I would hate to be a Pickup maker......

hotpickups

I've only ever swapped out pickups once and that was to see if there was a remarkable difference really which from memory they weren't.

OilCityPickups

Don't feel too sorry for us pickup makers ... pretty much to a man we do this because we love it. We have to ... it's not a way to get rich!
I think the things that make me shudder are the things that probably make every winder wonder why he does what he does: unrealistic wants: 'I'd like this mini humbucker to sound just like a Fender Wide Range ... oh and be in 'camo' finish, and to be sub £80.00 ...'. Or I want to sound just like .......... (insert name of artist here). 
We are not miracle workers, we just use our experience to give you guys the best sound we can. Sometimes you don't listen to us: when you adamantly say you want a 17k alnico 2 humbucker with a cover ... and we say that it'll be mud city ... and you say ... but 'such and such' on this or that forum says that's just what I need, so make it please. We go okay you're the boss ... then the set comes back in two weeks ... guess why ...  then the guy asks to swap the unsalable custom set for the pickups you originally recommended.  Meh, you take the hit, swap the pickups, and put it down to good customer relations.

Yes, those are real examples of things I've been asked for ... and for pickups that sound like plum cake a with lemon zest top end! Please, please, please no food related sound descriptions!!!!   

meltedbuzzbox

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Don't feel too sorry for us pickup makers ... pretty much to a man we do this because we love it. We have to ... it's not a way to get rich!
I think the things that make me shudder are the things that probably make every winder wonder why he does what he does: unrealistic wants: 'I'd like this mini humbucker to sound just like a Fender Wide Range ... oh and be in 'camo' finish, and to be sub £80.00 ...'. Or I want to sound just like .......... (insert name of artist here). 
We are not miracle workers, we just use our experience to give you guys the best sound we can. Sometimes you don't listen to us: when you adamantly say you want a 17k alnico 2 humbucker with a cover ... and we say that it'll be mud city ... and you say ... but 'such and such' on this or that forum says that's just what I need, so make it please. We go okay you're the boss ... then the set comes back in two weeks ... guess why ...  then the guy asks to swap the unsalable custom set for the pickups you originally recommended.  Meh, you take the hit, swap the pickups, and put it down to good customer relations.

Yes, those are real examples of things I've been asked for ... and for pickups that sound like plum cake a with lemon zest top end! Please, please, please no food related sound descriptions!!!!   

Does that mean your stuff isn't organic? :-p

Sporky

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Yes, those are real examples of things I've been asked for ... and for pickups that sound like plum cake a with lemon zest top end! Please, please, please no food related sound descriptions!!!!   

So my "dub in the neck, stingray in the bridge" request wasn't that weird?

p90fool

richardhomer said:

Somewhere the internet decided that Les Pauls should sound ‘like a Tele on steriods’ - that annoying sod Greg Koch is a proponent of this.

My favourite LP tones are on ZZ Top’s first album and early Clapton. Both are really thick - admittedly with an articulate high-end - but nothing like the ‘plinky’, too-much-right-hand-attack sound that Koch gets. I suspect any pick-up he liked, wouldn’t suit me at all....

I totally agree mate, I love the fat, rich tones available in Les Pauls and tend to dial them in to accentuate that, rather than fight it.

If you're not getting there though, I can sell you an amp blanket.

OilCityPickups

Sporky said:

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Yes, those are real examples of things I've been asked for ... and for pickups that sound like plum cake a with lemon zest top end! Please, please, please no food related sound descriptions!!!!   

So my "dub in the neck, stingray in the bridge" request wasn't that weird?

Pretty sane actually .... lordy what am I saying? 

JD50

Pot values are something a lot of folk over look changing before pickups.

Bridgehouse

Ah but it’s better when us bass players ring up for a new pickup...

”Need a new bass pickup making. Yeah. Bass.

Precision mate. 

Yeah split coil.

Sound? Come on, nobody gives a shit what the bass sounds like..

Next week? Lovely, I’ll paypal.”

stonevibe

To be fair the number of solder fumes most pickup builders (@TheGuitarWeasel ) inhale, plus the caffeine intake on top of that, I doubt they know what day of the week it is anyway.

So dealing with muppets like me should be the least of their worries!

Jack_

JD50 said:

Pot values are something a lot of folk over look changing before pickups.

This is true. I find if the pot is strong enough I don't notice any change in anything, let alone tone.

Philly_Q

richardhomer said:

Somewhere the internet decided that Les Pauls should sound ‘like a Tele on steriods’ - that annoying sod Greg Koch is a proponent of this.

My favourite LP tones are on ZZ Top’s first album and early Clapton. Both are really thick - admittedly with an articulate high-end - but nothing like the ‘plinky’, too-much-right-hand-attack sound that Koch gets. I suspect any pick-up he liked, wouldn’t suit me at all....

I don't find Greg Koch an annoying sod, but nevertheless I agree, I hate the demos he does for humbucker guitars.  Never gets a sound I like.

I used to change pickups in my guitars a lot, quite obsessively in fact, despite the fact I've never played a gig in my life.  Made some good choices. made some terrible ones - it's a learning process.  I certainly got very good at soldering.  So I think they do make a difference, especially in a broad-brush way - ceramic vs. alnico, high output vs. low output.

What I don't get is the endless nitpicking over the seemingly infinite number of hugely expensive PAF replicas out there.  I'm sure they're all very good, but the differences are so subtle... it's cork-sniffing of the highest order.

Adam_MD

Philly_Q said:

What I don't get is the endless nitpicking over the seemingly infinite number of hugely expensive PAF replicas out there.  I'm sure they're all very good, but the differences are so subtle... it's cork-sniffing of the highest order.

I totally agree but the only way I got there was to go down that rabbit hole and see for myself. It was an expensive journey though now I’m out the other side I know what I like and how easy it is to get it.   

It was the same with pedals obsessing over which builder had the best fairy dust until I built a load of them and realised a huge part of the differences in pedals I’d previously had was down to parts tolerances and very minor mods.  

Philly_Q

Adam_MD said:

It was the same with pedals obsessing over which builder had the best fairy dust until I built a load of them and realised a huge part of the differences in pedals I’d previously had was down to parts tolerances and very minor mods.  

I was thinking of pedals when I was writing my post, but I'm not really qualified to comment, it's an area I've never really got into.  I read the reviews and discussions about the latest boutique favourites, but for me it's like reading about sports cars or expensive watches - sometimes interesting, but not something I "connect" with at all and not something I'll ever buy.

If I ever did "need" some pedals I would probably just go Boss. Not Hugo Boss.