CHEAP vs EXPENSIVE Humbucker Edition! - Can You Hear The Difference?
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- Опубліковано 5 чер 2024
- In this week's video I compare a set of $14 eBay pickups versus a set of $150 Seymour Duncans!
At $7 each are they a FANTASTIC deal or a wast of money?
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I can make any pickup sound like a fifteen dollar one.
Lol
Good one! (I'm with you in that boat)!
I have you both beat as I can make them sound like 15 cent pickups
Pfff... Big deal, I can make them sound like they are made from cardboard.
LOL good one =) and me too.
You should have played Smoke on the water considering you got your pickups in deep purple
Ooh, cringeworthy, but funny.
Correction should read "only played" ha ha ;-)
Or Purple Rain
Hahaha someone got copyright struck for playing that for like 10 seconds with heavy effects on it... like yesterday....
Well he wasn’t in guitar center...
If you haven't noticed, pickups are very easy to make. Yes, all pickups sound slightly different. But if you're using the same type magnets, poll pieces and wire there gonna sound close. The biggest difference is the output based on how many wraps and the wrap pattern. That's about it. Good video.
The tone is in the fingers. I had my stock fingers replaced with DiMarzio Bricklayers. Sustain for days but a little scratchy when sliding.
This comment made my laugh so hard. Bravo!
Bout killed me dude
That's some next level Tony Iommi stuff there my dude.
The tone is in his $4,000 dollar amplifier stack.
Foil keeps the sound fresh.
The foil keeps big brother from watching, until they get to your house and you open them. Once they're open, you're being transmitted to the satellites and everyone can hear. Be sure to use that foil to make a hat, so they can't brainwash you!
I imagine it also stops them rusting on a 2 month boat ride from China too.
@@roberto3262 just like how Walsh did!
Keeps the tone fluid from leaking out. Gotta remember to change your tone fluid every 5,000 strums.
Lmao
I'm shocked. I picked the cheap pickup as the high-end pickup every single time. Fuller sound, less noise when clean ... I'm blown away. Everything I know is a lie.
the sd are better. You can tell from the ACDC example. The have more clarity and higher frequencies. Also the cheap ones, are not balanced well. You can tell this from the example with both the pickups. But they are not bad. I mean they are probably from the same material. How different can a pickup be from another?
@@lgiorgos1 you just prefer the SDs dude. Maybe you like the brighter sound and the more piercing highs, but Mr Jason (and myself) prefer the cheaper ones. Its just preference.
The cheap ones was best.
Jason Newman . You have no idea my friend ....it’s getting weirder by the second
@@lgiorgos1 Seems like it's pretty subjective. To my ear the SD's sounded cheap and hairy with a bunch of extra jangly highs in the AC/DC example. The purples sounded punchier and clearer.
We are livin in the era where cheap stuff can stand toe to toe with other stuff that priced 5x times of it.
If Darell just slap the SD logo on that Cheap PU, people would believe that the cheap one is real SD.
They would just like many people buy those cheap purses that are $2,500 or more. Lol
It's quite well known out there that these days material costs don't comprise the bulk of the street price of a product in mass manufacturing. However R&D isn't free for most of the established brands, while no-name knockoffs unabashedly reverse engineer and then copy them. The same happens in the pedal industry - $20 for a decently built, true bypass clean boost VS $100 for an Ibanez TS9? Also of note is the potential for Chinese government incentives for overseas reach, meaning that it actually makes sense for manufacturers to sell below cost. While I can't say it happens to musical instruments, it certainly is to F&B and certain tech products IIRC.
They already do this, they call it SD design pickups
The cheap pickup is much worse... Especially easy to hear when goes to the classic rock example at 4:39
@@davesaenz3732 agree
Honestly the cheaper pick up sounded great. Gave a ton of nice overtones to work with on the EQ. If going straight into a DAW, I'd honestly prefer those Chinese ones over SD.
Haha, great somebody notice that, I thought I'm alone in noticing that, the Chinese pick-up sounded better and had lots of character to my ears. What the hell hahaha.😂😆 Is this a prank Darrell? I'm about to buy a Seymour Duncan, but had a change of mind. Will just go straight to Alie Express for that amazing Chinese pickup, might grab an awesome Chibson Les Paul 1959 as well. 🤭 Cheers!
@@2good2betrue3 Totally agree. They are on Amazon too. I think it's a quicker ship and a return policy if you get a bad one. Anyone sating the Fleors are "decent" is lying to themselves.
