The Internet Is WRONG About Guitar Pickups

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

I’m sure this comment section won’t turn into an absolute dumpster fire :)

[@maxalaintwo3578]

I’m here, so it definitely will be

[@voltaic849]

@bengreenbank this isnt a video game bro everything isnt made out of the exact same 3 materials and copy pasted

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

@@bengreenbankfor someone who claims that a guitar player’s subjective morale has no effect on the objective output they produce on the instrument, you seem REALLY objectively pissed off from your own subjective standpoint hahahaha

[@perkaholic8787]

i dont think anyone is saying pickups sound the same, theyre saying they dont matter. which they dont , its all personal preference really, idr see what the point of the video is.

[@BenMcSherry]

*hands out matches, asks for the comments section not to turn into a dumpster fire* 🤣🤣🤣

[@chocosoflu]

Tone is stored in the balls

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

real

[@maxalaintwo3578]

No wonder my tone is so fat

[@diazzsama]

Toneballs is only the way

[@Durkhead]

The tone is stored in the daw

[@OnyxSkiesXIX]

*toan

[@nerolive5256]

Glenn Fricker is yelling at his screen rn

[@josearjona3728]

He´s a clown, it´s not even funny anymore

[@maxalaintwo3578]

Muh speaker

[@TheCleansingx]

Funny thing is he's right and wrong. Pickups doesn't matter in the sense that you can compensate for a lot of the output and EQ pedals and other gear before the amp or in Recording from this perspective you could say that it doesn't matter. But of course the different pickups are gonna make your guitar sound different and change the feel of playing it if you just change the pickups and not the the settings on your gear. Buy what you like or what will get you the closest to the sound you want.

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Like I said in the video, if you can’t hear the differences in Glenn’s pickup comparison videos, you shouldn’t even be worried about this conversation yet

[@DavidAllenMD]

​@@josearjona3728 agree his voice is anoyying as fuck

[@Return2TheLiving]

The reality and TLDR is pickups make a difference but not in the capacity that many argue against. You could love the shitest pickups known to man but YOU know how they work, you know how to make them work for you and if someone gave you a wildly different set it might throw you entirely off the game

[@SpinGoldmusic]

Thi dont know who needs to hear this, spend more time playing and less time worrying about your pickups.

[@joesmith5617]

People misunderstand glenns point hes saying there is a difference but in a mix u can can use any pick up that isnt broken and it isnnt going to effect the mix in a bad way ans you dont need exspensive pick ups

[@ofnir123]

Exactly! Even in his blind guitar shootout, there WAS a difference! But try to guess which one is which, that's another thing lol

[@Nibblerr]

​​@@ofnir123trying to guess the pickup is a stupid test and literally does not matter. What matters is that you can make out that there are different pickups. Learning a brand catalogue is not part of that.

[@IsntGwen]

$200 set of pickups vs a free EQ plug-in

[@bwa_8]

If you have to train your ears specifically to hear the differences between pickups on guitar isolated tracks, doesn't it mean that it doesn't really matter ?

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

If it matters to the guitarist, and if it has an effect on their confidence in recording/the mix of that song in the first place, then it absolutely matters. If the human element didn’t matter, the world wouldn’t get so worked up about AI music. This is the point I’m trying to make

[@bwa_8]

@@KeyanHoushmandLive Ok, in that sense I understand. The pickup matters in the same way you kinda play better when you like the look of the guitar. Placebo effect is proven to work, even when you know it's placebo.

[@shinokugt]

I don't think anyone can in good faith argue that pickups don't matter or make any difference at all. The reality is more that they make a much smaller difference than things like the amp or cab/speaker, etc. And much like any other piece of gear, they are subject to marketing making unverifiable claims and exaggerating things. Ultimately it's all about whatever facilitates and inspires the best performance and ideas out of you. @@KeyanHoushmandLive

[@GammaQuadrantStudio]

This is brain dead, if you apply this mixing music it’s 10x more stupid. “If you have to put night goggles on to see the enemy doesn’t that mean they’re not even there?” Literally your logic lol

[@bwa_8]

@@GammaQuadrantStudio Your analogy doesn't make sense. But good for you if you think a DiMarzio vs a Seymour Duncan or a BareKnucle are the end all be all of recording and mixing metal guitars.

[@diazzsama]

Keith Merrow playing Seymour Duncan pickups video is the GOAT

[@mohitrahaman]

Song name was "Pillars of Creation"

[@dannyatx]

shoutout pillars of creation

[@RyanK...111]

Pillarssssss

[@Professional.Bro.777]

I feel like the most important difference between pickups is how they respond to individual playing. That's why buying them based on just audio samples is 50% of the story

[@Hsiss]

Most important thing is that cheap pickups play radio, have noise on hi gain and have microphonic effect if you hit them.

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

I think we're moving a bit off topic in this one and getting more into player preference with how an instrument feels. In my experience, how an instrument feels still had nothing to do with the sound of the pickups. Switching from 10-46 strings down to 9-42 made my guitars feels better, and getting proper setups on my guitars made them feel better. The only thing I can really say about pickups is that some are louder than others and they push the amp harder. There are definitely some differences in clean tones, but like, who cares? We have EQ. In my most recent video, I discussed why guitar/pickup reviews don't matter. There is a small portion of the video that shows exactly why pickups and even guitars do not matter in distorted tones. No graphs, nothing super scientific, just sound. If you can hear what I did before I tell you what I did, then you do in fact have superhuman hearing, because I made the video and I can't hear it.

[@LucasLeCompteMusic]

Guitars and pickups DO matter with distortion. I had two sets of tosins fishmans in two different guitars and they both sounded different. One guitar was made of plastic and the other was wood. Yes you can spend time EQing the pickups to get the sound you want, but time is the enemy. You could use that time wiring good songs. Just find stuff that doesn't fight you to get the tones you want.

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

@@LucasLeCompteMusic I replied yesterday but it seems my comment was held for review. Typical, another normal comment awaiting approval. The short version is that I do write good songs, and if you believe this stuff makes a substantial difference then put yourself to the test by figuring out what I did in my latest video. If it matters then you won't need to wait for the reveal. 😛

[@flynnedwards]

You are on an absolute war path. I love it! I really appreciate the discussion about pickups changing the way you play, and the impacts on your "finger tone". I chose the Juggernauts in my Aristides because I wanted to improve my right-hand control, since it's a really dynamic pickup. I have DEFINITELY noticed a difference in my playing/tone since.

[@KarzGuitar]

Keyan, the main argument is that the pickups don't matter *in a mix*. No one in their right mind (even Glenn) argues that they sound the same while jamming in the room. In a mix, when the other instruments and mix/master techniques are applied, a very small amount of your tone makes it through. The differences between the big brands is minor, and EQ can fix those minor discrepancies that exist *in the mix*. Of course, we're talking about decent pickups here - a Bare Knuckle will sound different than your 6-year-old's first attempt at winding a humbucker, even in the mix.

