Pickups make ALL the difference | Guitar Pickup Comparison | Tim Pierce |

[@BEERFEST07]

Clean tone comparison: 3:26 Ron Ellis 10:03 Kinman 17:00 Tyson Tone 21:45 Monty 24:22 DiMarzio Distorted tone comparison: 7:54 Ron Ellis 13:57 Kinman 19:03 Tyson Tone 22:08 Monty 24:44 DiMarzio

[@54fighting5]

Thanks for that👍

[@sundial6919]

Thanks 07 ! 🌻🌻🌻🌻

[@davidpenwell3432]

Kinman for the win

[@michaelstevenanderson4961]

Has anybody checked out the price on Ron Ellis's humbucker pickups ? They cost twice as much as my first car. (?)

[@bardsamok9221]

0:00 PRS (My favourite)

[@cbrot2001]

Tim’s site is incredible. I signed up for the 14 day free trial and there was an issue with cancelling (2nd kid on the way and I needed to budget a bit) and Tim refunded no questions asked (he personally emailed). He’s a great dude doing great things. Definitely support this man

[@kodykindhart8230]

Troll much eddy st. ??? Dude is as legit as they come And a super humble genuine guy

[@dennisapplegate7553]

@Edward st.antoine so Eddy whats your claim to fame ? What accomplishments are your claim to fame?We really want to know. Tim's a great guy that has more knowledge and experience than almost anyone .Listen to what a real master has to say and you will learn. Talk shit and you come off poorly. A mind is like a parachute it only works when its open.

[@dennisapplegate7553]

@sfairraid 13 and what makes you a expert on what he meant , so I should get a grip ? So really let me guess your a 20 something that really hasnt done shit but your now an expert on the guy I replied to. Right

[@dennisapplegate7553]

@sfairraid 13 Because you jumped to defend a comment you dont know the validity of, or the real intent .Your age speaks volumes about experience and knowledge. Which you seem to lack. How long have you played ? I've played for over 55 yrs , if your looking for a cause to defend there are better out there . Your juvenile SJW bs is at best tiresome. So get a grip ,go have a coke and a smile. Tim is a musician that few if any these days will come close to in experience and knowledge. Anyone that doubts that is a fool . Anyone that's defending that fool is ,well you . Oh thanks for the grammar lesson. I'll bet you haven't held a real job for 2 yrs based on what I've seen here. Right?

[@cbrot2001]

So I mean, this wasn’t an advertisement. It’s legitimately what happened for me. I guess I just come off as corny, but thanks for the encouragement?

[@MusicbyLou]

Tim, just dropped into your site by accident and was SO PLEASED to see that finally someone admits and broadcasts that the PICKUPS are key to the sound of an electric guitar! Wow! Sure, wood, nut, fingerboard, hollow or semi or solid all make a difference. But, this is an electric guitar and the holistic sound of the instrument is transmitted through the pickups. Thus, they are key to the sound you hear and the right pickups can give you the sound you want. Well done, brother!

[@geraldhenrickson7472]

Wait, what? Your comment leaves me stymied. Did you mean to say that Tim excels at explaining WHICH pickups you might choose for your style of play?

[@derekstone1553]

Amazing!

[@BkBk-gy6vr]

You’re pleased someone finally said the pickups are key? Most guitar players say the same thing what are you talking about, Finally?

[@unacharmer]

foe clean tones for sure

[@keefewn9]

Yeah Man! Thank you for sharing! I'm enjoying your contributions to the Guitar World! May Peace Be With You!

[@moreorlesslikeso]

That ES 335 with the Ron Ellis PUs sounds just AWESOME! As does the G&L Jazzmaster with the Kinmans. These two turn out as my favourites here... But to be honest: almost any guitar played by you will most likely sound amazing!

[@musicbymarkplake3945]

Tim, this is a bit off topic but I have to thank you for something. I have MS. My left pinky has some pretty significant nerve damage. It makes Barre chords difficult except on really good days. But watching you and your guests I have really changed my playing - implementing inversions and substituting chords that can be played in an open position - much easier on the pinky. It's a work in progress but I wanted to say thanks. I'll be joining the MC as soon as I can.

[@zarlodious1]

Try taking 3 grams of moringa powder per day, it helps with inflammation as does ginger, turmeric but Moringa I have heard miracles happen for.

[@danieljester7752]

just off chance here...been checked for any hernias?...i had 2 for years and the nerves were pinched and gave me a wide span of symptoms from carpal tunnel...to numbness in the arms...even spacey in the head blood pressure fluxuations ...pain in the jaws...they squeeze on the nerves and arteries causing a wide span of transverse pains and symptoms...get looked over...they can mimic symptoms of many things

[@1Guug]

I love what you do, I love that you share, I love that you speak so down to earth and of course I like your playing and tone but that's for me just really the icing on the cake. Just thank you for all your music and all your knowledge. Crazy that a small self-made musician like me here in Germany can learn from you over the internet Great times we live in!

[@MattKibblehouse]

I just watched/listened to this video on my phone with no headphones and these pickups still sounded notably glorious. What amazing craftsmanship, thanks for the info like always Tim.

[@olecranonrebellion9976]

My 82 Les Paul Custom with Tim Shaw pickups is the best I've ever heard for all sounds.