The thing that matters most is a good amp and good speakers. The pickups can have an effect, especially with low gain and clean, but as long as you’ve got that solid foundation you can really make basically anything sound good
If I watched as many videos about music theory as I do about hardware, I'd sound incredible.
Man I fkn feel you
I couldn’t agree with this enough lmao
Damn I relate to this so much
Me too Elijah!! Great sense of humor!
That's amazing for $15 pickups. They have a different tone but it's not a bad thing. Infact i'd say they nailed a sound type with them.
its more about the amp
my grandma's spatula will even sound great with that amp
Kinda that emo 'recorded in a basement studio' sound. It's real home-y
The cheap pickups have a bit grittier tone with more treble, but it's usable. Different, but not bad.
They are quite usable. I also have a Fleor bridge pickup. It's wax potted and was a bang for the buck. But if you hold those "chinas" against an SD JB or a DiMarzio X2N you can spot differences in output and transparency. I got some fake invaders and recently installed the bridge one into my Ibanez RG. Muddy as hell. Not worth to wax pot them (they aren't wax potted at all). I think most chinese pickups for 10 bucks or so are ok but if you want balanced qc pu's you should at least go for Wilkinsons, Entwistles, Iron Gears.
Andreas Nold iron gears are amazing. I have them in my jackson js22 dinky
0:21 Wow! You shredded so fast I didn't even see your fingers moving. Amazing!
😂😂😂
Imagine throwing a small gig in your garage with your budget gear and some close friends and then you mom shows up being all proud of your progress. And then all of the sudden she says "stop it right there, this can't go on like this. The tone of those Chinese humbuckers lacks definition, we need to immediately swap them with some Seymour Duncans sweetie, mama loves you and wants what is best for your tone"
I that's one of my recurring dreams
toan
What?
@@jameshatfield7165 i said toan
Damn now I'm depressed xd
I’m gonna upgrade my playing ability
Haha! me too
I hear that! I find the fretboard fingering close-ups Darrell does, teach me a lot
Yeah me too! LMAO! Wonder how long that will take to get here? Must be on a slow boat from China too... because I'm STILL waiting! Bahahahaha!
yep....I can buy the gear.....the ability?....is there a store or website I can make that purchase?....no?.....drat!
Couldn’t be a more accurate statement.
So remember, if you're getting cheap pickups on ebay for a gag, get the color you can live with.
pstrzel I actually like the purple, would look cool with purple knobs and poker chip
With a foot board of pedals, every "guitar" sounds the same.
Why, when you can have a dozen colors for the price of 1 set of SD's?!!!
Fantastic! I was just about to pay £200 for Seymour Duncans, and now I'm sticking with my B&G's! You've saved me a bunch of cash!
I was just thinking the same lol
Was about to get a new set of SDs. I'll just keep the Wilkinson pick-ups I've got 🤷♂️
i like the cheap pickups played clean. The thing I have learned over the years is that every guitar has a certain acoustic quality that works in conjunction with the pickups and your preference. I have had pickups that I didn't like in one guitar, but sounded great in another. You have to match the pickups to the guitar and the sound you are looking for. This also goes for whether you are using them clean or high gain, and as Darrell said how it works with the amp, and your pedals.
Some companies make consistently good pickups, but that doesn't mean you might not like the sound of a cheap pickup. Other things that affect your tone and I think are just as important is how hard you hit the strings, your pick attack, your pick material, whether you use your fingers or a pick, or hybrid pick, the height of your strings, your strings, and believe it or not, your truss rod adjustment, etc. Good experienced players always say tone is in your hands, and this is definitely true. I know guys that can get a good sound no matter what they play. I know guys that can make a ten thousand dollar guitar sound like hell.
Try changing pots and capacitors before changing pickups. Here is something you might not have noticed, but electricity isn't consistent and amps can sound different based on how much power is being supplied to the amp at any given time. In a club from day to day, even hour to hour, the amp can sound different. Lastly, don't always judge equipment until you play it live with a band. One sound might sound great in your bedroom, but not with your bass player. The sound of a club, or the room sound is another consideration. The amount of people in a room will change the sound. I am sure I have left things out but these are just some things to consider.
This comment wins over the whole debate.
Do one with: most expensive pickups on the cheapest guitar
I'll add it to my list!
Like an epiphone les paul ls and put some stacked seymour Duncan's in it
Already did it, sounds great
I have a Squier Affinity Strat that I picked up at a pawn shop for $85 that somebody had lost with a $400 David Gilmore loaded pickguard in it. Sounds phenomenal, can't bear to strip it.
it won't make much difference as most of the sound is the pickups
I'm not sure what's wrong with me, but Chinese pickups sounded better in all 4 blind tests... Either I'm hallucinating or SD needs to shut down all their factories and start doing chicken farming or something.
