MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
I was watching one of @Bad.Seed recent videos where he's talking about low and high output pickups through high gain amps.
He had 2 main premises.
1. High output pickups are not needed to drive a high gain amp.
No argument from me here, I fully agree with this. Modern high gain amps have more than enough preamp saturation that you don't need the extra ass from high output pickups to push it. I would want to add to Kyle's premise here that hitting the front end of an amp harder doesn't always have the same effect depending on the source. For instance, using high output pickups is a different experience than using a boost. Both will push the front end of the amp more, but pickups typically don't tighten the low end the same way a boost pedal does. Since we're talking about pushing the front end this is a worthwhile distinction to make.
2. In general lower output PAF style pickups have more clarity and articulation than high output pickups through a high gain amp.
I can't deny that a good set of low output PAF style pickups sound great in numerous applications, even high gain. I do think that basing clarity and articulation solely on the output of a pickup is too simplistic. I know Kyle put in the caveat that this statement is a generalization and there are exceptions to the rule, but there's too many exceptions to even say there's a rule to begin with.
There's too much that goes into pickup design to put everything on output alone. I'm no pickup designer, but I do know that magnets, wire gauge, number of windings, winding pattern, slugs or screws, cover or no cover, etc. All play a role. To me that says there really are no hard rules when it comes to how pickups sound. The closest thing I think you could call a rule would be is if the design, materials, and construction stay the same then two of the same model pickup should sound relatively similar. Or maybe if you take a particular pickup and change one element; say the magnet, it will change the sound in this way. But that doesn't necessarily mean that same magnet will change tone the same way in all pickups. And that's just thinking of the pickup alone. Let's not forget that guitar wiring and pot choices will have an impact on tone and clarity as well.
Just to throw in my own real world example: A while back I did some magnet swap experiments on JB pickup. I went through most of what was available from A2 to A9 to ceramic magnets. Each magnet made a noticeable difference in overall tone, clarity and articulation. Some were more clear and or articulate than others. For instance the oriented vs unoriented A5 magnet. The output was almost exactly the same. OA5 had a decent EQ curve, but sounded comparatively like mud where the UA5 had the same EQ curve, but was much more clear. Another comparison is A5 vs A6. Both had similar outputs , but the A6 was mud-butt city compared to the A5. Last comparison I'll note is A8, A9 & ceramic. All had a bit more output than the stock A5 and to my ears had better tone and more clarity. The A8 had a great articulation and sweet singing quality to it the way you think of a PAF style pickup. The A9 took that and added a modern sounding touch. Like the A8 & A9 the ceramic was clearer than the A5, but less "musical" than the A8 & A9. My favorite magnets in the JB were an A8 and A9.
Anyway, I'm not trying to rip on Kyle here. He put up a great video as always and brings up a very interesting topic. His video also works as a general pickup comparison for the ones he featured. I just think there's more to it than output alone that warrants more in depth discussion. What do you all think? I'd love to hear from one of our resident pickup gurus. I'm sure @scottosan has some good insight on this topic.
He had 2 main premises.
1. High output pickups are not needed to drive a high gain amp.
No argument from me here, I fully agree with this. Modern high gain amps have more than enough preamp saturation that you don't need the extra ass from high output pickups to push it. I would want to add to Kyle's premise here that hitting the front end of an amp harder doesn't always have the same effect depending on the source. For instance, using high output pickups is a different experience than using a boost. Both will push the front end of the amp more, but pickups typically don't tighten the low end the same way a boost pedal does. Since we're talking about pushing the front end this is a worthwhile distinction to make.
2. In general lower output PAF style pickups have more clarity and articulation than high output pickups through a high gain amp.
I can't deny that a good set of low output PAF style pickups sound great in numerous applications, even high gain. I do think that basing clarity and articulation solely on the output of a pickup is too simplistic. I know Kyle put in the caveat that this statement is a generalization and there are exceptions to the rule, but there's too many exceptions to even say there's a rule to begin with.
There's too much that goes into pickup design to put everything on output alone. I'm no pickup designer, but I do know that magnets, wire gauge, number of windings, winding pattern, slugs or screws, cover or no cover, etc. All play a role. To me that says there really are no hard rules when it comes to how pickups sound. The closest thing I think you could call a rule would be is if the design, materials, and construction stay the same then two of the same model pickup should sound relatively similar. Or maybe if you take a particular pickup and change one element; say the magnet, it will change the sound in this way. But that doesn't necessarily mean that same magnet will change tone the same way in all pickups. And that's just thinking of the pickup alone. Let's not forget that guitar wiring and pot choices will have an impact on tone and clarity as well.
Just to throw in my own real world example: A while back I did some magnet swap experiments on JB pickup. I went through most of what was available from A2 to A9 to ceramic magnets. Each magnet made a noticeable difference in overall tone, clarity and articulation. Some were more clear and or articulate than others. For instance the oriented vs unoriented A5 magnet. The output was almost exactly the same. OA5 had a decent EQ curve, but sounded comparatively like mud where the UA5 had the same EQ curve, but was much more clear. Another comparison is A5 vs A6. Both had similar outputs , but the A6 was mud-butt city compared to the A5. Last comparison I'll note is A8, A9 & ceramic. All had a bit more output than the stock A5 and to my ears had better tone and more clarity. The A8 had a great articulation and sweet singing quality to it the way you think of a PAF style pickup. The A9 took that and added a modern sounding touch. Like the A8 & A9 the ceramic was clearer than the A5, but less "musical" than the A8 & A9. My favorite magnets in the JB were an A8 and A9.
Anyway, I'm not trying to rip on Kyle here. He put up a great video as always and brings up a very interesting topic. His video also works as a general pickup comparison for the ones he featured. I just think there's more to it than output alone that warrants more in depth discussion. What do you all think? I'd love to hear from one of our resident pickup gurus. I'm sure @scottosan has some good insight on this topic.
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