Eastman T486 and why I'm Sick of Seymour Duncan Pickups
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- Опубліковано 14 лип 2024
- A friend was nice enough to lend me their Eastman T486 semi-hollow for while (in exchange for my PRS SE Paul's Guitar). I've been checking it out for several weeks now and I came to a conclusion that isn't just about this guitar: I'm sick of Seymour Duncan pickups.
0:00 - Guitar Overview
1:05 - Pickup Rant
3:10 - Sound Samples
7:39 - Final Thoughts
#eastmanguitars
#guitardemo
#rant
I have Seth Lovers in a Hagstrom semi-hollow and an SG and they sound amazing. Just had some Mojotone ‘59 Clones put in a Les Paul and they are great too. Neither set is very expensive. I do have a guitar with the Jazz/JB combo and it sounds good, but I definitely prefer the unpotted Seths or Mojos better, especially for a semi-hollow. I keep debating whether to get an Eastman T484 or just keep my Epiphone ES339. The stock pickups in the Epi are actually really good. An upgrade to Seth Lovers or an equivalent would make it even better. I also recently had a set of Bare Knuckle Old Guards installed in another guitar and they sound great. I might try a set of their Stormy Mondays or Mules at some point in the future, but they are both on the pricier side. My wallet needs a little break! 😂
I have this guitar, I think the 59/Jazz combo sounds very good in a middle of the road, versatile, and usable way. I think Seths or Lollar Imperials would be an upgrade and change the vibe in a nice way, but would not suit as many styles, and some people really dont like unpotted covers. I actually might do that sometime, but the stock pickups are totally good and are proven classics that fit the guitar well, and it's a great value for a really nice instrument.
If it makes you feel any better Eastman also puts Kinman, Lollar, and Bare Knuckle pickups in some of their other semi-hollows
lol how are you gonna complain about a company putting out a custom shop level guitar at a third, maybe a fourth of the price with really, really good pick ups in it?
Yeah, if you put out the guitar with "Joe Schmoe" pickups, people don't know the brand. Having Duncan is a good starting place at least or a good ending place. Also, if they had to hire people to design pickups and then make them, it may actually drive the price up. The amount of Duncans they're buying they're likely getting them pretty cheaply.
I have the T59V with antiquities and it sounds incredible. You can roll off tone or dial down the pick up volume and get all kinds of lovely tones . What else do you want ?
Always wanted to try the Antiquities but never had the chance.
Another reason mid tier and higher priced Schecter guitars are intriguing with their in-house American wound pickups offering something unique and high quality to the market.
Schecter makes some nice pickups.
Agreed. It’s become a reflex for me to automatically swap out Duncans. It doesn’t matter what pickup model it is, I usually have a set of another brand on deck when I get a guitar w/ Duncans.
I remember when this first started happening, having Duncans was a feature. But then it became so common that now I just look for the opposite. One of the reasons that when I was looking for a new guitar recently I went with the Schecter and Sterling as the options.