As always, brilliant video and playing Darrell!
I hear that on just about the same scale. Although I did hear an extra bite in the SDs at one point. Either way good challenge.
same
I agree!
I liked the Chinese pickups better for all the metal and rock riffs, but then again, I hate the JB specifically. If he'd used a Distortion, Alnico II Pro, Pearly Gates, or 10 other bridge SD pickups, I'm almost certain I'd prefer those.
Maybe it was the brand new wiring harness. I wonder if he put the solder-less harness in before or after testing the SDs? Reliability of pots ain't no joke, mayn.
I'm a little late to the picnic but thanks guys I thought I was the only one the thought that the no name pickups were better sounding. And again he does this all the time you know taking a guitar at virtually no one would get caught Dead playing and running it through his high-end amp and with his skills sounds like Clapton or Beck
I really like the positive approach and straight forward attitude. Building my sons guitar he thinks the more he spends the better it will sound. By good working stuff and spend the rest on lessons and or practice . That’s the only way any pickup will sound good. Thanks for your great channel.
I’m not gonna lie, those purple pickups look badass on that guitar
Finally sombody clarifies this... Invest in the amp... Totally agree...
Great video...
So many people spend so much on guitars, when the amp is the noticable pound for pound difference on the ear.... Top vid
NICE CALL
It's cool having a couple expensive guitars,......but unless you're rich don't play them on a regular basis,....the $ 700 guitars are fine for rehearsals and shows,...if someone knocked down your $ 4000 custom shop Dean while you were at a show,...you'd be pissed,.....just take a decent guitar and upgrade the pickups,..hardware or whatever to make it play to your liking
Gonna add a bit to this. The most part of tone is a speaker, which acts like "hardware" equalizer. Our ear doesn't like sounds above +- 8kHz, and semi likes 6-8kHz, so even cutting all that "sandy" crap from sound using additional equalizer makes sound much much better through crappy speaker. So if you don't have a decent speaker make sure you have a good speaker simulator.
A good amp isn't going to make bad pickups sound good. I can take an ENGL and plug in a Stratocaster and it ain't going to make those single coil pick ups sound like a Humbucker.
They're good, but their not perfect and will never fully be able to accurately sound like an actual amp with it's speaker cones vibrating. It's something digital will never be able to replicate. Just like digital recording vs analog recording. Sure the process is easier, but in the end digital recording sounds dead and without life, cold and tasteless. Just as fake digital amps sound.
The first riff comparison shocked me! I thought for sure that the cheap pickups were the first guitar, but i was wrong haha. Great vid Darrel!
Thanks Wes!
Me too. When I heard the volume increase I was like oh yeah definitely the Duncan's. When I play my stock pickup Jackson vs the same sd setup its wayyy louder and tighter
What song was it
The Duncan's had more clarity and less breakup/fizzle when distorted, but they did have some unneeded grit on the clean. The cheap pickups are a great alternative if you dont feel like spending $200 for some slight subtle differences. Tbh, the recordings bring out the tonal subtleties, but if you want some cheap pickups for gigging though, theres no better alternative, I put a pair of Kmise "Invaders" in my Goth Explorer for that reason alone and they sound excellent for the money.
I’d love to see you do another series like this Darrell. Seen a few well talked about cheap brands lately Iron Gear and Warman pick ups and love to see what you would say about them.
I think the cheaps actually won the clean round..... seriously
it sounded like the SD's were distorting on the clean test & the Chinese ones were not.
@@stevevaughan787 It's like SD were trying to get all the harmonics present when clean or something and it ended up a mess. Actually bad sounding when clean
Kyle F not even close
I have these fleur pickups from aliexpress they sound great clean
yeah me too, seriously what the hell
Pickups are magnets and wire. I've always thought there's been too much emphasis on having expensive pickups. I think, like you said...a good amp and also some good effects, is more important than expensive pickups. Just my opinion.👍😎🎸🎶
I can honestly say pickup swaps have saved some of my guitars from being traded. I get what you mean though, there's really no bad tone just different tones.
I'm inclined to agree. Pickups will vary because of the type of magnets, the amount of wire, the type of wire. Construction matters too. Are the pole pieces adjustable, are the windings potted. However, none of that should make them expensive.
From a guy who owns a set of BKPs, I absolutely agree there's just no reason for pickups to cost more than a guitar. No regrets on the BKPs but they should NOT be that expensive.
Imo cheap pickups with cheap materials and worse tolerances tend to have less clarity. They still sound fine though.
