Humbucker Shootout

[Death by Uberschall]

Pickup Shootout

Sound Clips

Another forum I belong to had one of it's members perform a pickup shootout. I think he did a very good job with it. Check it out, there are a lot of great pickups in the list with sound samples. So for those of you looking for that new pup (Orpheo, hannaugh  :icon_biggrin, you might find what you are looking for there.

 

[Nando Vallart]

Nice stuff!

Shame he only used 1 Bare Knuckle, the Steven Stevens signature...
Will have a listening!

 

[Death by Uberschall]

He ran out of time. I think over 30 pups were submitted and they got to 23 in two days. He said he wanted to do at least one pup from all who submitted (some were company submitted and some were forum members sending them in).

 

[Superlizard]

Shootouts are always good, but they're far better when you know:

- what the sample rate is
- what the guitar is
- what the amp is; including t00b brand
- what the speaker/type of cab is
- and/or anything in between

I listened to a few, and to be honest I didn't hear much difference at all... it seems to my ears that the amp being used is coloring the pickup sound too much.

 

[jackthehack]

"I listened to a few, and to be honest I didn't hear much difference at all... it seems to my ears that the amp being used is coloring the pickup sound too much."

+1  :icon_thumright:

At first I thought it was just the shitty little speakers in my laptop, so I went up and ran the stream through my studio reference monitors, hard to tell that all weren't recorded with the same axe/pickups....

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Maybe you guys/gals should read the thread more closely. They were recorded in a studio. Three Gibson Les Pauls in rotation with the pup swapping. A Freidman modded Marshall, Fender Deluxe Reverb and a Diezel Herbert were used. Metro Amps 4x12 loaded with Scumbacks and a Bogner Uberkab (V30's & G12T75's) were used along with the Fender. Dive into the tread at page 3 and read on. He is offering cd's of the shootout that you can loadup and switch back and forth between pups to hear the real differences.

 

[GoDrex]

Unfortunately you have to skim that thread in the link above to hear what they used - though in the clip he yells out when the amps changed.

I also though there were very little difference, but then I started listening to the entire clips, and skipping ahead and I could notice differences more. I think the first part of the clip is the part that sounds the most similar. Towards the middle of the clips is where it gets easier to tell the differences - IMO.

77' Marshall 100 watt JMP Friedman 'Hairy Brown Eye' (6550's) - Heavy
Diezel Herbert - Heavy
71' Marshall 100 watt Super Tremolo Friedman 'Brown Eye' (EL34's) - Medium Gain
Fender Deluxe Reverb - Clean

the guitars were Les Pauls


more info about what speakers (Scumbacks) and cabs in in the thread....

 

[Superlizard]

I looked on a few pages in the thread but didn't see any of the equipment listed; apparently that info is buried.

There were subtle differences, but every distorted clip I listened to had the same thin, ratty-buzzy top end (treble).

I wonder what kind of Marshall mod that Brown Eye is... gonna look it up.  10 bucks says there's at least a Master Volume involved; possibly PPIV.

 

[GoDrex]

There were subtle differences, but every distorted clip I listened to had the same thin, ratty-buzzy top end (treble).

Well you should school them in how you got your God-like tone.  :laughing7:

 

[Superlizard]

"Brown Eye" / "Hairy Brown Eye" - No info on the actual mods done to the Marshall circuit; apparently this isn't a "public" mod but one offered by some amp tech named Dave.

It definitely does have a Master Vol; whether PPIV or not can't tell without looking at the guts.

You can see here:

Notice the "Master" and "Gain" on the right side of the controls... normally on the stock circuit those 2 knobs are Treble Channel Volume "Volume I" and Normal Channel Volume "Volume II".  One of the very key aspects of that glorious, fat crunchy 4-input Marshall tone is the lack of a Master Volume; if you want more gain, you have to turn it up to get those power t00bs cookin' (that's where the magic tone happens).

So, at least he's being smart and not drilling holes in the panels (front or back) for the Master Vol - this very intrusive mod (drilling holes in the panels for Master Vol knobs) was typically (and sadly) done to so many vintage 4-input Marshalls over the decades... mostly in search of the "Brown Sound" (EVH).  Some were even cutting the chassis out to add an extra preamp t00b cuz they read some quote about Eddie's tech Jose A. doing so to Eddie's amp (which was never the case).

