Seymour Duncan Vs Cheap Aliexpress Pickup BLIND Test. * Update: Part 2 Now Up. Link in Description!

[@ParanormalResponse]

I couldn't tell the difference in headphones honestly for distortion. There was a slight difference in the clean tone. So for that reason, my choice was the slightly brighter tone of the B pickup. But I would proudly use either. Nice test. The only issue I have had in the past with overseas pick ups is that they tend to feedback easier and that they turned microphonic on me after time.

[@cockysonuvaB]

exact same.

[@hadleymanmusic]

I never leave home without a waxed

[@billjacktheone4786]

I agree... I almost hate that you sai EXACTLY what I was thinking the B pickup was cleaner, and was the only distinct difference. Thank you for sharing

[@stewarttomkinson3356]

Wax dip the cheap ones

[@bladeoflucatiel]

Even my cheap 335 epiphone came with waxed pickups, I had to melt the wax to get to the wiring and split the coils. I used normal candles to re-wax it. Between A and B I liked A better on the cleans and solo because it was less "harsh/bright", but both are still 99% the same, just by toning your amp/pedals you pretty much get the same sound.

[@FultonStreetBeats]

A SD. B 20 dollar amazing pickups. lol... Both sound amazing!

[@thebaldshredder]

Thanks for voting brother!

[@FultonStreetBeats]

@@thebaldshredder my pleasure. Can't wait to see the result

[@danieltv123]

You got it right. I did too. JBs have more mids, it's easy. They're also more focused. B was good tho, should compare to a more balanced SD pickup.

[@frankiepag1720]

A $20. B Duncan

[@gae7081]

B Seymour Duncan

[@michaelkern9805]

personally, did not think there was 80 dollars worth of difference between the 2, i found out quite a spell ago, high price pickups dont necessarily mean high price tone !

[@JohnAdams-xc5yk]

I don't care if you like Chinese, but I don't like China putting Seymour Duncan name on their pickups

[@User-gfys-0icu81]

Everything is made in china. Everything. Including every piece and part of your SD pup.

[@KevinKevin-el8yk]

I agree is it not soow able and you should mever bye Chinese guitars THEIR wopd is soft and cjeep just save up for barter one yes the waiting will be hard but i promisd

[@ryanryan8]

Did China do it, or did someone in China do it? There's a big difference between the two.

[@DuckandBalls]

​@@ryanryan8xi jinping hand crafted these in the baogang steel mill

[@algreen1231]

Who cares? SD are overrated.

[@geraldhoffpauir5048]

Both sounded great. I think the A pickup is the cheap one and the B is the Seymour Duncan’s

[@springbloom5940]

B certainly had more definition

[@marvswelt2587]

And more output​@@springbloom5940

[@chad6326]

3:36... is it me or does the Donlis pup have a little more chime and shimmer on the cleans??? ... imo they're practically identical on dirty sounds...

[@marks9197]

Overall I liked B. Especially on the cleans.

[@nanimonada9860]

I didn't think either set sounds bad, but I did notice a bit more note clarity in B with the high gain.

[@nanimonada9860]

@@rrrdzza that's what my blind ears heard. . . Maybe if I could see i would have heard something different, lol.

[@hansfender2441]

B for me

[@Jenisonc]

Damn. I was wrong. But that makes me happy! I enjoy the stuff that doesn't cost an arm and leg. I have Alnico 5s in my tele from Ali and they sound fantastic. Thanks or the video!

[@alexcorona]

Move your light to either the left or right side of you and angle it down a tinge, this will give you a 3d effect and much more flattering light. Instead of the mugshot thing going on.

[@thebaldshredder]

Ok I'll try that Mr. Speilberg.

[@Leo9ine]

​@@thebaldshredder He's right man, being humble is a virtue

[@erickbertin78]

as most people have pointed out, there is a slight difference with the clean tones, with A being a bit brighter (maybe the SD?), but as far as gain tones are concerned, they're essentially and for all intents and purposes indistinguishable....