[@rooster_cogburn1001]

Glad to hear you trial Kinman pups, I’ve been a big fan of Chris Kinman and his products for a long time. Amazing that he isn’t better known (maybe because he’s an Aussie?). Chris has an amazing story and is truly the “King of the Noiseless Pickup.”

[@jvin248]

Tim, pots and caps are as important to the guitar tone as the pickups. I've seen players swap multiple boutique pickups until they find a match with their guitar (never thinking they are actually searching for something that plays well with the existing controls). .Pots by themselves have a 20% tolerance range for the normal controls in high end guitars.. Swapping a cap or volume pot can do quite a lot of tone shifting and can be as effective as new pickups (but yes not as sexy and impressive of a story to tell your buddies). ...And then ... Sometimes a guitar can even be fixed with just pickup height adjustments ... Take that PRS you have, measure where your pickups currently are at (from the trim ring up or strings down) so you can go back there easily if you want, play and record a bit, then drop the pickups to the trim ring and raise the screw poles 1/8th to 1/4inch; on the neck put them in a classic Strat Stagger pattern and the bridge put them level to each other but raised up. Then slowly raise the pickups to the tone you like, usually not much higher than the trim ring, tweak the amp volume up a little. I find a lot more clarity and just more amazing output, Strat-like neck and Tele/P90 bridge tones are available but with humbucking noise reduction. Play and record a bit to compare A/B (maybe a video topic or not). If it doesn't do what you want it's easy to go back where you started and no soldering is involved. I suspect that over the years very few players ever adjusted their pickup screw poles nor pickup heights, but they sure were in there slinging solder for slamming new pickups in, lol.

[@shredgd5]

Sacred words! I wasn't going to suggest the extreme setting as you did, but I was about to comment with the same concept: tweaking pickup height and adjusting the polepieces can turn an ok pickup to a great sounding one! Probably thousands of good pickups have been replaced by guitarist just because they weren't setup right! It's amazing how even 1/8th of turn can change the pickup character, or compensate for the right equalization! I stagger the polepieces in a "modern strat pickup" way, i.e. I keep the G string one lower and not higher than the adjacent ones, to achieve volume balance between the strings. It takes a bit, a lot of attention to what you hear, but in the end the result is amazing. After you do this, 1/8th variations of all the polepieces, combined or not with variations in the global pickup height, can take you almost anywhere. Too little people know about this, too many people say and write "you're not supposed to set those screws because they are factory set" which isn't true at all!

[@Busyfingers24]

Truth! Well said👍

[@coppulor6500]

@@shredgd5 Well then share on people! I have never considered adjusting pole pieces. Is it easy?

[@shredgd5]

Coppulor it is as easy as adjusting the global height. Make very small adjustments (1/8 of turn, not more, at a time) and experiment! You might feel a little more resistance at turning the first time, and you will see some wax around the screw but it is ok and it won't affect the potting of the pickup. Use the kind of staggering pictured in the DiMarzio Velvet series of single coils as a reference, i.e. the high e and d strings should have a slightly higher screw, the low e and g strings should have a slightly lower screw to give a balanced volume across all strings. Experiment with a very clean and not compressed tone, picking with the same strength every string (which is probably the most difficult task) comparing them in random pairs to achieve a balanced output across all strings. You will hear how chords will ring beautifully after this! Do not go extreme, you don't have to end up with the screws unscrewed like a single coil, small movements go a long way. After you have focused on volume balancing of the strings, hear how even just 1/16 of turn of all six screws can vary the tone and attack slightly. You also might need to balance the raising of the screws by lowering the whole pickup height a tad, if you hear too much pick attack or you have problems reaching balance.

[@shredgd5]

As a rule of thumb, raising the pole pieces will help taming a bassy or compressed or muddy pickup; lowering them will reduce the attack of a sharp sounding pickup.

[@blayneb7290]

Just want to add a note of support for Monty's. I got a set for my 2001 ES 335, replacing the stock 57 Classics. I also added the Monty's 50s wiring loom (my stock volume pot was scratchy and cutting out). This new combo has brought my ES to a whole new level. I finally have the clarity in the neck I have always wanted. The bridge has great bite. Great note articulation in chords when distorted. Clean up wonderfully when dropping the volume with no loss of clarity. The customer service was also fabulous. I had an issue with the initial loom and they immediately replaced it without question all the way from England at no extra cost to me. I have no affiliation with them at all, just a very happy customer, so I just wanted to share my experience.

[@75tram]

Timely video to arrive in my inbox - I bought a PRS 594 thinline during lockdown. Took a long time to arrive which was no problem. Also had a faulty selector switch - easy fix ( not something I would expect from PRS). Absolutely love the feel of the guitar and it is now my first choice for gigs - very versatile with the coil taps and very light - love light guitars. I am going to break your personal rule for PRS guitars though Tim - the pickups don’t quite do it for me - so I am off to Monty’s in Cheltenham to have their PAF’s and a vintage SG loom put in - if all that works - will push the button on another 594 and similarly modify it. The only social media stars I follow avidly now are you, Greg Koch and Tom Bukovac - you all make the world a happier place!!!

[@oneworld9071]

In 1993 I received as a gift a quite loaded American Stratocaster........ Wilkinson roller nut, Sperzel locking tuners, Hipshot tremolo, but when it came to pickups the whole experience of playing it sagged like a witch's teat. "Lace Sensors are the hottest pickups you can get!!!!!! Sounds like player error, not technology......" Hmmmmyeah I hear ya...... better than I can hear those pickups, for sure. Not convinced, though........ although I do know I missed a certain feature in my -69 Super Reverb that may have helped beyond my expectations. Apparently Fender amps' output is not about the volume controls (mine had a master volume on rear of amp), but about the tone controls. I was amazed when our 2nd guitarist showed this to me; there were significant changes in loudness by using only the tone controls on the Super Reverb. He'd mentioned it's unique to Fender amps and that it's not widely known that tone controls are the boss, not the volume knobs. Back to pickups, a coworker had come out to see us play a club on the weekend. On Monday morning he said "I got an idea for ya......... switch those Lace Sensors for these Mexican Strat pickups and tell me how it goes.....". It'd be the first time that guitar actually had the authentic Strat bell timbre I sought through thousands of dollars of amps and pedals to no avail. This isn't about Lace Sensors, though. The above discovery happened c. 2005. 2 weeks ago, with that sweetest Strat hundreds of miles down the pawn shop toilet, I bought a Squier Affinity Strat. The second I got one string up to pitch, the tone of this guitar was an almost exaggerated version of the beloved USA Fender Strat..... in other words, quite more than I'd hoped for. Love this guitar, despite the fact the pickups in it are probably the cheapest it gets. I know little about what gives certain pickups their characteristic sound...... one day I'd run into Paul Reed Smith (PRS) who I've known since the 70's, recalling his homemade pickup winding machine with a cam to rock the drill just enough to cover the height of the pickup wire mass..... he was telling me to just replace my Fender with one of his guitars......... "Are you saying.....seriously........ a PRS can sound exactly like a Strat?" Yes..... and not only that, the neck on certain PRS models is identical to the '93 Strat neck....... etc. etc. Yeah..... show me and how 'bout a scratch n' dent demo model, priced accordingly? I got 20x the satisfaction by swapping Lace Sensors for stock Mexican pickups. And I'm the guy that used to think that it was the Dimarzio Super Distortion pickup (on Gibson Les Paul) that gave Al Dimeola his creamy tone........ as Joe Pass answered in an interview to a question about the Epiphone Joe Pass signature model, in so many words, "don't buy anything that you believe will make you SOUND like the guitarist named on the model..... if someone buys the Jeff Beck model, plugs in and doesn't sound remotely like Jeff...... I don't want that to happen for buyers of the Joe Pass model.......".

[@randybrandes8885]

Every time I watch Tim's videos, I learn what alot of the other KZbinrs only try to teach me.

[@timpierceguitar]

Hey , thanks for this comment , means a lot

[@pkflash2004]

I replaced the stock Gibson pickups in my Les Paul which had Burstbuckers and my SG which had 490 R&T, both with Montys PAFs. The difference is like night and day! The sound is open, airy and highly articulate - you hear every nuance in your playing. I mainly use a Ryra Klone going into a Marshall 20w Plexi and I can't imagine a better sound without spending big on an original 59 Burst and original plexi stack.

[@TalleyWacker1000]

"This needs more gain, I'll tell ya that!" - awesome video as usual, great to hear about new pickup makers and hear them in various guitars.

[@timothycormier3494]

Man those pups in the sunburst Es are amazing. Crispy and snappy like a single coil and at the same time the warmth of the Humbucker. Very nice

[@FernandoGros]

Chris Kinman is a lovely guy. Met him many years ago when I was a young player and he gave me a lot of good advice about guitar mods and tone. Have his pickups in three of my guitars.

[@American-Dragon]

Got his blues in my strat. Far superior to anything that comes in a Fender

[@toddmayer6859]

Got his Woodstock set in my Strat along with the 9 way harness ... amazing

[@K2啓兄]

from Osaka, Japan.😱 I like G&L GUITAR & KINMAN pick up.👍 Mr. Tim Pierce is GREAT.😄

[@philtaylor5053]

Sitting in front of ‘mission control’ while playing my guitar turns me cold but you seem to pull it off 🙂 Just subscribed 👍🏼

[@BlackRoomful]

Kinman pickups are amazing I love them and they are made here in Australia the best pick ups I have ever used!!

[@skullheadwater9839]

I build one off tube amps and have been playing guitar since the early 80's, toured and opened for many of the greats back in the day. The biggest things to easily improve tone is better pickups and better speaker(s). It is amazing how much difference a late 50's Jensen will make a most basic tube amps sound like a 50's Fender Tweed, etc. My favorite pickup at the moment is a late 60's Patent Sticker T-Top albeit I haven't had the privilege to play an original PAF.

[@charlesswanston7237]

My 345 has p.a.f.s, one of my Les Pauls has very early patent sticker pickups that will never leave that guitar, and my number one Les Paul has a very early set of Tyson Tones, which will never leave that guitar. They replaced a set of genuine p.a.f.’s. You’ve been very generous over the years sharing your thoughts and your talent through KZbin videos. Thank you.

[@kevnetti]

More episodes like this please!!!! I always learn so much from comparison videos such as these! And whatever happened to the Pete and Tim Guitar Show????? Every now and then I re-watch the Eddie Kramer episode to have my mind blown all over again.

[@halohat2286]

Tim, you mention how or what to do to make a brand stand out just by seeing them in a guitar. For what it's worth, the pick-ups in the new Steve Via Ibanez PIA, engraved as they are, look super cool and are instantly recognized. Just saying...

[@michaelhermsmeyer2155]

I love your channel and your insight on all things guitar related! Years ago one of my favorite articles in Guitar Player magazine was Tommy Tedesco’s Studio Log! I loved being able to experience the inner workings of the LA studio scene through Tommy’s words! You have taken that to a new level for me with KZbin! I could write a book about what gentlemen like you and Tommy have done for my career but for now I will just say Thank You Sir!

[@Jeff-11_354]

Man the Monty's 335 sound is EVERYTHING! 🤘

[@Strat642001]

Love the Kinmans! Best sounding noiseless Strat pups I've ever tried.

[@polara01]

Tim, 6:00-6:30 those tones sounded immediately to me like Alex Lifeson's work on 2112 album now I don't know what kind of guitar or set up he had but the minute I heard the tone of those chords I immediately thought of his work on that album. Really something incredible the range of tones you were getting from those pickups with your set up.

[@mtw5034]

I vouch for top comment. Tried the free trial and it's full of great content however I think it's suited for more established intermediate players. I did not cancel my membership til 11 days later and Tim offered me the full refund. I'm super motivated to keep practicing to get to the level where I can get the most of his knowledge.

[@stevesteele11]

Hey Tim!! Love your videos!! We have 2 mutual friends I got to know and played with Steve Brittenham in Albuquerque, NM who first told me about you when I played on his CD and Brent Mason in Nashville who's family and I became close, and Brent gave me a Brent Mason PRS model!! He also mentioned you to me!! It's a small world!!! Keep making those videos!!! Super informative!!!

[@AnthonyWilliams-ot1yk]

Tim is an amazing guitarist. I was a fan of his back when he was playing lead for Rick Springfield.

[@Kreln1221]

My favorite passive humbucker combo right now is a Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Neck at the neck, and a Seymour Duncan 59'/Custom Hybrid at the bridge. The neck pickup has a vintage moderate wind, and with its A2 magnet, it nicely compresses and softens the low end and rounds and sweetens the top end. This is great, as most neck pickups simply have too much low end, making everything woolly sounding, and this one doesn't, while at the same time avoiding that shrill ice-picky attack that some lower wound more vintage winds can have sometimes. And as far as the bridge pickup, it has an Alnico V magnet, giving it a more dynamic and deep low end, which is needed at the bass shy bridge position, and a nice cut on top, especially owing to the asymmetrical coils, a vintage late 50's spec screw coil closest to the bridge for a nice articulate bite on top with strong dynamics, and a more modern Custom slug coil, wound with one gauge thinner copper wire, and wound with more turns, but about the same overall amount of copper as the 59' coil, which gives you a moderately hotter coil, (but nowhere near as hot as the ubiquitous JB, which uses an even thinner wire so they can wind it crazy hot), that gives you a stronger depth and a touch more compression. Also, as the two coils use different gauge wire with different wind counts, they have different frequency responses, with different resonant peaks. Since the two coils' response peaks and curves are different, the peaks and valleys don't overlap, so the overall response is a bit more even and harmonically complex. DiMarzio has a patent on these asymmetric humbuckers, so they have a few stock models that are like this. Honestly... I highly recommend that pair of Duncan humbuckers, or if not specifically those, then a set with those basic ideas. A vintage spec humbucker with an A2 magnet for a sweet singing top end and a low end that is nicely balanced with the bridge, and an asymmetric bridge humbucker with an A5 magnet, a vintage wind screw coil, and a moderately modern wound slug coil. A few companies offer them, but as Larry DiMarzio gets his cut from anyone else who sells em', there aren't many. Of course, you can just do organ swap surgery and Frankenstein pickups together from other pickups or new component parts...

[@atquinn1975]

Right now, all my keepers have Suhr pickups. Which make sense as all but one of them are Suhr guitars :) (although the other one has Suhr pickups as well). They aren't always the stock Suhr pickups, but he makes pickups that hit the spot for me.

[@mrcali68]

Been using Kinmans for years! EXCELLENT pickups / ZERO noise.

[@timwhite5562]

Hoooly shIT! The pickups in the 335 are amazing.. I'm a big 335 fan, I'm foremost a Strat player but the 335 is a close second. Even though the low 360p and the commotion compression of KZbin, they sound insane. I literally said aloud how "open" they sound at the very same moment the word came from you. The top-end is perfect.

[@curtisprice9806]

The comments on the Bonamasso 335 are right.....that guitar and after market pickups in it sounded so, so good!!! The tone from it just killed all the others!!! Cheers to the people with great ears, who are blessed to hear the magic this guitar has!!!

[@joemasse4568]

If you’re pretty good on guitar, any good guitar is going to have useable pickups, When playing with out effects pedals,then the pickups are going to be ore important to the sound, but a good guitar player will make any good guitar sound great, difference of tones very slight only by having side by side comparison, would you ever really notice, and you can always adjust the EQ on guitar or amp!

[@Turboy65]

I've found that Seymour Duncan's pickups always stand up well when compared to any boutique builder. Find any boutique pickup and there's probably a Duncan that sounds as good for half the price. On my guitars I almost always use Duncans. There's no reason NOT to.

