New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

[Imp]

it has to be said, i much prefer pickups where i can see the windings. it gives me a much better overall vibe about the pickup, the new ones are quite a step from what i associate with seymour duncan.. almost a nod to EMG designs..

i say, keep the old ones in production, even at a totally reduced number :burnout: i've yet to snag a string on my lil '59 or hotrail, and i love the way they look..

still, kudos to seymour and the crew for listening to other user's issues and acting upon them (this is all just my opinion, remember) - i like the sound of both pickups, i guess im one of the neophobes here hehe

 

[itbepopples]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

i dont really understand what your getting at. do u have pictures of old and new ones for comparison?

 

[Leveller]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

Personally I like the look of the old ones better but since I'm not using and dont plan to be using any of them in a near future, I'll leave the decision to someone else.

 

[Boston Joe]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

To my ears, the older Rails sound more open/three-dimensional with slightly more grit--glassy maybe? The new style seems more hi-fi-- more like a balanced PAF. My vote is for the older version.

 

[Imp]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

http://www.seymourduncan.com/website/products/rails_redesign_sound.shtml

compare the two.. i just find it a shame you cant see the windings anymore :13:

 

[Kac]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

I also prefer the Old style, the vintage rails for instance... looks less vintage...
Oh well, still good pick-ups.
Rock On :13:

 

[mrfjones]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

i like the new ones if only for the updated and upgraded baseplate. i haven't even listened for any sound difference, yet.

 

[WahLikeMe]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

I like the new ones better - only cause the white ones are now all white, and the base is no longer pointed on some (hot rails)

Then again I know nothing (yet)

 

[wixomwhat]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

I like the way the old rails look and hate the new way they look.

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

Before we released these cosmetic upgrades, we knew that there'd be a chorus of "the new ones ___ [fill in the blank with "looked," "sounded," "smelled," "tasted," etc.] better." That's why we spent two years on R&D before releasing them to ensure that the new ones sound just like the old ones. If you can hear a difference between the two, then you should be a professional sound tester, because you have better ears than any of us.

Looks are subjective. Either you like the new looks or not. The fact is, we got complaints from you (meaning our customers) that the old designs were hard to fit into pickguard routes and sometimes snagged high E-strings. So, we responded to you with the new design.

The Catch-22 is that we knew right off the bat that even though we were responding to you, you would respond to us with "the old ones were better." This was totally expected. We aren't unhappy that you responded this way. We know it's just the way you (and I include myself in "you") are.

And that's why we have several pages on our site dedicated to our bench testing methodology, our sound testing methodology, and other associated specifications.

And for the record, you could never see the coils before. You saw some ribbon tape on the outside of the coils. If you did, in fact, see the coils, then your pickup was seriously messed up...

Anyway, thanks to all of you for being you.

 

[italic zero]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

I just think the new ones are too shiny. Could be the pictures, though.

 

[rocketsoul]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

I like the way the new ones look. Swanky.

 

[MattPete]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

Whatever little differences I hear could be due to pickup height.

 

[Brycej]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

How long will it be before the package pickups include the new designs? I would like to get the new style pickups instead of the older style.

Cheers, Bryce.

 

[Stevo]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

I think the new design is sweet in more ways than one.
I have had a couple of hot rails pickups and I can really appreciate the new look AND winding protection. My rails pickups in the bridge positions really got beat up. I admit that I do pound on my guitar once in a while but I know I am not the only one.

 

[Imp]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

i guess i'd never owned a rail in any position except the bridge, so i wouldn't get the chance to snag a high E string..

on my (old) rails, i can just see the windings peeking out over the top - looking at the frequency graphs and the sound samples, the two versions sound absolutely identical you guys were spot on with the tone IMO..

and evan, thanks for responding im not shouting down the new pups at all, but i was curious as the views of the other fellas on the board :burnout:

tom

 

[Rocker35]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

Another shout for the old school - in my eyes, the new style make them look like cheap rip offs. Sorry guys :thumbsdow

But, everyone has their own tastes, so kudos to Seymour and the gang for taking on board users (our) views.

 

[Blueline]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

personally, i think the new shiny one piece shell looks candy coated and kinda cheap lookin

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

For what it's worth, the new covers are made of the exact same plastic as 99% of all the Strat single coil covers on the market.

 

[nuntius]

Re: New Rails vs. Old rails, on appearance

Personally I'd take either over the singles in my squier :laugh2: