The perils of buying cheap parts.
Discussion
Recently I decided to upgrade the pickups in my Fender Classic 60’s Stratocaster. The original Mexican ones aren’t bad – certainly better than the ceramic magnet ones in Squiers and Mexican Standards, - but still lack a certain presence.
Now you can pay up to £200 – and beyond! – for a set of pickups if you’re daft enough, but looking around, I discovered a very reasonably priced range (which I won’t name) that many were raving about. People were saying things like, “I’ll never pay £180 for pickups again,” and, “You can keep your Kinmans and Seymours,” etc.
Well I decided that at only £32 a set including carriage, I couldn’t really go wrong so bought some.
Disappointment.
Firstly they didn’t even look right. The covers had a distinctly semi-matt appearance to them, and untidy jagged edges between the tops and sides. Worse still, they were a good millimetre too short and too narrow, so would have an unsightly gap all round when fitted.
I fitted them anyway although I knew they’d make the guitar look awful. But worst of all, the sound was indistinguishable from the old ones. And it wasn’t just my imagination; I did an A/B test with an identical Classic 60’s Strat that still had its original pickups intact and really couldn’t tell the difference.
When I contacted the manufacturers, they offered me a free upgrade to another set, but I didn’t really want another set, I wanted that one. In the end I settled for a free set of the old covers (they admitted they’d recently changed their supplier, and the new covers weren’t as good).
And when I spld them on eBay, the original Mexican pickups went for more!
I then bought and fitted a set of Fender 57/62’s. They may cost twice as much as the others, but they’re ten times as good. It’s sometimes said, ‘buy cheap, and you buy twice’ – well it’s certainly true in this case.
And the guitar is now sounding better than ever, although the Callaham cold-rolled steel trem block and set of 12-52 strings I fitted at the same time, may also have something to do with it of course.
Now you can pay up to £200 – and beyond! – for a set of pickups if you’re daft enough, but looking around, I discovered a very reasonably priced range (which I won’t name) that many were raving about. People were saying things like, “I’ll never pay £180 for pickups again,” and, “You can keep your Kinmans and Seymours,” etc.
Well I decided that at only £32 a set including carriage, I couldn’t really go wrong so bought some.
Disappointment.
Firstly they didn’t even look right. The covers had a distinctly semi-matt appearance to them, and untidy jagged edges between the tops and sides. Worse still, they were a good millimetre too short and too narrow, so would have an unsightly gap all round when fitted.
I fitted them anyway although I knew they’d make the guitar look awful. But worst of all, the sound was indistinguishable from the old ones. And it wasn’t just my imagination; I did an A/B test with an identical Classic 60’s Strat that still had its original pickups intact and really couldn’t tell the difference.
When I contacted the manufacturers, they offered me a free upgrade to another set, but I didn’t really want another set, I wanted that one. In the end I settled for a free set of the old covers (they admitted they’d recently changed their supplier, and the new covers weren’t as good).
And when I spld them on eBay, the original Mexican pickups went for more!
I then bought and fitted a set of Fender 57/62’s. They may cost twice as much as the others, but they’re ten times as good. It’s sometimes said, ‘buy cheap, and you buy twice’ – well it’s certainly true in this case.
And the guitar is now sounding better than ever, although the Callaham cold-rolled steel trem block and set of 12-52 strings I fitted at the same time, may also have something to do with it of course.
"Buy cheap, buy twice" is definitely case when it comes to guitar parts. Just get the good stuff and be safe in the knowledge it will just work and do it's job very well.
When it comes to pickups, I generally always go Dimarzio, though I could consider Seymour Duncan for some applications, and Bareknuckle are pretty good, but not the sure-fire route to ultimate tone that some people make them out to be. I have been thinking about getting a Fender Tele, and if I get a Mexican model I would probably upgrade the pickups eventually, and stick to Fender items. Cheap pickups are a false economy.
When it comes to pickups, I generally always go Dimarzio, though I could consider Seymour Duncan for some applications, and Bareknuckle are pretty good, but not the sure-fire route to ultimate tone that some people make them out to be. I have been thinking about getting a Fender Tele, and if I get a Mexican model I would probably upgrade the pickups eventually, and stick to Fender items. Cheap pickups are a false economy.
Evangelion said:
singlecoil said:
Evangelion said:
I discovered a very reasonably priced range (which I won’t name) that many were raving about.
Why won't you name them?A PM will get you the name.
Baryonyx said:
Indeed, it's like saying Linglong tyres are hopeless if you've bought a car with them fitted and been deeply unimpressed. You've paid for the tickets and given them a fair shot, therefore you're entitled to review them or express an opinion.
Fair point.Okay, it was a set of Ironstone Golds.
Well reading all the comments on the site, led me to think they were bloody marvellous!
http://www.ironstone-pickups.co.uk/
I need to mention, though, that when I bought mine, most of the sound clips weren't yet up there. Had that been the case, I might have realised how bland they sounded, and not bought a set.
http://www.ironstone-pickups.co.uk/
I need to mention, though, that when I bought mine, most of the sound clips weren't yet up there. Had that been the case, I might have realised how bland they sounded, and not bought a set.