I contacted lust for tone and picked up a set of the Lucille pick ups that he makes and changed the whole guitar. I get better jazz tones, better, blues tones, and certainly better rock ‘n’ roll tones. It truly transformed the guitar. I also put in a different wiring harness they do use switch and CTS but the fact is is, you can choose what quality you really want. Obviously the wiring harness is anybody’s preference so our caps and pots I personally like the bumblebees by VI and I also like the linear blend taper pots that you can get from Mojo tone so truly depending on what you’re looking for you can make this guitar sound like magic, and with a fret file you can fix the other problems otherwise pretty decent guitar. Thanks for your review and demo. Just thought I’d let you know what I did. I also upgraded the tuners to a set of locking tuners and not a knock off of Gibson tuners made by ping well thanks again. Seymour Duncan is overrated by the way I totally agree with you. I don’t bother pick ups and wouldn’t use them. I don’t even like their custom shop pick ups. I think we have enough boutique pick up manufacturers now that truly the tone junkie can easily for four or $500 or even a little more by a vintage Spec set of PAF or Tops or any other pick up voiced the way that you want it I bought a second one of these and put the crossroads pick ups from Jim Wagner at WCRJMP guitar pick ups again and gave myself two guitars. I can travel with and not stress over damage because of the price points, they’re great guitars you said you had a good experience with the fats however, both of mine needed a little work just a few things were missing but otherwise again great guitars and you’re right I don’t know how Seymour Duncan got the contract for these I guess to meet a price point because in my opinion, they’re truly no much not much better than the Kim Armstrong pick ups in the 386 The only guitars, I don’t change the pick ups and our guitars that I have custom ordered. I don’t even use the pick ups in my ultra Strat they’re made by a different company. I use Righteous Sound I just use a variety of pick up manufacturers, especially tone, specific, as well as throwback, has an excellent selection for this guitar I think all guitars are meant for you to make them your own and they’re just putting something in there probably knowing the average person won’t care the serious guitarist is going to change them anyway, it’s a shame because they should sell the guitar without them so you can save a little money because honestly you spend 1400 to buy the guitar and another 700 to put new pick ups and wiring harness and I would just assume they shipped me everything ready to go without the harness and pick ups lol and that includes Gibson because their Tops are nothing to jump up and down about either Believe me the throwback Tops are 10 times better sorry I wrote you a book didn’t mean to leave such a long comment but I love what you’re saying here and more people need to hear it 5: 5:50 28
Question, since you are sick of Seymour Duncan’s would you consider the epiphone inspired by Gibson custom es355 I think they use burstbuckers
I would definitely check it out - I've heard good things, though I've never tried one. From what I see the pickups are listed as "Alnico Classic PRO" so not specifically burstbuckers. And I would also point out that my main issue is not the brand Seymour Duncan, its just that it seems like every guitar has the same SD pickups (Jazz, '59, etc.) I'd love a guitar like this with the Seth Lover or Antiquity pickups.
It's called having a known component for people. If they came with their own pickups, they'd be some copy of some random PAF pickup, with would either be more scooped sounding a la the 59 or a little more midrange focused like DiMarzio's PAF versions. Charvel is mostly recreating their 80s output with little variation. The JB was the pickup of choice then, so it makes sense.
For some less expensive replacements, look at ToneRider, they have some great stuff.
Agreed. I understand why this approach is used and even used to like this trend when it first started. I was just venting a bit.
@@davlavmusic7070 No worries, I get it. If you're looking at stuff all the time, it can seem like everyone's using them. I think it's also just that whatever company actually manufactures them for all the companies get such a discount on volume, they offer it that way for the brands.
I agree about the Seymour Duncan’s man, don’t get me wrong I do love JB’s but you almost have to go out of your way to find a guitar that doesn’t come with them by default
Try new Epi 355… with Custom bucker nd just 1299! Its a steal!
You can find eastmans with lollars and bare knuckles if you look around some. The lollar p90 equipped eastmans suit my ear.
I'm a big fan of lollar pickups. I put them in my guitars pretty often.
@@davlavmusic7070 just got my 486 today. Very disappointed with the tone. Neck too dark. My epi 339 sounds clearer. I am concerned with pup replacement. It gets expensive quickly
@@joeinterrante7873 And replacing pickups in semi-hollows can be a pain.
@@joeinterrante7873 Have you tried experimenting with the pickup height? Makes a big difference.
Agreed. SD's are mostly found on their entry level models. The Bareknuckles and Lollars tend to go on their mid-range and higher-range guitars. I have the SB-59/v-GB LP-style guitar with Lollar Imperials - the best sounding humbuckers I've ever owned. Plus the guitar as a whole is a Custom-Shop level of guitar for a fraction of the price of something like a Gibson R9.
You also have to keep in mind that Eastman manufacture a wide range of instruments, including acoustic and archtop guitars, mandolins, and where they got their start - orchestral stringed instruments. They're focused on instrument build quality and prefer to source quality components (hence CTS pots and Gotoh hardware). While you may not like SD pickups, they still have a generally good reputation among guitarists and probably make a better option than trying to enter an area (and a cost centre) they're not familiar with. SD still give them instant recognition of a quality brand on their most affordable guitars.
