Cheap Guitar Pickups - are they any good?
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- It's very common to upgrade a low priced guitar by swapping out the pickups.
Obviously can buy some pickups from well known brands but every now and then I see some really cheap AlNiCo pickups on amazon.
But are they any good or are they just as crappy as the stock pickups?
Lets find out!
I think that you've convinced me that the stock ceramic pickups have more body, that is thickness to the sound, and therefore, sound pretty good.
There is a difference, but both sounded pretty good to me. For the blues style you played, the ceramic pu's sounded beautiful, colourful and warm. The alnico are bit brighter and clearer.
We didn't hear any hick-ups in either pick-ups but loved hearing you play!
I think I may hear a slight difference in tone, but it's neither better nor worse, just slightly different. In both cases, it's your awesome playing that's making it sound so good.
Thank you Steve :)
I could hear a lot more clarity in the Alnico. But I'm on my phone.
Great video and very entertaining playing. I prefer the Alnico. My experience has been that While you are upgrading to Alnico pickups, it's a great and cheap idea to ditch those "dime" pots, poor quality "cap', wiring, output jack, and those awful square sealed selector switches can make just as much of an improvement in tone as new pickups. I took a "2012 Starcaster Strat (ultra cheap Strat style purchased originally from Best Buy) by Fender with the "Arrowhead" headstock that I bought on a whim. It was still in the box at the Goodwill for $5.00"! I do not think it had ever been played. I was shocked to find the Body and neck were really well made, using great materials. The Maple neck unfortunately has a RW fretboard (I prefer Maple), but that RW fretboard needed ZERO work! It was strait, fret level, very well fret dressed. The body is a vintage burst 3 piece. It's pretty light and the grain pattern is nothing to write home about, but never the less it is real nice looking (I think it's Basswood). I replaced every bit of hardware with either stuff I had laying around, or cheap new but better than stock. All in, I have $60.00 invested and it sounds awesome. The pickups were from China, Alnico 5, and advertised to replicate the 1959s. Keep up the great work Fabian! Cheers
I second the recommendation for Planet Tone pickups. I put a set of humbuckers in my PRS and it really came to life. Highly recommended.
Alnicos have have much more spank to the tone !
Hey this was just for showing off a few tasty licks and making the rest of us feel jealous!! I don't have the ears for distinguishing pick-up quality but i enjoyed this enormously anyway. Thanks Fabian!
You got me there ;-)
I love Senior Duntin pickups! They sound great in Finder Stratacastro guitars.
Bryan Wayne 😂😂😂
HAHAHAHAHA
I thought it was just me that heard that. 😂😂😂
😂😂😂
Guys we shouldn’t make fun of how he spoke English probably isn’t his first language
My experience swapping Fender Squire Ceramics for Roswell Alnico's is that when playing Clean (as in your demo) Alnicos have slight more Clarity/Treble AND in the 2 & 4 switching positions work MUCH better than the Ceramics. Where the Alnicos really shine is when using CRUNCH and DISTORTION by maintaining Clarity and Definition where as Ceramics get Muddy and Unusable especialy in the 2 & 4 switching positions.
The thing people always miss is there are inexpensive pickups that are well made and there cheaply made pickups that sound cheap. I purchased a $80 pair of pickups that are will made and sound very good.
There are so many factors to how a guitar sounds that I don't think going from stock to another cheap pickup will make a radical difference. And judging by the comments it seems pretty much split on which sounds better. Now I did throw some stock MIM pickups I had laying around into a cheap 90's Korean Strat I got for free and it sounds way better. I don't think the MIMs are even Alnicos.
The stock ceramic pickups in my mim strat are so bad when I bend a string enough that the string is in between the pickup poles it loses half its volume. I really think their is a difference
Ouch that's bad
Maybe it's not only pickups fault, maybe is a setup problem
Funny because I took MIM pickups I had laying around and put them in a cheap 90's Squier and it sounds much better. Maybe I will pop some Alnicos in it one day to see what happens.