@@donicsm7684 yep!👍😎🎸🎶
Got on your Channel by accident, and boy am i glad i did! You really have some awesome and interesting takes on guitar gear thanks and keep on rocking
Welcome to the channel!
Great job! I totally agree with you when you say that a good amplifier really makes the difference. On my guitars, I have cheap and expensive pickups and I'm sure that nobody can spot which one I'm using!!!
That was SO interesting. I honestly thought the Chinese pups had more clarity. I am seriously doubting my alliance to SD now...
I have only had one pickup out of 5 i have tried from sd
I think I'm going construct a guitar out of Chinese parts now.
I DUNNIT INIT
GO WITH SLITS RATHER THAN F HOLES (IN USA-ASSHOLES)
Bassic Bassist every guitar i own is a build for the last 5 years and iv never owned better instruments to my specs and a real pride and connection to your instrument it made me a way beter player
I think the same...right now...Greetings from Germany/Bavaria!
@@edsed8411 keep saying that to yourself
After 4 months of COVID 19 home incarceration I've watched every UA-cam nitwit with a guitar, video camera and internet access try to review all kinds of equipment. Darrell is without question, the BEST reviewer by far for all the right reasons. Great energy, great on camera presence to begin with. His reviews are smart and well organized. No fat. NO self centered attitude. It's about the equipment, not him. And finally and just as important...he can play. So tired of watching 4 chord virtuoso's who think they are Jeff Beck. As a long time builder (our brand was Jarrett) I'm grateful for your efforts and your competence. Thanks, from West Hollywood, California.
You make great videos. The one you did about adjusting the intonation was the clearest and simplest on how to. Thank you.
Amazing those Duncan's don't sound 15x more expensive that's for Damm sure.
`COS THEY AIN`T!!!
Nobody claimed as much, but they sound a lot clearer, punchier, just brighter and more open, less muddled. But there is only so much you can get and with higher prices the gain in quality diminishes.
antony hickling oh god
Cause he’s playing them through cheap guitars. If you put race tires on a smart car it’s not going to go any faster.
I actually enjoyed both pup sets, on their own merits...
I will say, th SD's did sound more open, breathing, resonant, articulate at times, an certain gain settins...
That bein said, I wouldn't hesitate to give these pups a try, reckon it ain't like they could make me sound worse :-)
I'm sure I'll get plenty of thumbs down for my comments here, but that's ok, I can take it! My opinion is that (by and large) the major guitar and component manufactures from, lets say, the Western hemisphere, are way over-priced for what the end user gets. There are many examples of great instruments and components coming from elsewhere that cost 10% of the 'named brands' of guitars and components. We all know about the law of diminishing returns, and my belief is that these pickups as tested here are great value for money. The SD pickups are not 10 times (or more) better, which means that the price cannot be justified.....imo.
You do some great comparisons Darrell. Thank you
well the Chinese copy everything identical and sell it for less
@theduder - China was making musical instruments when the world was still flat!!
I completely agree. A much of the time you are buying a reputation and a name. I have had a squier that I liked better than a fender. And I got a kraken brand l.p. copy used from guitar center and I compared it to every les Paul in guitar center from 300$ Epiphone to 1200 dollar Gibson's. I didn't go over the 1200 dollar price because I couldn't afford it. But I liked the kraken more than every other l.p. I played. I went back 3 or 4 separate times and kept comparing. I did like the neck finish more on the gibson but not the tone and not for the price difference of 800 dollars.
@@christopherkaesemeyer1575 That actually applies to everything these days. Way too many people make the mistake of confusing price for quality. The point of diminishing returns keeps lowering as technology improves but most people are unaware of that. Nowadays, you have to be more informed about what you're actually buying because you're almost guaranteed to overpay if you don't.
realjumper I’m completely with you mate!
Great video! I've watched this a few times. At the end, when you say that a great amp is the equalizer, I couldn't agree with you more! Good work!
This was probably the first vid of yours I watched and it was a couple years ago. Because of this vid I actually ordered a set of these for a project because of your vid and couldn't be happier. I have also bought the Guitar Fetish factory buy out HOT Hex Overwound Humbuckers for projects one of my favorite inexpensive pups they have gone up in price $35.00 a matched set.
Although, as a luthier and radio technician, I do know that there's no magic behind expensive pickups, I always use brand name pickups for my guitars, cause whenever they have to be replaced I know they will sound the same afterwards. Cheapos can sound great but having to find a similar sounding replacement will always be a lottery game.
And after all, the most influence to the sound comes from the fingers of the player.
You guys have been asking for a "cheap vs expensive" Humbucker edition ever since the single coil version was released!