[@eddieangels4029]

I did not hear any difference! So I guess that's a big compliment for the Ali express pickup! thanks for the test because I am ugrading my pickups

[@thebaldshredder]

Glad I could help!

[@ericbrown4287]

Great playing and a great amp (or great simulator plug-in) make for most of the tone, so it's no surprise you got such good results on both. To my ear, though, it sounded like A was an alnico 5 magnet and B was a ceramic with a harsher attack. It's not so much that one was better than the other, but maybe each would serve a different purpose in the studio. I'm convinced that either would be fine in a live mix. Sincerely, A guy whose bought a ton of SD pickups

[@arsenaultgilles4557]

To bad for the price difference I simply don’t give a hoot there is nothing wrong with both of those pickups

[@uptownphotography]

Cannot Tell...Both sound really good.

[@gshankaran]

B had richer harmonic output for me, that gets my vote. If that's the AliExpress one, then that's going on all my mod project guitars. If that's a SD, then is it worth the $70 upcharge? For a couple of pickup projects, I think so.

[@user-cq3oh8eq3n]

If you use that much distortion, there's not much point in the A/B test. But the clean section at 3'19 is day and night.

[@mrcoatsworth429]

How many people with a JB in their guitar play mostly clean?

[@BlazonStone]

Anybody who plays metal or rock will use distortion :) so of course its a good thing to enlighten people that your pickups might not really be that different, and can save people some money and instead of focus on amp/cab :)

[@905rouzies]

Do you think that sound qualify will degrade sooner in time with these because they use cheaper quality magnets ?

[@thebaldshredder]

I doubt it but who knows

[@warmtoiletseat5596]

No not really. Ceramic magnets live forever and those are the cheapest magnets. (Doesn't mean ceramic magnets sound bad)

[@michaelhawthrone2184]

My response before getting the official word is that B sounds “cleaner”. A sounds quite close but sounds “fuzzier”. Like extra noise around the notes, but mostly noticeable between phrases.

[@ToacheRaul]

I preferred the A pickup as both sound very good with distortion but the cleanest riff was a bit superior with the A set of pickups

[@wilhelmklieschnikov7185]

Im sold on the Chinese Invaders. Ive always spent the cash for the brand SD. After all these years, i would go with the clones. Q: How do they hold up at max volume? Sustain?

[@JoeR203]

I'd say "B" Is the Duncan. Have you tried Dragonfire pickups? I have the "Screamer" in a couple of my guitars. Not bad for $35.

[@thebaldshredder]

I have not. I might have to give those a try.

[@JoeR203]

@@thebaldshredder The neck pickup in my profile pic is a Screamer. The middle pickup is their generic strat single coil. They have a great color selection.

[@Hikeandtravelth]

As a non-guitar player, I can't tell the difference, but I like the sound of both.

[@rabokarabekian409]

I can tell the difference between my lipstick, the P90, humbuckers, fidelitron, and a quad rail in my seven differently themed customized partscasters. Funny thing - I can get them to sound however I want through digital sound processing. Oh yeh, all these pickups are Chinese or Korean, which I chose mostly for their looks.

[@oldthocker47]

Twiddle EQ knobs a little and A can be made to sound like B, and vice versa, to my ears anyway.

[@BillyE5150]

One listen thru AirPods, I can’t tell which is which, nor does it matter… they both sound great!! Like another commenter said, I also have some “economy” pickups that I like better than similar “big names”.

[@stevegardiner8473]

I think B is the SD set. But as they're not in the exact same guitar, it's not just a comparison of the pickups. The guitars will have an influence on the overall tone.

[@killrillhardkorshunov6705]

B is Seymour Duncan, right?

[@damienn2227]

Have you tried already the DH10?

