How to SAVE HUNDREDS on new pickups!!!

[@pickledparsleyparty]

Bless you sir for being the only music KZbinr brave enough to advise people NOT to buy a thing. Also lol, good one.

[@honeypotusername]

I mean dude he's probably sponsored by a competitor. No actual opinions are given in today's world

[@DS-nw4eq]

He’s selling himself as a source of information. Pickups are a component of tone and some are better than others given the purpose and other gear involved. Goofball

[@FG-vp6id]

​@@honeypotusername Hell no, this guy is one of the few people who research into shit, and if he is sponsored by someone to review their product, he will tell you if its garbage or good.

[@DS-nw4eq]

@@FG-vp6id No, he’s a shill for views

[@sirspongadoodle]

@@DS-nw4eq no he isnt. i hope that was simple enough for you.

[@tayzonday]

Yes. Any accumulated dirt/residue/corrosion has an inherent electrical resistance that can be overcome with more electricity.

[@grimfiddle578]

Tay?

[@ggaabb_]

Correct me if im wrong but the last time I used a magnet to collect nails in the ground it didn't give a damn about any dirt, corrosion or residue. When we're talking about electromagnetic transduction the only important elements are the potency of the magnets and the inductance of the coil (this one can be affected by corrosion though) so... HOLY SHIT IS THE CHOCOLATE RAIN GUY

[@jrkb89]

Chocolate rain!

[@TrashMarineMusic]

Everybody is gonna reply "WAOW CHOCOLATE RAIN!?!!?" but I do appreciate the explanation of whats happening here

[@pickledparsleyparty]

My signal chain! It's aliiiiiiive!

[@mawhit1176]

Except most people need to turn the knobs the other way lol

[@bigassdummy46]

All the gain

[@gilernt]

fr. tho i gotta say i fall into the group he's talking about here, i gotta strat and wanna chug on it but it kinda boofs even on the neck pickup - and i've seen everywhere everyone's like "TURN DOWN THE GAIN" so i'm always running the dial at like 40 max, so imma try not doing that and see how it goes

[@AnArmoredMarch]

​@@gilernt most guitarists dont know how their shit works lol. Single coils have low output and less magnets working on the string, so you get a little more "definition" (read: slightly more treble), so you can get pretty much the exact same sound by just turning the gain higher and dialing back the treble ***slightly.*** You kinda have to get more aggressive with the gain knob to get the same kind of sound from most singles as you would with an active humbucker. Note: aggressive compression will dampen this effect heavily

[@sEaNoYeAh]

​@@gilernttry getting a Digitech Grunge pedal cheap second hand. It's a cheat code for chugging on stock single coils.

[@gilernt]

@@AnArmoredMarch thankfully im not one of those guitarists 🤨 i just prefer not having 75% of the mix be hum and noise

[@yorkshirej2219]

Holy fuck it worked

[@jonniefast]

trying other types of pickups and friends guitars is a good idea , i like having access to dif stuff but imo i think ppl should stick to what works for them i dont do ANY high gain stuff and use the breakup of the amp and meticulously dialed "overdrive" or "compression" (the signal chain is technically neither of those lol anyways learning about pickup wiring is fun and a labor of love in itself; but prob unnecessary for most and downright silly if you think its gonna "fix" your intonation/picking-attack 😅

[@jonniefast]

this is one of those few channels that i find acceptable in terms of usefulness and mixing/tone shortcuts not too big on the jokes (im an old man lol) but the guys on this channel seem happy and strive to get even better 💖

[@c.noahbaoas6816]

Honestly I think at least 50% of the “improvement” folks hear when changing their pickups is from the new strings they put on after swapping pickups haha

[@alanjamesh.zamorano1677]

​​@@c.noahbaoas6816 that's why I use my same old crusty strings after every general setup.😎 Also because I'm a cheap mofo

[@jonniefast]

@@c.noahbaoas6816 i somewhat agree but ive turned some pickups into fridge magnets and they were absolutely horrible/unusable

[@martianmurray]

Can we get an in depth video on this complex technique?

[@doknox]

You just watched it.

[@LPOband]

Turn it up to eleven

[@hudsonmccaffery1619]

@@LPOband yea, you go to ten and where can you go from there? Nowhere. That’s why we have eleven

[@AllThisOverASliceOfGabagool]

You must be a bass player 😂

[@prod6thl]

​@@doknoxno shit really?

[@argento8447]

Instructions unclear: I bought 7 PAF boutique replicas to improve my chugs.

[@koDaffi]

You can't djent properly without a $4,000 amp my friend. Don't pay a guy to plug it in either, that's part of the experience. All the great used to do it.