I've used many different "cheap" Chinese pups over the years, but I have noticed a wide range of variance in what's claimed and what I actually get. For example, those staggered alnicos in clear bobbins could be stated to be 6.0κΩ, but have a range of more than ±20% :. be as low as 4.8 or as high as 7.2κΩ. I've occasionally had received pups that are overwound by more than 25%! On flip side, it's also not unusual for me to receive a dead pup too. Since I order in AAmazon and eBay, I usually get at least a partial or full refund from the seller.
Since they used to be so cheap, I used to order 2-3 sets at a time and mix n match pups to make a set that works for me. After the 4th or 5th guitar I have enough extra pups to just order one set and use the extras from past orders to make me a working set of the values and sound I wanted, from mild slightly underwound set to seriously overwound sets or mild neck/middle coupled with a hotter bridge.
I've also tried Fleor pups which seems to be more consistently better quality in that I've never gotten a dead pup from them, however they're also have DCRs that varies about ±10%, rarely more, which is better too. Fleor is about evenly distributed in the variance range, whilst the clear bobbins are more consistently overwound than underwound, tis not unusual to see up to more than +25%.
Nowdays tho, the "cheap" Chinese pups are getting significantly more expensive that I've lately have been buying from brands like Guitar Madness and other smaller brands that offers similarly priced alnico pups that has proven to be of good value and sounds pretty darn good! Some are US pup makers and offers excellent value for their prices that generally sits between the Chinese Cheapos and the Big Name Brands like Seymour, EMG, DiMarzio, Fishman and others.
GM so far is very consistent in it's actual DCR values to stated values, usually within ±7.5% spread. GM so far haven't disappointed.
I feel there's more articulation in the Alnico for the blues in slow songs. In how that feels, it translates to feeling the emotion of the passage a little deeper, a little richer. Clearly the ceramics can be used for nice blues playing; they're not garbage that must be swapped out. For fast, aggressive, Stevie Ray Vaughan style digs with distortion, ceramics probably afford better punch. For most players, I feel concentrating on enhancing their playing skill/technique/style will yield vastly superior return, than spending their time worrying about better pickups; this true across all player skill levels. Paying attention to finding the perfect guitar neck shape, fret height/width, for one's hands/fingers/playing style is the most important when choosing a guitar. Pickups can always be swapped, or multiple guitars bought for variations if budget allows. EQ, Amp, and Pedals can be used to alter the tone so drastically, that getting hung up on the minutiae of base tone of the pickups is rather trivial.
No matter how many videos I watch about this the cermanic sound darker & the people replacing the poles with alinco sound the same. It's more about the wire gauge & wraps along with how they were wrapped. People fool themselves into believing they hear a difference by just replacing the magnets.
I thought the alnicos edged it in the 2 and 4 positions. Other positions too close to call. Great video. Thanks.
Honestly they both sound pretty good. I got some cheapies too and they sound sweet clear and jangley. Love them. Wouldn’t buy expensive ones anymore.
I’ve just put some vanson pickups in my SG copy and it’s absolutely different guitar and amazing
I was listening with proper headphones and amp and the alnico sounded much fuller and fatter the stock ceramic very thin
The stock ones sound a bit more 'serious' to my ears
I just made a video of NICE Mighty Mite cloth wired Ceramic compared to player series loaded pickguard. Both sound great. The players were definatly less output. My processor had to be turned up often to match the output. The alnicos do seem to have a feel thing about them. I was not sure until you too mentioned it
Thanks for the video Fabian, I loved your style and playing very much too. I've experimented with pickups a fair bit and found that they can alter the way you play because of the attack, feel and response you get from different pickups (Ceramic or Alnico). I must say your playing sounded very nice with either pickup in this test, I didn't hear a significant difference at all. Maybe there would be a greater difference when using more overdriven sounds.
I was playing single coil pickups in my strat for ages and just recently changed to a HH guitar I had lying about and it's amazing how much the humbuckers change the way you play. Even on clean settings, I get a lot of note bloom out of a humbucker and that affects how I play. As for the video, I thought the new pickups were better sounding.
@@jcd13able Yes I agree that humbuckers can really change & affect the way you play. I recently decided to fit 2 cheap-ish P90 pickups into a strat (had to customise a pickguard) and that played quite different again. It's not easy to explain but for slow blues type bends, etc the notes really react differently but definitely in a nice way. It's always worth trying different pickups (even cheaper ones) to see what difference they make.