Anyhoo, a typical MV circuit can cause the treble in the tone to get thin and buzzy.  I think at best you can get it to sound good, but it's always going to sound (at best) somewhat thinner and buzzier than the typical old-school 4-input Marshall circuit.

 

[Superlizard]

There were subtle differences, but every distorted clip I listened to had the same thin, ratty-buzzy top end (treble).

Well you should school them in how you got your God-like tone.  :laughing7:

He'd have far better results in a tone-test Marshall-wise if he used a non-modded 4 inputter.  That "Brown Eye" mod is fine for those who like that tone (to each his own; ain't my bag), but using it in a pickup tone-test doesn't work, because the mod is putting too much hair on the tone (coloring the tone) to hear the differences 'tween pickups.

 

[GoDrex]

Uh yeah - but for them they like that kind of tone and different pickups react differently to different amps.... which is why they used 4 different ones, which you seem to ignore.... but whatever. As usual you know all.

 

[mayfly]

"Brown Eye" / "Hairy Brown Eye" - No info on the actual mods done to the Marshall circuit; apparently this isn't a "public" mod but one offered by some amp tech named Dave.

I've got that beat:  I've got the "hairy large ones" mod for your 4 input Marshall.  Send me your amp and I'll mod it for a small fee.  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[Superlizard]

Uh yeah - but for them they like that kind of tone and different pickups react differently to different amps.... which is why they used 4 different ones, which you seem to ignore.... but whatever. As usual you know all.

Yeaaaah... so, they like that kind of tone... so, like, ah, I said, that's fine for playing.

And uhh yeah... different pickups react differently to different amps, except, uh, in this case because, ah, any pickup you run through these amps sounds... the same.

I'm not the only one here who didn't hear much of a difference.

BTW, ah... have you ever considered instead of uh, making smartass comments about the knowledge I have due to jealousy, you should ah, shut up and maybe learn something in the process?

If you could do that, that'd be greaaaat... Mmmkay?

 

[Superlizard]

"Brown Eye" / "Hairy Brown Eye" - No info on the actual mods done to the Marshall circuit; apparently this isn't a "public" mod but one offered by some amp tech named Dave.

I've got that beat:  I've got the "hairy large ones" mod for your 4 input Marshall.  Send me your amp and I'll mod it for a small fee.  :icon_jokercolor:

:icon_biggrin:

And then I'll do a pickup shootout on da interwebz... not to do an actual pickup shootout mind you, but to shill your mod.  :toothy10:

 

[GoDrex]

hahahaha you are a piece of work. :laughing7:

all bow to the macho tough guy know it all

did you miss the CLEAN parts with the Fender deluxe reverb. Ummm yeah...

some people can find fault with anything.

find me another comparison that comes anywhere close to what this guy did. Is it perfect? Of course not.

 

[Superlizard]

hahahaha you are a piece of work. :laughing7:

all bow to the macho tough guy know it all

Seriously, you follow me around on this board everywhere, and every time you throw out the "know-it-all" card.

What do you suppose that says about you?

 

[Soylent]

I think you are both super.  :icon_thumright:

 

[GoDrex]

Umm,yeah... every time. EVERY TIME. Everywhere too. hahahaha :laughing7:

I've called you a know it all one other time. That's how you come across. Like someone who knows better than everyone. EVERYWHERE. EVERY TIME hahahaha  :laughing7:

 

[Superlizard]

Umm,yeah... every time. EVERY TIME. Everywhere too. hahahaha :laughing7:

I've called you a know it all one other time. That's how you come across. Like someone who knows better than everyone. EVERYWHERE. EVERY TIME hahahaha  :laughing7:

I know what I like.

I know some things work and some don't.

And maybe in some cases (yours especially; judging your reactions) I do know better; I didn't just fall off the tone turnip truck.

So, you know, uh... if you think I'm wrong about the Brown Eye Marshall mod (as if you've ever modded a Marshall in the first place) and my ah... opinion on what a Master Volume mod does to the tone, you just go right ahead and uh, prove it.

And if you're gonna sit here and tell the board here that you hear enough of a difference between those pickups in the "shootout" through the "Brown Eye" Marshall amp(s) to make a decision on which pickup sounds the best, then you're lying.