pickups that can make a crap guitar sound awesome>

[maddnotez]

I have a Jackson PS-4, make in Korea, probably worth about $50.

Put some SD Livewire Hmet's and It sounds better than my $1,500 Ibanez that I had.

Much better....no contest. So I disagree with all the posts saying you cant make a crap guitar sound good.

 

[GuitarGuyLP]

If it is too bright try a WCR Ironman...Fattest, coolest pup I have ever tried.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

EMG's sound the same whether on a LP, driftwood or a broomstick

 

[Bloodrock]

EMG's sound the same whether on a LP, driftwood or a broomstick

This...
The EVH Frankenstein pickup makes my maple neck Kramer Pacer sound huge. Nice low end thump, great crunchy distortion. It's not super high output, so it won't give you gobs of buzzy EMG type distortion tho. Bare knuckle Nailbomb also has a very good thick grinding distortion.

 

[sjk]

EMG's sound the same whether on a LP, driftwood or a broomstick

Thats fricken hilarious although somewhat true and that is coming from someone who actually likes 85s.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a Jackson PS-4, make in Korea, probably worth about $50.

Put some SD Livewire Hmet's and It sounds better than my $1,500 Ibanez that I had.

Much better....no contest. So I disagree with all the posts saying you cant make a crap guitar sound good.

if its worth 50$, not made here or in canada, and isn't a suhr, anderson or earlier prs, then it HAS to sound like crap. so, you must be lying.

i have a 600$ epiphone LP from 87, was my first real guitar....that sounds better than most guitars i've heard in person....and plays better than any post y2k LP i've put my hands on.

to each his own. people are soooo convinced that you're paying for quality just becuase you pay through the nose....and in some cases, it is the case. but not always.

i've been watching a lot of goings on around here, and it's entertaining to say the least. lot of ego around here...and lot of "my guitar is 3k so its the greatest thing ever" ego too.

a decent pickup will help a crappy guitar. a 3k guitar can't cover up an asshole and his shitty playing that had no business picking up a guitar in the first place.

/rant

 

[shred-o-holic]

EMG's sound the same whether on a LP, driftwood or a broomstick

That's so not true...

They certainly have a similar feel in all guitars......but having owned multiple guitars over the years with them installed I find that statement ridiculous......they sound great or like shit in different guitars like any other pickup.....

 

[EnGl]

EMG's sound the same whether on a LP, driftwood or a broomstick

That's so not true...

They certainly have a similar feel in all guitars......but having owned multiple guitars over the years with them installed I find that statement ridiculous......they sound great or like shit in different guitars like any other pickup.....

Man , we've got different ears. I respect your opinion but for me - this is true statement.
For example :
I played a Epi ZW Bullseye ( Old Korean version , not China !) and a Gibson ZW Bullseye. Both guitars - all the same , even the strings and pickup height. And they sounded fucking ALMOST the same , but the difference is so minimal. For the regular listener - unnoticeable. And the difference was totally not worth to paying almost 4x more for Gibson ... And you know ? I'm pretty sure that me or you , will not recognize which is which in blind test ... Of course when I held Gibson it feels better , but I think it was only "OMFG I'm holding epic Gibson"

 

[///MK]

EMG's sound the same whether on a LP, driftwood or a broomstick

Got to agree ^^ here. If I find a guitar lacking especially in the hi-gain metalz tone department. a set of EMG's almost always does the trick.

 

[petejt]

A cheap guitar is not going to sound awesome Unless you just lucked out but good pups can certainly improve it.

Pretty much........it is what it is....everyone spouts that pickup brand A/B/C will fix a crap guitar....it can help but the sum of parts being the wood and hardware are still a big part of the tone........that's why good guitars aren't usually cheap....

Agreed.

 

[ratter]

I have a Jackson PS-4, make in Korea, probably worth about $50.

Put some SD Livewire Hmet's and It sounds better than my $1,500 Ibanez that I had.

Much better....no contest. So I disagree with all the posts saying you cant make a crap guitar sound good.

Just speaking for myself as I'm one who says you can't make a crap guitar sound good....I never said cheap=crap sounding. I had an Edwards LP that sounded way better than my Custom Shop R7. That's just the way it goes sometimes. Different pickups may have helped that R7 but no pickup is going to transform a dead piece of wood.

 

[fearhk213]

Pickups can certainly help improve the situation, but I agree that there is only so much you can do to change the inherent tone of the guitar; however, the flip side is: I've had "nice" pickups make some killer guitars sound like complete crap, so you can't discount the huge role they play in the end tone. The important part is matching the right pickup to the guitar. The result is just better when you give the pickup something better to work with.

I'd lean towards the Warpig (alnico or ceramic). The alnico will be warmer and rounder, but probably not the best for shred. Ceramic will be better for shred, but maybe a bit intense in the highs if your guitar is spitting ice picks. The lows may balance this though. The ceramic Nailbombs could potentially work. The Detroiter and Nasty Nasty can be pretty thick too. Personally, I'd lean towards the alnico Warpig and Detroiter.