I liked the ceramics better! They sound more focused, smoother, not as harsh as the alnicos.
actually your playing is so good even probably the ceramic pickup you had was not worst case either . but enjoyed your video!
neither was necessarily better or worse than the other, both sounded great. Awesome playing man!
Ive got some cheap PAFs alnico 2s they're great and some cheap single coils in an HSS and really the alnico 5 s I bought a really very good seriously
Dear Fabian, WoWzers! You are a natural Eric Clapton and my wife and I , love your vids and your very amazing dynamic playing! Biggg hugs Fabian and please keep up the great work you do. Gott Leibe dich Bruder und bis später . Danke 🙏
I actually liked the Ceramic better..
The myth that ceramic pickups are trash is just that, a myth.. Some are actually needed for Cretan tones and amplification.
I had a guy that worked in a music store that begged me to trade his Texas specials for my 80's Japan Squire ceramics.
He played in a 50's revival band.
I was happy so was he.
I dropped a set of cheap pickups is a Squier and there was a little difference, like in this video, then I put some MIM pups in it,and still not a huge difference, bought an MIM and the difference is huge! That said, I think you'll get more out of the upgrade swapping the pots and switch than the pickups. Gonna be checking that out for sure in a few days on my squier tele. Good video though, there is a slight difference, the ceramics are warmer, the alninco brighter, that is a matter of opinion as to which is better, it's all subjective.
Definitely the Alnico pickups sound more of a plaid shirt and cap style, while the ceramic pickups sound more like a plain maroon shirt. 😁😁👍💪🎸🎸🎸
thank you for taking the time to make this very helpful video in the name of all the people who does not say thanks, very helpful, not a big difference but I guess it worths the cheap price, but I would invest in something better no matter the price
Alnico are for vintage tone, they are warm sounding and clearer.. And ceramic pickups like high gain tend to be more punchy that is why in it favourable in the bridge especially in a HH, HSS, or HSH guitar. But be careful ceramics are harsh sometimes depends on the gain you feed.
Nice video!! Thanks for the comparison, been thinking to get FLEOR alnico V pickups. Cheers.
I just got a set of alnico v for my tele, no branded but sound so awesome!!. Very clear & twangy. Cheap doesn't mean bad. Cheers.
I have a FLEOR bridge humbucker. It has much better tone than the pickup I replaced.
I mean.. your playing makes them both sound good lol.
I personally pick up cheap China guitar just to mod I figure why not its not like I'm defacing a Gibson lol and man some I got are just not all that for tone but for $10 a pickup these cheapo seem definitely better than some I have laying around
Not sure you gained anything at all, the stock pickups sound really nice, the difference wasn’t worth talking about.
You can get a device that measures the amount of magnetic strength on your phone and then look at the windings and see if they are roughly the same as the good pickups.
There was a time when I had both at GFS and a Fender custom 69 and I thought the GFS were very similar. But it's important to get some actual measurement and not rely on subjective evaluations that may change over time.
The Alnico's had more clarity and maybe a tiny bit more character . but there is a loss of sustain and not quite enough bottom end compared to the stock pickups. Perhaps the stock pickups plus maybe an eq pedal to try to add a little more clarity could be a better solution?
Since people seem to like them tuners someone should make one more discrete that mounts on the back of the headstock hidden from view. (Just a thought)
I’ve had good luck with GFS pickups.
I put a set of $23 generic alnico Chinese pups in my strat clone and it made a big difference although i also changed the switch, pots, blender circuit, capacitor and wiring so I can’t say how much was the pups alone.
I was ready to make this me point!
Alnico are much brighter.. at least to my ears
I bought a loaded Pickguard with almost those exact pickups in it over a month ago
Cool video
yes no was it any good? Im thinking about getting a cheap loaded pickup guard from Ebay.
CheapshotBonanza yes they are very nice
Was it that Alnico loaded pickguard on eBay for around $20?
I like ceramic pups
The alnicos are brighter but there's a lot more buttery smoothness in the stock ones.
If brighter is better for you ghen well n good.
To me the ceramics have more of a, hey we know where we are n we are comfortable here kind of a seriousness n not caring too much about the going ons around the world feel to them.
Unpretentious.
