So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

Artie

Artie

Peaveyologist
It didn't occur to me until I started looking up info on my Cort guitar, that it had Powersound humbuckers in it, just like Epiphone. I doubt that Epiphone would build these for Cort, since Cort probably builds the Epiphone guitars. So, does Cort actually manufacture the Powersounds?

Edit: Found this on Corts FAQ page:

What is the difference between Mighty Mite and Powersound PU?

Both pickups are manufactured by Cort and are used on Cort electric guitars & Basses. The main difference between the two pickups is in the magnet. The MightyMite pickups use the Alnico 5 magnet for a clearer and mellower tone. In contrast, the PowerSound pickups use the ferrite ceramic magnets for a thicker and raw-sounding tone.
Click to expand...

So, it looks like Cort actually does make these.
 
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Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

Yeah I've also wondered this about the power sounds on my X-1 and also the classic rocker pups on my Yorktown.
The cort factory tour shows them making the pickups in house. The only problem is that the classic rockers in nickel covers are the wax-blockbuckers....
They really aren't bad pickups but any aftermarket pickup would be an "upgrade"
 
Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

Cort, Cor-Tek. Same difference.

I recently removed a pair of Powersound humbuckers from a MIK Ibanez IC-200 Iceman. The exact same twelve stud, no screw pole pickups can be found on Squier Double Fat Stratocaster and some Showmaster model guitars, only with more output conductors to allow coil split.
 
Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

Actually, most of Epiphone's guitars are made in the Chinese facility now which is 100% Epiphone owned. That's all they do there. Their pickups are much better than they used to be. The Probuckers are a welcome improvement. Not sure of they are made in the same facility or not though.
 
Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

My MIK Ibanez RG270DX from 2002 originally had PowerSound pickups. I always thought Cort had built it, especially since it has a "Cxxxxxxxxx" serial number. I don't recall much about how they sounded; they seemed pretty hot but I was eager to start experimenting with aftermarket pickups that I already had.
 
Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

Funkfingers said:
Cort, Cor-Tek. Same difference.
Click to expand...

Unless I didn't understand what you were talking about, Cort is the short name for Cortez, another spanish name used in an Asian guitar making company, for reasons unknown to me. (Alvarez-Yairi, Ibanez, Emperador, etc.)

HTH,
 
Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

From Wiki:

Jack Westheimer set up business connections with Japanese guitar makers in the 1960s with the intention of importing Japanese made guitars into America. Some of the many brands that Jack Westheimer is associated with were Teisco, Cortez, Pearl, Silvertone, Kingston, Cort and many others. In 1973, Jack Westheimer founded the Yoo-Ah company (“you-and-I”) in South Korea with Young H. Park as a business partner. The Yoo-Ah company would eventually be called Cor-Tek which was named after Jack Westheimer's Cortez brand name.[1] Young H. Park eventually acquired the operations of the Cor-Tek company. Cor-Tek manufactures Cort branded guitars as well as engaging in concha OEM manufacturing for numerous brands such as Lotus.
Click to expand...
 
Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

If you look at Mighty Mite catalog on http://www.mightymite.com/humbucker-c-13_14_19/ you find a difference. Mighty Mite USA Bluebuckers use ferrite magnets and Motherbuckers use Alnico 5 magnets. It is really confusing. Bluebuckers in my Cort X6 VPR doesn´t sound bad but they sound to me like ferrite pickups.
 
Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

The motherbucker is a good quality pickup.
 
Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

Mighty Mite Motherbuckers are powerhouses because they have 2 times higher resistance and inductance than Bluebuckers. That is why they sound muddy, at least to me. I had some and sold them but I agree. They are quality pickups.
 
Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

rafsza said:
Mighty Mite Motherbuckers are powerhouses because they have 2 times higher resistance and inductance than Bluebuckers. That is why they sound muddy, at least to me. I had some and sold them but I agree. They are quality pickups.
Click to expand...
Use a 1 meg pot and they roar.
 
Re: So . . . who actually makes the Powersound pickups?

Apart from used magnets, pickup design secrets and location under strings, a pickup sound is mainly created by capacitance of a cable and coil, and by pickup inductance. A pot with higher resistance cannot help because it can change neither inductance nor capacitance. It can only narrow a shape of a resonance curve, which makes a pickup sound more aggressive. Inductance of a Motherbucker is 14 Henry and with cable capacitance about 300p pF, the resonance frequency is about 2,34kHz, which is relatively low in comparison with pickups of other manufacturers. (I ignored pickup capacitance which would make resulting resonance even lower). Don´t bother with math, you can verify my calculation directly here: http://microsystemsresearch.com/toolbox/lccalc.html . Just put in numbers. (I know numbers mean nothing if you like the sound, just ignore me.:laughing:)
 
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