Here ya go! :)
i got all of them wrong lol
The factory forgot to put in all the great tone in my guitar, lol. It's in the players ability not the pickups...just my thoughts!
@@DanielParker615 Your homework assignment for this week, Mark, will be 'ear training.' Don't forget to blow your nose first. - Just playin' widja.
@@sonicbridge1944 lol This made me laugh my ass off. thanks
Yea I agree partially, I have played on some pretty rough pickups that sound terrible though. But most pickups nowadays seem to be at least ok.
This might be totally not where the video is supposed to show but has anyone noticed how calming his expression and smile is?
I am glad to see this, I am building an HH Warmoth Strat with a DiMarzio super distortion on the bridge and bought one of these Chinese pickups for the neck position because I am not planning to use it much and did not want to shell out $75. Now I know the pickup will actually sound great. (Strat is still under construction)
Whaddya know? A Chinese magnet and coil of wire does the same thing as an American magnet and coil of wire with a fancy name high price tag.
This kids is why CEOs are so invested in and protective of branding. It's just shy of having your own money printing press.
Exactly!!
Actually ''American'' wire etc comes from China , main factory is there bet dam pickup wire is made there no matter that brand in German.
@@luginonluginon2602 Probably in the same factory by the same workers and the same machine :D Only the labeling department is different..... 😂🎸
Same thing? Execution may be the same but the results are vastly different.
@@vileguile4 exactly, isola is wire at lest they so but far as i know they use cheaper one only for those as they call them ''custom made'' they use Isola (complete name is ''Elektrisola''). I watch Him lie about PE Wire how only they have ''real one'' and could not believe what sort of lie He use. Some of my friends make OK living from making pickups, pedals and amps but i never did due to honestly can't lie to people. Also when you tell them the truth they refuse to accept it ☺. So i make pickups for friends etc 20+ years already and amount of lies SD and even worse some Boutique builders use is astonishing. Some ask 500$ ☺ for simple PAF which any person here can wind after 5 minutes of explanations...IMHO anything above 30-40$ for hambacker person pay name , i can understand if somebody make you specific pickup especially for you and your fav guitar to charge a bit more but honestly pickup industry is such BS.
Am I allowed to say that I like the cheap pickups better?
OF COURSE(AS LONG AS YOU DON`T WORK FOR SD - WELCOME TO THE GREAT UNEMPLOYED)!
This post is sponsored by Big China
I honestly thought that too
same
I felt on the high gain, the SDs had just that touch more high end. But, I feel like just eq a smidge more treble in your sound and you could make these cheap pickups sound like the SDs
You have saved me loads of money. I just picked up an Epiphone SG Special made 2004 for just £80, I had been wondering whether to swap the PUs. I won't bother, I agree with what you say about quality amps making the huge difference to the sound. Thanks for your videos.
Amazing skills. The solo at the end was ridiculous. 🤘
Let's all buy crap equipment. It will sound just as good. Save money. Buy more pizza.
Cheap guitar but marry it with 4K dollars Amp will blow your mind.
ARE YOU RELATED TO MEATLOAF? GREAT ALBUM BATTY!
Im telling you my stock Stratocaster I swapped out two of the pick ups and it sounds so much better , in every single aspect.
@@beefnacos6258 I`M INTO HSS(PEARL SCRATCHPLATE)-YEAH BETTER!
antony hickling don’t mind him he’s just passing through
The Seymour Duncan's certainly were good but not ten times better! I guess I'll hold off on upgrading my pickups and keep an eye out for a good deal on a good amp.
Yea- I'd focus on the amp first. Depending on the sound you're going for, forking over the money for a pickup makes sense - the vintage-output microphonic pickups sound incredible to me, mostly because of the articulation, and I've yet to hear any stock pickup even remotely resemble them.
@@goddessintriptych7046 - I'm with you on this one regarding PAFs. Could be that I've been listening for so many years and have specific preferences that differ from others, but I put a set of Seth Lovers on my Ibanez AR and the result was dramatic and for me worth the cost. It even made my cheap 15w practice amp sound good.... or was it the 8" Celestion installed by Kustom?
It's true. I've got a cheap strat knockoff by Beirenger and it sounds decent. Plug into a quality amp it sounds GOOD.
@@sonicbridge1944 Know the feeling- I bought the Seth Lover bridge on a lark, and after about 5 minutes with it, I was pretty much convinced it was the best pickup ever. Seth Lover bridge + Bogner Brixton + Marshall 4x12 is heaven
Same. I'm starting to believe that the amp is genuinely the biggest part of our tone. That's where the most of my money's gonna go now.