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Hey dude, thanks for watching! I’m not suggesting that in a full production, you’d still be able to tell the difference between pickups. You’re right, productions these days are very extreme with lots of post production elements that may take away from the nuances of the guitar tone within the mix. However, my position in this video refers to the idea that during the recording stage, the guitarist should not feel guilty for prioritising their subjective preferences and comfort on their instrument/set of pickups, as it may have an objective impact on their ability to record the guitar to the best of their ability based on what their reference is and what they are used to. Whether that be Bare Knuckles, Fishmans, or any other pick up brand. If a player finds a set of pickups they like, that respond well to their playing, they should not feel discouraged by general discourse online that suggests they don’t matter to the same degree as other parts of a guitar tone. Things like resonant peaks, dynamic range and string articulation are things that aren’t necessarily replicable with EQ and gain staging. They are embedded within the pickup make and model, and are determined via how they are made and what they are made out of. Those things will affect the feeling of that guitar through any piece of gear. In my experience, it will matter to that guitarist in the moment when recording, and the results of that will come across via the objective quality of their takes and recordings before they are mixed and mastered. At the end of the day, we are aiming to create art. Everything within a guitar signal chain is embedded within that notion. If the human aspect isn’t being prioritised within the initial creation of the art, it wouldn’t be fulfilling to the artist, which I think would come across within the final deliverable that we get to hear at the end of it!

[@KarzGuitar]

@KeyanHoushmandLive thanks for the reply! Yeah I pretty much agree with everything you wrote. But I'd be surprised if thats what people tend to argue online - that pickups really makes no difference in terms of feel or during recording? That's a bit silly haha. I've only heard serious discussions about this when it specifically relates to a mix / production perspective, and how the final product sounds. Theres been a vocal minority who misinterpret that as pickups not mattering at all, but I didnt think those opinions really gained traction. Oh, and some clickbaiters will obfuscate and make the debate sound like its not about production situations but the people see through that. Anyone with more than one guitar can check how things sound and feel in their own room! I guess I'd just be genuinely surprised if that bulk of the discussion is actually in regards to pickups affecting the sound in the room, and all the side effects of that (player feel, responsiveness, confidence, emotion), which is demonstrably the case that the pickups matter, rather than the discussion being about final song product, in which from an audio engineering perspective the pickups don't matter much.

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

@@KarzGuitar True, I kind’ve just always assumed that this conversation encompassed both of the things we’re talking about as in my opinion, you can’t have one without the other! Thank you for having the ability to maintain a normal conversation over such a divisive topic 🫶

[@KarzGuitar]

@KeyanHoushmandLive cheers, you too! Keep up the sick content btw!

[@insidethestudio3886]

Unfortunately, a lot of people missed the point of the original argument. Yes, you should be comfortable with your guitar and amp rig. However, changing your pickups because the recorded tone is too bright or too dark isn't going to fix anything. Changing your speakers will change the tone more than the pickups, and just moving the mic changes the recorded tone more than any component swap. In most cases, it's cheaper to get a new speaker than a new set of pickups, and moving the mic is free. The original argument never said that pickups don't matter, just that they don't matter as much as the marketing would lead us to believe.

[@JOEBOUZY]

Very well said brother! It’s all on what you want to sound like and what fits you best. Which is why these tools are provided for musicians to execute the job how they want it to be done. Tech and the wide range of options we have are a wonderful thing. Also your tones are insane. I’ve hunted in the Nameless Suite for other tones and always go back to your preset.

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Couldn’t have put it any better, thank you for the kind words also my dude!

[@tobins6800]

Something else to think about...if the other parts, tone pot,volume pot, the cap aren't matched to the pickups, things will be off. Say the cap is potato, which can happen if the manufacturer chooses the cheapest option. Or the tone pot is off, or likely an issue that is the easiest to make: cold solder joint.

[@BettyTheRaccoon]

After discovering and learning about the overdrive and eq pedals, I stopped caring about pickups.

[@wesleytrott6397]

I totally agree with Keyan. Back in 2012, after 10 years of using EMGs, I switched to passives and the feel of those passive pickups was very different. I could get away with picking very soft with EMGs and still get an aggressive sound. The way I developed my playing over those 10 years with EMGs was specific to those pickups. It took me quite a while to get use to the passive pickups. I had to adapt my playing style and get comfortable with them. Now I love them. Keyan makes a good point about how you respond to the pickup and the pickup responds to you. It's like a dance between you and the pickup. Imagine you have the same dance partner whom you're comfortable with and have developed your skills with. Then imagine switching dance partners. The subtle difference in how that partner moves with you will affect how you move. That's my analogy for the whole pickup debate. Anyway, in defense of Glenn (who many of us are imagining blowing a gasket after watching this), I'm pretty sure his whole point was that pickups make a small difference in the overall sound IN A MIX. Pickups are essentially the microphone picking up the sound from your guitar, so they are important. I think the point Glenn is really trying to drive home is that the SPEAKER makes the biggest difference in your SOUND. And he's 100% right about that. But I truly believe TONE is a combination of the player's hands, the pickups, the amp, the speaker, and the mic you use to record.

[@JaredGunstonTV]

i was a 81/85 kid for well over 10 years, i then was gifted a guitar with passive seymours, which i loved for VERY long, recently i got myself a guit with Fluence Modern pickups (with the vintage switch) and i can clearly hear the different through the years, i was always thinking to my 81 sound i loved. I even remember changing the 81 and 85 around and the mid sparkle was something i enjoyed for a year or so. I think if you CAN and you learn something from it... try something till you find your sound. Mine has definately changed over the years. From original METAL to pop/rock covers bands, its fun to try new things. Keep the great work ethics up dude!

[@Amvienttz]

Not as experienced as many here but it took me a few years to realise I actually hate single coil PUPs after I bought a Fender Tele. I couldn't figure out why for some reason the feeling of my hands and the outputted sound messed with my playing so much. The way PUPs react and how they sound really shapes how you play more than people give it credit for.

[@bolillo5013]

The part about comfort is so true, whenever I try a guitar with pickups I don't like, I almost feel like a worse player.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Great video man and thanks for the shoutout! Couldn't agree with you more!

[@Blipware56]

Completely agree. I’d go far as to say that it can take years to truly learn how to get the best out of a single guitar and its pickups, because it takes so long to adapt your style of playing to the sound that it produces best. Everyone chugs differently!

[@stevenkambach]

Can you replicate the differences in pickups with minor gain and eq adjustments on a similar pickup?

[@guyfawkes8873]

Well there are actually pedals out there that will allow an approximation of that, but It's not as simple as applying an EQ. What you need to do is to shift the resonant peak to match that of another pickup (this is not a simple EQ excersise). But even then you won't really get there because there's no way of mimicking the magnetic field, or the microphonic characteristics of another pickup. The magnetic field will determine how the pickup interacts with the strings, and thus the basic overtone content 'read' by the pickup, and the microphonic characteristics how the pickup interacts with the resonance of the guitar itself. There's no easy way to replicate either. I'm not saying you can't get in the ballpark of another pickups tone with EQ, especially if that other pickup is similar to the one you're playing, but it won't 'be the same'. On a recording, it probably doesn't matter much, but to a player, it probably does. Because the minute things are where people fall in love with specific pieces of gear. Even people who espouse nonsense on the internet at times (like Glenn Fricker) also do the exact same thing with other gear. Case in point, Glenn will listen to a multitude of the same model of speaker, to get the one he slightly prefers in his mix (even though he could obviously reduce the differences with EQ). I don't see how that's ANY different to a player looking for slight differences in a bunch of pickups, no matter what Glenn would say.