 

[shred-o-holic]

EMG's sound the same whether on a LP, driftwood or a broomstick

That's so not true...

They certainly have a similar feel in all guitars......but having owned multiple guitars over the years with them installed I find that statement ridiculous......they sound great or like shit in different guitars like any other pickup.....

Man , we've got different ears. I respect your opinion but for me - this is true statement.
For example :
I played a Epi ZW Bullseye ( Old Korean version , not China !) and a Gibson ZW Bullseye. Both guitars - all the same , even the strings and pickup height. And they sounded fucking ALMOST the same , but the difference is so minimal. For the regular listener - unnoticeable. And the difference was totally not worth to paying almost 4x more for Gibson ... And you know ? I'm pretty sure that me or you , will not recognize which is which in blind test ... Of course when I held Gibson it feels better , but I think it was only "OMFG I'm holding epic Gibson"

Then my point to that comparison would be that "most" pickups would sound similar in the 2 guitars that you just used in your analogy. You have the other poster comparing a broom stick and any other guitar sounding the same......that's just not true. EMG's just like any other pickups accentuate the wood and sum of parts.......

 

[EnGl]

EMG's sound the same whether on a LP, driftwood or a broomstick

That's so not true...

They certainly have a similar feel in all guitars......but having owned multiple guitars over the years with them installed I find that statement ridiculous......they sound great or like shit in different guitars like any other pickup.....

Man , we've got different ears. I respect your opinion but for me - this is true statement.
For example :
I played a Epi ZW Bullseye ( Old Korean version , not China !) and a Gibson ZW Bullseye. Both guitars - all the same , even the strings and pickup height. And they sounded fucking ALMOST the same , but the difference is so minimal. For the regular listener - unnoticeable. And the difference was totally not worth to paying almost 4x more for Gibson ... And you know ? I'm pretty sure that me or you , will not recognize which is which in blind test ... Of course when I held Gibson it feels better , but I think it was only "OMFG I'm holding epic Gibson"

Then my point to that comparison would be that "most" pickups would sound similar in the 2 guitars that you just used in your analogy. You have the other poster comparing a broom stick and any other guitar sounding the same......that's just not true. EMG's just like any other pickups accentuate the wood and sum of parts.......

Not exactly.
This was just example . I played a few guitars with famous 81/85 and all sounded pretty the same ... No matter what wood..
Jim Root Tele , EPI or Gibson LP ZW , Gibson Flying V , Jackson RR24 , Fender Strat MIA (81 in bridge ) ... No matter - ALMOST the same.
On other pickups - I noticed a very noticeable difference. For example a SD DM LW or passive ones.
But without doubt - EMG's can improve you sound , of course if you can play ...

 

[shred-o-holic]

EMG's sound the same whether on a LP, driftwood or a broomstick

That's so not true...

They certainly have a similar feel in all guitars......but having owned multiple guitars over the years with them installed I find that statement ridiculous......they sound great or like shit in different guitars like any other pickup.....

Man , we've got different ears. I respect your opinion but for me - this is true statement.
For example :
I played a Epi ZW Bullseye ( Old Korean version , not China !) and a Gibson ZW Bullseye. Both guitars - all the same , even the strings and pickup height. And they sounded fucking ALMOST the same , but the difference is so minimal. For the regular listener - unnoticeable. And the difference was totally not worth to paying almost 4x more for Gibson ... And you know ? I'm pretty sure that me or you , will not recognize which is which in blind test ... Of course when I held Gibson it feels better , but I think it was only "OMFG I'm holding epic Gibson"

Then my point to that comparison would be that "most" pickups would sound similar in the 2 guitars that you just used in your analogy. You have the other poster comparing a broom stick and any other guitar sounding the same......that's just not true. EMG's just like any other pickups accentuate the wood and sum of parts.......

Not exactly.
This was just example . I played a few guitars with famous 81/85 and all sounded pretty the same ... No matter what wood..
Jim Root Tele , EPI or Gibson LP ZW , Gibson Flying V , Jackson RR24 , Fender Strat MIA (81 in bridge ) ... No matter - ALMOST the same.
On other pickups - I noticed a very noticeable difference. For example a SD DM LW or passive ones.
But without doubt - EMG's can improve you sound , of course if you can play ...

Yeeeeeahhh well........this is a pissing contest because my own personal experiences show me otherwise......I use BKP's as well and have tried Duncans, Dimarzios etc. And FWIW I'm not a complete gear snob because my Korean Ibanez I got off Ebay for 300 clams gets just as much play as my 2K+ Taylor........anyway.......

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Aren't they on the shelf next to the "Guitar picks that make crap players sound like EVH"?

There is only one pick that makes guitar players sound like EVH... and that is the pick of destiny which only JAck Black has.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80DtQD5BQ_A

 

[phil b]

Man, I wish the damn EMGs sounded the same or ALMOST the same in every guitar..... That would have saved me sooooo much friggin hassles over the years. I got hooked on them back in the day and they sounded great in my #1, which I still use today. Thing is I wanted/needed my backup guitars to sound the same for gigs and never nailed it. Even with identical guitars. Good luck!