Bloke on Strat-talk had exactly the same problem.
http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/pickup-forum/15048...
Shows they haven't been improved in the last two years.
http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/pickup-forum/15048...
Shows they haven't been improved in the last two years.
Evangelion said:
Well reading all the comments on the site, led me to think they were bloody marvellous!
http://www.ironstone-pickups.co.uk/
I need to mention, though, that when I bought mine, most of the sound clips weren't yet up there. Had that been the case, I might have realised how bland they sounded, and not bought a set.
And therein lays the problem you believed the marketing spin from the manufacturer, surely common sense would dictate asking some questions on TDPRI / Strat Talk / OSG forums if looking for F type replacements or the Gibson forums for G type.http://www.ironstone-pickups.co.uk/
I need to mention, though, that when I bought mine, most of the sound clips weren't yet up there. Had that been the case, I might have realised how bland they sounded, and not bought a set.
I doubt that there is a pickup or string been made that hasn't been reviewed and A/B with the stock items.
JMTBW
Can you share some ironstone/mim comparisons? I think it's pretty good a £30 pickup set can rival a fender stock, I'd be worried if the golds sounded no better than a ceramic, but fender mims aren't awful at all, what kind of amp sound for you compare? The golds absolutely sing with clean/reverb, but aren't great for distortion. I think the hybrids at £50 are a much more open tone, and tone riders are Chinese machine-wound too, so can't imagime there's much between them.
Big fan of Warman pickups, I've got a set of Infernos in my Epi Les Paul and I'm about to put Texas triples in my 90s Jap strat
They're also ridiculously cheap. I tried them out thinking they couldnt be any worse in the LP than the original Epi ones that are shipped, but actually really like how they break up and the bottom end doesnt turn to fart. Also tested Alnico Pro II's and they were good but really needed a loud valve amp to get the best out of them. Given that I'm a multi fx board at bedroom levels kinda player, I wasnt really going to push them and get the tone I wanted (which I did get, it just needed volume)
They're also ridiculously cheap. I tried them out thinking they couldnt be any worse in the LP than the original Epi ones that are shipped, but actually really like how they break up and the bottom end doesnt turn to fart. Also tested Alnico Pro II's and they were good but really needed a loud valve amp to get the best out of them. Given that I'm a multi fx board at bedroom levels kinda player, I wasnt really going to push them and get the tone I wanted (which I did get, it just needed volume)
When I was trying out new amps recently I used an American Standard Strat which had a label on saying it had 'Fat 50s' pickups in it. I really liked the sound, though of course the amps were unfamiliar, but I've since bought one of the amps I tried and my Strat (a 1982 JV Squier Strat which supposedly has USA pick ups in it) doesn't sound as, well, 'fat'. I think I might be treating it to a set at some point.
I also bought a set of Fender Original Vintage pickups for a cheap Affinity Telecaster I have, about 10 years ago. It really made a difference to the sound and they weren't massively expensive in absolute terms, but were still a good chunk of the price of the whole guitar. More recently I transferred them onto a 50s Classic Telecaster mainly as I found the standard neck pick up a bit dull. It really livened up the whole guitar, so it was money well spent all those years ago.
Having gone round in circles regarding my 20 year old Epiphone LP (trade it for a 'proper' Gibson/ spend some money on upgrades since I really like the neck on it and it's like an old friend), I think I might just stump up for a Bareknuckle Mules/Riff Raff combo. Again, they would be the bulk of the original cost of the guitar, but they have all the samples on their website and I've compared them through a (very) decent AV system. The other thing is that if I'm not happy with the set I buy, they will swap them for another model, along with suitable advice as to what to change them for, based on what is found lacking with the first set.
I guess I sit on the buy once and avoid the cheap parts side of the fence...
I also bought a set of Fender Original Vintage pickups for a cheap Affinity Telecaster I have, about 10 years ago. It really made a difference to the sound and they weren't massively expensive in absolute terms, but were still a good chunk of the price of the whole guitar. More recently I transferred them onto a 50s Classic Telecaster mainly as I found the standard neck pick up a bit dull. It really livened up the whole guitar, so it was money well spent all those years ago.
Having gone round in circles regarding my 20 year old Epiphone LP (trade it for a 'proper' Gibson/ spend some money on upgrades since I really like the neck on it and it's like an old friend), I think I might just stump up for a Bareknuckle Mules/Riff Raff combo. Again, they would be the bulk of the original cost of the guitar, but they have all the samples on their website and I've compared them through a (very) decent AV system. The other thing is that if I'm not happy with the set I buy, they will swap them for another model, along with suitable advice as to what to change them for, based on what is found lacking with the first set.
I guess I sit on the buy once and avoid the cheap parts side of the fence...
OldSkoolRS said:
Having gone round in circles regarding my 20 year old Epiphone LP (trade it for a 'proper' Gibson/ spend some money on upgrades since I really like the neck on it and it's like an old friend), I think I might just stump up for a Bareknuckle Mules/Riff Raff combo.
I put Mule and Riff Raff into my lp last year. Very happy with them.D
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