[@Hsiss]

Nope, you can't replicate awful hum made by cheap pickup.

[@CoolGuyAtlas]

Not really, unless you can make multiple major and minor EQ changes at insanely precise frequencies. Even then, pickups aren't a static EQ graph that hits the amp. A guitar pickup is very dynamic because you're hitting a string to make an electric current using magnets, so how you play effects the tone. That's why some pickups "feel" better. Some pickups you can play a distorted chord and hear each note very clearly, while others will have the perfect chug or djent sound without it sounding "flubby" or "muddy". You can try to compensate with pre-EQ or amp EQ, but a good pickup that fits your taste will make everything else much easier. Put good in, get good out. If you do have bad pickups then you're better of trying to adjust the height of the pickup, height of the pole pieces, or even remove pole pieces (it's pretty good if you have very bleh and muddy pickups). Honestly, just spending the money on a new pickup is worth it. It can make an old, drab guitar feel like it's brand new.

[@keroflobs]

I do I agree with your points, but a part 2 with some context would be pretty neat. I checked out those other videos recommended too but would be interesting to see from your perspective

[@lilchris42424]

I think, simply put, that speakers output what the pickups input. They are the first and last pieces that affect tone. Both matter, both are equally important. There's a reason why Nolly Getgood is so obsessed with guitar speakers. But also, equally invested in the guitar pickup community.

[@EggTamago7]

I assume this is in response to some of those Glen Fricker videos. I think like everything the internet loves to jump from one extreme to another. We go from pickups are the ultimate slam dunk to they don’t matter at all. And… no! They’re probably the single most consequential part of the tone coming out of your guitar, alongside their height and the electronics hooked up to them. Blindly assuming your tone woes will be fixed by swapping pickups is stupid, but assuming they don’t make any difference is equally stupid. There are certain problems a pickup swap can solve. Output, responsiveness, low-end response - all factors that can actually really matter, especially if you’re tuning low. A pickup can also just not be compatible with your playing style. The notion of throwing money at a problem instead of taking the time to learn how to use your gear is definitely worth challenging. But, part of knowing your gear is also knowing when something just isn’t working once you’ve done the work.

[@EggTamago7]

I’ll add to this. I have two guitars - a nice Fender HSS Strat with a bone-stock Fender humbucker, and an Ibanez RGD with Dimarzio Crunch Lab and Liquifire Pickups. I’ve had the Ibanez far longer, but the response in those pickups just doesn’t feel right to me. No matter what I do, I find the output excessive and difficult to control and the low-end too muddy. When I got the Strat, it felt like home right away - the pickup responded the way I expected it should. This has played a huge part in me just not picking the Ibanez up very often anymore. I record everything with my Strat now. I put those pickups in 10 years ago because they were hyped and had John Petrucci’s name on them, but they never truly worked for me. I know that ultimately if I want to get the most out of that guitar, I need to find another set of pickups that responds a lot closer to whatever is going on in my Strat, while making some accommodations for a 7 string’s range. This isn’t a case of better or worse, but what’s appropriate for what you want to achieve and how you play.

[@angusorvid8840]

A good pickup is a good building block for tone. If you understand the dynamics of a pickup and it works for you, then you can build out your tone from there. A pickup can be used as a control to pair your guitar with the right amp, pedals, speakers, etc. My favorite pickup for the last few years has been the Duncan Custom 5 SH-14. I just love this pup. It does everything I want it to do, perfectly, and it does so through every rig I've played it.

[@SquizbarDeAlienOfficial]

I completely agree with you, I went into this video thinking I would disagree with you however I agree with all of your points

[@MrPDTaylor]

I just put a pair of fishman fluence pickups on my $250 Ibanez and the difference is immense. I never realized how muddy the stock pickups were until I put the fluence pickups on. Pickups matter immensely.

[@flesruoYkcuFoGuoY]

Pickups definitely matter, combined with the density of your guitar's structural makeup, as well as what setup you have. There are plenty of factors. People gotta chill tf out and acknowledge this, then they can move on with their lives and actually learn the fucking instrument.

[@raytorvalds3699]

Well said.

[@dannyllerenatv8635]

Pickups have their own EQ curve and "feel" underneath the fingers. That has an impact on the way you play so yes, pickups do have an effect to some extent. Now it's true that once you reach a certain gain level, it probably matters less and someone with trained ears will manage to get the same tone regardless. However, the way something inspires you to play is monumentally important. Quick hint: If you're using duncans and want a quick way to change your sound without swapping the pups, try different magnets in them. I have a Charvel pro-mod which comes with the TB-10 & APH-1N combo. I had a spare TB-6 lying around. I pulled the double-thick ceramic magnet out of the TB-6, stuck it in the TB-10, and stuck an A5 in the APH-1 (essentially turning it into an SH-2N. Same wind). Made a world of a difference! The guitar's body and construction matter too. In an extremely resonant guitar with a substantial amount of wood and a shorter scale length, such as the Gibson Les Paul, you typically can get away with low-output pickups because the guitar is already so resonant and loud as it is. A PAF will sound drastically different in a Les Paul versus a very thin body shape, where it may sound thin and anemic (was was the case with. my Charvel and the Neck APH-1), but loud and ballsy in an LP.

[@mikedamisch]

I agree with Glenn that the biggest change in tone is changing the speaker BUT it's rare that I want to change my sound that much, it's actually more likely that I want just a tiny change, something is missing that I can not dial in. I also hate Glenn going on that we want to believe that they make a difference because we spend money on them and that we do not record and shoot them out. I for one don't give a s**t if I spend money on things, actually the opposite is true, I have been disappointed so many times when I've bought something and it does not to what I intend it to. And I've done countless shootouts when deciding which guitar to record (just because they're not on youtube doesn't mean we didn't do them).

[@felipepassoni4301]

If you want your current pickup sound different, you can just use a pre EQ into the signal chain (you can even low/increase the gain with the EQ). You dont need to change your pickups...

[@ThatBaritoneGuitarGuy]

There are two things to consider. 1: Yes, I can get you the most brutal metal sound with Fender pickups. There are things I can do. 2: However, the amplifier can only amplify what is coming into the amplifier. There is only so much you can do.

[@everblack8196]

The body makes the greatest contribution to the sound of the guitar. The least contribution is made by the wood from which the guitar is made. Adherents of the tree theory will not like this. Pickups also contribute to the formation of the guitar tone, although less than the cabinet.

