Awesome High-Output Comparsion

Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

2 threads going at once on the same subject, so I'll re-post my thoughts here:


Surprisingly, the Alt 8 doesn't do anything for me in that sample! Nothing about it shines or stands out, though it's certainly not the worst sounding pickup through his rig. The Full Shred is a great pickup, but it gets shown the door in this shootout.

Listening in HD through my Klipsch THX system, the pickups that sounded best to me in that video would be:

1) Distortion & Blackouts Original (tie)
2) Gus G. Blackouts
3) Custom & Custom/Hybrid (also a tie)

I was excited to see the Dimebucker in the lineup, but it sounded disgusting. No give, no color, totally harsh. Yet, I've seen it do everything in the right setup. Shows how equally important all the other things (besides pickups) are to your final sound!
 
Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

The JB was the best for me... Perfect mids, VERY open-sounding, although not as heavy-sounding

Followed by...

59/Custom Hybrid - less mids than the JB but much heavier
Custom - VERY heavy and a little more compressed than the JB and Hybrid

I couldn't figure out the Alternative 8.
Dimebucker really is Dimebag (Far Beyond Driven).
Full Shred is very Viv Campbell-era Dio.
I was pleasantly surprised the Invader wasn't really muddy.
And, the Distortion was your stereotypical Metal Pup...

For the actives...

I'm really impressed of the Original Blackout. It's even more open-sounding than some of the passives.

Gus G sits right between the Metal version and the Original. EMTY was dark, yet not muddy.


This video makes me want to get a 59/Custom Hybrid and a set of original Blackouts!

Thank you for sharing the vid!
 
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Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

I didn't care for the full shred or the dimebucker or alt 8 in his rig. Full shred was the best if the 3 but sounded too thin
 
Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

What amp?

What eq/gain settings?
- Same for each i would assume/hope.
 
Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

metalmachine said:
I didn't care for the full shred or the dimebucker or alt 8 in his rig. Full shred was the best if the 3 but sounded too thin
Click to expand...

Total ditto, which surprised me. Some of those were pickups I wanted to try, but after this comparo, I think I'm better off sticking w/Distortion & Customs for my Duncan flavored dirt.
 
Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

Like others have said, the Invader sounds very good, which surprised me a little given that people talk about it being dark and over the top much of the time.

Also like the 59/C, C and regular Blackout.
 
Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

Cool demo, great job!

My favorites were the Invader, then distortion, then, surprisingly, the hybrid. The invader just had growl and attitude that stood out for this kind of music.

Least favorite was the Dimebucker (ouch) followed by the alt 8 (artificial and weird sounding).

Now do one playing Larry Carlton style stuff in the Saphire Blue vein for those of us who don't play metal!
 
Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

masta' c said:
Surprisingly, the Alt 8 doesn't do anything for me in that sample! Nothing about it shines or stands out, though it's certainly not the worst sounding pickup through his rig. The Full Shred is a great pickup, but it gets shown the door in this shootout.
Click to expand...

I agree about the Alt-8 in that video, which made it sound a bit thin and weak with a lower output. it sounded very little like my Alt-8, which I consider bright sounding and a good option for a darker sounding wood... so I was wondering if it might just be the guitar he has it in.

but that guy did an excellent job of showcasing those pickups. now... can we get one like that for neck pups? :scratchch
 
Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

Great video! I spent way too much time scrutinizing this.
Winners: Distortion, JB, Custom/59, Custom, Blackout Standard, Gus G
Losers: Full Shred, Invader, Alt8, Dimebucker, EMTY, Blackout Metal

Custom/59 and Gus G (the brand new duncan offerings) really shine in this video. They truly do what they are supposed to: give you the best of two types of pickups! I would have loved to hear the lower output offerings too, I bet the 59 and seths would have sounded great, even with this metal track.
 
Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

I'm kinda perplexed by this video. The pickups that I normally like didn't sound so hot but, the pups that I usually don't dig so much sounded the best to me, For example - this is the first ever time I dug the tone of the Gus G pup.:scratchch
 
Maybe the amp was EQ'd with the first pickup installed, so that one pickup and those similar sounded their best and the models with different EQ curves kind of got a raw deal.
 
Re: Awesome High-Output Comparsion

marvelous_seven said:
The video missed Parallel Axis pickups and Screamin' Demon
Click to expand...

And the Pearly Gates, 59, A2Pro


Most people don't realize it, but those pickups will do metal just as well, and in some cases, even better than these high output pickups. I think all of them sounded good. Some more my style than others. I won't say any of them sounded bad. I did notice some lacked the amount of note separation that I like to have from my guitars.

I'd like to see a similar video of some of the custom shop artist pickups since there's not many, if any, tone comparisons.

What was the guitar tuned to?

I think it hit the target audience well. Not exactly my thing but it's a good comparison of the high output pickups.

EDIT: Listened through my laptop on 1080P ran to an Onkyo TX-SR707 via HDMI with the receiver set to pure analog to a set of Klipsch RF-35 tower speakers.
 
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