Seymour Duncan Zephyr Pickups

[stratamania]

Here's a demo video of the silver wound cryogenically treated pickups.

http://youtu.be/FVb5dLjCJaE

Some good playing from Jack Thammarat in the video too.

 

[migetkotla]

I have three Warmoth projects using Zeph pickups (two strats......one with single coils and one with humbuckers.......and one tele with the tele set of Zephs).  Great pickups and in my opinion and experience they deliver as promised.  The "HD" of pickups. 

 

[stratamania]

Thanks for the feedback.

Three sets of them, you must have been impressed with the first set.

 

[Cagey]

Must have also won the lottery  :laughing7:

 

[Doughboy]

IMO, these pickups are a scam to part people from their hard earned cash. $600 for ONE humbucker is crazy. I got to try one earlier this year & compared it to a dozen guitars & it sounded a little more trebly & had more presence , but nothing more than that. A set for a strat w/ one humbucker would be $1500. That's just silly.

 

[sixstringsamurai]

 

[stratamania]

They are quite open about the price and it is an actual product. Silver in small amounts of production is going to cost something.

So is it a scam or an expensive product worth the money if you've got it ?

What do you think ?

 

[Doughboy]

They are quite open about the price and it is an actual product. Silver in small amounts of production is going to cost something.

So is it a scam or an expensive product worth the money if you've got it ?

What do you think ?

It's a scam in the same way people triple the price on a product to make it seem like it's better. You're paying more so it HAS to be better.

Look up the price of silver, the minute amount they use for pickups does not remotely warrant the price.

If you want to try these for the hell of it, then by all means. But  so many people want to believe they'll get a better tone due to the high price & SD is catering to these people.

It's like Tom Holmes PUs. Is a hand would PAF worth $300? I played one & it sure didn't sound any better than my $60 Dimarzio 36th anniv. PU.

 

[bagman67]

Well, all I can say is this:  I would never drop the kind of dough on a pickup that the Zephyrs go for.  I couldn't justify it, nohow.  I admit to curiosity about what - if any - discernible difference there is in the pickups' performance, but I'm not curious enough to shell out for them.  So I rely on our fellow forumites to relate their happiness, or lack thereof, and consider confirmation bias probably plays a role in whatever stories I read - and then my inquiries are at an end. 

There is a market, and folks who'll pay, so who are we to begrudge Seymour et al. their success?  There are lots of folks with vastly different priorities and purchasing power, and if it floats their boat to pay the price for the exclusivity, frankly it just ain't my business.  Slagging them for their choice doesn't make the world a better place.  There's already enough outrage outgassing on the internet - no need for another heaping helping.

 

[stratamania]

Actually I don't want to buy a set as it's a little out of my price range for experimentation, but am interested in people's opinions about them. I would like to try some given a chance.

I posted the video for interest.

 

[drewfx]

Silver has a slightly higher conductivity than copper at a much higher cost. You can of course get even better conductivity with copper wire by changing the gauge, but the bigger wire changes some other things too.

So the question is whether there is some fantastically magical combination of conductivity and gauge that can only be achieved using silver to justify the expense. Given that there are already quite a few magic combinations using copper, I'll pass.

 

[Cagey]

I doubt it's the silver that's driving the cost at all. I mean, it's a precious metal, but it's not particularly expensive. Today's price is at $18.60/troy oz., and I seriously doubt they're using that much of it in a pickup. So, it has to be the cost of getting 44ga. wire pulled. It's not widely used as there's little advantage to it, so supply is low, price is high. 

I have no doubt they sound different. "Better" is subjective. But, that could be due to a lot of things outside the wire. So, I'm chalking it up to marketing shenanigans. It gets them into a lotta conversations, and that's a Good Thing. There are certainly a lotta people out there with more money than brains, or with enough that they don't care about it. So, let 'em have their fun. I know if somebody handed me a set, I'd install the things and brag like a schoolboy  :laughing7:

 

[Great Ape]

Gee, sounds just like a Strat...

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Zephyrs are a funny one. Lots of people call it put as a marketing scam, but when was the last time you saw them being advertised? If you follow SD on Facebook you'll constantly see them promoting their regular pickups. But the Zephyrs just don't get mentioned.

Far as I know they were invented as a "what if", and are sold at a price that reflects the very very low demand for them. Buying silver wire that tiny in such all quantities is very uneconomical indeed. The pickups are made to order, so labour costs have to go straight on the pickup price. And there's other stuff like the cryogenic treatment that costs money (that particular one is something I have trouble believing can make any difference).