[@koDaffi]

@@Spaggot That is true I was a little tipsy when I commented it. The trick is you have to get your pants off all the way, you squat like your going to go handicap bowling, then while it's puckered but still slightly open you plug straight in. I need to stop commenting when I've been drinking because I never give clear instructions and I feel bad once people reply confused.

[@Flat_Stanley]

I bought an auto zone long stem high capacity funnel to improve my butt chugs!

[@stallionstudios]

Have you considering swapping your tonewood out on your guitar as well?

[@DS-nw4eq]

@@koDaffiyou probably can’t afford coffee so you make ridiculous statements out of spite. Unfortunately the economy doesn’t support the boomer lifestyle anymore so you’ll just have to play your IRs

[@DaveTaste]

I've bought a new TV so I can watch a different channel.

[@stallionstudios]

oh man funny

[@deskducker]

I bought a new tv because i wanted 4k instead of 1080

[@hhaste]

@@deskducker Except pickups are even less of a difference than that, with a rare exception here and there.

[@Gutszomb11]

This is the equivalent to turning the knob before TV remotes came out. SO MUCH WORK 😂

[@martianmurray]

When I was a kid I was the remote

[@sirspongadoodle]

@@martianmurray what you turned objects on?

[@nathanv.4397]

That didn't work for the stock pickups in my Jackson JS30RR Rhoads (04 or 05 model) Sometimes the pickups are just shit.

[@jonathanthompson9068]

Agreed. I changed out my stock Jackson pups for the blackouts and there was instant high gain clarity. Sometime pickups sound like mud and adding gain will simply make them muddier.

[@alrecks619]

cheap pickups from bygone era tend to be dog water. but nowadays they should be decent enough to be put on a recording.

[@nathanv.4397]

@@alrecks619 that's reassuring. I've heard nothing of the contemporary entry guitars. I'll say it slays though. It appears to be extremely similar to Glen's mid 90s Rhoads but more affordably made. ...Personally, I want more gain and my intention is to put two onboard preamps into my guitar and run it through a parametric EQ, perhaps one more signal boost before hitting the amp. I can raise the strings as I prefer, and introduce some Eddy's in the magnetic field (diminishing the efficiency of the pups however altering the tone as legend has it). If it sucks I'll revamp my application. I'm following the practices of Dimebag, Bill Lawrence (who I discovered via Dime), and my own ideas.

[@beefnacos6258]

I had a Jackson stealth with pickups that were so bad no matter what I did in the signal chain it just sounded bad.

[@M0RGAT0RY]

That's true...especially for 7 strings

[@greevar]

Yeah, you can do a whole hell of a lot to change your tone by simply putting a graphic EQ before the preamp. If it has a level boost, you can make your pickups sound like other pickups by cutting and boosting frequencies. Making a single coil sound like a humbucker/active can be done by adjusting the EQ and boosting the output with the level boost of the EQ. Moreover, we have a particular range of frequencies in the middle (centered around 8Khz) we are most sensitive to while not so much on the extreme ends of our perceptible range. When we boost the volume, those frequencies we don't detect so well seem to just "show up", which many of us perceive as a "tone shift", when all that is really happening is that we can now better hear what wasn't loud enough relative to other sounds.

[@ismaeledridi390]

Very true, and also you can apply this same concept if you put an eq after an overdrive to shape even better the response. The Eq are the most powerful pedal in a chain.

[@doknox]

​@@ismaeledridi390 yes right next to the fart pedal.😂 But seriously you aren't lying. I prefer my eq before OD but...that's the cool thing about this stuff is there are no rules it's just what sounds good to you. That being said sometimes people cant hear for shxt and we end up here. Lol.

[@ismaeledridi390]

@@doknox yes,ideally you can put an Eq before and after for having the best trim and boost of frequencies from your overdrive.

[@murrayguitarpickups9545]

You cant amplify frequencies that dont exist to start with, if the pickup isn't producing anything over say...3k, adding 4k, 6k or 10k will only add hiss

[@ravenslaves]

yeah. the eq pedal, or rack mount, is the most versatile and underrated effect that anyone, of any genre, can have.

[@stoneysdead689]

If you can't tell- Glenn produces and understands nothing but metal- more gain fixes everything.

[@jofusnufc841]

which is bullshit

[@torbenlysholm1]

Exactly, @stoneysdead689. In this case at least. I like his "no bull"-approach to things, but this only applies to very heavily distorted signals. In his KZbin video about this, he allows for a bit more nuance, but still generalizes. It's as much clickbait as it is true in what he does and how he does it.