[@thebaldshredder]

No

[@jimcamp2423]

I preferred A for some of the riffs, other riffs I couldn't tell much of a difference, so there wasn't $ 70 difference to me. I think if either guitar arrived undamaged & functional at unboxing, I wouldn't know the difference. I might feel different about them depending upon I plug into my most pedestrian amp vs most versatile amp with all the amp & cab sims. The SD's, obviously it's a $ 70 difference to squeeze out the last 3% that the pickups both basically get at some volume level as each other. Finding perceived sameness is it's own tone chase altogether.

[@DatHombre]

Yes THANK YOU! I alwayyys wish people did comparisons this way! After being in the "expensive headphone world" for some years, I began realizing JUST HOW STRONG the placebo effect is! If you know something's supposed to sound "better" (usually due to price, but for many other reasons as well), it'll almost always seem like it's better. A classic example is adjusting an EQ, finally dialing the "right sound", then a second later realizing "well shit, the EQ was bypassed that entire time........ damn" lol. So yeah, doing comparisons this way is the only way I ever take comments at all seriously (but even then, I still will always wonder if people are just copying what others said, or saw the results before commenting lol). And soo just listening through phone speakers I feel like I might've liked A more for the dirty/distorted sounds, but I think I liked B more for the cleans. But yeah, extremelyyy close lol. If I didn't know they were different and/or wasn't really focusing, Im not sure that I'd have even recognized any differences lol.

[@2bikemikesguitartopics145]

I don't know what SDs sound like so I can't tell. There was barely a difference I could hear, and only on 1 of the riffs. The Donless are on my buy list since the greeny guitar was done.

[@thebaldshredder]

Definitely check them out Mike. They make great pickups and have a wide variety of stuff.

[@predigr]

B is clearly the Seymour Duncan. It is hard to tell using that distorsion, but as soon as you change to clean the SD show up inmediatly.

[@bikeman1x11]

which donlis pickups ? they sound great!!

[@thebaldshredder]

Watch the follow up video. The link is in the description.

[@lazersloth3103]

I can't tell the difference myself. Is there a link to the AliExpress pickups? I didn't see one listed.

[@thebaldshredder]

I'll put a link in the follow-up video tomorrow.

[@kiillabytez]

Once, I swapped my stock Dean pickups for a set I bought on Amazon for $20 each that resemble EMG 81's, and I'll tell you, the guitar has never sounded better to my eyes!

[@timesurfingalien]

SD is over rated and over priced. Not enough of a difference to justify the price. Buy American if thats what you want buy Chinese if thats what you want. Not enough of a difference for my living room

[@motivation4all654]

Distortion not much difference. Cleans I liked B better.

[@Dzo826]

Well, here's the deal.. IF the SD PUP's sound THAT close to the $20 joints, either PUP's have come a LONG way, OR SD aint kickin' the way they used to.. In any event, the $20 PUP's have proven their point... Guess the TRUE test is to compare through a REAL amp, side-by-side.. I'm likin' the $20 joints, tho!!.. For the record, I would say "A" are the Duncans...

[@thebaldshredder]

In the follow up video I'll play both guitars through a small Fender amp.

[@joezambrano696]

They both sound good I'm getting the donolis for my guitar

[@craigyoung8692]

Link to the seller for the pickups. Sounded so close

[@thebaldshredder]

Check the follow up video where I reveal the answer. Link is there.

[@tadbennett2219]

I have three guitars from Ali Express. I put a Seymour Duncan Hot-Rodded humbucker set in one of the Les Paul’s. I immediately noticed significantly more volume out of the same setting I was on with the old pickups. I would be very surprised if both guitars were set on the same volume.

[@papablue3015]

Question:: if you're getting a greeny Moore. What donlis pickups would you buy? Thanks Shredder

[@thebaldshredder]

No idea. I don't even know what pickups were in the greeny.

[@papablue3015]

@The Bald Shredder me either? Alnico 2 maybe 5? I'll have to do some research! Who knows maybe the pickups will be good? Just a min!😂🤣🤣😅 ok! Sorry! I'm just hoping for playable! Thanks if you get any ideas let me know! Thanks!

