EMG vs Duncan vs Dimarzio

[BRHGM]

Re: EMG vs Duncan vs Dimarzio

Although I have Duncans in most of my guitars, I have EMGs in one bass and one Strat and they sound fine. I agree they have a different sound than other pickups, but it's not a bad one. Dimarzios sound fine, too. Lew is right. Stop the hating.

 

[Petrovsk Mizinski]

Re: EMG vs Duncan vs Dimarzio

Geezus christ guys, check the date next time before posting

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: EMG vs Duncan vs Dimarzio

Amazing thread! So many different opinions. I would like to add my opinion to the list because I guess I have a different take than most. I think all the wild ideas like which pickups sound more natural or color the tone or sound better in strats vs Ibanez, etcetera etcetera boil down to bias or lunacy.

I don't have any particular favorite brand because as soon as I get used to something I like in one brand I find something in another brand that is more appealing. In 100% truth I'll say that I never found a Dimarzio, SD, Bareknuckle, EMG... that I liked better than any other brand.

Furthermore I highly doubt the claim that either pickup brand lends itself better to a particular style of music except for perhaps EMG. That being said I also believe EMG is underrated in how their active pickups sound in different types of music genres.

I wish I knew what I know now in beginning and could have saved myself a lot of cash. If you hear anyone talk about what brand is better than another or which pickups sound better in a given wood or anything of the kind then take my advice and steer clear of them. In fact I might go as far as to say that most pickups have to be installed before a judgment can be made as to how they sound.

I read about a pickup article by Bill Lawrence and I think I remember he said the magnet does not matter like ceramic or alinco but I beg to differ. The other 99% of us people can hear a clear difference. If anything colors the tone then it's the type of magnet. There is very distinctive sound in alnico, sammarium cobalt, ceramic and what Lace uses. Bill must be an expert but maybe his ears don't pickup what most everyone else hears. Forgive me if I'm remembering the wrong author but I think Mr.Lawrence wrote something about that.

Please don't take this to mean that I claim any expertise except that I spend a lot of money in the past to try to find the perfect pickups. I'm only to offer my own experience.

 

[Despair]

Re: EMG vs Duncan vs Dimarzio

Amazing thread! So many different opinions. I would like to add my opinion to the list because I guess I have a different take than most. I think all the wild ideas like which pickups sound more natural or color the tone or sound better in strats vs Ibanez, etcetera etcetera boil down to bias or lunacy.

There's a lot of truth to those "wild ideas." EMGs have mismatched coils, which gives less sharp resonant peaks, which makes them have less tricky interactions with wood. The same is true of any of DiMarzio's Dual Resonance pickups. The claim that there's no interaction with the wood for those is of course hyperbole. Arguments about natural sound for an electrified magnetic pickup are a bit odd, too. Most people are chasing the rather unnatural tones of an electric guitar, not the natural acoustic sounds...

I wish I knew what I know now in beginning and could have saved myself a lot of cash. If you hear anyone talk about what brand is better than another or which pickups sound better in a given wood or anything of the kind then take my advice and steer clear of them. In fact I might go as far as to say that most pickups have to be installed before a judgment can be made as to how they sound.

Generalizations can of course fail in specific cases, every guitar is different even with the same woods. You can still save a lot of time by starting with combos likely to work and avoiding ones unlikely to.

I read about a pickup article by Bill Lawrence and I think I remember he said the magnet does not matter like ceramic or alinco but I beg to differ. The other 99% of us people can hear a clear difference. If anything colors the tone then it's the type of magnet. There is very distinctive sound in alnico, sammarium cobalt, ceramic and what Lace uses. Bill must be an expert but maybe his ears don't pickup what most everyone else hears. Forgive me if I'm remembering the wrong author but I think Mr.Lawrence wrote something about that.

Context is very important. Lawrence was talking about with his pickup designs, and with the pickup designer working to make the pickup sound the same. Not for the simple case of magnet swaps in a pickup that isn't otherwise modified. If you don't believe him, just compare an early L-500XL to a current one. BL pickup fans can tell them apart (later A5 ones are slightly sweeter than the early model), but most even most guitarists have trouble telling them apart.

 

[ken361]

Re: EMG vs Duncan vs Dimarzio

i have an assortment of pu's in my guitars, different brands & models (duncan, dimarzio, gibson, carvin, and schaller). Like lew said, i only keep what sounds good. I have more duncans than any other brand.