[@sirspongadoodle]

@@torbenlysholm1 no good deed goes unpunished.. refuse loads of money from pickup companies, get people bitching about something he literally tells you about in the video.

[@grizzlymanverneteil4443]

He does some core too

[@nicolasreveco3748]

i think this is not about metal, but the fact that pickups don't make much difference in tone at all, like a lot of people tend to believe. there are very subtle differences, but only in a really clean channel, almost no gain, and in a mix it's not noticeable. the biggest difference is in the amplitude of the signal (some are a bit louder, some are quieter). and our brains are routed to think that louder=better. so all of the differences in amplitude can just be made by, guess what, turning up or down the gain. so do that instead of spending $200 on pickups

[@lobsterman5602]

I wish this came a few days earlier, I literally just bought new pickups 😭

[@FEV369]

Oh don't feel bad... unless you never plan to play guitar without high gain... You know, so the other 50% of the time you play with low gain or clean will have nice tones VS shitty cheap pickup tones...

[@charlesmayberry2825]

As another pointed out (Ravic) you will still get a tone difference, and better pickups the largest difference is in the cleans. As well as the higher tones the high mids and treble are better with a real nice set of pickups, so if you are playing low gain or clean ever. You will still get something out of it.

[@beefnacos6258]

Good pickups are worth it. I like this guy and usually he has a lot of valuable information but this is just stupid. I'm glad you bought some good pickups

[@robob3ar]

So do they sound better

[@charlesmayberry2825]

@@robob3ar in low gain applications the tone will vary quite a bit. Also for instance my "cheapest" guitar (shelf price) had terrible imported electronics in it. It always sounded super muddy and no amount of EQ could fix it. Swapped them out for some hot rodded Seymour Duncan pickups and it's now the clearest guitar I own. The thing is if the pickups are alright, and you're just getting started it may not be worth the money. Especially if you pay someone else to change them. I do my own work on my guitars. So it's just part cost and effort. At the end of the day, if you don't have the money and they sound alright for the most part, it's not worth changing them to chase a marginal gain. Especially as pickups age the resistance changes and adding a bit more gain on the amp will combat it. Like everything in life the answer is it's complicated. At the end of the day Glenn's advice isn't terrible. It comes from a place assuming you really can't afford it or the money would be better spent elsewhere. Which starting out for most musicians he's right

[@obelisk5400]

One thing Glenn often does forget to mention: He talks about METAL tone. Aka high gain, high distortion tone. If you play clean tones (aswell), pickups do matter.

[@shroomlord682]

graphic eq before the amp and then mixing and then putting it in a full track, it does not really matter that much

[@cadengroves]

I agree to this for example. The bridge on a EMG 81 for example (just because that’s probably the most common) has great distortion sure but shit cleans, sounds like plastic. Now you could say “just switch to your neck pickup” and sure. But let’s compare that EMG 81, to a Seymour Duncan Pegasus bridge pickup. In comparison (even if it’s an active and a passive comparison) you get way better and tonally versatile clean and distorted tones out of that pickup.

[@dirgmario]

@@shroomlord682 oh, it does. Good luck getting the clean character of a Bridge Tele pickup on a strat

[@ruledtrendy5066]

He makes it very clear he's talking about high gain metal tones

[@jessesalas1692]

No shit he is a metal production studio

[@stefanfyhn4668]

Only Glenn will argue that a 5 dollar pickup sound like a 50 dollar pickup by setting gain to 10

[@beefnacos6258]

Actually I've seen a lot of people agree with that. It's nonsense. For him claiming to be an audio engineer he sure is wrong about some things

[@helio1055]

@@beefnacos6258No literally, it’s embarrassing that some are actually believing this shit

[@CLaw-tb5gg]

no, he's saying that the stock pickups in the average guitar are fine. Not that $5 pickups are fine lol

[@duckbuster6391]

Make that 11 👀

[@zynosgd9982]

I tend to agree, however, I personally dabble in both "big chugga chugga monkey brain metal" as well as "clean goody two-shoes indie pop" and then I believe pickups do matter. THAT BEING SAID, cheap does not mean bad, I've had phenomenal tones from my expensive guitars but also from some import brand guitars. Believe your ears, not your money!

[@therideneverends1697]

this is exactly it, PLAY THE THING before you screw about with it, might not even need fixing. i have a japanese knock off 335 copy i got for 275 bucks that has these wierd single coils that are like a strat pickup but with a coil almost twice as tall. and it sounds super cool!

[@ryanscholl-thurman3799]

my single coil just turned into a humbucker! truly a magic tip!