[@Valerious187]

for all the ppl that disagree go play through every guitar in guitar center idk man it’s pretty crazy this difference in pickups it’s like saying if you can’t hear some low end mud in a mix why care or cut it out “if you can hear it”

[@eternum7056]

Guitar and all other stuff around it do, sometimes go to magic caregory. The magic is that certain things do or don't work for you without any rational explanation. From this perspective - tonewood is a thing. You can hear acoustic part of the instrument, which influence your playing. Same with pickups. I don't think there's a much difference tone between 3 of my hambucker loaded guitars, yet ibz quatums, sd Nazgul and EMG 81 all have their own dynamic, that do affect the style of playing and feel of the instrument. From this point you correct, yet Glenn's point about "they don't affect the sound that much" is also very valid. So, I guess you both correct

[@beautague9163]

The way i always see it, for those of us that spend a lot of time in front of a computer writing and that's also our main home practicing method every day, every single guitar sounds and feels different. I've got several guitars same scale length that i have to use different gauge pickups on for either tuning stability or feel while playing which means I've got some that will be darker or brighter just because of that. Even the different size and material picks i use make an impact. The pickups absolutely change the feel and overall tone of any guitar. I absolutely do not like fishman pickups for rhythm, when i switch to something like a lundgren i fall in love with playing that guitar and it now inspires me to play more. On top of that i love having guitars that ive put a little time into setting up and making sound how i want, every little thing makes an impact

[@filterscape]

DI match plugin is a neat trick for getting various pickups tones without forking out a ton of cash and effort changing them out

[@tylerm8145]

People believing this notion is wild, but that's nothing new or surprising for the community. Either they've never tried for themselves or their ears need work as you said. Will they make the kind of difference that the cab, amp, or playing properly will? Probably not, but I swapped out the ibz V7 and V8 set for bkp blackhawks, and was blown away by the sounds that were coming out of it. It was night and day. I felt like I'd found my sound pretty much as you described it. There are plenty of pups by bkp, sd, dimarzio, and others that I love. Blackhawks are what's up for me though.

[@Atticus_Moore]

I've got a set of EMG's and set of P90's. They are VERY DIFFERENT sounding, but they both sound good. Does it matter? Only if you care about those subtleties. I think the perfect way to start playing and or finding the tone you want is to get somewhat similar gear to the person you are trying to sound like. Worked for me in the past and still works for me today.

[@roryt1985]

For me you only have to look at Browne, you can tell from the tone it’s him no matter what guitar he’s using or what pickups it has.

[@danthemanmillan]

Just upgraded from an Ibanez with their in house quantum pickups to an Ibanez with DiMarzio D Activators. Can 1000% confirm that there is a massive difference between the 2 even though I'm passing through massive amounts of distortion and a low tuning.

[@Paul_Medic]

Here's a great example of why the internet is torn between this subject. I really think individuals need to get a decent grasp on the English language. Using words like "massive" for example, tips the scales enormously in one direction. Preceded by the phrase "Can 1000% confirm" in the above statement, shows "drama queen" aspects of an individual trying to push his/her point across without audio examples or evidence, just words. I'd agree with you whole heartedly if you dropped the 1000% and the word massive used twice within your statement. There is a minute difference (not massive) within pickups regarding tone. Feel now, is a different subject. I think as a whole, we really need to not dramatise anything in an internet debate to try and ram a point home.

[@danthemanmillan]

@@Paul_Medic womp womp

[@braunibald]

mh i rly dont know, i cant hear any difference between my pu´s. I did some recordings and played the same riffs over and oder again and made up some blind a b tests. After the blindification process i wasnt able to identify the guitar/pu anymore. I only care about build quality and playability, if you think you can hear any difference between pu´s go for it but im unable to do so :D if you want some more data which stuff i compared: - Schecter Pasadena VT-1 - USA Custom Shop Nick Johnston Sub Atomic Single Coil the guitars were: - SCHECTER PT Hybrid, Satin Rosewood Top USA Custom Shop - SCHECTER USA Custom Nick Johnston PT Wembley, Atomic Sapphire

[@maddoxmay611]

I want to say in my experience (which is very limited) pickups matter more to the player and their tastes, but it is also a “feel” thing just as much as it is a “sound” thing. When you get a pickup that feels really good under your hands it makes all the difference. For example, I’ve been mostly an EMG player over the last 5 years and my ears are tuned to the EMG 81. But I was at my local guitar center a few weeks ago and tried an Ibanez with the 81 next to the Dave mustaine Kramer V with his signature Duncan’s and the Kramer kicked ass!!! It was very articulate and sounded pissed off, and it felt really good for palm muting, the emg sounded high output but kinda lifeless. Lately I’ve noticed there are some passive pickups that have more output than EMG’s these days, I have a Kirk Hammett LTD V with his bone breaker set and they seem somewhat medium output, still kicks ass tho!!

[@Hsiss]

Noisegate in every digital device made new guitar players think that cheap pickups do not exist.

[@kibatsu]

You need to feel the tone with your soul, not with your mind. You need to instantly get goosebumps when you hit the string. The vibration needs to reach each cell of your body. Music is about getting pleasure of playing, this is not about your mind, this is about your soul. Creativity comes from your heart ❤ I have my fav setup and im starting to burn inside instantly each time i play music with it 🔥🔥🔥

[@mustardbiscuits9750]

How anyone could possibly say that the guitar pickups don’t matter for tone is beyond me. That’s some serious “I have no idea what is going on” nonsense.

[@s.e.n3264]

Guitars have pickups?? Don't tell Glen! 😂

[@Soloist1983]

Pickups are the "pre-EQ" they matter. As a DiMarzio guy myself, I go for either the Steve's Special or Satchur8, though I have had lots of Tone Zone equipped guitars, which sound blurry and soft, makes the guitar feel like a totally different instrument, makes me play clumsier because of how loose the low-end of that pickup is.The wrong pickup can make a guitar feels and sound unpleasant to play on.

[@markus_m4rk]

I have a jackson with emg's, a LP copy with PAF humbuckers and a Jackson 227 with stock 7 string pups. I hear differences between them when playing through the same gear. But I think those differences become lost in a mix. However, I am still considering a more responsive bridge pick up for the 227 as it just does not feel right when playing. I get this clicky noise which is off-putting when digging in which I understand, affects the creative flow when writing. Ive tried different amp and IR combinations but the distorted sound is always overly compressed and notes in chords dont ring out even with low gain. I can achieve some great low end chugs with the right IRs but its seems the pups have no dynamic response. So, I get what you are saying. Finding a pick up that works for you can be a task and subjective and certainly difficult to measure.

