I was looking at the Bare knuckle website and they have 10 different Strat sets. I can't believe that if I played them all I would think that they all have noticeably different characteristics but still sound stratty? (although obviously you can have some different sounds).
Is there an element of the emperors clothes about pickups? Do you need Eric Johnson's ears to appreciate the difference?
I only play quietly at home so I don't really know about pickups at volume, but I've never been 'that' convinced about expensive pickups.
https://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/pickups/strat
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A problem with that, though, is that 2 recordings will sound different any way even with the same pickups. You really need to try them for a while to hear if you notice the difference but obviously that's not a realistic option for most people.
Generally the range will include a low wound version for each magnet type, a medium and a high wound.
If you've ever changed a pickup (one humbucker for another, for example) you'll know if you found that to sound different or not.
From my fairly limited experience (I have played the same guitar with different pickups of the same type, but only a handful of examples) I fully believe they sound quite a bit different to each other. It's impossible to rule out the placebo effect though.
This is only at home practice volumes though.
And I also find that differences between pickups become more obvious (and clarify to me where I stand on the like/dislike spectrum) when playing at volume rather than in the house.
I’m not suggesting an upgrade isn’t worthwhile in some cases - but it is possible to throw a lot of money at a problem which doesn’t really exist.
An acoustically bright Stratocaster might benefit from pickups with increased mid range. A dark-sounding Stratocaster might benefit from bright pickups.
Then, there is the small matter of individual player technique. Long ago, in a magazine interview far away, David Gilmour commented that, if you hand the same Stratocaster to six different guitarists, they could all make it sound different. In the case of famed recording artistes, within a few bars, it would be possible to tell who was playing.
The reason why I bought my Fender AVRI '65 Stratocaster is because its natural sound suits the hybrid plectrum and digits playing technique.
All Strat pickups wound to traditional specs will sound broadly 'Stratty' but some will have more hollow mids, or more present bass etc etc. Why would pickup makers deny the choice of the different sound palettes to customers?
As to the expense of pickups wound to those specs, just one major factor is the cost of vintage specification wire ... a roll of 5 kilos of 42awg modern poly wire cots around £130 ... a 2.5 kilo roll of vintage spec plain enamel wire costs nearly £300!
With the arrival of our interchangeable sliding pickup compartment demo Feline Strat I can A/B Strat sets in the same guitar, through the same amp within about 30 seconds of each other ... thus removing the variables of different body, neck, strings etc ... it's interesting stuff, and shows up bigger differences between sets than even I had thought.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
I've only really swapped pickups in my 50s Tele, going from the stock, to AVRI '52 and eventually Custom Shop Nocaster. The difference was tiny, but then again, they're all takes on the exact same thing at different price points.
Grand total was £57 delivered & I am very pleased with the pups.
Great company to do business with IMO.
I have also had good experiences with Vanson buying 2 different pairs of humbuckers from them for an Epi Lp & Chinese copy LP which both came to just over £30 delivered per pair.
I bought seymour Duncan vintage blues for my 335 copy the difference is astounding.
I agree with this largely: there is no 'better sound' just a 'sound that suits your ears and your playing'. If that sound comes from a cheaper pickup ... brilliant, you are happy and have saved yourself some money.
'I think it's an impenetrable morass of variables: of wood, of magnetism, string and amplifier.'
I agree again, it's far more complex than just fit an expensive pickup and hope it will cure all your ills.
'This confuses and excites the buyer and lays a smokescreen for manufacturers to artificially create a product range.'
Really? Do you think that all of us pickup makers are simply trying to part gullible guitarists from their money?
The reality is, making pickups for a living (if you are a small maker) is a very poor way of getting rich. I do this full time and earn considerably less average, and far less than when I was employed. I do it because I love it, as many do in this business. Nothing quite beats the feeling of hearing someone playing your pickups live and sounding great ... you just want to nudge everyone in the audience near you and go 'I made those'!
When I retire ... if I can afford to retire ... I will still make pickups, because I love it.
Yes there are some snake oil salesmen in this business ... as there in all walks of life, but please don't tar us all with the same brush.
As far as my own product range of Strat pickups, I built that up through customer requests: for example, If enough folks ask me to build a 1954 style, hand wound/heavy Formvar pickup, I add it to my range, simple as that. In general product ranges come from demand, not artificial creation in this business.
It seems popular to knock makers at the moment, but remember, most of us are guitarists too, get just as excited about new kit, lust after new gear we can't afford, and have the same panic to pay the bills at the end of the month as everyone else :-)
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
Actually I think that a great deal of the 'smokescreen' that's out there comes from the musical press, and some particular manufacturers 'fanboys' who do a better job of pouring snakeoil into the mix than any advertising man. To be fair the PAF making end of the market suffers more from this than the Fender style end. I have listened with disbelief to guitarist happily saying he can hear the difference between maple bobbin spacers and mahogany ones ... and even one who wouldn't buy a modern repro of a vintage pickup if it used lead free solder ... apparently he could hear the vintage tone of a few small drops of lead and tin.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
I let folks come into my workshop through my 'rewinds and restorations' threads in 'Made in the UK' and see for themselves how vintage pickups were made (in some cases very sloppily). And sometimes I punch the workshop door and go out for a fag :-)
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
And in answer to the main question of this thread - yes to the extent even a non-musician would notice a distinct difference between pickups at either end of the spectrum.