[@bluesoulzero7754]

Gotta say. I've been recording while trying to learn and understand mixes, but something I always noticed is that regardless of the pickups I'm using, they do tend to sound the same after mixing and adding stuff on top of it. I do have to say on my GFS Redactive there's a huge difference in tone but just for 1 little reason, those pups came with EQ switches to adjust and boost the highs, mids and lows

[@Spoon8lld]

The only time it's worth changing pickups in my opinion, is if you're upgrading a super low budget guitar with pickups that are microphonic, or otherwise really really bad

[@beefnacos6258]

I disagree I don't feel that budget guitars are worth the investment of upgrading. To each their own

[@Spoon8lld]

@@beefnacos6258 budget guitars can be a fun way to learn guitar modding, so I definitely disagree with that I've also had budget guitars with better playability (baretta special) than my gibsons

[@z1g]

Wait, how much does that knob cost?

[@MrMOGHammer]

About the price the amp it comes in… oh wait … free amp sims. There you go.

[@Tijuanabill]

If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it. That is an Aged Brazilian Polyurethane New Old Stock knob, with mold figuring.

[@MrMOGHammer]

@@Tijuanabill functioning hardware sold separately

[@demokraatti]

Correct. Tons of gain will ruin your tone no matter what pickups your guitar have.

[@fezzibuzz]

Total bollocks 🤣

[@Napalmdog]

It’s true! I mean one of the biggest reasons EMGs and other active pickups are so loved by the Metal community is they increase the gain signal. I still want to hear Glenn try a P90 in metal though!

[@Jimbodaddy74]

You mean crank the gain until your guitar sounds like bees farting in a box? Sounds like a winning plan, man.

[@wadesams194]

Me with stock ibanez pickups at 15 years old

[@user-nk8ww9ce9k]

Bees farting in box ist metal af

[@JosephGorbach]

I never thought about the tone in pickups when I bought one. Only time I did but a new pickup was cuz my bridge pickup was giving massive feedback. Which when I night and swapped out for an EMG which it worked and fixed the problem.

[@beefnacos6258]

Exactly..

[@Eblan85]

Love how Glenn is always goofing around while giving the best advice.

[@Electro_Chrome]

The George Lynch Screamin Demon makes a massive difference if you like to play Zakk Wylde style squealies. It's super responsive to artificial harmonics.

[@peachmelba1000]

If you buy a cheap mod-platform guitar, it'll very likely have pretty atrocious pickups (meaning, weak/microphonic), so take this advice with a grain of salt. Sometimes, you do have to replace them.

[@maraviyoso8473]

Can the guitar replace its owner? That'd be better

[@dextersbeard3472]

​@@maraviyoso8473 yeah, its called selling it and buying a better guitar

[@spark300c]

it make a lot sense to replace low output for high ones if some playing with distortion because of signal to noise ratio.

[@user-xd7rc9mj3x]

You can remove cover, replace cover with raw nickel-silver, adjust pickup height, adjust pole height, eq, lower the gain (for cleaner sound). Lots to do before buying a new pickup. But some pickups ARE a lot better than some of the cheaper stock pickups.

[@danielhunter8008]

Cheap single coils never cease to amaze me. Every other day I see someone playing squire Sonic that sounds just like a fender custom shop. It's definitely more noticeable on cheap humbuckers versus expensive humbuckers. But I would still say mess with your EQ and your pickup height before spending money unnecessarily.

[@jimshorts6751]

The most articulate difference I've ever heard, or showed people I changed pickups for is : AMP ! You need a good amp ! 2nd... I throw my trusty '71 Les Paul at them, and they instantly want my pickups (provided they aren't metal heads), then I tell them they're 50s spec PAF's, underwound with Alnico 2 mags. 🤷‍♂️ Tone doesn't get better by creating a stronger magnetic field, it's usually detrimental. But, I'm weird that way.

[@charlesmerfeld2988]

Changing the height can make a bit of difference. For some new strings can do it too lol. Or maybe a new battery ?

[@peteherring5438]

Replacing those crusty old strings can really improve your tone too. I see so many guitars with strings that haven't been changed in a year or 10.

[@therideneverends1697]

its actually amazeing, when i first got my 62RI jag i was kind of perplexed how flat and muddy it sounded with pickup hight and everything totally dialed in put it aside for a bit then decided to put new strings on after cleaning it, whole thing came alive. Dead strings are a real thing no doubt

[@rcstl8815]

I thought the rust tone added charm to them?