[@RafsGearReviews]

Just saw the other vid paused and came to this one. If I had to guess A sounds a bit more defined/upper mid strong B is grittier? So A is SD and B is Aliexpress. I'd also guess both pickups have a high dc resistance 15-17k or so. Now I'm going back to the other vid to find out how wrong I am lol.

[@thebaldshredder]

You totally nailed it! Good ear Raf. 🤘

[@peppymus]

you got link of aliexpress pickups?

[@mpmonzon]

can you do a comparison with the exact copy of Aliexpress ? they even copied the metal at the back too!

[@thebaldshredder]

That's what I did in this video. It's a direct comparison of the Aliexpress pickup with the Seymour Duncan. Watch the Part 2 video for the result.

[@mpmonzon]

@@thebaldshredder sorry but i dont see the logo at the front in the copy , i watched another comparison and they sound way different

[@robertholtom9345]

Yah you are right, I cannot tell the difference between the 2 different pickups. Why spend $90 when you can get something just as good for $20,

[@arsenaultgilles4557]

A Chinese B USA but anyway, that’s close enough. Thanks for that demo.

[@905rouzies]

How can I find that exact donlis pickup for the bridge can you provide a link for that exact one?

[@thebaldshredder]

Go to follow up video. The link is there.

[@gilbertrodriguez1960]

Which one do you recommend from Ali Express for playing metal because I seen a couple but don't know which ones.A-SD B-D 🤘🎸🤘.

[@thebaldshredder]

I use the Donlis High Output pickups in most of my guitars. Definitely recommend those.

[@gilbertrodriguez1960]

@@thebaldshredder Thanks I will order some Donlis H-Output.👍

[@jaylinton3003]

WOW!!!!! I mean....WOW!!!!! I was TOTALLY convinced that 'B' was the Seymour Duncan pickup. Unbelievable....based on what I just heard, I would buy the Aliepress pickup over the Seymour Duncan. I can't believe I just said that....but i would. I thought 'B' sounded that good. Great video! Thank you for doing it.

[@mrnomad55]

I can't tell the difference. I just bought the Slash set off of Aliexpress and they look like the real deal and sound just like my real set on my les Paul. well worth the $50 I spent.

[@LesterMitchell]

Man this is tough! I'm gonna say A is the Duncan's.

[@thebaldshredder]

You could be right... or wrong! lol

[@Smouchovich]

Today I received a guitar from AliExpress, unfortunately it has non magnetic pickups (Piezoelectric?) , I wrote the seller about it, he said all pickups on AE are the same... Should I take his word for it? Does anyone know for a fact a store that has real magnetic pickups on AE? Many thanks

[@thebaldshredder]

Guitars from AliExpress will almost always use very cheap pickups. But you can buy Donlis pickups on aliexpress. The ones I talk about in this video. Those are inexpensive and they sound great. I recommend getting those.

[@Smouchovich]

@@thebaldshredder Thank you! I must say those cheap pickup ring a lot like the real Gibson I own, and they don't scream too much at high levels .. kinda surprising

[@Smouchovich]

Pickup B sounds better than A

[@mskuriping3151]

Great video! Please give links for the pickups too. Thanks in advance

[@thebaldshredder]

Watch the Part 2 video. It has the link. Thanks!

[@guitarste]

What’s the link to the AliExpress ones please

[@thebaldshredder]

The link is in the follow-up video

[@guitarste]

@@thebaldshredder thanks Richard

[@JohnnyGordon-l2k]

Donlis makes a invader pickup I want to try ,but I got some AliExpress invader style I want to try ,as well as donlis see if a difference,the donlis are more heavy as far as weight

[@BillyE5150]

I can’t tell the difference… meaning, I can’t say that one sounds better than the other! Hells yes… winning!

[@Motocicleiros]

I cannot spot any difference in the dirty sound, but at the clean tone they are way distinct and I GUESS that the "A" is the SD and the "B" is the AliExpress. I don't know the brand of the AliExpress PU but I realized that some of those Chinese humbuckers has this "singleish" tone, that is the case.

