All These Pickups Sound The Same!

[Robkay]

Well i've been trying different tele bridge pickups....i know this sound nuts but there doesn't seem half a turn on the amps tone controls in them.....must have funny ears or something but the stock pickups in my Korean Squier sound just as good as any i've tried....
Perhaps i'm just looking for something that doesn't exist, how much of this pickup sound is in the mind....i guess if it costs an arm and a leg it must be better
Guess i won't be very popular around here now
Rob(uk)

[Oldschoolwax]

There are horrible pickups and great ones, but the difference between horrible and good is far greater than good and great (IMHO and all that stuff) I do have some rather expensive pups in a few of my guitars, because the slight increase in the sound (to me) was worth paying twice the price of being 95% there for half the cost. That being said, anytime I pick up a guitar, it sounds like me playing it. Too often my guitars sound better in the hands of my friends. =) I don't think the pickup sound is in the mind, but it's always a sum of all the parts, and a big part is my or your playing. Then again I'm just some weirdo on the interwebs! =)

[notdave]

You have funny ears.

Or an outstanding set of pickups in your MiK Squier.

[Oldschoolwax]

OR, have you changed the pots etc as well? I always replace cheap pots etc. and see how the stock pups sound before thinking of changing pups, so if you haven't done that, perhaps that, combined with the pup swap, would bring out more of a difference.

[Robkay]

"You have funny ears"......Well they did call me wingnut at school, i never could understand why
Rob

[Astro1176]

what amp and/or effects are you playing through?

[D.Allen]

Make sure to change the capacitor for a good quality one. I like .047uF 200v NOS ones.
Make sure the pots are good an jack as well. Use a good tube amp and plug direct into it. You should hear a difference in most pickups.

[backporch guy]

Congratulations. You have just discovered the secret of life, Grasshopper!

[waparker4]

Originally Posted by Oldschoolwax

OR, have you changed the pots etc as well? I always replace cheap pots etc. and see how the stock pups sound before thinking of changing pups, so if you haven't done that, perhaps that, combined with the pup swap, would bring out more of a difference.

This

[gypsymoth]

I've got a set of Mares I am very happy with - but that being said the amp makes a heck of a lot more difference than the pickups, which have a much more subtle effect, part of which can be compensated for by adjusting heights.

[Telenator]

I envy people who can just grab whatever guitar is in front of them and be perfectly happy to be playing it.

[JohnS]

I play Bill Lawrence pups in my 2 Teles and I can say that they are VERY sensitive to height adjustments. A 1/4 turn of the screws can give you a totally different sound. And I am sure it is not just BL's. Tweak your brains out.

[Teleterr]

Originally Posted by Telenator

I envy people who can just grab whatever guitar is in front of them and be perfectly happy to be playing it.

Yep.

[Bartholomew3]

The speakers in your amp are not very high quality...must be cheap junk if you don't hear a difference.

[Commodore 64]

I've swapped out a lot of pickups. The more I swap out PUPs the more I tend to agree with the OP. JMO, of course.

[D.Allen]

Originally Posted by Commodore 64

I've swapped out a lot of pickups. The more I swap out PUPs the more I tend to agree with the OP. JMO, of course.

Commodore I swap out lots of pups too, almost every day and test sets side by side and I can't agree. If the pots and caps and amp is good an your cable is good and not over 10' long plugged straight into the amp and you try different sets that are different in output and magnets and even similar but from different makers you should be able to hear a difference in the tonal profile. Some might have only subtle differences an some more. If I put my 60's RocknBlues and FlatTops next to each other they sound very different but have similar resistance values. You should hear a difference.

[mudshark]

Originally Posted by backporch guy

Congratulations. You have just discovered the secret of life, Grasshopper!

+1...yep

[1955]

You notice more at louder volume through say a 2x12, and considerably more with raising and lowering.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally Posted by Robkay

Well i've been trying different tele bridge pickups....i know this sound nuts but there doesn't seem half a turn on the amps tone controls in them.....must have funny ears or something but the stock pickups in my Korean Squier sound just as good as any i've tried....
Perhaps i'm just looking for something that doesn't exist, how much of this pickup sound is in the mind....i guess if it costs an arm and a leg it must be better
Guess i won't be very popular around here now
Rob(uk)

maybe yer tone deaf? or just deaf? JK!

if your guitar cable hits a mess of modulation b4 the amp, much of the pickup's inherent tone (as massaged by the guitar circuitry) is lost in space.

i'll add - cheap single coil pups are ceramic based and when fed directly into a decent small tube amp sound harsh to my ears. better quality pups that are alnico based will almost always sound sweeter, to varying degrees, based on build and design.

....

[Durango Twango]

I certainly hear the differences between pickups, but the longer I play the less it matters. If half of the energy spent fixated on tone went into practice, we'd all sound a hell of a lot better.

One thing I don't think anybody mentioned - pickups can only take a guitar so far. A great piece of wood can make OK pickups sound great, but great pickups can suck just as bad as cheap ones in a marginal instrument.