Quite surprising how good they sounded. The purple looked awesome too!
I really like the sound of the cheap pickups!
Really liked the clean tones of the cheap ones, (the colour too) ;).
Right on time. I was looking for some project pickups!
Wow...really great demo. It is amazing to see how far technology has come. Even cheap knock-off pickups sound amazing. Given amp modelers and digital technology, there is no more excuses not to get a great tone in a home recording studio.
The difference was almost negligible, unless you're hung up on brand names you couldn't go wrong with these pickups good review!
Darrell, amazement never ceases! I'm impressed! Great avenues of testing! The only difference I heard from all of the tests is with the Neck/Bridge comparison with the Chinese pups sounding brighter. I have to say I dig the purple on black. Thank you for your diligence & looking forward to more comparisons in 2019! Happy New Year!!
Same!
Darrell, for some reason your "long and perilous journey" comment got me laughing so hard I almost choked! Thanks! I think you and Paul Davids are currently producing the most interesting guitar-related content on YT. Keep up the good work!
I got this FLEOR bridge pickup and 2 hot rails single coils to rebuild my old Yamaha 112 and I love them.
Well, i did the experiment. I have an Agile 3010, (awesome guitar, forget the price, just look at the body and neck!) . tried the stock pups, which are pretty good, then fitted Whole Lotta Humbuckers, with CTS pots and Emerson PIO's. The change was staggering, the tonal range is quite amazing, the clarity of the pups. They do take a bit more to start the break up, but what a difference. I'm guessing the PIO's had quite a bit to do with it, but yeah, bloody awesome. My first doing everything, frets, set up, all the electronics, Bridge, Tailpiece, and tuners remained. Just a great guitar, now all it needs is someone who can do it justice! Owes me about $600 all up!
I get that you had to hide the pickups when doing the blind test, but you cant just alternate pick master of puppets and get away with it.
He can and he did.
who cares what technique one is using as long as it sounds good?
facts
@@apoplexiamusic It didn't sound good.
@@apoplexiamusic That's the point, it doesn't.
Another awesome video... thank you! I heard a few tonal qualities in the cheap set that were a pleasant point of difference. I love that you aren’t afraid or ashamed to take cheap guitars and cheap pickups and let them sing alongside the high end instruments.
Totally agree with your comments at the end. Player skill aside, the amp is by far the most important element of tone. Owning expensive electric guitars and playing them through a second-rate rig is nuts. My next music equipment buy is going to be a really good head and cabinet.
As a jazz and blues fan, I really liked the sound of the Chinese pickups. They had a real warmth to them. I know you don't always want that. But a majority of the time I do. I'll look for some! Maybe there are some decent American made ceramic pickups out there?
I have two builds going on right now. One’s a HH Tele and the other is a lap steel. Looks like I’ll be saving some money on pickups! I have an amazing Quilter amp as well!
Thanks Darrell. You rock bro!
HEY DUDE GOOD LUCK!USED TO BE A STRAT(COPIES)FAN BUT NOW IBANEZ ROCKS(STILL GOT 3 SQUIERS THO`)
Your videos are relaxing. Thank you.
Great video - exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks for the comparison. Well done, as always. In every video I see & hear, these pickups sound amazing, & every review is glowing, but, I can't seem to coax one, single, passable, sound out of them. Mine sound like amplified mud, if I try using ANY amount of gain & low end, & drop tuning couldn't be any, more pointless. Knowing my luck, I probably just got a bum set, but, in the future, I'll spend the extra $10 & get another set of Dragonfires.
I love your vids. you're like Myth Busters for guitar. Keep up the great work!
Haha never thought of it that way, but you're totally right!😂 It really is lol
That solo is epic wow!!! And You just made me save a lot of cash!??? Thanks... Best guitar show ever
Awesome review ,I use cheap pickups,Wilkinson, Fleor and used krammer pickups,great review 👏 😀
I purchased a set of 12k strat rails for $15 on eBay.. I installed them in an old Yam Pacifica.. I love the damn things!
I think the biggest issue with the cheap pickups is you are never sure what you a going to get. On the DiMarzio and SD web sites there is some comparative indication of what you have or what can get, but with most of the cheap pickup web sites it's just a bunch of techo numbers that maybe indicate how they might sound... You might get lucky as Darrell has here, or maybe not...
Some may say that this is not an issue, it's a feature. Each and every pickup is "handmade" and unique.
The quality control on these is probably not going to be all that. However, many cheap brands are just companies that buy boxes of chinese stuff, do some quality control and brand them.