[@anthonydavella8350]

I think most Duncans are the same few pups with different mags. Of course they are immune to the criticism thrown Larry's way

[@Emhartain]

You can get a great pickup for less than half the price of SD's if you know what you're looking for.

[@Turboy65]

@@Emhartain I'm not interested in searching through huge piles of random pickups from all kinds of brands, many of which I never heard of. I don't have the time for that or want to waste the money trying to pick out the peanuts from the squirrel turds. I buy Duncans and I'm happy with them. I know I'm getting quality, not some bargain basement pickup made in some guy's basement or a Chinese factory.

[@Emhartain]

@@Turboy65 you THINK you're getting 'quality' when all you're doing is spending money on a brand name. Read the ohms, get a cheap pickup with the same ohms and base metal and tell my they don't compete with each other. No one suggested 'rummaging through a pile of blah blah blah'. I suggested knowing what the fuck you're talking about, how pickups actually work and why a 200 dollar pickup is a waste of money when you can get one 'just as good' for 50-100. And then, you actually have to be an accomplished guitar player for anyone to give a shit about what you play, what you play on and/or how good (or bad) you are at it. I didn't come at you with smugness.. you get what you give. Enjoy your expensive pickups... I bet my cheap ones sound better.

[@Emhartain]

@@Turboy65 Now, don't get me wrong; SD's aren't BAD pickups.. they're quite good.. as are DiMarzio, and if you're upgrading a fine instrument, and have the money to do so, then by all means, buy top-of-the-line. What I was speaking to, was the crowd of people (like me) buying kits of their favorite brand-name guitars and building them as cheaply as possible. I'm not in a band, I don't gig, and I'm only an intermediate player.. so I don't warrant a need or top of the line anything. If I have an instrument or 9 that are well-built (by me) and the scale and setup is right, I can get all the sounds I want out of my Boss ME-10 with even the crappiest gear. Again, better pickups sound better, but sometimes a cheap pickup in a well-built guitar sounds just as good as a top dollar instrument. I have 3 very good examples of this in my guitar rack as we speak. One has Bill Lawrence L500's from the late 80's in it (and those pickups are in the same price range now as SD's) but I got them in 2000 when they were just 'cheap used junk'. I have some FLEOR AlnicoV zebras in a semi-hollow PRS copy I did last year and they sound very good as well. I got some pickups from GuitarMadness that also exceeded my expectations. All without breaking the bank and buying pickups that cost more than the entire kit. By the way, you can slap that SD on a 2x4, attach a neck and hardtail bridge, simple volume and tone and string it up and it'll sound as good as if you put it in a 'quality' guitar body. There's a video that demonstrates this very fact.

[@blackfender100]

Thanks Tim Love all the pups. Rock on !

[@doktabob328]

The Seymour Duncan custom shop P90 Phat Staple is the most glorious pickup I have ever heard. Installed on my Ibanez AM53 (339-ish). You can keep your Gibson, I’m in guitar heaven. Second place, the Fralin P90, in humbucker case, installed in my Washburn Nuno. My next pickup purchase will likely be a Haven Omnia bridge pup to complement the Duncan Phat Cat neck pup in my Fernandes Ravelle. Inexpensive P90s can sound great. But the custom shop Duncan Staple and the FralinP90 are superb.

[@roachzero2952]

I love how he keeps mentioning "earning" the effects he is using . I'm assuming he's saying that meaning , if you can't make it sound good dry , then you SHOULD NOT be using effects !!!

[@tomshaug]

Thank you very much Tim, that joyful laughing smile at the end when the Jimi thing rang out was a perfect conclusion

[@fredvanderlinden8908]

i changed on my 70's Epiphone the pick Ups with hauser Pick ups (german made) I also added a coil split. Fantastic sound range. I recommend. thx for sharing Tim.

[@ByronStreitz]

I just put the Kinman E56 pickups in the neck and middle on my strat and the Seymour Duncan Red Devil in the bridge on my strat....... love them

[@valueofnothing3417]

It's a coil of wire around pole pieces on top of a magnet. You could measure it. You could measure the magnetic strength and calculate the number of turns and that's about it since most humbuckers use the same gauge wire. If the magnetic strength is the same which it usually is then all you're really doing is asking how many winds there are which could be represented by the DC resistance. It does not cost much more to making pick up that you like then I pick up that you do not like. there's no extra expense on some high-quality magic stuff.

[@cgavin1]

Winder with a day job here: its not half as complicated as it seems. Anyone with a bit of time and patience can make their own great sounding PAFs. Thanks to the hard work of others its now possible to purchase composite correct parts to get that awesome cut-glass transparency. It only gets really expensive when you want to start cloning specific 'famous' tones and consistently reproduce them and need to start buying CNC machines and gauss meters, spectrometers etc.

[@timpierceguitar]

Wow! Thanks

[@rmGuera]

Ts just so personal: to my guitars Lollars & Dawgtowns are - just irreplaceable (Monty's being the closest to my tastes here). On my 'PRS Standard' I replaced pups with Lollars & I swear I could hear guitar saying "thank you".There's no recipe, that could be the real problem - those PRS ones I took out - well I had frankenstein tele lying around so I installed bridge PRS on that tele, weirdly combined with goldfoil (real one) in the neck - and BOOM! Can't take this guitar out of my hands...(so my PRS had 'converted' to clarity/chime & tele to more meat - reverse of what's expected, but... it just worked for some weird reason. Point being - you just have to try). Depends, really...