[@DISSONVNT]

Stuck here through the full thing and just like what I said in the last video, this all comes off as you just taking advantage of a trend to score a paycheck. No isolated testing in a controlled environment, no actual objective learning and demonstrations and everything is "I,I,I" when the correct way of approaching the subject is through showing quantifiable evidence that can be tested and repeated by anyone, instead you decide to just reference other peoples testing, which ngl is pretty lazy, I at least held hope you'd do that. 50% of this was yapping, 30% was your opinions and the last 20% was ranting. I said this in the last video: How you feel about something vs what is true about something are two very different things. Facts don't care about your feelings. Your entire premise is "well it feels like this so it's a major thing" that's perfectly fine, but also remember you're not a average guitarist, you're a fairly well established touring musician. From experience, no run-of-the-mill guitarist I've met buying a $400 set of Bareknuckles has said they sound the same or worse than their previous or stock pickups, that's only ever the case with people that actively record in bands or do shows, etc It's been established countless times, yes there's differences in the Q curves between pickups, but it's not a big enough difference to justify saying it's super important to the average player when considering what to upgrade in their rig right away. Keyword: Average Your amp, speaker enclosure, speaker, etc, all have a massively larger importance by themselves when considering tone, hence why it would be more beneficial to a player to focus on those aspects of their tone first If you already went through most of your rig, odds are you already have a special sound you want in mind, so maybe that small Q curve change combined with everything else you have or changed will be what gets you there. I have a couple of 7 strings, one is a Mayones Duvell baritone with the BKP Impulse set, the other is a Ibanez iron label (also baritone) with 20$ eBay pickups cuz the old DiMarzios were shorted out and I didn't wanna spend big money. Both are in F#, there is essentially 0 difference between them in a mix & each time I send a stem to a producer or other guitarist that knows what instruments I got they can never point out which is which. But I still prefer the bkp's, they look cooler and they're on a guitar that I like more. Is there a slight difference in response that I can hear, but others generally cant? Yeah, their outputs are likely different and the Duvell is generally a little brighter to my ears, but that's just it, they're different to my ears because I'm obsessive about a specific sound and I've catered my rig around that sound in my head, yet they're similar enough for everyone else listening that isn't as obsessive or is just a regular listener.

[@naihanke]

100%

[@vincentbuglione2144]

lol this comment is absurd. I love Kenyans music and content but he has like 60k subs and makes extremely niche prog metal tracks. If you actually think he’s making a huge “paycheck” from making this video then you are legit delusional.

[@DISSONVNT]

@@vincentbuglione2144 never said anything about it being huge, a paycheck is a paycheck, if anything, if you'd actually used your brain you'd gotten the point, since again everything I said still stands. But fangirl all you want bud

[@vincentbuglione2144]

@@DISSONVNT No one is fan girling. I’m just criticizing your assertion that these videos are monetarily motivated. I think that assumption is ludicrous at best and intentionally dishonest at worst. You seem like a very pleasant person to be around though. So have a nice day

[@jesterdesigns7640]

Excellent video brother, it's about time someone said this. It's nice to hear a voice of reason. I can definitely vouch for this, the way I play my Mayones with Bare Knuckle TKOs VS my Solar with my Fishman Moderns is entirely different. Both are 27" inch baritones. Both sound ENTIRELY different. I could play the same riffs, but it all comes down to these variables, such as the quality of the build, the type of woods and the bridges. The Evertune adds greater clarity and consistency to my Solar and the Hipshot on my Mayones means the notes have more variation and goes slightly sharp/flat when I pick, and I am quite percussive with my pick attack. Both use 13-76 Winspear Guitar String (I used to use Ernie Ball but found they rust quicker) and I've noticed they sound far better. I even have changed the picks I use from 2.00mm Dunlop Tortex's, to 1.15mm Jazz III's, to finally setting on 1.35mm Tortex Flow's. All this influenced how I played. I make all my tones through trial and error on my Quad Cortex and learning about what sound I want to craft from my inspirations. Everything in this video and a few of your recent clips are evident even in my own case scenario. I couldn't agree more with the points you raise. You could copy as much of someone else's set up, But it all boils down to one unique variable... Your creativity and ability to play. That can't be replicated, it's what defines you. Your hands are your tone.

[@frayedsanity]

Finally! Agree with 100% mate! I've always believed pickups have a destrinct influence on tone. My 3 EMG equipped guitars all sound so different from each other. 1 has a hetset, 2nd one has 57/66 set and the 3rd has the classic 81/60 set. They all sound so different. My passive 7 string sounds different again too.

[@joshrexben]

Completely agree with you. From an engineering perspective, it may be true that the difference isn’t massive but from the players perspective it’s huge. The feel feeds back into your playing style and affects how you approach certain parts or styles. And like you said, if I can sit here and get different types of chugging sounds by simply moving my picking hand closer to or away from the bridge when doing palm muted picking or changing the pick attack angle, then the tone isn’t in the hands argument falls apart. Another thing I like to mention when it comes to gear and feel is take the 5150 iii 50 watt EL34 vs the 5150 iii 50 watt Stealth. To be honest, I’ve done a lot of back to back comparisons of the two and the biggest difference is the EL34 has more low end even on the blue channel and the Stealth has more 3-4K. But when I’m playing them, the feedback I’m getting from the feel makes it seem like a way bigger difference that’s definitely altering my technique when I’m tracking. But listening later on they are more similar, but for me one of them is for sure more inspiring and conducive to my playing style. This carries over to almost any piece of gear and I’ve had similar experiences with pickups. Sorry for the rambling but these are just my thoughts on this. Thanks for the video!

[@nanyabusiness6335]

That's some pretty compelling testimonial "Evidence". Fuck EQ charts amiright? Spectral analysis, we don't need that fancy shmancy scientific analysis, its all about feeling! For real though I think you and Glenn are both wrong and the truth is somewhere in the middle.

[@peterbatten596]

I also have a new to-go-to from Bare Knuckle pickups. Those would be the Cobra Tele set (he does make a neck to go along with the cobra bridge that’s not shown on the site). It really gives me a very well rounded playground to do very high gain metal without sacrificing a true single coil and its natural percussive nature.

[@peterbatten596]

@Dm_KeyanHoushmandLive piss off.

[@devDarkest]

Just record the differences instead of talking about the differences anecdotally. Not even tryna be skeptical or say you’re wrong but all the tone wood peddlers have yet to just record a video with noticeable difference. As of right now it’s just yapping for views unfortunately.

[@zeno99]

Why do that when you can keep everything subjective and unquantified? Who knew the likes of Jim Lill and Glenn Fricker were going to ruffle so many feathers.

[@devDarkest]

@@zeno99 lol for real. I’m 100% sure Paul Reed Smith has $10000 and a free Custom for any guitarist that can prove beyond reasonable doubt that “toanw00d” makes a sonic difference. I’m 99% sure that most pickups (of same type ie potted buckers or vintage single coil) wired directly to an input jack and adjusted for gain/output are similar sonically almost to the point where it’s negligible. Sure some modern Fluence/EMGs with preamps in pickup are different but again that is more electronics.

[@alvarg]

the eq differences is one thing, but then there is output, compression, active vs passive, say you have 2 pickups that are tonally similar, but one is super high output with a lot of compression while the other is medium output with little to no compression, that will very obviously translate when you play, a less experienced guitarist who plays metal would probably like the high output compressed pickup as it makes there playing sound more consistent however it also muddies up the low end and is too brittle in the top end. so while it is okay at first once they get more experienced they may come to realise that there lead tone and solos would be a lot smoother and more buttery with less aggression in the top end and might switch to a medium output pickup for more note definition and separation in the top end, while also having less mud in the bass response. you can always add more compression to your tone after the guitar to tighten or focus the tone, however if you already have a high output pickup even a good one, there is basically nothing you can do to reduce the compression or saturation of the tone before it hits the amp,

[@josephbenz4913]

Tone is in whatever the KZbinr is selling.

