Worst pickups you have ever owned?

[KNUCKLHEAD]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

I've either been very lucky or have a special talent for getting good tone out of any guitar. Closest to a bad pup was a vintage Danelectro with the Lipstick . It had it's own unique character and tone. However due to such a drastic low output compared to all my other guitars that it was really a one trick pony guitar. I really loved the guitar though. Played awesome. I'd like to try a set of the newer ones I've seen. A few brands are making ones with higher output than the original ones.

The thing is , a Good guitarist can do that for the most part - Aceman , Darthphineas, Mincer, myself, Lynch + others here as well - I Presume . The question is ~ can ya get KILLER Tone out of your Rigs with said dull pickups ? a Different matter altogether

 

[thebingopete]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

A good amp can be set up to make anything sound great. Problem for many players is that they have no tone of their own. Look at some of the pups people have claimed to be the worst other than stock. Some well known designs that have great reputation. But so many of the players here can't get to sound good. My guess is they need to work on their own tone. 75% of my tone is from my fingers. 15% from the guitar and 10% from the amp. That's why most guitars sound good when I play em. If it doesn't sound good in my hands, it will never sound good at all.

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[KNUCKLHEAD]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

I hear ya , but I think the Amp + Speaker or Speakers is equally as Important for tone, as the Ax. ( for Gigging + Recording ) . But Yes, playing is Everything for the most part . i'm glad there was no Utoob or online when I learned to Pick off Vinyl and watch George from 5 feet away and Eddie , in my 1st. few years . Oh , and others like Johnny, Schenker and keef from 20 to 50 ft. away Live , as well .

 

[thebingopete]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

I've seen thousands of shows from nearly as many bands. And all the best musicians have one thing in common whether a local or legend , they all have their own tone. I've seen guys with the best top end gear and a professional tech taking care of the knobs and stuff but, the guys had no tone. Guys who's fingers knew what to do. Yet no soul. That was always the key element missing to the tone. That's why I don't remember who those guys were. Most I never saw again if they didn't disappear into obscurity. Some have grown up musically though. Masturbations to a beat when they were younger grew to some serious drama to music. Somewhere in there they found themselves and in doing so, found their tone.

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[KNUCKLHEAD]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Ditto to All and I forgot to mention another friend of mine + pretty Early influence ~ Joshua Perahia <-- Top notch Par with Anyone ( also in case You are He bingopete : ) Because He deserves TOTAL mention . I've Always Had my own sound and Agree wholeheartedly on Tone .

 

[Mincer]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

The thing is , a Good guitarist can do that for the most part - Aceman , Darthphineas, Mincer, myself, Lynch + others here as well - I Presume . The question is ~ can ya get KILLER Tone out of your Rigs with said dull pickups ? a Different matter altogether

Thank you, but if it doesn't sound or feel right, I don't want to play my best. I just want it to be over.

 

[KNUCKLHEAD]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Thank you, but if it doesn't sound or feel right, I don't want to play my best. I just want it to be over.

I Always want to play My Best Live but agree that I just want it to be over as well , if something (especially house gear ) is off .

 

[Firebrand]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Sadly, everything Lace Sensor that I have owned.
Had a set of "Don Lace Signature" humbuckers in a PRS for a while in an attempt to cut down on noise at a paying weekly gig.
They did that, but the sound was meh.

Then I tried Hot Golds with a Hotter Gold bridge. Again they were ok, but nothing that "Wow"ed me.

And for the set I have a love/hate relation it would be the Hot Noiseless in my 04 Jeff Beck strat. Recording they are fantastic, but they do not work well with some amps or pedals. Funny enough, back when Fender Cyber amps were something cool this guitar always sounded horrible through them. Same with that Digitech Hendrix pedal.

 

[Drunken Bowling]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Gibson Burstbucker III and 4-conductor '57 Classic.

 

[HotHead]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

The stock INF4 humbucker that came with my RG350DX. I've never heard a more dull-sounding pickup in my entire life. I know they're for budget models, but for a guitar that's geared towards metal players, you need pickups with at least SOME presence. The INF3 in the neck was also pretty dull, but it suited the neck position very well.

Also, the GFS Alnico II pickups I got for my GFS Les Paul copy were pretty bad as well. I find GFS pickups really hit-or-miss. I was under the impression that they were Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro clones, but what I got was a complete waste of money. Very flubby and unfocused, like your amp was covered in old socks. They sounded exactly the same as the stock pickups, but they were a different model. Either GFS is really inconsistent, or they re-purpose some of their hardware.

Honorable mention for the pickups in my Ibanez GIO bass. Dull, lifeless, no real "OOMPH" to them.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

When it doesn't sound right, I just want to play louder and faster. Just to rub it in.

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[KNUCKLHEAD]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

When it doesn't sound right, I just want to play louder and faster. Just to rub it in.

 

[Calsip]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Sadly, everything Lace Sensor that I have owned.
Had a set of "Don Lace Signature" humbuckers in a PRS for a while in an attempt to cut down on noise at a paying weekly gig.
They did that, but the sound was meh.

Then I tried Hot Golds with a Hotter Gold bridge. Again they were ok, but nothing that "Wow"ed me.

And for the set I have a love/hate relation it would be the Hot Noiseless in my 04 Jeff Beck strat. Recording they are fantastic, but they do not work well with some amps or pedals. Funny enough, back when Fender Cyber amps were something cool this guitar always sounded horrible through them. Same with that Digitech Hendrix pedal.

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.

 

[Calsip]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Also, addressing the "worst" p'ups concept... I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

The same p'up(s) that worked wonderfully in one instrument, may as well work poorly in another.

That's the nature of the beast, and not amount of money can make up for this simple fact of life.

HTH,

I had a set of blackouts in an ESP and then I got bored and put them in a strat. Learned not to do that. It was kind of harsh while at the same time overbearing with bass but in the ESP they sounded really good. Same with EMG's I had swapped them with another ESP for the blackouts. The EMG were kind just meh, but really did well in the other guitar.

 

[Liko]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

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.

Yeah, I like the gold sensors, but they are very definitely "vintage" in tone and output realm. They'll scream if you want to push them into blues or acid rock, but they aren't what you want for modern rock.

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

The stock Ibanez pickups I've had both kind of sucked.

• In my AS83 (semi-hollow) the stock ACH1/ACH2 pups were tolerable but just a little bland. A set of P-Rails really brought it to life.

• In my RG3EXFM1 the stock V7/V8 pickups were just horrible. Too "metalish" for me and lacking life (I'm more of a classic rock guy). I had just done the P-Rails in my AS83 but didn't really have the spare cash for another "good" set so I tried a set of GFS Dream 180s and WOW what a difference! That guitar is now one of my favorites to play and I have zero desire to make another change to it. Great score for not much money!

 

[Brewski]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Screamin' demon - works well in nothing. Very lifeless and thin

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

Gibson Burstbucker III and 4-conductor '57 Classic.

My old shrink called the BB3 a "death-metal pickup". Personally, I love mine.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

My top 3 all time stinkers
1- Dimarzio Super 2 just ice pick in the fore head bright and harsh as heck!!
2-EMG 81's toneless souless and icepicky + harsh useless for anything but hair metal!! ( Do love the 85 and also the H60A in the right guitar though)
3- Custom 5 promises so much sounds nice when playing alone but absolutely vanishes into a mix in every guitar I have had one in + refuses to cut for solos no matter what!!

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Worst pickups you have ever owned?

^ 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.