Exactly, that's why I switched to DiMarzio Eric Johnson Signature HB's in my Eastman SB59GB.
I've always been interested to try those, never had the chance.
@@davlavmusic7070 They're definitely worth looking into.
Pickups are going to sound ONLY as good as the player. Gibson, Lollar, Fralin and on and on. Pickups don't make a player just as a guitar doesn't make a
player. The player makes the guitar..pups etc. Could be that SD out hustles or makes a better deal with the manufacturers. John mayer doesn't sound
any better on PRS made single coil pups than he sounded on Fender pups in Fender Stratocasters.
I dropped a couple Wolfetones into my T386 and it absolutely sings now.
what wolftones ?
@@gfamily4364 Marshallhead in the bridge, Dr. Vintage in the neck. I asked Wolf’s input and he gave it to me. Great support and quality. Can’t go wrong.
Gotta say that the Kent Armstrongs they put in the 386 are truly underwhelming. The rest of their lineup has quality stuff and the Kents belong in a low-end Epiphone or one of those bullshit Gibson studios. The T386 really is a price-fighter and it shows, even if it’s great value at $1000. If I could do it again, I would have combed over websites to find the T59/v in sunburst and went all-out. The build quality difference between my SBs and my T386 is substantial. The SB lines feel like custom guitars. The T does not.
Kiesel Guitars (formerly Carvin) is American made, has a high end, reasonably priced hollow body in their lineup (the SH550) and uses their proprietary Kiesel Beryllium Humbuckers in their setup.
I've been looking hard at Kiesels lately. Never played one though.
@@davlavmusic7070 I bought a Carvin in 1993. If you’re not a headstock snob it’s a good guitar.
Love my T486...with SDs...best sounding guitar I've owned of dozens (in the neck), mostly USA/Japanese or higher end Asians. Their JBs are superb. For my Tele's....Lollars are amazing...Fralin's too...SD's are fine. On a different note, not sure why even bargain brand guitar makers don't simply put in better pups...instead, they toss in house-garbage. Lots of affordable third-party pup makers. Pups rule....
Glad you're happy with it. I don't think that the SDs are bad, but when they are getting used in so many guitars it makes all those guitars sound the same.
So, after the rant, you conclude that it "sounds pretty good." For variety, as one commenter has said, a player could change his touch and technique. Also, they do come with tone pots. I have a Heritage 575 Custom hollow body with 59's that sound completely different than my 486. As to companies that make their own pickups, I love the necks Ibanez but don't trust their pickups.
It is the Cookie Cutter model to make guitars. These parts @ This Price-Point = X amount of Profit…
This is one of the reasons why I decided to have my guitars custom made.
I choose the woods, parts, and pay a guy make it for me. Price-wise, I pay between $1500. and $2000.
I have Tele with a Sapele body, Asymmetrical Indian Rosewood neck with a Katalox fretboard.
It weighs 9.4 lbs, but I like it more than the Warmoth parts-caster that I own.
Plan on making a carved-top tele this year; with lighter woods of course..
I did use SD pickups, but in all fairness, those pickups had been collecting dust
Weird elongated rant about pickups. More a review of the pickups than the guitar.
Watched to learn about T486, absolutely nothing about the guitar, but we find out how much you hate SD pickups. No mention about altering the pickup heights to get differing tones, just an all out hatefest. Very poor video
Just wonder how you'll expect us to trust'n'follow your plugged in sound when the speak ditto is so bad.
Not sure, but I think you're having issues with the voice audio? Apologies, I was figuring out the best setup. Hopefully you'll find the newer videos better.
I sit with immaculate set-up including open back Beyerdynamic cans.
Really hope you get your sonic stuff rolling.
Wow just cringe dude. Get your ears checked, and while you’re already at it… your brain too…