[@guitarmichael]

Man said “oh you wanna act up in the comments?”

[@jeremyroberthickey]

I really don't get the debate. Out of the box, and to varying degrees, pickups sound and respond differently from one another; how much of a difference that makes often depends upon the application.

[@kreepthedestroyer]

Agree 100% something to add in my experience is amps also react differently to pick ups. I have a few different amps and find some pick ups work better than others. For example I cannot get my Mark v 90w to sound they way I want with active EMG 81/60 set. Though sounds great with passive gibson pickups and Dimazio blaze. However on my triple rectifier they sound awesome.

[@allendean9807]

My pickup story; in 2021, i bought a fender ModShop lefty HSS hardtail Stratocaster. When i chose pickups, i went with the noiseless, as i record, and getting the cleanest DI signal is everything. I follow Spectresound, and many other creators, who will tell you pickups don’t matter as much with high gain tones. And, until i got this guitar, i was a believer. But the Fender noiseless humbucker is a bucket of muddy, mush. It kept me from enjoying the guitar, it stifled my creativity, and so i rarely played what is pretty much a custom guitar, built to my own specs. Last month, tired of not being interested in playing the bridge pickup of this strat, i contacted a local builder, RS Guitarworks, in Winchester, Kentucky. They installed one of their Shedder Alnico5 pickups into my strat, and, dammit, that thing just growls now! It reminds me of the DiMarzio super distortion pickups of the late 70’s. This thing is a fire-breathing dragon. Not muddy, not shrill, perfectly balanced for heavy metal tones. So, in this instance, this pickup made a massive difference in my Modshop Stratocaster. I don’t know why, i don’t really know how, it just did.

[@JSX2154]

Both me and the guitarist of my band have the same exact guitar. A PRS SE Standard 24. I set them up as identically as humanly possible and The only difference is that his pickups are stock and I have DiMarzio pickups in mine. The tone difference of the two guitars is like night and day. Mine has a presence in the high mids and a lot more top end. We shot them out in the studio with brand new strings, I played and recorded both guitars and the difference in tone was shocking. We even pulled up a frequency graph and saw with difference in the eq curves

[@jamesdavies5426]

Some good points made. I've tried various pickups in my humbucker- equipped guitars over the years and always ended up choosing 'similar' pickups for them, or buying guitars I've tried out with pickups which are in that ballpark. The guitars sound different in their own way, but there's something to be said for the way a style of pickup can influence how you play. That being said, I've been having a few jams with a pair of guitar playing mates recently where we've swapped guitars between us, you can really tell who's playing no matter which guitar is in their hands, so both points are valid 😁

[@timmy1506]

I think people just want to find excuses for their poor playing. "I have the most expensive pickups but I STILL don't sound like Petrucci"

[@Durkhead]

Changing the resistor on your tone pot has more effect on your tone than the pickup

[@artizmo]

Resistor? WTF

[@Durkhead]

@@artizmo your guitar has a tone knob the way it shapes your tone is with a resistor different resistors block different freq

[@MetalMan1245]

See you make a lot of interesting points, but I don't hear any demos, no proof of what you're saying, so it's hard to take it seriously until I hear an example of exactly what you're saying.

[@jasperdunn]

I feel so lucky to have picked juggernauts for my first custom guitar, they really are versatile, best clean and split tones in all positions as well.

[@matthewocallaghan3062]

The fact this video exists is a great representation of "people who can't have nice things" still getting nice things and the comments section is just sad. Very glad you made the video..... Tone is stored in the balls.

[@aminorerror]

Preach brotha!

[@MatthewBurn]

Had a Fusion Edge set in my Ibanez (they were decent btw) swapped out to a Black Hawk + Nailbomb Had a Fishman Fluence set in an Explorer (Fucking garbage) swapped to a Warpig + Manhattan If you can't tell the difference between pickups you are straight up deaf. Isn't there a video of Rob Chapman telling you what pickup is what while blindfolded? How people can't tell the difference is beyond me 🤣

[@filterscape]

Still have the stock fusion edge. Sound great as you said. Some people like to mod or swap, others don’t. There’s no right or wrong answer.

[@Professional.Bro.777]

​@@filterscape i tried those and compared to other brands they don't sound bad at all but they're too even sounding and lack character in my opinion

[@LucasLeCompteMusic]

I see you too are a person of culture (warpig is best pig)

[@MatthewBurn]

@@LucasLeCompteMusic Yeah for sure, pretty bassy but when you get the right tone with it, it is sick af 😍

[@popollo22]

I’m an average bedroom guitarist with 3 guitars. I have a certain guitar I put SD p-rails in to switch between different types of pickups and they all sound harsh and abrasive. Never touch that guitar.

[@masoneismonstudios3016]

Keyan I love you and your videos but I’m sorry I cannot agree with this video in the slightest. The entire video is based on anecdotal personal abstracts. And that’s cool for personal experience and preference but it doesn’t really affect me or my buying habits because I purchase for RESULTS. “Tone is in the hands”: a better phrase is TECHNIQUE is in the hands. Doesn’t matter how hard I strum, I can’t distort the guitar and change the EQ spectrum. I do agree that the comfort of an instrument is important. However, it doesn’t justify a 300-600 dollar purchase for a new set of pickups. Lastly, the REASON we don’t focus so hard on the little nuances and purchase for bigger changes are because we are broke. The economy (at least in America) is in the absolute worst it’s been in a very long time. We don’t have the luxury of spending more money on gear right now. So when I can get the exact same sound out of a cheaper guitar with stock pickups, I’m GOING to do that. It’s just common sense. I know you addressed that you have a privileged position being an artist and such but I don’t think you truly understand the average musician. We don’t have the money to just make a purchase for “comfort” and “playability”. We have to purchase for the best sound and quality with what limited money we have. This video is great as an anecdotal video essay outlining how your past gear purchases helped you further your playing style and expression. It is NOT and should not be used as an informative piece about how pickups truly change the sound of your guitar. Thanks for reading. Good news is we can disagree and still respect each other. Unfortunately that seems to be missing from the world nowadays. And I’m sorry for the people on my side who are probably typing an angry comment right now bashing you. It’s uncalled for. Have a good one

[@CoolGuyAtlas]

"I can't afford to buy nice pickups, so I will go around and tell people that they don't matter" isn't good logic, it's quite literally cope. Changing pickups is about customizing the sound to your taste. Maybe the cheap pickups in your guitar are to your taste. But if they're not, you can find one that makes your tone much better because it is the start of your signal chain and it's responsive to your inputs. If you hit harder, it does alter the EQ because magnetism is much more complex than a midi input.