[@guitarjams1008]

high quality pickups do approve your guitar tone And sound. In any and every way

[@Tijuanabill]

High quality vs poor quality, or high quality vs good quality? Yeah, $2 ceramic Chinese pick ups suck, but swapping your USA Gibsons out for Seymour Duncans is lighting money on fire, unless you are swapping to a different output level.

[@Eliphas_Elric]

@@Tijuanabill Output level, magnet type etc. Although you can always just swap the magnet for yourself (unless its a dimarzio ceramic, they glue those bastards in).

[@Tijuanabill]

@@Eliphas_Elric Yes, of course there are a million designs. And that is sort of my point. We know how these are made, and it's clearly repeatable. Changing pickups is an artistic choice, not a quality choice. Buying a more expensive pickup, of the exact same design, with the exact same tone, is not going to change anything. If you prefer a hotter or less hot pick up, or a single vs humbucker, etc, etc, then a cheaper version of the same exact thing, is not going to change the tone that much. The big brands are easily copied, and are.

[@darrylportelli]

Im convinced that a good cab with good speakers is where its all at ... You can throw whatever you want through a great cab and it will still sound great

[@ethanskelly467]

Yeah I wish my gain setting could go any higher

[@FAFetus]

try to chug a little harder. james hetfield hits his strings fuckin hard and it gives a meaner sound. new strings helps too

[@meiji...]

boost the gain on your EQ pedal?

[@Durkhead]

Active pickups make a difference

[@nicolasreveco3748]

but isn't it more of a gain difference than a tonal one? actives are hotter

[@Durkhead]

@nicolasreveco3748 kinda, but active pickups have a flatter frequency response and when they distort they have like an extra grind to it, if u listen to slayer you can hear it I play bass and I use to think active pickups for bass were better but now I like passive cause they usually a little scooped sounding

[@FreeUrMindz]

Love it. Also a simple used EQ pedal can greatly change any guitars sound.

[@personalfreedom2700]

Note: The idea that different configurations of pickups have zero effect on tone except to add or reduce amp gain is against the laws of physics, and there is no evidence to support his claims. In fact amps themselves impart far less tone characteristics then pickups do.

[@worldaswar3784]

Watching your videos i can say that the pick up height and the amp gain is the key. I watched the video on pick up height and it makes the most impact to the tone and dynamics.maybe i am wrong. So please correct me.

[@jayfabe620]

Changing pickup height, especially with hunbuckers, can make it seem like you have an entirely different guitar.

[@worldaswar3784]

@@jayfabe620 exactly

[@PrinceVinceJohn]

Glenn calls the KZbinrs out, but they just stay silent.. lol

[@emilbygde9146]

Stock pickups are most often absolute garbage that sounds like a cessna taking off. If this method worked, i could duct tape a fridge magnet to a piece of cardboard covered in aluminum foil, and it would sound the same as a set of Fishmans... For those who havent tried (i actually have): It doesnt work like that...

[@TheZguitarboy67]

jokes aside, I wish more people realized how much difference can be had just by playing with the pickup height.

[@axelnoi]

Hear that people don’t waste your hard earned money on a new set of pickups. Just buy a 2500 dollar amp and bump the gain. Because every amp works the same.

[@alexjacobs5132]

You can also adjust the pickup height and pole pieces too! It’s amazing how much you can affect the tone of a set of pickups just by adjusting how close they are to the strings.

[@streetlegal008]

The key is pickup height adjustment, individual pole piece height adjustment for each string and in this way balancing out the sound between bridge and neck pickups. It takes a bit of time but it will help develop your ear and you can fine tune these settings over time to home in on the 'tone' that you like.

[@ChadieB]

Revolutionary

[@abirbhaimusic9740]

I have multiple guitars with different pickups. Trust me, just playing with gain does not help. As a guitarist, I am really sensitive about tones. Each pickup have their unique sound. My Dimarzio have one voice, my invader have another voice, my EMGs have other voice. That's why I have multiple guitars for different sets of songs.

[@Spacefiddler]

And for the listener all sounds the same

[@abirbhaimusic9740]

@Vidaxata you are correct about majority listeners.

[@Turboy65]

This advice only applies if metal is all you play. If your musical tastes are broader than that, and you turn the distortion down at least SOME of the time, the differences between pickups, and much more, will be more apparent and may matter more to you.

[@scacchomattho]

That's right, but this is a metal-focused channel, so the point stands

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

get an EQ pedal. It's cheaper than pickups and can be used on all of your guitars. :)

[@jackbootshamangaming4541]

My Fishmans have given me massive new tonal variety, like a ton. From a twangy sound I couldn't get with the passive feels on, to the even better active sounds than I had. Both neck and bridge are fairly different, not as much on super high gain, but still can tell. My Amarok-7 is clearly different in neck and bridge, even on very high gain.