[@RhettShull]

That 335 is something special man, if you ever decide to part ways with it CALL ME FIRST!!!

[@Theweeze100]

Rhett Shull Your supposed to be saving for a house, just say’n Ok, I would hazard an argument with the wife for that guitar!

[@bradleyshuppert3393]

Love everything this guy does and who he truly is. I cannot get over trying to listen to PAF pickups with 80k+ worth of processing equipment surrounding the player and guitar. Sure tone is in the hands of the player, I just always hope for a cord and nothing more between the guitar and a great basic amp. I also love seeing and hearing people use tone and volume controls properly while demoing.... I can get any pickup to sound any way I process it.... EQ, compression, amp models, distortion pedals..... then comes mikes and cabs.... just way too much going on here to fully appreciate what this guy is capable of demoing something a novice may want to buy or try.... over complicate more by talking about the picks and strings used in the making of this. Less is more.... Les is Paul.... Tim is Tim....where everything sounds Steve Lukather processed and purdy.... nothing to see/ hear folks.... sorry...I must have missed the tone boat today....Love your show Tim!

[@tomasvanecek8626]

Just a cord and a great amp - thats all you want and need to hear, to tell: is it a great guitar, or pickup ? Preamp distortion and all the processing makes it a mess. Also, no fkn reverb, pleeze.. 🤣 Go dry, if you dare and can..

[@markallen381]

Pick-ups in a guitar are like speakers in a cabinet. It's the transducers that make the most difference.

[@sidgar1]

Cool lil riff there at 7:43. I love the bark these pickups give your tone.

[@decopix5279]

The Ron Ellis pickups in the neck position, oh my! But, while I enormously admire Tim Pierce (a fan since Guitarland came out) different pickups, in different guitars and hearing the guitars after the pickups were replaced, with no "before" isn't exacty a comparison. Still, they all sound clear and great, and probably much better in person than on KZbin. Since everybody is mentioning their favorites, a thumbs up for pretty much anything from Lindy Fralin.

[@NINEWALKING]

Kinman makes awesome pickups for the Strats. First and maybe only noiseless single pickups that sound like real non stacked pickups to me.Compared those with first two Fenders iterations and it was the world of difference. I still have neck and middle in one of my guitars. Nice sounding and can take gain without making any single coil hum. Kinman is well known around here in Europe by the people who are into the high quality gear. They are also pretty available for such a small Company, though they cost premium price. BTW I love Raw Vintage pickups (Xotic) to. Both single coils and humbuckers sound great. Non potted once and pretty true to the real pickups they are emulating. Have not tried newer models though. I have 3 sets of humbuckers and two strat sets (50's and 60's and I prefer the 60's with most of my amps). Humbiuckers are sounding exactly as you have described in this video, like fat single coils with grunt. Low output scatter wound vintagy perfection. Alnico II silver nickel base, braided wire, maple spacers all the magic materials they use to use for the first humbuckers.

[@guitarmemoir]

I hear you on PRS guitars. I just bought my first, which is a 2002 Standard 24 in Platinum Metallic. It has been modded with an adjustable nut and engraved 57/08 no TM pickups. I play it 90% of the time now. Plays and sounds great. Also importantly (to me) hangs very comfortably when I am standing. Great vid. Thx.

[@scenario27]

Kinsman strat noiseless pickups are fantastic!

[@GeoFitz4]

As soon as you played that first bit with the Ron Ellis pickups clean, I felt like it sounded like a very 60s kind of tone. I was glad that you then said that it had that vintage sound and then played Day Tripper. Though I was hearing House of the Rising Sun in my head.

[@GraffitiPhysical]

With a guitar collection of my own I started changing pickups, trying to really just get more control at high gain settings. Was told that you can devalue your guitars because they're not original anymore. So be careful and don't ruin your investment.

[@SophiaAphrodite]

Someone who values brand over sound are not guitarists, they're collectors.

[@arnoldmendoza9584]

Kinman factory is now located in the Philippines, I have the Kinman Woodstock Plus single coil pickups on my Fernandes LD-85KK Stratocaster (Ken Kitamura of L'Arc~en~Ciel) and It's sound great, currently I'm looking for their PAF 59 and put it on my PRS SE Custom 24 (sorry PRS)

[@johna1160]

Tim, you're cracking me up with the way you "earn" the right to use reverb.

[@thekolt533]

Thankyou thankyou thankyou for the pickup demo's w your 335's in particular, I'm looking to replace/upgrade my electronics and pickups in my Peavey JF1 from the stock setup, those Ron Ellis pup's are exactly what I want to hear open w every note in the cord clearly defined no matter the signal chain ....just fantastic!!!

[@srinip]

If anybody (including Tim) wants to keep trying new pickups, I'd unhesitatingly recommend HighOrder humbuckers. Another lone builder, Jeff Gay winds amazing humbuckers, and has the enviable ability to create tonal characteristics from a clip you send him.

