Very cool SD pickup comparison

[Death by Uberschall]

I copied this from another forum, thought I'd share. The results are really surprising.  ccasion14:

Thought you all would appreciate this nice video Keith Merrow put together in order to compare 12 models of Seymour Duncan pickups.  It's a metal rhythm clip, and I think the differences are pretty clear! 

I think the Distortion is my favorite, what do you guys think?

Take a listen: 
http://youtu.be/ryzie8mham8

Details from video description:

Pickups-
Seymour Duncan
http://www.seymourduncan.com

Full mix-

Distortion 0:06 - 1:02
Full Shred 1:03 - 1:59
Invader 1:59 - 2:55
JB 2:56 - 3:53
Alternative 8 3:54 - 4:49
59/Custom Hybrid 4:52 - 5:46
Custom 5:46 - 6:42
Dimebucker 6:42 - 7:39
EMTY Blackout 7:40 - 8:36
Blackout Metal 8:36 - 9:33
Blackout Standard 9:33 - 10:30
Gus G 10:30 - 11:27

Guitar only (2 tracks L/R)

Distortion 11:27
Full Shred 11:38
Invader 11:49
JB 12:00
Alternative 8 12:10
59/Custom 12:22
Custom 12:32
Dimebucker 12:43
EMTY 12:54
Blacout Metal 13:05
Blackout STD 13:16
Gus G 13:27

Guitar-
Strictly 7 Guitars "Cobra" Baritone 6-string. 27.5" scale, mahogany body, koa top, maple neck, ebony fretboard. Tuned drop Bb.
http://www.s7guitars.com/

Amp-
Rhodes Colossus H-100
http://www.rhodesamplification.com/

DAW-
Presonus Studio One Pro (v2)
http://www.presonus.com

Signal chain- S7 guitar - Rhodes Amp - Randall ISOcab - SM57 - Profire 610 - Presonus S1 Pro (guitars are high and low passed).

 

[Cagey]

I didn't think the results were very surprising. All it showed was what I already knew: if you use enough distortion you can make everything sound the same. Or, to put it another way, the differences were so subtle that he could have achieved the same thing with minor adjustments of his tone control knob. Maybe things changed later on, but after half the video and 6 or 7 different pickups, it was pretty obvious where it was all going so I had mercy on myself.

 

[Strat Avenger]

I didn't think the results were very surprising. All it showed was what I already knew: if you use enough distortion you can make everything sound the same. Or, to put it another way, the differences were so subtle that he could have achieved the same thing with minor adjustments of his tone control knob. Maybe things changed later on, but after half the video and 6 or 7 different pickups, it was pretty obvious where it was all going so I had mercy on myself.

Yeah, I noticed a long time ago that the sound samples on the SD website all sound pretty much the same.

 

[ezas]

^^^^^^^^^^^^

That's how I always felt about the SD sound clips as well.

I think BK sets the bar for quality of sound clips.

As for the clips, I think it's really important to have the drum track way up in the mix when you are trying listen to PU's.  :icon_scratch:

By 2:51 I had a headache and stopped listening to the differences I couldn't hear.

 

[Cagey]

As for the clips, I think it's really important to have the drum track way up in the mix when you are trying listen to PU's.  :icon_scratch:

Yeah. And have the distortion/overdrive set so severe you're basically amplifying square waves. And don't forget to add enough fake reverb to compete with an over-sized cave or a large marble room tastefully appointed with stainless steel moldings, coving, doors and fixtures. Maybe add a little chorus and flange, then feed the whole thing to a multi-tap echo chamber. That way, you can tell exactly what what the pickup sounds like.

 

[stubhead]

All these clips are based around the wankophonic wonderfulness of the clipster. The only kind of test that might have any meaning would be for someone to play a single note, really loud, and let it die out. Repeat about 12 times in different frequency ranges. Then play some single root-fifth power chords, letting each one die out. Then repeat with some more complex chords, ditto.

When it's just some guy with the DJ voice saying "and this is the new Soul Destroyer Metal Pedal!" and there's no comparison to anything else, it's a waste of time - mine and theirs. Sure, dude - you rawk! But who cares?

I noticed a long time ago that the sound samples on the SD website all sound pretty much the same.

That's because ALL THE PICKUPS ARE THE SAME. There's far more difference between toothbrushes or shoelaces or peanut butter than between pickups. If you made one that sounded "different" - it would be WRONG AND NO ONE WOULD BUY IT.

 

[keeper006]

I think a better title for this video would've been "How different SDs sound w/ Keith Merrow's Djent settings". I skipped up to the last minute where he just plays a lick with each and no drums, that showed the difference a lot more. But I have a lot of these SDs, and they don't sound anything like that with my gear and settings and using them for the type of sound they're designed for. The Dimebucker sounds really good if you set it up for the Dime sound, but any other way it's...no. And I've never heard a '59 sound that thin.

 

[crash]

The video should have been the clips at the end where it was the guitar only. 

