Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Little Pigbacon said:
^ I think the 81 is great for thrash and other types of metal. The qualities you don't like about it are what make it so perfect for what I use it for.
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See folks , I build a Diverse array of guitars for people and especially for Personal ~ That's why I still have a Tub-full of All kinds <-- if I could actually round up the missing/scattered ones as well , it's prolly worth a fortune from all the Eras .
 
Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Calsip said:
See a lot of people don't like lace. I love lace single coils and even some of the humbuckers. I mean I like them in a strat though that I use for more bluesy, jazzy type sounds so it makes since. I wouldn't use a gold lace for anything heavy other than maybe a social distortion type of punk.
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Do U have any experience with the Lace Deathbuckers or Deathbar ?
 
Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Not sure if these turds were mentionedioned yet, but Ibanez Powersound pickups were some of the blandest pickups I couldn't get swapped out fast enough. They came in an old RG270 I had a long time ago, but the bad taste still lingers...
 
Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Calsip said:
See a lot of people don't like lace. I love lace single coils and even some of the humbuckers. I mean I like them in a strat though that I use for more bluesy, jazzy type sounds so it makes since. I wouldn't use a gold lace for anything heavy other than maybe a social distortion type of punk.
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My 2 main guitars are a Fender Strat and a Warmoth partscaster that both have a Lace Sensor Hot Gold (Hot Bridge) in the bridge position. I use them for Metal. Of all the pickups I've ever owned or tried out, there's nothing I love more than the sound of that pickup with moderate distortion. Very clear but also gritty and cutting with a lot of gain, it just needs a little cleaning up with a noise gate. Also, it pairs up well with a DiMarzio Cruiser.
 
Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

The worst pickup I've ever had in one of my guitars was an Alternative 8 in the bridge of my PRS. It just sounded wrong....the midrange sounded boxy and I took the thing out as soon as I figured out that I couldn't configure either of my amps to a setting that made it sound good to me.
 
Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Yes but the Alt 8 sounds Really good in some others. seems like a couple friends told me PRS can be fickle sometimes but it's one of the few I haven't worked on myself
 
Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

KNUCKLHEAD said:
Yes but the Alt 8 sounds Really good in some others. seems like a couple friends told me PRS can be fickle sometimes but it's one of the few I haven't worked on myself
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Oh, no doubt. I've heard people make the thing sing. It just hasnt worked for me.
 
Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Ptolemaeus said:
The worst pickup I've ever had in one of my guitars was an Alternative 8 in the bridge of my PRS. It just sounded wrong....the midrange sounded boxy and I took the thing out as soon as I figured out that I couldn't configure either of my amps to a setting that made it sound good to me.
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Really goes to show that some pickups can be great in the right guitar. pups like powersounds and some stock squier pickups.. Those sound good in nothing. they are just slot fillers to sell a complete guitar. The ALT 8 is a beast in the right guitar. having owned one in a Charvel 4, it was awesome, but knowing how it sounds, I really cant imagine it sounding good in a PRS or a LP.
 
Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

I don't think I'm ready to say it's one of the worst pickups I've tried yet, but the PAF Pro has really disappointed me as of late.

I have a couple that are usually lying around because I really used to dig it as a wildcard kinda pickup, but right now it sounds super chirpy/squelchy in the neck position of my Ibanez RG570 and super ice-picky in the bridge position of my PRS SE Singlecut. Ugh.
 
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Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

My least favorites are Pre FMIC ceramic Gretsch Filtertrons, Gretsch HiLo Trons, Gibson Gibson 496R/T 500T, all Burst Buckers, 57 Classic Plus.
 
Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

The worst for me was the G&L humbucker I bought. The neck and middle sounded sounded great, but the bridge pup was easily the worst I have ever heard. Was my 1st expensive guitar and I wasnt the biggest fan of the neck anyway, so sold it on fleabay. The guy I sold it to shared my disgust. I tried for weeks to dial it in, let it set a week and try again and away she went. Live and learn, thats what I get for buying a guitar I never tried out in person. Absolute garbage, and I mean garbage. Too bad I didnt get a G&L with a JB, I most likely would still have that guitar. Nice guitar, but man, that bridge was a dog
 
Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Tie between 500T, JB, and Dimebucker. Anything of that level of output, really. Just a compressed, honky, sound. Horrible matches for most of my amps (which have limited headroom) and for my heavy hand and heavy strings. I learned to play on clean pickups, with heavy strings, and to use my amp settings and my right hand to get the tonal changes I want. Adjusting to high output pickups just isn't gonna happen. I'd need to re-learn how to play.
 
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Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Much as I respect Paul's playing ability, I never cared for his tone. Dare I say, same with Vinnie Moore. Bland to me
 
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