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Why are cheap pickups rubbish?

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9/5/2002 12:35 AM
Dick	Why are cheap pickups rubbish? Hi All, Why are cheap pickups rubbish? I mean, stock pickups on cheap guitars (even when put in 'better' guitars) nearly always sound like rubbish. The materials are pretty much the same, arent they? Obviously 'scatterwinding' does have an effect, but why do the sound so different? Thanks, Dick

9/5/2002 1:38 AM
Chris B	I'm curious about that too. Is it the magnet? Is it how the coil is wound? Wire insulation? What? Chris B

9/5/2002 1:45 AM

I think it's a combination of all it's parts together. I've taken quite a few junk, crap-ola pickups and made them into some great sounding stuff just by a simple rewind. I've also done something as simple as a magnet swap and got good results. With a rewind AND a magnet swap, even better results.
I'm pretty sure the quality of the steel used in polepieces (in humbuckers) can play a big role too.
So, it's really a cumination of everything together.

Wolfe

9/5/2002 2:16 AM

Not sure. I mean some are made so cheaply they aren't even worth messing with, but of the average cheapie? Well I don't know... Like you said, pieces parts are decent, and to a large extent wire is wire so... Then again, some cheapies can be just fine... Scatterwinding? That has it's controversies, I believe it makes a difference and have my theories as to why but I don't know anyone who has that answer... For me THE BIGGEST difference between me and any other mass produced pickup is that mine are "made to order", I think others probably feel the same to some extent.

9/5/2002 4:24 AM

There's gotta be more than physical quality often times. I mean, there's lots of subjectivness to consider. What makes a cheap strat pickup copy bad, or a vintage Danelectro lipstick tube cool, or a no-name lap steel pickup have so much "mojo"? I have a Harmony with incredibly loud Rowe/DeArmond pickups just oozing character. Yet, if a cheap strat pickup sounded like these, you'd certainly think they were defective and would probably replace them ASAP.

I've observed some pickup upgrades that really only sounded like replacing stock pickups with hotter pickups. I think that alone would generally be percieved as a upgrade... louder=better. Makes me wonder how many folks in the 60s or 70s ripped those "weak ass" pickups out of their vintage Strats and replaced them with Gibson humbuckers. If there's no appreciation for the classic strat sound, such a modification might seem like a godsend.

9/5/2002 6:04 AM

What I meant was that cheap stock pickups generally sound one dimenstional, bland and allow none of the unique character of the individual guitar to shine through. I am not really talking about objective/subjective issues of tone, rather responiveness and ability to produce a sound that is generally a reflection of the true tone of the individual guitar.
And, in my humble experience, cheap pickups sound, well, cheap. I was just wondering why this is so- considering that I have never really come across another guitarist who disagres with me on this topic.
Hope this makes sense.
Dick

9/5/2002 7:16 AM

In my,make it up as I go along,opinion I think its that"theyre paying me shit wages and my wife won't give it to me"negative mojo that inhabits just about all cheap and nasty stuff and,I ain't doin' my reputation any good with these kind comments,you just gotta just love it outta its identity crisis.
I've been an Artist,you know the brushes and berets and chainsaw type,for quite a few years now and have learnt or in-to-it-too-wised the great energy that goes into inanimate objects.
As you are what you eat then you get what you think...comprendo...
In all seriousness,just pull it apart,admire the asthetics along the way,imagine the new sounds,then put it back together without too many expectations and it'll most probably sound better...

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