Worst pickups you have ever owned?

[Calsip]

I am curious on the worst pickups everyone on here has tried as well as had in a guitar and maybe talk about a pickup you liked but thought was terrible in a genre or one that surprised you.
For me the worst pickups I've ever had were in a cheap knock off (i think) harmony guitar. It sounded awful and had no tone. The note separation in the pickup was practically nonexistent. Playing Chords sounded like you had a blown speaker in an awful amp buried in the mud.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

EMG 85.

 

[HiFiRebel]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

I had some reverse stagger Fender Tex Mex pups once. Those had to go.

 

[Dahla]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Fender noiseless n3 single coil pickup that came stock in a mahogany telebration model. Man, what a dull and boring pickup!


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[orpheo]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Dimarzio SuperDistortion, X2N, Tonezone, EVO, EVO2, Breed.

Seymour Duncan Invader, Dimebucker, blackout 2, synyster gates set

BKP Nailbomb A5, painkiller, juggernaut, warpig, black dog

EMG 81, 60, 85, singlecoil thingy

See the pattern? I don't like pickups that are overly bass-heavy (invader, warpig, etc), or overly trebly (painkiller, EMG's) or simply totally flat & boring (dimarzio).

I bet I had others I loathed but these are the ones that stuck out.

 

[dave74]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

I don't hate any pickups really. Not big on loose lows though.
Mostly I go for fast-tracking lows and crispy presence sandwiching various mid-range and treble flavors.

 

[Lindgren]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Ibanez Inf is a good exemple of a horrible pickup but i have owned several other lemons.


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[Archer250]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Ibanez Powersounds.
**** that ****.

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[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Squier Strats

 

[BruceBruce]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

-Cheap Chinese single coil garbage in a cheap Strat copy I once owned
-Seymour Duncan Classic Stack STK-S1: weak, thin, screechy
-Fender vintage noiseless: same as above
-Seymour Duncan SSL6: weak, muddy, dull
-Dimarzio Chopper (in series): weak and muddy in the neck position, no sustain. Sounded actually very good in parallel. Got rid of it eventually.
-I wasn't too impressed with the '59 neck in my Gibson SG either. Sounded way too bright and scooped. The SH6n worked better, but had too much bass.

Otherwise I've been pretty happy with everything Duncan has to offer.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Custom 5. Have had it in several guitars and it usually got ripped out within a day. The only time It was tolerable was in a Flying V w/a 300k volume pot.

The JazzN has also been about the same in every guitar I have tried.

I never got along with the old Gibson Dirty Fingers, BITD.

The pickups and midboost Charvel was using in the M4/5/6 650/750 etc etc. in the 80s. Thin and lifeless, or roll in some mud! Whoot!

In general I hate noiseless singlecoils like the stacks, areas, kinmans, etc.

I won't bother listing all the cheapass stock pickups in cheapass guitars.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Humbuckers: SD '59 in the neck for me–could not dial it in at all in multiple guitars. DMZ Crunchlab in the bridge is a second–I was able to get a usuable lead tone out of it but it was so one dimensional.

Single Coils: Fender N3 Noiseless–seemed lifeless without any chime. Numerous EMGs–very sterile and lack of the bell-like chime.

 

[Darg1911]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Some GFS buyout special humbuckers, many years ago ... ended up in the trash if memory serves. But a different set of GFS buyout wide range copies were very decent. They still reside in a cheap small bodied semi-hollow.
Some of the stock humbuckers that Dean used to put in their cheaper imports were pretty bad. Never was all that impressed with some of the earlier GFS "PAF's" either. Maybe they are better now.

Surprisingly good ... An inexpensive set of RH Factor humbuckers. Two wire ("vintage braid"). I needed a set of gold covered pups and bought them on impulse from a seller when I ran across them on ebay.
Also a pair of Artec Alnico 3 humbuckers ... Full bucker they are respectable enough but easily my favorites when split.

No, I don't only own cheap pickups ... also have SD's, Dimarzios, Rio Grande and pickups from small "boutique" winders.

 

[Artie]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

The stock pups that came in my Squier Tele. Thin and lifeless. Replaced with a JD and '59n.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

"Worst" is a highly speculative approach when it comes to things like this and might not always be applicable.

One person might think a certain sound is horrid while another might think it's perfect.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Jackson pickups in the 1980s were, to me, utter rubbish. I know two people who bought Charvels back then with those pickups where one in each guitar didn't even work.

I had a non-USA Hamer with 'Duncan Designed' humbuckers .... both the guitar and the pickups were crap. The pickups kinda rocked, (i.e. plenty of output) but played clean they were fluffy, wooly indistinct and suitable only for use as paperweights. Consequently I amassed some serious money and got a USA Hamer, which I should have done in the first place.

The DiMarzio Paf Pro is another one ... I found it to have no pleasing tone aspects, just a lot of harsh, loud, well .... harshness, and nothing else. I guess that suits some people though. I prefer a bit of musicality in my pickups.

 

[Davii]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Rockfield Mafias that came stock in my Mockingbird ST. No worse than any other budget selection, but think the option to coil split added that extra dimension of awful upon reflection. I had no trouble selling them off on eBay mind you, so maybe they're more of a niche thing.

 

[metlking]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

I recently put a DiMarzio 36th Anniversary bridge in Les Paul expecting great things.....it sounded like an old AM radio.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

I was way disappointed with the Blackout AHB-1b. Way too much output and fizz compared to EMG's.

DMZ Crunchlab

Agreed. While I didn't really hate it, I think it's one of the most mediocre-sounding "good" pickups I've owned. For me, it lacked bite, and it had way too much going on in the low mids which made it kinda stuffy-sounding. It wasn't completely unusable, but I think it is way overhyped.

I also really dislike the PAF Pro and the EMG 85 in the neck position, but I think they make cool bridge pickups. Go figure.

 

[Brandenburg]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

2 pups come to mind..


Duncan Designed 102B... lifeless and without a soul

Iron Gear Volts... The output is way to over the top and the highs where just too high.. the sound was just what was looking for