[@kinghubie68]

Can u spell the brand name of those pickups?

[@thebaldshredder]

Donlis

[@scottanderson4175]

I just purchased fake Seymour Dunkin’ pickups my question is are the pots and pickup selector worth using 😳

[@dunkanicloud5155]

I bought an AliExpress 22$ Seymour Duncan copy( with original logo) instead of ibanez stock humbuckers and I am happy 😁. My guitar sounds much better...

[@thebaldshredder]

Excellent 🤘

[@brCharlieNagy]

distorted is the same ... in clean : B is better (which one is B ? )

[@thebaldshredder]

Watch the Part 2 video to find out. Link is in description.

[@jcowboy123]

What song is the 3rd riff from please ?

[@mikal]

Weird. I posted here, then it was somehow deleted before I finished watching the video. Sorting by latest shows it isn't even here. YT is cray cray.

[@thebaldshredder]

YT likes to eat comments randomly for some weird reason.

[@williyG70]

Amazing test!

[@bazcross297]

I'm nearly a year to late but think that A = Duncan's because they seem to be clearer more crisp where as B get a little muddy in the bottom. However I agree that I would like to purchase a Donlis for the bridge position on my strat. Can you tell me what model the pickup is please. Thanks, Baz UK. I'm going to hunt the result now.

[@thebaldshredder]

The link to the pickup is in the follow up video.

[@guitarandbeyondplus]

I'm guessing that A is the Seymour. It sound a bit thicker.

[@zachtbh]

Sounds like there’s a slight hum in the distortion with B? I’d say A is the SD?

[@SirLoinMagroin]

I preferred "B" because it had just a touch more note separation and had a bit more proactive reaction with your modulation effects. That said, both were very similar.

[@justintharp5652]

A is Seymour Duncan & B is Ali express right 🤔?

[@bobhob2790]

Listening on some really nice studio monitors, it's night and day. B has a lot more clarity and dynamic range. It's definitely the tone I prefer.

[@doctor-dan]

Amazing, that Aliexpress seller should reward you.

[@McFlyGuitarsandStuff]

The best a/b test.....BLIND

[@countrylapi9245]

Geez. After listening to both.... I KNOW which one I want. BUDGET!

[@JuanchoCervants]

Can't tell the difference. Only in the first clean tone comparisson i felt some difference but they both sound amazing to me

[@michaelhawthrone2184]

I am probably not that good. But I can say this, the pups in my epi slash sound muddy through the same amp where my burstbuckers sound clearer. Even with power chords.

[@chefallen520]

Hard to tell with processing. It helps, that you can play. I pick B- for the real Duncan but that being said, I like GFS pickups. Pickups don’t know if they are good or bad, just players. Anyway, I am going to order a set from Ali express because both sounds were good. I don’t play as many notes as I used to but I can appreciate a good effort to compare and I think the Ali express, pickup/s, is worth a try.

[@BoltRM]

Better dollar to note ratio? 😊

[@J.C...]

Exactly. Everybody used to talk so good about Guitar Madness pickups so I bought a 57 zebra humbucker from them and I thought it sounded decent...right up until I put a Seymour Duncan 59 in the bridge of another guitar. Then it was abundantly clear why one was $25 and the other was $109(w/ nickel cover). The GM 57 sounds terrible next to the SD 59. There's absolutely no comparison.

[@lostreb]

I have to be honest, since I never use distortion, gain, and overdrive, only Clean with some delay, reverb, and tape delay, not all at the same time, I'm not one that can honestly evaluate any distortion, gain, or overdrive quality. I can hear a difference, but, which one is better? Totally clueless. I did prefer A on the clean sample. Have no idea which pickup that was. Just preferred the sound and looking forward to learning which one it was when the answers are revealed. I also think this is another one that fits under the "everything about guitars is all about personal preference" umbrella. It does not matter one bit how much something costs (with the caveat of "that fits in your budget"), it's about how much you like the sound. Great video, Richard. Please keep them coming.

