Strat Pickups Blind Comparison w-clips - ANSWERS now on PG 3

[tfarny]

OK, here we go. Through the magic of Ebay, I was able to get some pickup set(s) that I've been wanting to try for a while. I'm offering this poll to you guys because it might be interesting, not because I need help making up my mind. I know which ones I like best. Please let me know which you like best, and why. You may also want to guess: Which set costs 3X as much as which other set, which set is "noiseless", and which clip(s) were recorded using an "inferior tone wood" body. I wanted to do them all in the same body, but I have one guitar which is just perfect and don't mess with it if it ain't broke, as they say. No shredding here (more like "shredz" video actually), I was just trying to show the pure sound of the pickups.

Setup: hardtail strat(s), new daddario .010 strings, all controls on 10, 10' cable straight into amp. Clean clips = blackface champ on vol 3, treble 7 bass 5, open back 112 V30, Rhode Nt1a (solid state condenser mic, very transparent) about 3 feet away. Preamp is just a bit gain from the I/O, no EQ. Neck pickup through the Neil stuff, then '2' position for a bit.  Dirty clips = same except amp is in "Tweed" mode on vol 7, Pickups in '4' position. Post-recording I normalized all clips to -0db. I did nothing whatsoever else to the sound. To me this gets a pretty accurate reproduction of the actual sound, even though it might not be the best tone for recording real music.

I'll give it a few days then reveal the brands. Enjoy!  :icon_thumright:
Thanks to Godrex, the files are hosted here: http://www.wfzr.net/tfarny/

 

[tfarny]

Warmoth server isn't being nice to me - I hosted them on mediafire for the time being: PICKUP TEST http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=64b0ac482fe5991aa8460430cf93834b70301138d5d4624b6ef02ae08ee7024e

Other info - they were saved as VBR lossess mp3 files, 44.1 & 16 bit (CD quality). Otherwise the files get real big.

 

[Cagey]

Warmoth server isn't being nice to me - I hosted them on mediafire for the time being: PICKUP TEST http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=64b0ac482fe5991aa8460430cf93834b70301138d5d4624b6ef02ae08ee7024e

Other info - they were saved as VBR lossess mp3 files, 44.1 & 16 bit (CD quality). Otherwise the files get real big.

Warmoth server may not be cooperating with you, but Mediafire doesn't play well with secure machines, so I'm outa this contest.

 

[Superbeast520]

Maybe try them all in just One of the other not so perfect guitars, .....that way they all have the same variables, same amp settings and recording levels and mic placement etc etc.......  that way its a true representation of the differences from pickup set to pickup set ......then the opinions gathered will be a truer and more valid  representation of what the populous hears ......making your test unbiased to any one pickup set.

Its the only way to get an accurate poll.  :icon_scratch:  It will be interesting non the less....

 

[dNA]

I didn't specifically notice you changing pickup positions (I've actually never owned a strat, so i'm less tuned in to the variations) on each recording. I would personally have liked to hear  "Bridge pickup" followed by a riff, then "Bridge + mid" followed by another part and so on. The clips would be longer, but it be more comprehensive and you could do the same arrangement for each recording.

In ascending order I liked
Set 2
Set 1
Set 3

i actually only listened to the clean recordings though.

 

[GoDrex]

mediafire is a PITA

try here:

http://www.wfzr.net/tfarny

btw - the dirty clips sound blown out to me

judging by the clean clips only, I'd go, 1,2,3

 

[tfarny]

Superbeast, I know it's less than perfect but I'm not selling pickups, I don't want to tear apart a perfectly functioning guitar just for the sake of a forum post. I can say that both of the guitars used have very similar specs and feel with the exception of the body wood, one being alder and one being poplar. For the clean clips, I switched from Neck to Neck + Mid after I finished the "Needle and the Damage Done" riff.

Godrex, the dirty clips are not digitally clipped at all according to my meters and recording, they do sound pretty fuzzy though. Not sure what else you'd mean by blown out. Thank you very much for re-hosting in the more convenient place, I really appreciate it.  :tard: edit: oops wrong little yellow dude!  :icon_thumright: :icon_thumright: There that's better.

 

[Cagey]

I'd agree with GoDrex - order of preference is 1, 2, 3, and the dirty clips sound blown out. Either that, or that amp needs some serious attention. Also, metronomes are cheap <grin>

 

[exaN]

The dirty clips sound weird, but judging from the clean sounds, my order of preference is 2-1-3.

 

[bbl4ck]

I too had problems with the dirty clips.  But for the clean clips, I liked them in order 3, 2, 1...

 

[tfarny]

Nobody wants to guess which ones are noiseless, which ones are boutique, which are budget?  :toothy10:

 

[Return of Guitlouie]

Ok, so as to which I like best, it goes 2, 3, 1. 

As to the guessing question, I would say that 1 is budget, 2 is noiseless, and 3 is boutique.  I'm probably so very wrong, but this is my gut feeeling.

 

[dNA]

i have nothing to go on except the fact that i liked 2 the most, so i would assume those are the boutique pickups. but you're already making it clear that it's a trick question kind of thing, so why bother guessing?

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

All sounded useable and fine to me.  I liked 2 the most, 3 the least.

 

[Cagey]

Nobody wants to guess which ones are noiseless, which ones are boutique, which are budget?  :toothy10:

I frequent a number of musician-oriented sites, and one thing I've noticed is that some of them can only be called "extremists", while others are more pragmatic. This is one of the more pragmatic sites, so I wouldn't expect anyone here to commit to the probable cost/pedigree of something they hear.

