High End Pickup Manufacturers

jaymenon

While some pickup manufacturers charge very high prices for their pickups, it seems to my mind that the technology involved in a traditional single coil or humbucker pickup is 70 years old - and really quite simple.

Whilst I am sure such top dollar companies make great pickups, how much of these reputations are marketing and image? Is a single coil from Iron Gear or Tonerider just as good as an Amalfitano or a Mark Foley pickup? Just to name some makers at random... 

When it comes to noiseless technology (Kinmans, DiMarzio Areas etc) I can understand the prices - there's a lot of Research and Development going on and that does add to the price (whether or not they sound like a genuine single coil is of course a different matter).

Cols

I thought the same; I mean really, it’s basically a magnet with wire wrapped around it, how hard can it be?

What I can say is that, having swapped pickups out of my three main guitars (Red Special, Les Paul, Washburn N4), it’s easily the most cost-effective upgrade you can make.  Smoother sound in the Red Special and Les Paul compared to the stock units, and greater harmonic content in the N4.

There’s a lot more going on behind the scenes in terms of material selection, construction and wrap pattern which has a critical effect on the tone.

impmann

Far Eastern pickups are ok - I mean few of the squeal these days. However, compared to a proper scatter wound pickup there is a HUGE difference.

Tbh, there does come a price point where you do have to ask “really?” and some of the boutique wonders (esp US based) will charge extra for their name and the R&D they have done in the past. However some of these are fairy dust merchants, who’s snake oil marketing play a big part in the process.

In the UK right now, I truly believe that we have some of the best pickup winders in the world - and most of them charge very sensible prices. All of them make pickups that are head and shoulders better sounding than anything I’ve heard from Tonerider, Iron Gear, Vanson or any of the other Far eastern offerings.

Funkfingers

Cols said:

I thought the same; I mean really, it’s basically a magnet with wire wrapped around it, how hard can it be?

Try building your own!

Opinions about guitar tone are subjective. The "sound in your head" is an elusive moving target. Part of what you are paying for is confidence that Seymour Duncan, Larry DiMarzio and the others can build pickups that will deliver under stage or studio  conditions.

Arguably, confidence is more important than how the pickups sound. 

The flip side of brand confidence is confirmation bias. The brain and the wallet collude to persuade the ears that an expensive "custom shop", "boutique", "special" pickup sounds better than that same manufacturer's regular production line version of the same general design.

Ultimately, pickups do not exist in a vacuum. They need to compliment the host guitar. An unremarkable pickup can work wonders in the right surroundings.

The Gibson Skylark pickup is, literally, copper wire coiled around a magnet. Attached to a slab of well-seasoned mahogany, it sounds wonderful.

Alnico

Good pickups are worth every penny but I sometimes wonder how much better some are when they're twice the price of some already amazing quality, hand wound, UK made pickups.

My SD Classic Stacks were £90 each and I spent £55 on a new plate and pots so I could keep my original plate intact.

£325 total but to me it transformed the guitar into exactly what I wanted.

To me, worth every penny. 

Danielsguitars

I'm going to say mojo pickup prices ate really good value for money especially the normal range and worth every penny

I use his vintage pafs too and compared to most others they're just as good or better, they cost less and without the b.s 
His new paf covers are superb too, makes no difference to tone but they look right 

flying_pie

It's all subjective. Crappy tone with "rubbish" pickups can sound awesome on the right track.

I've replaced stock pickups with custom wound before and ended up putting the stock back on because it suited the guitar better. Other guitars have been transformed by upgrading hand wound pickups. 

I personally wouldn't spend more than the likes of BKP /Oil City/Mojo because I'm not a good enough guitar player to make a difference. And I doubt they're much better than what you can get for sensible money these days 

RiftAmps

There's a Doug and Pat video series where they visit Bill Tyson at his home and watch him make a set of pickups. Amongst other stuff, he hand tunes every magnet to a certain spec which obviously takes time and time=money. I ordered one of his P90s and it's next level stuff.

Yeah, I agree that the technology is quite old but it's how deep you want the winder to go with their product/process/research that makes the difference. That's miles apart from the dude that's ordering the cheapest stuff from China, cobbling it together, and then marketing himself as a guru.

Rocker

I fitted a pair of SDs in my Epi LP and they improved it no end. A pair of Jason Lollars transformed my PRS SE Soapbar.

I have no doubt that any of the UK pickup winders, some of whom are members of this forum, could and do produce pickups that are every bit as good as branded (costly) pickups. In my case, a shop assistant recommend the SDs, a guitar tech the Lollars. Both turned out to be absolutely spot on with their recommendations. You need advice, not opinions, from users who know the characteristics of different pickups to help you decide.

bodhi

It's how hard can it be the same way as how hard can it be to play guitar.  You just press down on some strings with one hand and hit them with a piece of plastic with the other hand, really 

Strat54

Some hellishly expensive pickups about these days and a lot of hype to go with them.....Ron Ellis leads the way with tales of money up front and 2 year wait lists. There's a 33 page thread on his pickups on TGP. Heard good things about Virgil Arlo, Theo Dahlem and Arcane. Then there's Peter Florance and Don Mare. We certainly have some good makers winders over here though. If you have specific needs least you could go to these guys over here and work with them to achieve the sound you have in your head. 

Skipped

I don't think hand made pickups from UK builders are expensive. The cost is a fairly low proportion of the total cost (of a high end guitar) and their contribution to the instrument is pretty important.

They make a lot more sense that buying Throbaks IMO. I wanted Throbaks because the covers look incredible and look even better after a year on the guitar. And so....I was surprised and happy to discover that he was willing to sell the covers seperately for "reasonable" money. (Some of you are reporting that UK builders are now offering accurate covers and I do not doubt that for a moment).

Chalky

The key phrase is "for the price".  How many times do you read that X's pickups are brilliant "for the price"?  How can a cheaper price tag make a pickup sound better to your ears?

Secondly, I've tried lots of pickups and the guitar makes a huge difference.  Pickups that are great in one guitar can sound mediocre in another.

Thirdly, just because Fred Bloggs is handwiring his scatterwound pickups using all original materials does not mean Bloggs' pickups are as good as BKP or Lollar.

Lastly, its a matter of taste. I have dozens of pickups and yet I have 4 guitars with Gibson 490/498 pickups because I like them.  I'm also a fan of Gibson Classic 57s even though my BKPs, Lollars, Fralins, Gibson Custombuckers/Livebuckers/Burstbuckers actually have better string separation, clarity and dynamics. No such thing a "better", only "better for me in this particular guitar".