[@masoneismonstudios3016]

@@CoolGuyAtlas show me one scientific piece of evidence that justifies buying pickups that isn’t pure conjecture and “personal Experience” and isn’t provided by the pickup manufacturer because newsflash, when their entire business model consists of you paying for their product, they’re not gonna let you know if it’s not that big of a difference. There have been countless people who all run different pickups through the same amp at the same settings and get the same sound. Clean, Crunchy, and hi gain. Show me EQ graphs. Show me anything but pure anecdotal data. There have also been countless people who have purchased pickups and been completely ripped off because they are back to square one in the tone hunt and out 200-300 dollars. I’ve worked in music stores and seen these customers spin their heads round and round while they keep buying pickups trying to figure out why they can’t get the tone they want. Once I have the aforementioned proof is when I will waste my time and money on new pickups. Because it’s not that I’m broke, I said that a lot of musicians are and can’t afford to make that purchase but I’m fortunate enough to not be in that boat. But if I want drastic tone shift I’m smart enough to know that my amp and cab (about 80% cab and 20% amp) are going to justify my $300 purchase by drastically changing my tone. Certainly not strapping a new set of magnets on my guitar and hoping they somehow sound different from the previous magnets strapped to my guitar. 🤷‍♂️ I never said you can’t spend money on things that make you happy. And if you do that, awesome. But there is no scientific data backing up these massive “tone shifts” everyone talks about with pickups. There are however many many many many independent studies disproving this claim. There may be minute differences (before you go “AHA GOT YOU” these differences are the equivalent of turning up or down your volume pot in most cases) there are so many smarter ways to spend your money 🤷‍♂️

[@dreammachine86]

My own experience correlates with yours, definitely a big difference between the sound and feel of pickups when you are after a very specific type of tone. I actually like the spanky percussiveness in djent tones, which is of course accentuated even more when using coil splits. And every pickup seems to have a different coil split feel (side note: some of your presets including the split coil one convinced me to go for the NDSP Nameless plugin...well yours and Jens Kidman's which have no indication of what they sound like from the name but are some of the most monstrous sounding djent tones I've ever heard!). I have a Schecter KM-7 with the KM Fluence pickup set which is a stock Classic in the neck and a modded version in the bridge and I've found it disappointing for those chunky rhythmic chugs. The bridge pickup has a load of sub bass and a bright high end but is so scooped and it compresses very easily so it just doesn't give me a fulfilling chug sound. I imagine it was the same with your gold sparkly Jackson as it has the Fluence Classic set, so very similar to my KM. The KM bridge sounds like it would be perfect for a scooped black metal sound so clearly that's what Keith was going for in those pickups - again just showing how the voicing can be very personal to an artist's sound. And even in that case, Keith is apparently using passive pickups now. I am happy with the tones, liquidy leads & chugs I get from most high output passives although even here there are some characteristics I like or don't like. But I still think the Fluence Classics and similar are great for other things, such as a thick leads, tapping & thumping (even if my attempt at thumping sounds incredibly amateur). So it just comes down to picking the right tool for the job and/or your preference. And boutique pickup brands also have the aesthetic benefits...being able to choose all sorts of cool materials and colours...may not make a difference to the sound but if it makes you happier when playing your instrument it could be worth the outlay!

[@autechrr]

Hey Keyan, I absolutely agree with you here. It wasn't till I switched over to my lundgren pickups that I was able to get the feel and tone I was chasing. Great video.

[@BTEguitardude]

Good points brought up that a lot of people dont think about! One thing I'm curious about though. You mention that you've tried other pickups and you can't get the sound you're looking for out of them. Well what if you can't because the sound you're looking for is the Juggernaut sound. So you'll almost never get it out of anything else. I guess its a chicken or egg question. Does the Juggernaut give you the sound you're looking for? Or are you looking for the Juggernaut sound, haha. Also makes me think, of all the bands you like, there must be some that have basically the tone you're looking for, and I wonder if they're using the Juggernaut. But its a moot point because it'll be the combination of everything that is giving them the tone, not just the pickup. Good vid though!

[@nantan9453]

It would be interesting if you presented some test like John Lil. This is just an emotional rant...

[@InfamouslyCantankerous]

Hopefully everyone will be respectful and realize it's all subjective. I have a guitar with BKP aftermaths, and one with BKP nailbomb, I have one with Fishman Fluence abasis,one with Seymour Duncan Nazgul, and seymour duncan black winter and I love them all for different reasons different styles and needs. Whatever you like is what is good and works

[@davidbreuer6449]

I think this argument is fairly subjective but one common thing I see regarding guitarists whose playing/tone I really like and admire is that they’re all incredibly particular about their pickups

[@alanagottalottasay997]

The guitar economy is one of the most nonsensical remedial and paradoxical….w this being compounded by the Internet and very often people trying to sell you curiously cheaper product while excessively bad mouthing anything not cheaply made in questionable conditions….

[@ShreddyMcShredsalot]

Who is saying pickups don't matter? That's no different than saying microphones or speakers don't matter. In other words, it's entirely incorrect.

[@shinokugt]

What makes you like the Juggernauts over the Ragnarok or Polymath?

[@LeoPerantoni]

100% agree with you and I have the same feelings with the fishman tosin abasi set as you have with the juggernauts. I can't find that sound anywhere else and it physically changes how I play and interact with the guitar.

[@AustinJSchaeffer]

(note before reading: my comment overlaps with the pickups discussion but my point is primarily about gear in general. This video merely got me thinking about it so please don't argue with me about pickups because I don't have much to contribute to that as I'm still relatively new to this all, sorry lol) Something kind of related which you may have also talked about in another video is IMO the importance of gear in general that inspires you personally and creatively. People can and will argue to what degree X or Y matters or if there's a cheaper alternative or if some fancy guitar is worth it but ultimately I think the best gear for any given person can't be measured on a graph or a spreadsheet but rather in their subjective experience of it. For example, I'm sure I could have got something better than this 22 year old POD XT on ebay for like 80 bucks for the tone I want. But, the POD is what many of my favorite artists started with and it gets me inspired to write/record. I also bought an AxeFX II which is arguably far better, but none of the presets work like I want and there are so many options that it becomes overwhelming and I get burnt out. So even though the AxeFX is better, or free plugins are cheaper, none of that matters if I'm not inspired to actually play with them or if they actively halt the creative process for me. A great example I think is the infamous Hello Kitty guitar. Sure it sucks real bad, probably to a degree that it actively hurts a beginner BUT the point of it is to inspire the user to pick up the guitar and play it via a theming that is more relatable to a beginner guitarist who is likely a young girl. I'm not saying that if I buy Misha Mansoor's signature gear I'm magically going to become Misha Mansoor in the most cost efficient way possible or at all. But if buying a POD XT, buying D'Addario strings, in general buying things (within reason) I think are subjectively cool no matter how shallow or unfounded my reasons, gets me to play the guitar more or more confidently than if I had something objectively "better", that's a win for me. Again I'm not saying that's a great way to make financial decisions especially if you're on a budget. But, music and creativity is fundamentally a subjective experience and it's important not to discount the effect of how you feel on how you play. A non guitar example is in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, a multiplayer FPS, there's a famous story about how players complained that the axis side's smg (the MP40) was more powerful than the allied side's smg (the thompson). In the code however all the weapons/stats were mirrored meaning they had the same damage, firerate, etc so surely this should be impossible. Come to find out the MP40 sounded more powerful and consequently made the axis players more confident which resulted in them on average getting more kills than allied players using the thompson. TLDR; I believe anything can matter and can have an effect on the end result, from a nice amp to misha's face on your guitar pick. To what degree those things matter and in what ways (i.e. shorter scale guitar is physically easier to play, misha's face on my pick gets me pumped psychologically, etc) is up to the player themselves. It's wrong to think that spending heaps of money will magically fix your problems but it's equally wrong to discount your own subjective experience and the effect that even small/insignificant changes can have on you personally (just don't spend more money than you feel comfortable spending).