Cool, calm n collected are the ceramics ones, in my humble opinion.
sounds really really good
There is not much of a difference. Alnicos sound a bit clearer and more organic. There is something in most ceramic pickups I don't like. Some woolines and not nice compression, I don't know how to describe it better.
I've noticed the alnico 5's off Ebay are really harsh.
I have a cheap Strat kit and didn't want to spend a fortune on upgrades. I found some cheap pickups in the clearance section of Guitar Fetish. They're an off brand but have magnets twice the size of the kit pickups and sound pretty decent!
I bought from GFS numerous times but never bothered checking out the clearance section. Thanks for the advice ;-)
AlNiCo pickups are more smoky blues, ceramics are clear, and for me boring.
Upgrade was good for cheap cost. Not bad
Hi. I was watching on my 40inch TV and over these speakers. They are pretty good . Maybe on your amp sound better the difference. Your amp is pretty good sounding. What amp is it ?
peavey bandit 112
the replacements alnicos do have a richer tone quality..and a brighter sound....no question....does it make a difference if there is a long magnet on bottom or no magnet...?
nice guitar work BTW,...sweet...!~!
Thank you for checking it out. You might want to watch my video on "Differences in Guitar Pickup Magnets": ruclips.net/video/HBLOTOqnfqk/видео.html
I got a ❓ are they hand wound and made in the USA?
Of course not. These are the cheapest pickups from China. There is no question that hand-wound pickups are in a different league. I don't know of any pickup manufactor that sells hand wound pickups for such a cheap price. Neither in the US nor anywere else on this planet 😉
Ceramic is for pottery!:-7
Tja, mein lieber Herr Gesangsverein ... da kann ich wohl nicht schweigen ... 1) Der Vergleich ist interessant - Unterschiede hört man wohl - ABER: Der Vergleich hinkt insgesamt ein wenig - hier werden Äpfel mit Birnen verglichen ... man sollte wohl eher Ceramic mit Ceramic und ALNICO mit ALNICO vergleichen! ... 2) Über Geschmack lässt sich schlecht streiten ... das ist persönliches Empfinden - und da ist man auch abhängig von dem 'wie man musikalisch geprägt worden ist', welche Idole man hat, was die Lieblings-Musik ist etc. ... 3) Insgesamt ist die Gitarre in ihrer jeweiligen technischen Ausstattung ein 'Werkzeug' ... Musik machen kann man zwar auf jeder - ABER: Manche Gitarren eigenen sich für bestimmte Musik-Richtungen und Spiel-Techniken besser als andere (Heavy Metal / Country / FloydRose für Dive-Bombs etc.) ... bzw. lässt sich damit ein ganz bestimmter Sound erreichen (Vintage / Modern / Clapton etc.) ... bzw. kommen sie den persönlichen körperlichen Voraussetzungen besser entgegen (kurze Mensur / lange Mensur / dünner od. dicker Hals etc.) ... FAZIT: Nettes Video mit Blues-Feeling ... und hier sind wir am entscheidenden PUNKT !! ... Denn DEIN BLUES FEELING ist NICHT von den Pick-Ups abhängig !! ... Hier sprechen HERZ & SEELE ... und wenn das gegeben ist, dann ist es ziemlich egal ob Single-Coil oder Humbucker :-) ... In diesem Sinne: ES LEBE DIE E-GITARRE / DAS HOLZSCHEIT und mit ihr DER SCHEIT-KNECHT !!
Haha vielen Dank! Na klar kann man mit jeder Gitarre und mit allen Pickups Musik machen, aber es gibt halt Pickups die klingen einfach tot oder matschig oder zu dumpf oder zu schrill. Während bei den "guten" auf das Zusammenspiel von Magnetfeld, Drahtwicklung und Durchmesser geachtet wird um eine für die Ohren angenehme Resonanzüberhöhung und Resonanzfrequenz zu erreichen, wird bei den "billigen" halt mehr auf Materialeinsparung und möglichst billige Herstellung geachtet. Da kann es passieren, dass trotzdem was gutes bei rauskommt, kann aber auch Murks sein - und dann hat man den Blues, aber nicht so wie man wollte ;-)
... JA! Es gibt ein Leben nach dem Blues! ... hör dir das mal an - ich find' es genial! ... ruclips.net/video/CXPODeBlG7I/видео.html
2:17 it's fkng alive!
