sonicsson Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 (edited) Hello guys, I was wondering if an unbranded pickup, say 3 unbranded pickups in a strat. be good, decent enough to use at a professional level or even playing at church? What do the manufacturers mean by 'unbranded'? Could it be that the pickup sound will be different/original/uncommon? Are there great unbranded pickups in the market that sound better than the branded ones like Dimarzio, EMG etc. Please hurry cause am confused on this issue. Thanks in advance. J Edited February 22, 2007 by sonicsson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 it's magnets and copperwire basically....it's not really hi-tech stuff. I'd say yeah "unbranded" ones can be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Well, can free beer be good, or does it have to come in a bottle that says "Budweiser" or a can that says "Stroh's" in order for it to be worth drinking? There are plenty of pros who play guitars that don't have pickups branded from the Big 3. They seem to get paid just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 But that's not a garantee they WILL be good though. That's a "can". I'd put my money on not more often though. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 But that's not a garantee they WILL be good though. That's a "can". I'd put my money on not more often though. Chris but then again...the initial question was 'can'.. and crafty?..I hope you're talking about the real budweiser from the czech republic, because that's the drinkable one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 Nope, more like the "King of Beers" that's brewed from a taiwanese tea bag in a brown hole of a city located two hours north of my 20 with a big stainless steel arch that's supposed to represent the "Gateway to the West" (240 miles east of where the wagon trains actually started their westward journey). This particular city tries to tell the world they know everything about beer, baseball, and Manifest Destiny, and I resent them for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 ...or does it have to come in a bottle that says "Budweiser" or a can that says "Stroh's" in order for it to be worth drinking? Throw "Coors Light" and "Schlitz" in there while you're at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 But hey, after the first 6 pack or two, who cares? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 Nope, more like the "King of Beers" that's brewed from a taiwanese tea bag in a brown hole of a city located two hours north of my 20 with a big stainless steel arch that's supposed to represent the "Gateway to the West" (240 miles east of where the wagon trains actually started their westward journey). This particular city tries to tell the world they know everything about beer, baseball, and Manifest Destiny, and I resent them for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
another doug Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 ...or does it have to come in a bottle that says "Budweiser" or a can that says "Stroh's" in order for it to be worth drinking? Throw "Coors Light" and "Schlitz" in there while you're at it. I'd rather drink beer. If it says Budweiser or Stroh's (or Coors light or Schlitz) that tells me to avoid it at all costs (even free)! As for pickups, sure no-names can be good, but you won't know until you hook them up in your guitar, whereas with a name-brand you usually know what you're getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 (edited) It really depends. In my experience I've played some guitars with very low dollar pickups that sounded awesome, and some that we're a disgrace. Try before you buy IMO. Edited February 23, 2007 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburncustomguitars Posted February 24, 2007 Report Share Posted February 24, 2007 Hello guys, I was wondering if an unbranded pickup, say 3 unbranded pickups in a strat. be good, decent enough to use at a professional level or even playing at church? What do the manufacturers mean by 'unbranded'? Could it be that the pickup sound will be different/original/uncommon? Are there great unbranded pickups in the market that sound better than the branded ones like Dimarzio, EMG etc. Please hurry cause am confused on this issue. Thanks in advance. J Hi, There are SO many variables in this equation. If the woods, pots, wiring, amp, etc. etc. are in perfect harmony with those pickups, yes, they will sound great. HOWEVER, from my experience, you improve your odds of achieving perfect harmony if you have great pickups from a known and respected builder. If this sounds elitist, so be it. I can only speak from 42 years of experience. Peace, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexybeast Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 Try them out and judge for yourself, you may be surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 A lot of cheap pickups probably sound not-so-great because they were originally in a cheapo plywood guitar. Put 'em in a solid body, and you might be pleasantly surprised. In my experience, cheap guitar pickups are far better than cheap bass pickups (unfortunately, as I am mostly a bass player). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donut Man Posted February 25, 2007 Report Share Posted February 25, 2007 There are plenty of pros who play guitars that don't have pickups branded from the Big 3. They seem to get paid just fine. Dimarzio, SD and EMG right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted February 26, 2007 Report Share Posted February 26, 2007 be good, decent enough to use at a professional level or even playing at church? I thought church was all about forgiveness and love thy brother and turn the other cheek? Well, the theory's nice. Or are you worried the guy's gonna hop down off that cross and whack you with it? Seriously, it's true, you have to try them for yourself. I don't particularly trust the boutique pickup fad, so I'm not going to tell you to go out and spend $300 on a set of those. On the other hand, it's easy enough to find a set of Fender pickups-- buy them from someone who's installed a set of boutique pups. A set of MIM pickups won't cost much. It just makes sense to me --if I want the sound of a Fender strat, then I use Fender pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherokee6 Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 One of the members was very happy with the pickups from Allparts, and they're pretty inexpensive. You can get them discounted at http://www.universaljems.com/ PG's own site run by Brian! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 One of my guitars came equipped with Mighty Mite humbuckers. They sounded pretty good. Previously, I had always swapped dissimilar pickups; for example, a Duncan Little 59 humbucker into a tele-style bridge. In any event, I thought to myself, "Well, I have a Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz just sitting around, so I might as well drop those in-- surely they're better than the MM ones." I'm frankly not fully convinced. Don't get me wrong, the JB and Jazz are fine. Good, even. They perform exactly as the SD website describes, and I have no reason to revert back to the MM. BUT, there was nothing inherently wrong with the MM pickups. They were slightly lower output, so the sound was overall a bit chimier, and they sounded very very good, actually. If I had never swapped them out, I wouldn't have been happy simply and ONLY because of knowing that I had a JB and Jazz just sitting around. But in retrospect, if I hadn't been compelled to swap them out, I WOULD have been very happy with the sound the MMs were producing. And they're not going to the "junk bin" now, either. They'll go into a guitar for sure. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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