[@darylhudson777]

Years ago they started putting gold-plating on turntable stylus, connections, cable ends, etc and they still do nowadays. I haven't seen a video that shows any benefit or proof of any benefit electrically or sound wise etc using gold or not. Maybe you could do one for us. Thank you for all your videos. I appreciate your professionalism and patience. One day I will either get this old broken guitar fixed and be able to start learning or get some more work or money to buy a better one.

[@BAMozzy69]

That PRS of yours is an incredible guitar - stunning sounds and stunning looks too - love the inlays and would accept those instead of birds. I do agree that if you have a great guitar like a PRS (I have 4 myself), then you have no need to change the PU's...

[@lincolnsixecho51]

In 2018 i bought a PRS DGT and set them in contest to the other 5 "high class-equipped" humbucker- guitars i have. Did it very seriously and can fully assure you - the pickups developed for the DGT are the pickups that come nearly perfect close to what I learned to be the original PAF-sound! Only a perfect jerk would change thecpickups of a DGT!

[@Kreln1221]

*My current preference for two humbuckers is a Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Neck, (original, not Slash), at the neck..., and a Seymour Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid at the bridge...* *My current preference for a Strat is a DiMarzio set consisting of an Area 67 at the neck..., an Area 58 in the middle..., and an Area 61 at the bridge...*

[@jerrywalaszek2473]

I'm glad I found your channel.You are one talented man! I really envy your talent and knowledge.Thank you for going the distance☺

[@shred5]

Alright so those Ron Ellis pickups sound great. Very clean, open and bright sounding. Not too dissimilar to the Lollar Imperials that I ultimately decided to put in my Les Paul (maybe brighter, but a different guitar - I bet they'd be real close in a Les Paul!).

[@jeffdowler9130]

Tim your Karma pedal sounds a lot like my 1973 Sound city 50 plus but with a little less string clarity. I had the e-Que set to fender or Marshall so it wouldn't be so out of control. Now its sounds just like the 60's British invasion 100%. Love it. Or The Animals. House of the rising sun, with that British chime. The amp sounds so delicious. No pedals needed, just a old 4x12 cab.

[@TraneFrancks]

How fun. We get to the very end and you mention the DiMarzio Virtual Vintage. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here with the very first electric guitar I bought ~20 years ago, a Yamaha Pacifica 112XC in which I installed Virtual Vintage 2.1 (DP401) and a PAF Pro along with full-sized CTS pots. It sounds absolutely killer and even being an el cheapo, it sees regular play despite me having several better guitars. Sometimes, your first love really does go the distance.

[@888jimm]

Tim - Can you make a pocket sized Tim Pierce so we can keep you with at all times?? :) Love you man,,,

[@buaidhnobas1ify]

A little Tim in a Bottle. That would be great.

[@888jimm]

@@buaidhnobas1ify - We have earned it.. Played with no Reverb....😎

[@Strat642001]

+1 for the Kinman shoutout. They are by far my favorite noiseless Strat pups (read about them years ago in The Tone Quest Report). Very smooth and warm.

[@scoots8519]

The first infomercial I actually wanted to watch. Thanks

[@BlackRoomful]

Kinman pickups are amazing made here is Australia I love them

[@bryanwilliams3665]

In a solid body, the pickups are much more influential than wood types on tone..As an experiment in my guitar shop, I installed a 1971 Stratocaster pickup in a Les Paul.Pot changed to 250k. Through a Marshall Major I had in, it Nailed Ritchie Blackmores tone on "Made in Japan" It didn't just sound like ANY Strat but SPECIFICALLY an early 70s Strat! The Paradox being the Strats in the shop couldn't get that 'Blackmore Stratocaster tone yet the Les Paul did. Conversely, by changing only the wood type,you can't change a Strat tone into making it sound like a Les Paul.

[@jonlennon3348]

Being such a fantastic player(I am a huge fan) and when you make a small mistake you acknowledge it and keep going. I have watched many video's and watched pro's goof up and they don't acknowledge it because they so impressed by themselve's,LOL . But you are real and honest and mega talented and you can walk down the street with anonymity. Tim you are one of my favorites and so appreciate every video you do.

[@benzuckerman]

The tone you got at 6:38 is THE TONE. WOW!

[@RockHardRiffs]

Really enjoyed the video. It felt like I was in the room with you. Rock on!

[@ronglass5968]

Wow. The Ron Ellis bridge pickup in the 335 makes the 1st and 2nd strings (mainly 1st) sparkle!

[@mikeaustin4138]

Regarding the Les Paul: Saw Clapton in 2001 - the Reptile tour - in Portland, Oregon. He did not play a Fender once. He started out with a 335 and about 2/3 of the way through the show he switched to a LP. The 335 sounded amazing - it was Clapton, after all - but the LP just had a presence that was blazingly apparent. BTW, I saw his tech on YT say that both Gibsons were current, not vintage, and that Eric on a whim decided he wanted to play Gibsons instead of his Strat.

[@karmaguitaramplifiers7967]

Tim - Great video and thank you so much for the Karma shoutout!!

[@American-Dragon]

I gave ron ellis 600 bucks in 2014. Still do not have my pick ups.

[@swingset1969]

There's being slow, and then there's theft. That's the latter. At a certain point, it doesn't matter how good your crap is, when you won't deliver.

[@davidr1620]

Wow. That's awful. I've met Ron. I really, really, really don't believe he's trying to screw people over. I just think he's a great pickup builder and he's awful at running a business.

