Please explain the difference between cheap pickups and good pickups

[freefrog]

Re: Please explain the difference between cheap pickups and good pickups

Here's bits from the pups that came with my 2002 Epi Les Paul.
Clearly there is a keeper bar and real screws. There are two different pole piece types between the two pups.

Yep, Epi has done huge efforts to build better PU's these last years. That's why I've saluted the Alnico Classic series in my last post: I've a Wilshire RI with Alnico Classic mini hums and I don't even plan to change them (at least for the moment).
They are wax potted in a way which enhances enormously their stray capacitance... and they have still this brass baseplate which creates Eddy currents... so they still sound a bit muddy (with a low pitched resonant frequency) BUT they have already more tonal richness than the brass baseplates DiMarzio's mounted in another of my axes (!)... and some stock Gibson PU's also suffer of this enormous stray capacitance that I mention, after all.

The PU dissected in my post came from an Epi LP Classic built in the 90's and frankly, it sounded absolutely dull, flat and dead. That's precisely why I had opened it, a few years ago.

 

[GoldenVulture]

Re: Please explain the difference between cheap pickups and good pickups

They are " Alnico 2 Classics- by Gibson " origonally. Heavily waxed as you can see by the remnants on the screws. They sounded too bright and thin to me. A bit low in output. I put pole magnets in them [ Removed the bar magnet and pole pieces ]. That made them a little more acceptable. Obviously I don't use them anymore.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Please explain the difference between cheap pickups and good pickups

Good pickups cost more & sound better...

 

[Aceman]

Re: Please explain the difference between cheap pickups and good pickups

Good pickups cost more & sound better...

If it sounds good, it is good.

Did you see price mentioned in there? The Zephyr, based on your approach must be better than everything. I think it was cool. But for me, it sounds wrong. I don't care if it's free.