO, are better pickups.

That's what the "real" ones sell for straight from the company, so why not help keep them in business - http://wildepickups.com/

That's also the price range for used Duncans or DMZs.

If you want a $30 pickups, try GFS, going cheaper than that is a total crap shoot, and the odds are probably not in your favor.

I do prefer to go with Becky Lawrence, but ordering through her can be a real pain...terrible communication and long wait times.


BLUSA responded to my e-mail inquires, called me personally to verify what I needed and I received my items with 7 business days of ordering. I know in the past people have complained of quality issues with BLUSA; however, I've not had a single poor quality product from them (9 for 9.)

 

[The JEM Ghost]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

Bill Lawrence pickups are "cheap" compared to the big brands and, IMO, are better pickups.

I'll put another vote in for Bill Lawrence pickups, they are not expensive at all and offer great quality. They don't offer as much choice as Duncan or DiMarzio, but if you liked the Dimebucker I'm pretty sure you'll love the Bill Lawrence L-500XL!! I've had both the Bill (&Becky) Lawrence (now called Wylde pickups) and the Bill Lawrence USA versions, both were good pickups. Highly recommended!
If you really want Duncans or DiMarzios, browsing the "used" market may be rewarding.
Tonerider pickups are not bad at all too in my opinion, I think they offer a lot of quality for the price they sell them, but if I had to choose between Tonerider and Bill Lawrence my vote goes to Lawrence without any doubt.

 

[Reverend Storm]

Re: Are the cheaper pickups on Amazon.com of good quality?

The Bill Lawrence L-500 is actually the next pup I'd love to buy, and the 18 bucks for a pair of japanese pups isn't horrible, but I think you are right, Why buy a lot of ok pups, when you can buy 2 great pups? Thanks to everyone for the advice and pointers.