As far as I'm concerned, I'm sure they sound different, and the only person who can decide if that difference is worth all that extra cash is the player. After all, a JB and a 59 sound different too, for no difference in price.

 

[Doughboy]

I don't think anyone begrudges SD for coming up with this product. But they know very well that $600 a pickup is a silly price & they're going for that upper echelon boutique douche bag market, & imo, those people should be taken for all their worth, since they usually care more about gear than the actual playing of the guitar.

I know so many people with $10k Fender custom shop strats, boutique amps & hand wired pedals that can barely play & that seems to be the case with people who're ultra anal about gear to the point of needing to pay more for something, since in their mind, more money = better tone.

If Hendrix got a great tone with a stock strat & a stock marshall & clapton with a stock 335 & a stock marshall combo, then that about says it all.

Having said all this, I almost bought a a titanium floyd rose since I thought it HAD to sound better than a regular floyd at 3x the price, so I guess I am a douche bag as well. Luckily I tried one out & found that it REALLY sounded bad, so I passed.

 

[stratamania]

There is gear for all price points and levels of affordability, for players of all levels of ability who buy it for all sorts of reasons.

There's no need to insult anyone.

 

[Doughboy]

There is gear for all price points and levels of affordability, for players of all levels of ability who buy it for all sorts of reasons.

There's no need to insult anyone.

Of course we have to insult everyone. This is the internets.

Porn is #1, insults & harassment is #2 & a distant 3rd is actual info.  :headbang:

 

[migetkotla]

You can definitely get a humbucker for under 600.........lots of sets on ebay and if you talk with the seller you can probably bet the entire set for between 700 and 900.  I waited and waited for each set to come up at very good prices.  I think I got my tele set for maybe 600....my strat and humbucker sets were somewhere between 700 and 900 for each complete set. 

The one guy in these parts best known for rock and roll and and all around master of the guitar continues to praise them and according to his ear, they are the best pups he's ever heard.....  Of course he may be biased because he is the same guy I turn to to assemble all of my Warmoth kits/sets/projects.  But he's had maybe 250 guitars (sometimes he may own a guitar for just a month)......but at age 53 and with 43 of those years playing serious guitar, the Zephs are the best he's heard.  I've played for almost the same amount of time but no where at his level.  I have lots of guitars but have not owned even a fraction of what he has.............but for what it's worth, still, and with all those who use my guitars, the Zephs win.  HD isn't for everyone and neither is the real price range (much less than most probably believe), but they are preferred enough so that anyone checking them out has little trouble concluding they are a step up.  Have no idea about heavy metal and other hot pup comparisons....  They are super clean!

 

[Doughboy]

You can definitely get a humbucker for under 600.........lots of sets on ebay and if you talk with the seller you can probably bet the entire set for between 700 and 900.  I waited and waited for each set to come up at very good prices.  I think I got my tele set for maybe 600....my strat and humbucker sets were somewhere between 700 and 900 for each complete set. 

The one guy in these parts best known for rock and roll and and all around master of the guitar continues to praise them and according to his ear, they are the best pups he's ever heard.....  Of course he may be biased because he is the same guy I turn to to assemble all of my Warmoth kits/sets/projects.  But he's had maybe 250 guitars (sometimes he may own a guitar for just a month)......but at age 53 and with 43 of those years playing serious guitar, the Zephs are the best he's heard.  I've played for almost the same amount of time but no where at his level.  I have lots of guitars but have not owned even a fraction of what he has.............but for what it's worth, still, and with all those who use my guitars, the Zephs win.  HD isn't for everyone and neither is the real price range (much less than most probably believe), but they are preferred enough so that anyone checking them out has little trouble concluding they are a step up.  Have no idea about heavy metal and other hot pup comparisons....  They are super clean!

I'd love to try out a set, but at that price, it's too risky.

If I got to try them & they were THAT good, I'd take the plunge, but I've found that super high priced boutique items are generally priced high to appeal to the guitar nerd douche bag market, which unfortunately, I am a card carrying member.

I almost spent $800 on a titanium floyd 2 weeks ago, but luckily I found a guy who had one & I got to try it out & I'm glad I did, as it sounded horrible.

 

[migetkotla]

Yes....got to be careful!  I think I started with a humbucker set, then single coils (both for strats), and then afterwards bought my last set for the tele.  If you are familiar with the SD 69's and SSL-1's......you may agree that the SSL-1's are more "clear"....noticeably clear.  This is not for everyone.  The Zeph single coils are maybe another full step up in that direction.

While on the topic, if Zephs are not part of the list, in your experience what would be the most clear/HD......somewhat vintage sounding single coils made?  Thanks!