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previous: SK Pickup "copies" rant -- 8/31/2002 4:31 PM

What happens when specs elude you

9/3/2002 3:47 PM
Mark Hammer	What happens when specs elude you Buy an amp and you will get some specs to base your decision on. There will be information about power, controls, distortion, maybe gain structure, EQ values and control, etc., Same thing goes for guitars. Indeed, there is much you can learn about either of these musical implements from merely looking at the specs and many of us have associations between specs and sound that allow us to imagine what it is might be int he package even without hearing or seeing it. Such associations aren't always accurate, and such specs are often insufficient to fully depict a product, but at least we have them. When it comes to pickups, although in principle these should be just about the most specifiable thing on a guitar short of the pots (xxxx turns of xx gauge wire on a bobbin of dimensions xx by x, inductance of X capacitance of X, magnets of this composition and gauss, etc.), most of us simply lack both the mental associations between building materials and tone, and between specs and tone. That doesn't mean they can't be established, merely that they tend not to exist in the public consciousness at the moment. To my way of thinking, that's likely a direct cause of the kinds of blanket comparisons found in the ads that you find annoying. I can't create an impression of what the pickup would sound like by telling you about it technically, and obviously showing you a picture does little to improve that, so the only thing I've got at my disposal is comparisons against things you know, even if those comparisons are farfetched. At a certain point the vintage or product references tend to disappear. I don't really see any of the myriad of clones out there claiming that their guitar sounds "just like a Strat!" or "just like a Les Paul!" despite the fact that they use the same pickup arrangement, body design, electronics, etc. You see a Strat clone for $119 in a pawn shop of mail-order catalogue and you think "I have a pretty good idea of what that might sound like". The reference points in an ad are unnecessary because you already have a sense from the picture of how it sounds. I don't think pickups are at that point yet. Indeed, because there are so few physical presentations of pickups, relative to the number of variations within those visible designs (just think of how many Fender-style SC designs are currently or have ever been in production, and how different they can sound from each other), just seeing the pickup tells you nothing. In the absence of specs to tell you what the picture doesn't, the manufacturer has to resort to hyperbole and points of reference that don't invite lawsuits from competitors. E.g., You will never see an ad that says this Duncan pickup sounds better than this EMG or DiMarzio one.

9/3/2002 3:47 PM

Mark Hammer

What happens when specs elude you

Buy an amp and you will get some specs to base your decision on. There will be information about power, controls, distortion, maybe gain structure, EQ values and control, etc., Same thing goes for guitars. Indeed, there is much you can learn about either of these musical implements from merely looking at the specs and many of us have associations between specs and sound that allow us to imagine what it is might be int he package even without hearing or seeing it. Such associations aren't always accurate, and such specs are often insufficient to fully depict a product, but at least we have them.

When it comes to pickups, although in principle these should be just about the most specifiable thing on a guitar short of the pots (xxxx turns of xx gauge wire on a bobbin of dimensions xx by x, inductance of X capacitance of X, magnets of this composition and gauss, etc.), most of us simply lack both the mental associations between building materials and tone, and between specs and tone. That doesn't mean they can't be established, merely that they tend not to exist in the public consciousness at the moment.

To my way of thinking, that's likely a direct cause of the kinds of blanket comparisons found in the ads that you find annoying. I can't create an impression of what the pickup would sound like by telling you about it technically, and obviously showing you a picture does little to improve that, so the only thing I've got at my disposal is comparisons against things you know, even if those comparisons are farfetched.

At a certain point the vintage or product references tend to disappear. I don't really see any of the myriad of clones out there claiming that their guitar sounds "just like a Strat!" or "just like a Les Paul!" despite the fact that they use the same pickup arrangement, body design, electronics, etc. You see a Strat clone for $119 in a pawn shop of mail-order catalogue and you think "I have a pretty good idea of what that might sound like". The reference points in an ad are unnecessary because you already have a sense from the picture of how it sounds.

I don't think pickups are at that point yet. Indeed, because there are so few physical presentations of pickups, relative to the number of variations within those visible designs (just think of how many Fender-style SC designs are currently or have ever been in production, and how different they can sound from each other), just seeing the pickup tells you nothing. In the absence of specs to tell you what the picture doesn't, the manufacturer has to resort to hyperbole and points of reference that don't invite lawsuits from competitors. E.g., You will never see an ad that says this Duncan pickup sounds better than this EMG or DiMarzio one.

Replies:

Dr. Strangelove Mark wrote:[QUOTE]In the absence of... -- 9/3/2002 7:51 PM
Weevil Hey Mar! read my rant on the "copie... -- 9/24/2002 11:05 PM