I bought 2 high out put humbuckers from the same company on Amazon one was 7k one was 12k they were supposed to be 18. So Idk if you buy name brand it's probably a lot more consistent.
The comparisons on DiMarzio and SD's websites is more marketing than fact. Most of the descriptions tend to be reworded versions of each other since words aren't very good at describing sound.
Agreed it's about the consistency rather than the quality. That being said, you could probably order 10 cheap humbucker sets for the price of 1 expensive one, keep the best sounding pair, sell the rest off to people who take the wrong idea from videos like this, and come out ahead.
I wish you measured the Fleors with a multimeter against the SDs. Also, the Fleors you got look more like Dimarzio Super Distortions. So that’d be an awesome A/B comparison.
The cheaper pickups had more bite with gain, and sounded even better clean IMO. Thanks for the video!
Great video! This kind of only confirms what I've always believed all along and it's 90% what quality amp you have which is the the real pocketbook killer
half of these I can't tell much difference, the once where I can hear a significant difference, I can't really say which I prefer....rock on cheap pick ups I guess
Just wait until you hear how sub-par they sound in-person, and not over UA-cam.
wow im impressed they certainly give you a bang for your buck, just goes to show , never judge a book by its cover as they say, nice playing Darrell as always, thank you for this, Cheers
HEY FLASH SEYMOUR--LISTENING???
I just ordered a FLEOR pickup for a project guitar. I have another that has $10 Chinese pickups and they sound great.
Crazy. The "el-cheepos" for the most part, sounded a little warmer, but none the less as good as the SD. (I like the warmer). Gave it a "cleaner" sound. (A teeny bit, but ok in my book).
IT'S ALL IN THE AMP
It's in the finger's Bud. I know a guy that can play a strung-up 2"x 4" threw an AM radio & Rock !
LOL the cheap pickups sounded better !! if i just bought a pair of Seymour Duncan pickups i would be feeling suicidal by now hhh, it's all money down the drain.
HOPE YOU DIDN`T!WHEN`S THE FUNERAL?BURN THE AXE---PLEEESE!
untrue , I have a SD from years ago , its notably better than most others .
this was a very superficial test of a lot of hacking , no finesse music , jazz or blues , nothing of BB King or Santana , let alone Kenny Burrell or Wes Montgomery
antony hickling You from Alabama?
I have a Seymour Duncan Sentient in the neck and a Black Winter in the bridge. Very unique combination and a very yin-yang balance. I get questions about my tone all the time. It's hard to beat, while many manufacturer's copy JB and other well known pick up designs at a fraction of the cost.
@@bobsaturday4273 you jazz players are something else lol, just let ppl have opinions
The last solo was amazing sir :)
I always go with EMG 81's 🔥🔥🔥
Pretty impressive! Awesome video!
Thanks!
👍 I was honestly not expecting it to be anywhere close!
I've run through soooo many emg, SD, and Gibson and the only ones I can find comparable to the clean tone of the cheapos is pro/burstbucker and the cheapos. And maybe the emg hz-h2
EMG hz are so horrible lol
I recently got a 3 quad rail hot rail pickups for about $15 each for my project Strat ....."Stellarcaster" (that's my name for it) and was surprised how much signal they put out even with low volume settings, tone response is good as well so yes cheap amazon or e-bay pickups are as good as some of the more expensive ones if you get the right ones ans get a good set as opposed to a crappy set that are just as likely to arrive from the same co... bare in mind that i wired these like a "Les Paul" with each its own 50K vol. and tone with push/pull coil split as well and 47uf caps so they make all the sweet tones you want.... I upgraded the cheap trem block with a fender classic full size steel block and added locking tuning keys so tuning stability isn't an issue either.
I am very impressed by this video, those pickups really sound nice! By the way, I have the exact same SD set on my guitar and that makes me even more impressed!
Putting aside the building characteristics of each pickup was made to sound like We have to consider that Chinese companies evolved their tech in past years, so to think a Chinese brand would sound like crap just because it is Chinese it's pre-2010's way of thinking.
On the Erick Clapton rift I couldn’t tell the difference! On the other yes the eBay pickups did not so good I prefer the expensive ones
Nothing surprising here. Good ideas once made a name and a name makes a big margin.
Once you have the parameters of a good pick-up, it can be replicated on the cheap by machines and sold without the inflated margin.
Hi Darrell. I'm way behind because I only now came across this very informative video of yours. Great stuff! I'm also curious about the distortion or overdrive you use about one minute from the beginning of the video. Mind naming the brand? I want to also check out your other video's. Thanks again!