I bought a guitar with emg's (81/85) and couldn't sell it fast enough. Thin, bright, puny, and sterile. They're designed for huge amounts of distortion and effects, to keep from sounding muddy, but outside of that, i don't see any use for them. Don't work for the music i play.

++1

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: EMG vs Duncan vs Dimarzio

There's a lot of truth to those "wild ideas." EMGs have mismatched coils, which gives less sharp resonant peaks, which makes them have less tricky interactions with wood. The same is true of any of DiMarzio's Dual Resonance pickups. The claim that there's no interaction with the wood for those is of course hyperbole. Arguments about natural sound for an electrified magnetic pickup are a bit odd, too. Most people are chasing the rather unnatural tones of an electric guitar, not the natural acoustic sounds...


Generalizations can of course fail in specific cases, every guitar is different even with the same woods. You can still save a lot of time by starting with combos likely to work, and avoiding ones unlikely to.


Context is very important. Lawrence was talking about with his pickup designs, and with the pickup designer working to make the pickup sound the same. Not for the simple case of magnet swaps in an pickup that isn't otherwise modified. If you don't believe him, just compare an early L-500XL to a current one. BL pickup fans can tell them apart (later A5 ones are slightly sweeter than the early model), but most even most guitarists have trouble telling them apart.

No doubt you can technically argue my points but the main idea I wanted to illustrate is that you have to consider those guys who pick up a cheap squire and amp and sound better than most of the tone snobs chasing after tone that comes mostly from the hands anyway. I don't think any pickup maker for the most part is better than the other. It's all good in my opinion and most importantly how it's applies on the fretboard.

 

[Despair]

Re: EMG vs Duncan vs Dimarzio

No doubt you can technically argue my points but the main idea I wanted to illustrate is that you have to consider those guys who pick up a cheap squire and amp and sound better than most of the tone snobs chasing after tone that comes mostly from the hands anyway. I don't think any pickup maker for the most part is better than the other. It's all good in my opinion and most importantly how it's applies on the fretboard.

Relative importance of particular aspects of all the factors that contribute to guitar tone are unlikely to ever be argued into complete agreement, as importance of them varies from player to player. Some players can adapt to almost anything, others can't cope (or don't want to) with gear that doesn't respond exactly the way they want.

Dismissing it as unimportant is a stretch. I've heard great musicians whose tone changed radically for the worse when they've switched gear, even though their playing was still stellar. Or for the better.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: EMG vs Duncan vs Dimarzio

Relative importance of particular aspects of all the factors that contribute to guitar tone are unlikely to ever be argued into complete agreement, as importance of them varies from player to player. Some players can adapt to almost anything, others can't cope (or don't want to) with gear that doesn't respond exactly the way they want.

Dismissing it as unimportant is a stretch. I've heard great musicians whose tone changed radically for the worse when they've switched gear, even though their playing was still stellar. Or for the better.

Sorry it wasn't my intention to contest your expertise. I didn't dismiss it as unimportant, just overrated. Furthermore I think it's misleading and ridiculous to try and indicate that SD is better than Dimarzio or EMG or vice versa. Not that I want to stir up a controversy but I've heard most all pickups sound better than another in the hands of the respective players. I know what you mean about tone change in great players. Two I think of immediately are eric johnson and david gilmour. Eric seems to have gravitated to his fuzzier sound these days. David's tone in on an island didn't sound as good to me as it used to be. My individual perspective of course.

 

[Despair]

Re: EMG vs Duncan vs Dimarzio

Sorry it wasn't my intention to contest your expertise. I didn't dismiss it as unimportant, just overrated. Furthermore I think it's misleading and ridiculous to try and indicate that SD is better than Dimarzio or EMG or vice versa. Not that I want to stir up a controversy but I've heard most all pickups sound better than another in the hands of the respective players. I know what you mean about tone change in great players. Two I think of immediately are eric johnson and david gilmour. Eric seems to have gravitated to his fuzzier sound these days. David's tone in on an island didn't sound as good to me as it used to be. My individual perspective of course.

I didn't take it as an attack on me, just fell for the hyperbole. The tone snobs comment was a bit much, though. Wanting better tone hardly is snobbery. Great tone doesn't necessarily involve great price. If you luck into a great playing cheapo, replacing the electronics can make it contend with instruments many times it's price.

Being different doesn't necessarily mean better or worse, either. I don't think you could say they all sound the same and generate much agreement.

This is a pickup forum, and the rest of the signal chain probably doesn't get as much attention as it ought. Speaker & cabinet gets a lot less attention in particular.