[@dewdiepopatm9449]

A guitar pickup literally has the complexity of an incandescent light bulb. I bought a $35 SH-4 knockoff from amazon that rivals my $100 Duncan black winter in tone and output. Whats the secret recipe? A magnet, some screws, and a couple miles of copper wire.

[@cadengroves]

I love Glenn’s videos, and a lot of what he does is truth and quality information. But I have to disagree on this certain thought about pickups. Pickups CAN completely change tone, either for the better or for the worse. It’s been trouble shot multiple times with different pickups, and each different pickup model produces a certain tone. For example I’ll take 2 active (because those are most common for metal) For actives we’ll go with the EMG 81 and the Seymour Duncan Blackout. Both very similar active pickups, how ever, comparing tone with the same exact amp settings the EMG 81 produces a more high end and scooped mids sound. Where as the SD Blackout produces a more bass filled tone, while still compensating for the treble, it isn’t as high as the EMG 81. As for the cleans of that pickup, the EMG 81 produces a way more treble and plastic clean sound, where as the SD Blackout produces a more warmer sound, per as the more bass tone from the pickup. Some pickups are just straight out more versatile and produce different sounds for what you want. As for distortion, if you crank more gain on a shitty pickup or low end pickup (let’s take the stock Ibanez Infinity pickups for an example) you will just get a muddier and grosser tone, which will completely just get rid of any tone for that example and leave with you something shit. Where as on a EMG 81 you just get hotter sounding tones, doesn’t make it as muddy as that Ibanez pickup. Sure, you can just adjust amp setting if you have low end pickups, but if you’re playing live on for example a Line 6 Helix, or Quad Cortex, your mostly going to be using one specific tone for each thing, a rhythm, a lead, and a clean. It’s not practical to keep messing with settings during a guitar switch if you don’t like the sound the pickups produce. That’s my 2 cents about it at least :)

[@autumn2333]

What about active pickups like emgs? Would that be a good investment because I wanna get some for my les Paul studio but after watching a lot of your content you say otherwise

[@LordFingers1]

guy talks nonsense most the time. ive installed new pickups and the difference was enormous. it awakened the guitar.

[@jowildcat40]

Bought a guitar that had ceramics and I replaced it with alnicos. Went from muddy to clean like it was night and day. I've heard the reason why is because those ceramics aren't made with enough copper (since it's a Squier), so those ceramics were cheaply made. For someone who likes to play just about every genre, upgrading the pickups was necessary. Wasn't so much about the type in this situation, but moreso the quality. Turned that guitar into a machine that sounds and plays better than a Fender player strat by only spending $100 on pickups.

[@tjborekvideo]

Yes, I recently picked up a used Squier Affinity Strat HSS. After cleaning it, lubing it, adjusting action and intonation, and floating the vintage-style trem, it holds tune really well -- this coming from a guy spoiled by $400 Ibanez Edge tremolos. I bought it as a backup for gigs, but I'm playing it on the daily! Enjoying the honeymoon, but I will upgrade that bridge humbucker. It's thin sounding, and gain alone isn't the solution.

[@allnostalgia7192]

pickups are just a business and a profit strategy. you can distinguish every sound this pickup makes but there is not much difference. what this guy said is absolutely true. you buy an expensive pickup but you only get the brand name of the pickup but the real one what really helps you is your guitar playing skills and how you keep that musicality alive.

[@scrummyvision]

havent caught a live mix review stream in a long time; i was 💯% expecting "PRACTICE YOUR FUCKING GUITAR" but i forgot, the key is 🤘 (and then dial back volume knob on the guitar!)

[@shizzlefohizzle417]

Adjusting the already installed pick up can also improve tone as well! Whether its adjusting the pick up height it even adjusting the poles (if its an opencore pickup)

[@dehved]

in theory, a bit more gain is just the same (slightly more voltage) as more turns around the pickup bobbin.

[@johnpell6867]

Yeah it's weird for me when I see a comparison video and the pickups sound exactly the same all the time. But then the person in the video is saying oh wow what a difference! If you really want to change your tone it's down to your amp and your pedals. With the right stuff you could make an $80 guitar sound like you paid 10 grand for it.

[@DeadKoby]

For some people that's good advice indeed. But for someone who prefers the sound of P-90's... out of a guitar with Humbuckers... it doesn't work so well.

[@armara70]

Very true, but I would say there are a few pickups (Air Norton, Black Winter, etc) that do offer a unique tone.

