grouping of makers & doers into categories (bodywork/finishers/pickups/effects) for quick reference?

Funkfingers

TheGuitarWeasel said:

a safeguard not necessarily against moderator action, but against any 'hawking for trade' issues the general membership might have. 

It is a pity that similar rules do not apply to the general membership. 

All too often, somebody opens a new thread, inviting suggestions for pickups to suit one of his or her instruments. This will receive a number of sincere replies from members with experience of the relevant instrument and no other agenda. Eventually, somebody will barge in and post something along the lines of, "ignore all of the suggestions so far. What you want is my reject stuff that I need to flog so I can afford the next thing I want." This, regardless of whether that reject stuff answers the OP's brief or not.

It is difficult to know exactly where a line should be drawn.

For instance, I convinced tachycardia to buy my old Gibson Iommi humbucker to go in his Epiphone G400 Custom. He requested gold plating and high output for down-tuned, overdriven filth. The TI humbucker does exactly that ... and how!

The only downside to me talking tachycardia around to my way of thinking is that it restricts his options for the other two pickup positions on his SG. If such a thing existed, I would have suggested an underwound Iommi-alike humbucker under a closed metal cover. Gibson does not make one.

Thus, I sold tachycardia what he said he wanted but it is difficult to know whether I have done him a disservice in the longer term.