The extremists seem to fall into two categories.

The first are often called "cork sniffers", a derogatory term referencing wine tasters who claim to be able to discern differences in taste and molecular structure of wine that are so small a mass spectrometer couldn't define them. They have words to describe tone and dynamics that move well beyond the borders of ridiculous, and make you wonder what's wrong with not only your ears, but your perception in general. You could have what you consider the most badass guitar/amp combination you've ever heard in the history of the world, but if it's not a [insert boutique name here] that cost [insert small country GNP here], it's CRAP! They're fun forums. You can get banned in record time for pointing out that you have a set of Ruby tubes that sound better than a set of JJs.

As if that were possible <grin>

The second are the fanatics. At first blush, you might think there's no difference between them and corksniffers, but there is. Fanatics need no basis in fact whatsoever. They barely need to know how to spell what they believe in, let alone have any direct experience with what they're willing to endorse or denigrate. Usually, all their adjectives and adverbs, pro or con, fit into various combinations of four letters or less. Corksniffers, on the other hand, often have at least some experience. The premium equipment they'll even allow you to discuss costs so much and has enough idiosyncrasies that if you aren't intimately familiar with the stuff, you'll be outed in no time flat.

Unfortunately for everyone, "good" and "bad" are highly subjective terms that defy description for the most part, so without prejudicial cues, nobody knows the difference. Without the pickup blatantly saying whether it's made by "Kinman" or "Seymour Duncan" or at least having a price tag - many people don't know if it sounds good or not. All they can go by is what they think they like, and we all know how faulty that is! <grin>

 

[NLD09]

I liked #3 the best.

 

[Superlizard]

Nobody wants to guess which ones are noiseless, which ones are boutique, which are budget?  :toothy10:

I frequent a number of musician-oriented sites, and one thing I've noticed is that some of them can only be called "extremists", while others are more pragmatic. This is one of the more pragmatic sites, so I wouldn't expect anyone here to commit to the probable cost/pedigree of something they hear.  etc...

Interesting statements there.

Let's not forget "The Clique" - whereupon mantras/advice, whether correct or incorrect, are parroted ad nauseum by members of said clique.

Then there's "The Enlightened N00b" who, say, upon purchasing his first tube amp (for $500.00), suddenly becomes an expert on the subject.

...and of course the poor true beginner n00bs who read all this drivel online and get started out on the wrong foot with their heads full of sh!te.



The thing is, give people a forum where they can make claims without being tested, and everybody's an "expert"... even the n00b.  The only real difference being, of course, actual years of experience playing, years of experience with various equipment (good quality and bad quality) and how good one's ear is.  Tone, in the form of "I like X tone" is truly subjective, but whether or not said tone sounds "x" "y" or "z" in reference to frequencies and/or amount of distortion/clipping etc, certainly is not subjective - even though two individuals' differing descriptors for the same tone may put forth that notion... and even though one individual's ears may not be quite as discerning as another's.

Clips are really the only way to discern reality from BS online... even so, that's not a perfect scenario (recording methods, gear differences, etc).  But it's the best we have ATM.

 

[tfarny]

Waiting for your educated guesses as to the noiseless, budget, boutique, and poplar questions, Mr. tOOb expert!  :icon_tongue:

To somebody else who posted earlier: this is not set up to be a "trick" or designed to fail one or the other. I do research for a living, this is just a fun kind of research for me. When I say I know what I like already, what I mean is that I'm not trying to  choose a pickup here based on what a bunch of people I've never met tell me. I'm posting this up just out of curiosity, if I cheated that would make the whole thing uninteresting. I described the setup and recording as honestly as I could. There is no winner or loser here.

 

[Superlizard]

Waiting for your educated guesses as to the noiseless, budget, boutique, and poplar questions, Mr. tOOb expert!  :icon_tongue:

To somebody else who posted earlier: this is not set up to be a "trick" or designed to fail one or the other. I do research for a living, this is just a fun kind of research for me. When I say I know what I like already, what I mean is that I'm not trying to  choose a pickup here based on what a bunch of people I've never met tell me. I'm posting this up just out of curiosity, if I cheated that would make the whole thing uninteresting. I described the setup and recording as honestly as I could. There is no winner or loser here.

I'll have time this weekend to slap the cans on and give it the "ol' college try".  :icon_thumright:

 

[dNA]

Waiting for your educated guesses as to the noiseless, budget, boutique, and poplar questions, Mr. tOOb expert!  :icon_tongue:

To somebody else who posted earlier: this is not set up to be a "trick" or designed to fail one or the other. I do research for a living, this is just a fun kind of research for me. When I say I know what I like already, what I mean is that I'm not trying to  choose a pickup here based on what a bunch of people I've never met tell me. I'm posting this up just out of curiosity, if I cheated that would make the whole thing uninteresting. I described the setup and recording as honestly as I could. There is no winner or loser here.

Well I didn't mean that you were trying to trick us. But you kind of set it up in advance that we would be surprised by the actual results - which kind of makes guessing moot, because I don't expect my guess to be right or relevant, because you've already created a certain expectation, you know? I didn't mean it to be rude or anything. I would expect the one that sounds the best to be boutique. And the one with the least noise is the noiseless pickup. And the 3rd one is the budget set.