[@disposabledad]

PREACH I mostly keep the stock pickups in my epiphone or I use dimarzio super distortion and jb in a couple charvels. I have a epiphone moderno $550 demo at Sweetwater. It sounds just fine!

[@PaidInBoredom]

I mean new pickups can really help if the guitar have really cheapo weak magnet pickups or if the poles got really corroded. But yeah crank it to 11.

[@Mkemcz]

I was expecting Glenn to just shout: "GO PRACTICE!"

[@lone-wolf-1]

This!👍🏼

[@istvanfabian881]

There is small difference in tone, but a louder signal going in the amp is different than havig more gain

[@harrisontownsend910]

If I was to get a new pickup (for metal) which would you prefer. For context I'm playing a first act (walmart brand) guitar for lower tunings ( drop c to drop a) and it has a feedback problem because of its cheap design.

[@TB_in_the_coffee]

The fact that any time I try and research something about pickups this is always the first video. A true testament to how well you can infest the algorithm with the right keywords. A sincere kudos. However, I scrolled for 3-5 minutes and couldn't see YOUR answer to whether changing the TYPE of pickup (Going Humbucker to P90, or Single Coil to Humbucker, or any other Type-A to Type-B swap) makes a difference? I saw it asked a fair few times, thought I would too. Maybe you did answer and we all missed it, if you did I'd appreciate if you could repeat it.

[@RyansCustomShopandGearOutlet]

Another simple trick to making massive improvements to your tone without spending a dime is...practice more.

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

That’ll improve your technique, certainly. But not tone.

[@RyansCustomShopandGearOutlet]

@@SpectreSoundStudios True. I didn't think of it like that. Great videos on saving money.

[@mojoe8005]

Ur crazy if u think different pickups dnt sound different

[@thejedirangersworkshop2]

I was expecting him to say practice.

[@scatterbrain33]

I love you man. As soon as you turned that gain I almost cried with laughter. Guitarist need you.

[@paulj0557tonehead]

No, it's not gain that gets you an edge, but first of all pickups might seem trivial, but they are absolutely elemental to tone. The problem is it's important we carefully amplify the Treble first! I have a simple alternative to an expensive Dallas Arbiter Range Master Treble Booster. Buy a $25 Donner Ripple Tremolo pedal. Leave it on and turn up the Color knob. Turn Speed and Depth down with switch on Normal and you won't hear tremolo effect, but your tone will have great definition. You can operate the Ripple on just 4vdc to 12vdc. Experiment. Btw it's a good tremolo as well.

[@josetanaka]

OMG! It worked like a magic! hahaha this is the best clip I'v seen this week!

[@painengineer]

VALUABLE information. Learned this a long time ago. Some pickups just dont run hot and you need to crank it thats all it comes down to.

[@danaeverhart6487]

Finally someone smart enough to see it’s not the pick up! It the man or woman playing the guitar!

[@chosenone2964]

This ridiculous, if you actually "play" guitar , u know pickups make a massive difference

[@JohnnyBeane]

There it is! 😃🎸

[@davids2629]

The only reason why you should swap pickups is if they are absolute swamp. Like cheap noisy pickups.

[@baldman7595]

are you making a video on them would be curios to hear the tim henson ones since they been very hyped

[@MrMOGHammer]

Keyword here is hype.

[@baldman7595]

@@MrMOGHammer yes ik but i still would like to hear them because he already had them so why not

[@PISSEDOFF-MADABOUTIT60]

MY grandfather just died, Getting up to raise the gain nob! But now we can go to 11! Thank you

[@deemorty6831]

I love a lot of what Glenn says, but pickups do make a big difference my Northern brother. Lower output pickups, sure, usually add a bit of gain/drive to the signal and voila, he's totally right. It's why I usually just mess with my volume when playing. But to me the big difference is in the magnets. I usually notice between ceramic, a5, a2, (a3 single coils) on passives a noticable difference mainly in feel/responsiveness, no matter the brand or guitar it's in. Alnicos can be tough to tell, sometimes, but it's mostly ceramics. Probably tiny audible differences to the winding wire used too and blah blah blah... but I find the magnets are often significant in the 30 or so guitars and total 50 or so pickups I've had and experimented the last 20 years (not that that's a lot, just my personal experience). And sorry, you can't eq that. If it sounds good it is good. And maybe it's not the pickups fault, maybe it's my hands... (or something else for a sound engineer)

[@sm0key529]

That's a bold statement. Now you're dealing with a lot of hum and unpleasant sound due to frequency response

[@TDZPearson]

I have an Ibanez S570 where the volume would drop off from the G to the high E string... We all know the reputation Ibanez has with their pickups... I replaced them with Bare Knuckles and the improvement was massive.