Damn I searched for my pickup and this video popped up lol
I'm 2 years late, I guess, but really, it's magnets and copper wire. If you wind too little, you'll have a weak signal. If you wind too much, you have a noise. I think the name brands are a million times overrated. Just my humble opinion after wasted lots of money on it.
It is exactly like that!
I go to ebay and search for what "k" I want
When I was 12 years old I had a real crappy guitar It was very hard to play sounded terrible and then brothers friend came in an amazing blues player,he picked it out of my hand and made it sing like I’ve never heard of guitar sing before l realised it may have been me and not my cheap pick ups and crappy guitar.At any upgrade is a win-win even if it makes you feel good I’m upgrading my Squire pick ups Tex Mex
You make both sound great. Your chops are distracting
Do i need to shield alnico pickups?
It's always a goode idea to shield the electric of a singel coil guitar because there only is a hum canceling effect in the inbetween positions. It has nothing to do with the type of magnet. Ceramic or AlNiCo does not matter.
What's a ceramic pickup
It's a pickups with ceramic/ferrite magnets. The other common magnets used in pickups are AlNiCo.
stock one are better)))
The Alnico sound alot better....
Where is the exact disadvantage in cheap ceramic pickups?
The characteristics of a pickup is defined not only by the magnet but also by the type and the gauge of the copper wire and the amount of turns. And if Magnets, wire and turns are well-matched you end up with a good pickup.
Unfortunately there is a reason why a lot of people associate ceramic pickups with a bad tone.There are a lot of bad pickups out there especialy on budget guitares where the factory did not so much care about the sound but about saving money. They use low quality copper wire and "steel" rods made of pot metal.
But for the most part it all comes down to personal preference.
OLA Valeu o son e muito bom.sou canhoto.OK GOSTEI
not much of a difference ...
I just bought a set of wilkison pickups, how can i figure out wich one goes in wich position? 2 of them have a black and a white wire, and the other one has a red and black wire, Im guessing the one with the red and black wire is the middle possition one, am I right?
The one with the red and black wire should go in the middle position. If you're not sure you can test if it has an oposide magnetic polarity compared to the oder two.
Usually the pickup for the bridge position has a wider pole spacing so just mesure which one has a wider pole spacing. If the pole spacing is the same on both pickups mesure the resistance. The one with the higher resistance is the bridge pickup. if pole spacing and resistance is the same for both pickups (highly unlikely) it does not matter wich one you put in the bridge or neck position.
@@FabiansTinyWorkshop thanks man
Good ones are always better than cheap ones, but we all have our $hitshow guitars that we LOVE. My $59 yamaha just feels right... I would never sell it. Maybe throw it away :-)
The difference 30%
I like how you wear a different shirt for each type of pickup demonstration. That is so fantastic!
I liked the AlNiCo middle and neck pickups better. There was less in it on the bridge for my money.
I recently purchased a used Squier with stock ceramic pickups and was surprised that they sound as good as they do. The tone is great but the output is a little low so I bought some cheap Alnico V pickups from eBay for $35. They are supposed to be vintage 60's but they look exactly like the ones you have. The pole pieces aren't very high either.
I'm waiting for the new tone pots to arrive so It will be about a week before I can get them installed but I am looking forward to it.
Thank you for making this video. It was clear and easy to hear the difference. Your new Alnico pickups sound good. I can definitely tell a difference. Very nice playing.
Hey bud howd the Alnico 5s turn out for you?
Stock wins hands down for me. Just personal taste I guess. Nice playing dude!
I typically find cheap stock pickups are quiet your video seems the same stock ones were quiet after measuring pickups stock cheap can be 5-5.5k compared to typical 5.9-6k on real strats. My old mij strats are 6k and not to be replaced even if ceramic that's my 2¢ underwound is not good below a certain level
The stock ceramics will have a higher sharper output my late 80s squier has them. Good for rock and heavy blues but for proper strat tone the alnicos nail the sweetness these are great for the cash I ordered them to swap out my late 80s squier ceramics
The master is rocking both of them. They are both good. The new set have more of a strat flavour.