Very well done review. There is a minuscule tonal difference, the Duncans being slightly briter/Fleors slightly darker, but for the huge, price difference, it's a no-brainer for the better value, though there has been a few, quality-control issues with the Fleors, but it seams like the vendors selling the Fleors are more than willing & happy to make things right. I think my dropped-A project is going to include a set of Fleors. Thanx, again, for the very informative, detailed review.
Woops. BRIGHTER, not BRITER. Lol.
I actually liked the cheap pickups better in the first (higher-gain) comparison, and the SDs better in the rest of the comparisons. I would not have guessed that'd be the case... but in either case, definitely agreed that they all sound great through your Blue Angel. (=
Obsidian kits are the way to go. As I do my updates/upgrades I definitely will get the Obsidian kits. It also allows for a easy change of pickups.
Very expensive, good kits but it's way cheaper if you learn how to solder. Plus it will help with troubleshooting and repairs. Nothing is better than good skills.
George Lackey I have no problem with soldering. I have a Weller and it works great. I’m on disability after getting electrocuted after a gig. I am left with a 24/7 migraine headache and sometimes I just can’t solder due to tremors and the headache. I’m going through a period right now so the Obsidian is a great way for me to get through my Les Paul model and my Tele kit. This is the first time I’ve used this so I want to see what it’s like.
I've bought some set of single coils from fleor at amazon and it's an amazing value for 32€ in total. alnico5, scattered wound, staggered and waxed + coated wires etc... I'm just awaiting now the 2 humbuckers tested by Darrel, one with allen screws, the other more classic. Incredible value. Anyway, just copper wire and 10gr of alnico...in the end, buying this more than 20€ each is ridiculous no? (my Vanzandt blues at 240€ are better anyway, don't worry!)
i found an epiphone les paul studio at a pawn shop for my son. paid 150 bucks (with hard case), installed similar chinese cheap pickups w/push pull splitters. sounds great, split they are clean and transparent. full humbucking nice and round.
The magic of music is in the performer, and not the equipment. That has always been the case.
You could play a chain link fence and make it sound good.
There is a lot of B.S. surrounding guitar items, but guitars are not space shuttles or computers.
What gauge chain link fence do you recommend?
@@stevef4010 52-12's...sound great through a humbucker.
I would recommend wax potting before installation. I've had a number of guitars from china that played great, looked great, and sounded great, BUT suffered badly from micro-phonics at high gain. Wax potting solved the problem. And if you ever get a set where Neck vs Bridge is not clear, measure DC resistance. Bridge PU are almost always higher.
Donald Parker friend, to reduce the microphone effect in a Chinese pickup, it is better to raise it as close as possible to the strings ... ;-)
I was checking out this video because I ordered a Fleor bridge pickup for my Tele and now I am not so worried although it was only $10..I can't wait to get it and hear what it sounds like. Glad I ordered it in black though...lol
On the clean tones SD definitely had more clarity and just a smoother more pleasant sound.
Great video. For what little difference I could hear, how could anyone justify buying the expensive brand? I've been trying to figure out for quite a while now how music stores sell guitars for thousands of dollars with only hundreds of dollars of parts and labor involved....hmm... Only answer I have come up with is that some people are willing to pay for the name. Thanks for the great playing and very informative video.
Thanks RB!
There was a noticeable difference in sound, but on the basis of the video the difference is as much taste as anything else. I preferred the SD, but then it was a hair closer to my preferred SC sound. I think you'd need to be playing the guitar to feel the difference. I've got a Jay Turser LP copy with unknown pickups in, and some of the same SDs for a project so I will drop them in the Jay Turser when working out the wiring, so that'll be an interesting comparison of the same nature, but against unknown pickups. I do have a FLEOR pickup in the parts box, but it's not a PAF HB.
I bought a pair of these Fleor humbuckers that I'm about to put in my SSS Agile strat - VERY interested to see how they'll sound. [Update: They sound FANTASTIC!]
I bought 5 Harley Benton’s and was going to probably swap out the pickups until I heard them. They are awesome, I’ll keep it stock. I never thought changing pickups made that big of a difference any time I’ve ever fond it.
Same here! Rhe Roswell pickups in my HB SC-550 sound lovely. After 2 years, I still don't feel any need to replace them!
What amp are you using? You can't hear much of a difference on cheaper/solid state amps.
When you played the clean arpeggios in different positions, I noticed the Chinese ones had almost the same tone when using both & using the bridge but much warmer when using the neck pu. The Duncan's had a better variety of tone in the three different positions & it was more balanced. Most of the time the difference was subtle though. Did you test volume differences at all?