[@tonyfoster986]

Nah that's not the case. Crankin the gain doesnt help my strat sound like a Duncan distortion. The juice is definetly worth the squeeze, for cleans and distorted guitar.

[@tyler9033]

I don’t know. The guy at guitar center was pretty adamant that it was my pickups.

[@madhalodog21]

I know this might be satire . But whenever my single coils are weak I turn up the presence 😅

[@Schizniit]

You can also do something as little as changing your picks.

[@beefnacos6258]

Lol facts. It seems nobody has the knowledge or balls to attest against his silly claim.

[@johnpacino4491]

I've been following for years, so I know what is Glen talking about. But it might worth mentioning for the people who get this reel recommended, that this works on heavy saturated metal tones. It won't work on clean tone when your pickup is dark sounding and muddy and you want sparkling clean tones.

[@beefnacos6258]

I guess man, all I play is metal and I absolutely hear night and day differences with my guitars with different pickups

[@xkovacsx09]

Pickups are a nice upgrade if you have the money, but there's much cheaper upgrades that go a longer way in making your guitar better (nut, saddles, tuners, if you're a bass player change your strings lol).

[@johnbillson3767]

All glory to God, amen.

[@SpectreSoundStudios]

Which one?

[@TakeHit0]

​@@SpectreSoundStudios Me

[@Burnt_Gerbil]

Hmm. Roman or Greek? Hindu possibly? 🤔

[@jochenstacker7448]

​@@SpectreSoundStudios would have to be Crom or Odin obviously.

[@TheMasterOfMetal9]

Best way to trigger glen!

[@DocRoc94]

The fact this is the hill you’ve so aggressively chosen to die on. So strange, so abrasive, so petty.

[@TheIgnoramus]

Exactly why l live my standard Pacifica pickups. I back they way up and They just have more range and gain potential. More wave Breakup with pushed gain on alnico sure, but that’s the only benefit I can find auditory wise vs neodymium. I prefer the stronger field.

[@EasyHeat]

My #1 fav player guitar currently is a 2017 Affinity Squier JM HH. I upgraded the tuners to Grover and replaced the plastic nut. Not once have I considered changing the stock ceramic pickups. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@shadowhawk3790]

Bro I've made some of my hardest shit on a budget strat, I've been preaching this for years

[@beefnacos6258]

With 20 pedals in the signal chain?

[@basicoptimalmouse]

I'm confused. Can you please make a 10 minute tutorial?

[@dokterkarel]

actually, this dude is spot on. I do have several guitars with several different pickups, and some do actually change the tone slightly, but others just have more output which can easily be compensated by adjusting the gain or adding an overdrive pedal.

[@StereoPenguin94]

Sweet now my $60 single coil strat sounds like a tiny tin robot squealing when i lift my palm off the strings!

[@Eliphas_Elric]

Also before buying new pickups (because yes there are circumstances where they do actually matter, try swapping magnets. It's easy, cheap as fuck, and reversible if you don't like the results. Also you can change the pole screws for further modification too. For example, I love the duncan pegasus 6 in one of my guitars but the low end was kinda slow and bloated, so I swapped the pole screws for shorter hex head screws under the wound strings, and now they're snappier and tighter. Love the output and tight low end of ceramics but don't like the icepick highs? Try an Alnico 8 bar magnet.

[@Amp497]

Early on, I replaced the only pickup in a Fender Bronco with an expensive DiMarzio because the guitar sounded like crap. Guess what. Now, the guitar sounded like crap with a little more gain. He is telling the truth.

[@njg4606]

This is genius. A great leveling. Awesome take.

[@DaskaiserreichNet78]

I made a massive improvement to a cheap guitar I bought by shielding the pick-up and other cavities with aluminium foil. The guitar had a lot less noise afterwards especially on high gain settings. This is a really simple and cheap way of giving a cheap guitar a massive upgrade.

[@MrMOGHammer]

I did that AND change all 3 for hot rails the guitar just stopped being so noisy. And sounds great both clean and saturated for Metal. That is a very cheap strat copy bought at Costco.

[@beefnacos6258]

Yes, pick up shielding is a game changer

[@AizaakThurston]

This sort of makes sense. There's only so much you can do to a bunch of wire coiled around a magnet before the cost of a good pickup becomes parts cost. That said we still have guitars up to $1000 with plastic nuts on them so idk... sometimes pickups are just bad.