Hey Fabian I heard a difference more snap in the alnicos
Ceramic sounded lifeless compared to the Alnico, IMO.
TOOGOO Alnico V Humbuckers on Amazon aren't bad at all, especially for the price. A definite upgrade from ceramic, unless you're into metal.
Just had a second listen and still think the stock ceramics sound better than the Alnico's on this particular test in this particular guitar. In fact I would go further and say the stock pickups had more Strat character than the Alnico's. The Alnico's definitely had more clarity - BUT I found them less interesting to listen to. As said in my previous comment - an eq pedal might just be the right fix on those stock ceramic pickups to try and give them a little more clarity....
Well said, Mike. The ceramics have more body to the sound. The alnico ones are clear, but shrill.
Planet Tone makes an EXCELLENT, reasonably priced Alnico 5 Strat set (slightly HOTR - for $99.00/set! I am a 50+ year-old Pro player and I've had them all (Lollar, Seymour D., Peter Florence (my favorite but $$$) and the Planet Tone Alnico 5's are REALLY good ! VINTAGE, but slightly hotter...clear!
I liked the stock pickups better. Nice jam.
Hmmm.
I would prefer to ask a pro tech. who actually sets up guitars and equipment for touring bands. I would think that at that level of sound reinforcement, it would be noticable. Possibly a feed back issue or not hot enough or failures are more common. Thanks anyway.
The cheap pickups I like that blows the expensive ones away are Guitar Madness I like a warm pickup that's responsive but not too bright sounding
I preferred the stock pu's
Solange die Pickups handwerklich sauber hergestellt wurden, was die meisten heutzutage sind, ist der Rest Geschmackssache.
Nice review Fabian and you should be working the beat at night with that guitar!
I'm guessing they are Alnico V. Ceramic sound better BUT if you had Alnico III they'd sound better than ceramic in practically all genres.
The Alnico has a bit more harmonics to it. But only by a bit.
can I use humbucker alnico bar magnet to a single coil pickup?I use metal pole pieces
A humbucker magnet has the magnetic pole on its sides. for single coil you need it on top and bottom.
The ebay ones were more twangilishious and the stock were kind of scramboflabberoshus so it depends if your style is tumblepingpong or bidazzalmoo orientated if you know what I mean.
Exactly! I couldn't have said it any better myself ;-)
The way how you are playing (really great) makes the sound of the pickups quite irrelevant. Btw., the ceramic pickups did not sound bad although they did not sound "stratty".
When it is coming to replacement pickups I recommend GFS Pickups - the price / quality ratio is fantastic - not that cheap than directly in China ordered stuff but still significantly more affordable than the market leading brands.
Harald Engels hi. What are GFS pickups. ? I was listening Wilkinson ceramic vintage pickups on RUclips . They sound great too.
@@RenoWeedLajos See here: www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-Guitar-Pickups_c_7.html
I ordered many different types from them and I can recommend these if you are looking for a good price/quality ratio.
The GFS service quality is also top (based on my experience). Since I am not living in the US they have been very generous when I got once a mixed-up delivery. For saving me the transportation hassle (to send the wrong delivery back) GFS sent me the correct pickups straight away and told me to keep the wrong delivery for free. Such an approach makes you customer for a lifetime :-)
I like the ceramics, especially the middle, the alnicos are brighter but there is really very little difference. Thanks.
sound amazing. but for me, all Pickup positions sounded very same. no difference between Bridge- Neck or Middle pickup. So it makes me wonder why not put one Humbacker . But i don't know yet which position. maybe bridge or middle.?? do you know good humbucker that i could use with the 2 Alnico pickups? and which position would be best to put that humbacker ?
Oh if you can't hear a difference maybe something's wrong with your speaker or you're listening on your phone?! Maybee you have a crappy am and/or are playing high gain only? Switch to a clean or chunchy sound. The difference between the pickuppositions is enormous (regardless of the brand or type of pickup). Bridge = more treble sound, Neck = more bassy sound. Get yourself a good amp and be amazed how clearly the difference between the pickup positions really is. If you really do prefere a humbucker over a single coil I would start with the bridge position since this is the position with the most trebble sound. But still I'm very confused that you don't hear a difference in the positions?!?!