[@American-Dragon]

@@davidr1620 got them last week. His stuff is extremely well reguarded. His business not so much. He either needs to hire help or cut back production to what is manageable. Hopefully his legacy will be the product.

[@ResidentSmith78]

So what’s the verdict were they worth the $$ or just BS

[@ModernGolfer]

Musicians, historically, have gotten screwed out of money on a regular basis. Mostly because they let themselves get screwed, and make excuses for it. Waiting 5 years for a set of small electrical parts IS getting screwed.

[@jeromestevenfaigin6059]

I inherited a Wildwood banjo open back 5-string made in Santa-Cruse, California.

[@MisterGuitarItalia]

pickup height, please do a video on your guitars' pickup heights!

[@jeffreymarchant4020]

Each one is different and would take several different videos to give the proper answer.... Unless you want just the numbers.... Because as you know it's more than just a turn on a screw !!!

[@MisterGuitarItalia]

@@jeffreymarchant4020 Which part of "YOUR GUITARS" did you not understand and somehow felt compelled to chime in? What answer to what question?

[@hobbydude1808]

At 7:40+ the sound of the /13 and the 335 sound like Pete T of the Who. Nice mix of sounds. I had very good luck with wiring a SD Pearly Gates in a Gibson Melody Maker re-issue. I wired the 'spin a coil' circuit for it.

[@jeffjohnson3785]

I tried several pairs of pickups in my Gibson Les Paul Custom and the ones that will never come out of it are the Tyson Tone Lab Precious and Grace set. '59 goodness. Awesome pickups, even better person. Give him a call.

[@hochha]

As always Tim is highly informative and applicable to music education and performance.

[@zombeer8340]

Suhr pickups are great and if you are from germany/in Germany check the pick ups from kloppmann pickups out!

[@milo8770]

i've heard and played almost all humbuckers of this company, and yes. Awesome pickups. Aldrich is my favorite ;)

[@davidnoland8974]

I'm learning (at a cost I might add) my way around pickups outside of the SD/Fender...etc, realm. I haven't yet checked out the pickups that Tim speaks of here. But just fyi, I love the ZexCoil / Lawing pickups that Anthony uses at TXBA - where I first heard them. Like any non-mass production pickup, they are a touch pricey, but I've bought 5 of them over the past year. All for my Strats. I have not gotten into the Tele world yet, but I do like these pickups. Especially the 'Legacy' line. Just my 2 cents worth.

[@loganschexnayder1587]

Some of the best guitar tones I’ve heard on KZbin in a while. Subscribed!

[@frankbreuer8849]

Thanks Tim for an inspiring video on a never ending topic. YES, pickups .... Here's my story.... The first PUs I replaced were the EMGs on a wonderful ESP guitar. I put in a DiMarzio PAF and a DiMarzio PAF pro (bridge) because I didn't like the EMG that sounded clinical to me. Since the swap over, this guitar makes the creamiest of rock sounds. The second set I replaced (some of you might want to slap me in the face for that 😁) was on an Ibanez JEM77. I replaced the Evo PUs. Not because they were bad, in fact they are terrific PUs which always produced bombastic sounds... especially live they had a killer sound .... I just wanted to be able to use the volume button more ... So I swapped for DiMarzio PAF Joe in the neck position (which is a fr** awesome transparent PU) ... and the MO'Joe in the bridge position. I'm a happy camper ... a bit more diversity and the JEM still sound like a JEM.

[@jneiberger]

I love Wildwood Music! That's where I picked up my Mesa Bookie Mk IV. Great store.

[@peaelare]

the PTB system on that G&L is the first thing I'd go to to roll back that harshness.

[@avjake]

Such an awesome opening shot - you surrounded by stacks of electronics. Love it.

[@bradlund8389]

I like "Bare Knuckle" pickups - I have a pair of HPS90 Blue Note in an Epiphone Red Dot - just beautiful :-)

[@MFKR696]

I have some BKP Black-Hawks myself, and they sound absolutely incredible.

[@Atttuner]

Maybe we become too obsessed with the high end of a great Strat neck pup but none of the hum cancelling versions come close IMHO. I agree its almost inaudible in a real mix so totally understand why higher gain players may accept the trade off

[@AndrewAHayes]

Before I change pickups I have good old fiddle with my EQ pedal, I have saved loads of cash doing this, I wish I had come across this video when it came out though as I do have some instruments that definitely needed new pickups

[@seanemmettfullerton]

Duuuude :) Loved Monty's PAF sound, especially on that clip of you and Rob Cavallo playing Black Dog. Ha! What a great raw sound!

[@addictedtogear]

Sean Fullerton I have a set and they rock!

[@paternuin]

that LP is soo beautiful, it has the perfect burst shade and teardrop, and what a sound. That's the tele on steroids thing. it's perfect

[@thenut1212]

The bridge pickup has such a nice (not harsh) sparkle up high, and both the neck and bridge have such a nice blooming effect as the sustain opens. (I’m of course speaking about those boutique PAFs made by the mechanical engineer.)

[@montyderhak]

the last 335 with the MOnty's sounded awesome

[@ericklein5927]

I like the riffs you play. You are in touch with sound and emotion. And you seem to love it which makes it even sound better. Good job