That being said, I preferred the Distortion, 59/Custom, Gus Blackout.  The other blackouts just sounded horrible, IMHO.

 

[stubhead]

I kind of understand that the companies want you to hear something rocking that makes you run out and kick you credit card interest rate into full shred, but for the purpose of comparison and information only the absolute best test would be to plug into an absolutely pristine power amp, no reverb, overdrive, no nothing. Because we grew up listening to great guitarists craft a wide variety of great tones, the bar has been set really high - in particular, you have to have really good control over the upper and lower midrange, and the proportions of that to bass and treble. And every step that a video demonstration takes away from that ideal information about tone, the harder it is to find out what any product can do. About all I can do is try to remember which manufacturers hype the loudest, which one try to ingratiate themselves by being that hip cool insider-type* - and buy elsewhere.

*(And a video advertisement is NOT a "TUTORIAL", asshat - it's an advertisement.... grrr)

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Really impressed with the guy's playing. But yeah, too much distortion. What they should have done is set it so that the highest output of the pickups being tested would drive the amp into a square wave, so you could then hear the differences in the ones below.

Huge difference in tone with the Alternative 8 though (don't like it at all), and also with the lower-output stuff like the JB and the 59/Custom hybrid, which are more my kind of thing.

 

[Strat Avenger]

Well...there are some differences. For example: My Seymour Duncan JB pickups are "louder" (have more output) and produce more midrange frequencies than my "Screamin' Demon" pickups. Aside from those differences, the core "tone" is pretty much the same.

My Seymour Duncan "Jazz" model is not as loud (has less output), and sounds 'thinner' like more treble & less bass.

Of course all of this is affected by the particular guitar these pickups are installed in.
The "Jazz" sounded far too thin in a Super-Strat guitar with an alder body & maple neck, yet sounds perfect in my (LP) guitar with mahogany body & neck.

 

[swarfrat]

Pickup comparisons like this are a bit like putting Bob Dylan in front of 47 different mics and then saying half of them make him sound whiney.

I actually don't begrudge the guy his amp setup / amount of distortion used - if you're after that kinda sound, I'm sure this is probably more interesting than some guy hammering a Deluxe Reverb  with an ES-335 and a bunch of different pickups. It just doesn't even come close to being the end all be-all comparison - because no such animal exists.  The pickups I heard mostly fell into 'normal' and 'all the bass sucked out'. That said - I did hear enough of what you guys were talking about in the JB from my thread a while back about 'ruder than your average humbucker, beefier than the average P-90', and I will consider it in the future.

 

[Dan025]

the jb is an interesting animal. it shouldn't be as bright as it is. it needs a little taming if used in the bridge position if you ask me but i guess it could go in the neck paired with an invader or a dimebucker if that's what you are into. nothing pot selection and usable tone controls can't fix though.

 

[Strat Avenger]

the jb is an interesting animal. it shouldn't be as bright as it is. it needs a little taming if used in the bridge position if you ask me but i guess it could go in the neck paired with an invader or a dimebucker if that's what you are into. nothing pot selection and usable tone controls can't fix though.

I don't know why people say that. I have never experienced the JB being too "bright" sounding.

 

[Cagey]

I don't know why people say that. I have never experienced the JB being too "bright" sounding.

He didn't say it was "too bright". He said it shouldn't be as bright as it is. That's not necessarily bright, just more so than you'd expect out of an over-wound humbucker. And he's right - it's an interesting pickup because of that. You get to be crunchy and grungy and articulate all at the same time. Probably why it's been so popular for so many years.

 

[Dan025]

the jb is an interesting animal. it shouldn't be as bright as it is. it needs a little taming if used in the bridge position if you ask me but i guess it could go in the neck paired with an invader or a dimebucker if that's what you are into. nothing pot selection and usable tone controls can't fix though.

I don't know why people say that. I have never experienced the JB being too "bright" sounding.

im not into pickups in the bridge with too much attitude. it either has to be soft sounding or really fat. for me it's too bright for the output, it just sounds rude even when im super easy on the strings. it always sounded rock and roll no matter what i did with the pick. i had one in a cort flying vee years ago and the stock neck pickup was muddy. the only way i could play that thing was in the middle position because the neck was too fat and the jb was too aggressive. even on the sd website they say many people use 250k pots with them to tame them a bit which makes it a good strat bridge pup. i'd definitely use one again but with different controls.

 

[Justinginn]

I heard big differences in terms of attack, rather than tone. And for this style or music, attack is probably more important than tone. In a live setting, the attack is what makes the parts breathe and come to life. I thought the review was really helpful given you're interested in this tone.

 

[greywolf]

I think it's better to test them clean than dirty  like this ...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5ix9R68z5Y

 

[ezas]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's some seriously tasty playing

 

[ZionWarmoth]

There are slight differences in tone and may be more in attack, but with that much gain they sound very similar in the web.♫