What's your most hated PUP

Re: What's your most hated PUP

...except those old epi buckers. :D

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Re: What's your most hated PUP

I see nothing positive coming out of this thread. There is a great guitarist ripping it with every pickup mentioned on this page.

You're absolutely right. Pete Townshend really ripped it up with Rickenbacker neck pickups as he plowed them through the cones of his Vox cabinets.
 
Re: What's your most hated PUP

I see nothing positive coming out of this thread. There is a great guitarist ripping it with every pickup mentioned on this page.

C'mon, I think its a good discussion, this is the Pickup Lounge after all.

I did start a new thread in another section - Who's your most hated guitarist , where we can discuss all about the worst & best guitarists
 
Re: What's your most hated PUP

C'mon, I think its a good discussion, this is the Pickup Lounge after all.

I did start a new thread in another section - Who's your most hated guitarist , where we can discuss all about the worst & best guitarists
^ How about the dog learning a new trick and starting a positive thread - or is this a step too far.
 
Re: What's your most hated PUP

I almost forgot : Epiphone ProBucker.... It really killed the beauty of one my ex guitar. lol
 
Re: What's your most hated PUP

^ How about the dog learning a new trick and starting a positive thread - or is this a step too far.

Sometimes you just have to be negative ;)

"Positiiviset pellet/hellii hyvää ajatustaan/ja elävät kuin paholaiset/siksi pukeudun mustaan."
Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus

Or in english: "Positive buffoons/cherish their good intentions/and live like the devils/for that I dress in black."
 
Re: What's your most hated PUP

Ibanez powersounds and the old non logo stuff of the late 80s

Fender ceramic singles

I've had a few epiphones where the wax buckers were actually fantastic ,but usually between wood, finish, and those pickups, dull muddy mess ensues.

But there's a bunch of cheap pickups that are subpar, just bad designs.

As for "hated"...A pickup can be high quality and you can still hate the tone. My vote for Duncan goes to Custom 5 and Jazz. I've had them in a bunch of guitars and they got ripped out of every single one. Full Shred is runner up.

PRS would be the HFS, and despite the vintage PRS love, I thought the original T&B pickups were awful.

Gibson- Dirty Fingers. Originals. Only new one I have tried was the DF+ (a2 mags) and it was pretty good.

496R. I can get into the 500, and the middle position with that set is good, but as a neck pickup only, hate it.

DiMarzio- Super 2, DeActivators and Tone Zone. Area singles. The AREAs really sound like some kind of fake modelled pickup.

EMG 81. Squish.
 
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Re: What's your most hated PUP

Yeah, I had Epi pickups come stock in one of my Steinbergers, and they were awful. EMG Selects are terrible, too. For more expensive pickups, I hated the Gibson 490 set, which sounded like room temperature water to me.
 
Re: What's your most hated PUP

it's easy
to have a good opinion
you should have a guitar
and with this guitar, changing all the pickups you want to have a real and good opinion
a sh1 for a sh2
a sh4 for a sh6
a paf pro for a sh1 ...
if you don't do that
everyone has his opinion which can' t be realistic because different guitars
different pickups
so, that's all :)

example : a 498t sounds dark in a LP pro fx
and good with a Gibson floyd rose
a classic 57 will sound if the guitar sounds good
a ssl1 will sound dark if the guitar sounds dark or a cheap one
try it in a real Strat to listen to the differences
so i can't answer to this question
except the custom 69 have too much hum

all depend on the guitar first
cheap and bad guitar, bad construction wood
you can add a pg or sh1 it will sound bad
thread closed :)
 
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Re: What's your most hated PUP

Probably the lipstick-tube Invader. To me it failed to capture the punch and bass response of the original.

What the heck is a "lipstick-tube Invader"? I've got Duncan Designed Lipstick Tubes, and I've got a Duncan Designed Invader. They all sound good.

But, back on topic, those pieces 'o crap that came stock in my Squier Tele. Lord have mercy. They didn't even make good 'fridge magnets.
 
Re: What's your most hated PUP

Pickups I've least enjoyed/was never happier to replace? The Fender N3 noiseless that came stock with my American Deluxe Tele. I tried to sell that guitar several times because it just didn't feel/sound right. Finally decided to swap out the N3s for TVJones Starwood For Telecaster, and it was like a completely different guitar.

But that's just me, on that guitar, with those pickups!


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Re: What's your most hated PUP

EMG 85. Muddiest neck pup ever.

I don't think the 85 is muddy whatsoever for neck leads. A bit too brawny for cleans, however...which is why there is the 60.

The 85 is an awesome bridge pickup, too.

I don't make the effort to "hate" pickups. I simply don't use them. I generally don't like anything that is flabby, which is for little flabby men, as Hans and Franz would say. Tight bottom end for humbuckers, although a spare tire is ok for P90s, which have an entirely different mission in life.
 
Re: What's your most hated PUP

Yeah, I had Epi pickups come stock in one of my Steinbergers, and they were awful. EMG Selects are terrible, too. For more expensive pickups, I hated the Gibson 490 set, which sounded like room temperature water to me.

My very first guitar (a bottom end Kramer) had only one HB. Unfortunately, it was an EMG "Select". Boxy, dull, weak...... :no:

I only kept that guitar for about a year anyway, so my suffering was brief.
 
Re: What's your most hated PUP

Most horrible pickups I got :
Gibson's 498 & 500 !!!!!!

My point exactly. I have 498Ts in three guitars and love them. However, there are pickups made by Gibson that would not work for me like the 57s. It doesn't make them a bad pickup they just do not work for my style.
 
Re: What's your most hated PUP

Yeah. My style wasn't the screamy highs ! :)
My point exactly. I have 498Ts in three guitars and love them. However, there are pickups made by Gibson that would not work for me like the 57s. It doesn't make them a bad pickup they just do not work for my style.
 
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