[@Durkhead]

A lot of more experiened guitarist dont like active pickups cause they have more compression and with high gain you cant hear as many details but at the same time that extra compression adds a nice grind to the distortion esp with open chords

[@bernt_macaroon]

This discussion was started by a recording engineer having a hot take. Recording engineers are not the ones interfacing with the instrument and dealing with “the feel factor”. Maybe they don’t matter in the mix, but they matter to the person recording the take. I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be to be paying for a studio session and fighting to get the response from an instrument that isn’t yours and being told that spec didn’t matter.

[@chrisnaishguitar]

Spot on, Keyan! Thank you!

[@Crms-like-Crims]

i think what gets lost in this 'debate' is the nuance and detail. it's so black and white, 'pickups don't matter' or 'they're mega important!' I think of all parts of the guitar, signal chain, room, recording vs live etc., all matter to a degree in a big pie chart, how big a piece of the pie is the real question. And that also depends on the tone you're after, high gain death metal (what I play) I run mostly emg 81/85 & fishman moderns for actives and seymour duncan for passives. Is there a difference for my genre? Yeah, I have to tweak the knobs a bit depending on which guitar I'm using and all of my plugins have saved dedicated preset settings (rhythm EMGs, rhythm fishmans etc.) but I can achieve that brutal tech death tone I'm after with all of them. Which IR I load in my daw makes a huge impact, which pickup I'm using makes a tiny one that can be adjusted on the amp or EQ. This tiny difference gets smaller in smaller as you add in more instruments and apply your sound in the mix. If you can achieve the same results with a few tiny knob turns, the difference isn't that big of a deal so if you're wildly unhappy with your tone, pickups might not be the place to START (if you're trying to record high gain metal). To truly have this 'debate' the ground rules need to be the same and everyone needs to adhere to the same context. Is the context recording high gain metal? playing jazz live? playing open chords in your bedroom? Once the playing field is set, you can have a productive conversation as to how much impact XYZ will have. It's hard to make any blanket statements on the matter if everyone is speaking from a different perspective.

[@WholeLottaBulldog]

Pickups matter. Fight me

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

put your fists up buddy boy

[@abunai.j]

Honest to god, I'm not sure why we even care how other people feel about our pickups or why that even matters. Let's just play what we like, and if other people don't like it, too bad for them. 😂

[@Diego-pl1il]

anyone who doesn't believe this probably doesn't record or actually try at music lol

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

Been recording since I started playing music, almost 20 years ago. I have two testing videos about pickups on my channel. I don't think they matter. There are differences, no one is arguing that they're exactly the same, but they don't matter anywhere near as much as people think they do.

[@robjohnson5829]

Keyan, I believe you need to revisit this video and define what “tone” means to you. Because to most people, “tone” doesn’t mean “comfort level” or “quality of performance”. Tone typically refers to the sonic characteristics of the air being pushed out of the cabs speakers. You seem to be arguing against a point that nobody is making. Almost everyone acknowledges that pickups can affect the way the guitar responds and feels under the hands. The argument which you failed to address is that from pickup to pickup, in a mix, the tone between them will be imperceptible. That is the argument at hand here.

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

Thanks for watching dude! The point I’m addressing in this video is that on an individual basis, certain sets of pickups will directly correlate to a players comfort level and the quality of performance that they can get out of their instrument. How the pickup response affects their ability to work with that that instrument and how they feel when they play, will directly affect the objective output of the sonic characteristics of the tone.

[@keaneycakes]

You talking about your tone journey with the BKP Juggernauts was simply beautiful, I have that same romance with my Quad Cortex 😍

[@shanadiwinata]

i feel like the narrative that's been pushed has been so polarizing that sometimes people forget that different types of individual parts of the guitar would make a difference to a certain extent. it's not necessarily a single factor but some parts do make more difference than the others. i guess we just go with what we like and what works best in the end.

[@AtTheSourceStudios]

Thank you for his video brother.

[@stenooo2439]

I 100% agree with you on the active vs. passive tone argument. Actives just don’t have the punch and mid range clarity that passive pickups have. Especially when comparing fishmans or emgs to the juggernauts. Another thing to note, one of the major things I’ve noticed is with passives especially, pickup height mainly on the bridge makes a huge difference in your tone. Personally I like my bridge pickup to be very close to the strings so I get a very hot output. I run through a real head and cab right now with a super dialed noise gate. No distortion pedal just using the amps pre built distortion. Lots of adjustments later it finally sounds right for me. Clear, tight and heavy. So yes pickups do matter but also pickup position relative to the strings matters quite a bit in my opinion.

[@a.k2156]

Fishmans have a lot of mid clarity and bite lol. Thats how they kinda stand out of a lot of other pickups

[@prckotrtic6253]

Of course pickups make a difference, but guitar companies do blow this out of proportion, this is something you have to admit. What people need to know is what really matters and what doesn't. A single coil will sound massively different than a humbucker (this is the main reason that a strat sounds so much different than a les paul; one has single coils, the other has humbuckers). A humbucker will sound massively different than a p90. A piezo will sound nothing like any of these. An active pickup will sound massively different than a passive pickup (and be a lot less noisy which is yum), and in some cases it will actually clip your signal and act almost like an overdrive pedal. It will also clean up like absolute garbage (opinion) when you roll off the volume and tone. WIRING a humbucker in series or parallel will SIGNIFICANTLY impact the resonant peak and therefore the output and character of the pickup. Those things are what matters. What doesn't matter as much? Price, and brand. Sure, a pickup has to meet a certain standard of quality for it to sound good so something super cheap will often sound super cheap (but not always, and these days, honestly, not much of a problem as it was before). But paying $300 for a pickup will guarantee you absolutely nothing vs. paying $100. What will make the LEAST POSSIBLE difference is swapping out a stock, passive humbucker wired in series, for a more expensive, branded passive humbucker wired in series. And this is where I start to cringe when it comes to the pickup story. The ceramic vs alnico thing, the vintage vs modern thing, that stuff is very, very, very close to snake oil. Focus on the physics and the things that matter and weed out the marketing bs, and you're golden. So yes, pickups matter, but you need to know your stuff to figure out what matters and what doesn't.

[@NecropsY1]

They dont really matter bro - its a drop in the bucket you can craft any sound u want with a modern amp and pedals - the only thing pickups cand do is be broken or bad every modern pickup will get you a nice full tone

[@sirduckoufthenorth]

The minor differences in pickups is not worth it to me If I want to change the sound of my pickups I can shape mine to whatever I like with an eq pedal pretty early in the chain, way more noticeable with more options to sculpt the tone, usually cheaper too. Unless the pickups a guitar comes with are having problems working properly I wouldn't think to change them