[@thebaldshredder]

Thanks Reb!

[@lostreb]

@@thebaldshredder You bet!!! I'm anxiously awaiting learning what pickup my choice was!!! While we have different musical preferences (Shredder / Surf Music and 60's and early 70's, the last rock concert for me was the "original" Doobie Brothers Farewell Tour in 1979), the information you provide to "all" of us is invaluable!!! Please just keep on keepin' on...

[@davidrodribarri2211]

Is there any difference regarding the noise when not playing?

[@generalcontrol]

A is a bit darker, sounds smoother distorted, B is a bit brighter, sounds crispier clean. Couldn't care less about which brand is which. As an ex studio sound engineer I can assure you that there's nothing that an digital matching EQ and reamping can't fix. Pickup choice might matter for live performances however. But again an EQ before any pedals or amps can fix a lot. And with an impulse player in the beginning of the chain, which is nothing but a high resolution digital preset EQ, you can make a perfect match, if you know how to use it properly. At a cost of a tiny latency, however. You can become a millionaire far too quickly if you know these techniques and start taking bets on blind tests from people who don't understand the technicalities and believe in tone mojo, marketing BS and other urban legends.

[@TheSweezer]

Seymour Duncans and DImarzios etc are made from metal with the same techniques of winding as the cheap ones. The Chinese made ones are hit or miss as far as QC. SD and Dimarzio arent made with some special magic tone dust. Given all things equal such as output Id bet the cheap ones sound virtually the same as the expensive UAS made ones. There will always be a difference in tone if one pickup has 13k output and the other 11.5k etc..

[@luizalbertokoehler4904]

they sound very similar, with A presenting more high frequencies and B more low frequencies. In my opinion, the two are equivalent in quality.

[@simonpepper9721]

I paid $6 for my humbucker and good guitarists ask where i got it,lol. The two single coils (original) of a fender lead copy blow them away too.

[@nulife022]

I was all convinced the Duncans were the better sounding PU I was hearing - No, I picked the Aliexpress pickups. To me they were brighter and had an overall superior tone by far. I own a set of Dimarzio Air Norton and Tone Zone. I wonder how those pricey PUs would fare in such a test. Great demo, thanks

[@jaknunas]

I'm just flat out guessing but I think B had a bit more articulation. Not sure if that means SD or Aliexpress, tho.

[@hanhtar9062]

B has slightly more dynamics. Thx for the blind test.

[@Rogata_Dusza76]

I own a Fender Player HSS Stratocaster (alder body, maple neck and ebony fingerboard). I recently got an SH-8 Invader humbucker and I have a question: which single coils will work well with this pickup? I will also add that I play heavy music such as rock and metal. Rock on, guys...🤘

[@costalongajp]

don't know which is which, but i prefer b all the way, at least with this signal chain. brighter cleans and better defined distorted tones. but a is a good pickup. definitely does the job well

[@markadams3047]

They both sound amazing

[@jaggermedinaOficial]

A = Aliexpress Pickup B = Seymour Duncan Pickup

[@DrRickGuerrero007]

It's kinda weird, at first A sounded better, then B sounded better.. so I'm confused..

[@jerryverser2391]

Great video. I have been playing for about 45 years and in all honesty most of us have been fooled by advertising and hype.

[@RecordInk]

Post a link to the pickup for goodness sake.

[@thebaldshredder]

Don't you think maybe the link would be in the follow up video where the answer is revealed? And it is, for goodness sake.

[@davidemancuso1789]

The b Is simur duncan

[@west.munroe]

Thank you lol

[@hadleymanmusic]

I think b is the budget its got that clip sound or its too high

[@BryanHRBrodie]

A budget B seymour?

[@davespin9034]

SD is b? Both very good. Bought the SD for my strat today for HSS.

[@federicopasos3153]

Can some one let me know, wich guitar brand is the 1erst one? The yellow one? Is it a OEM?

[@martymcfly002]

I know I'm late to the party, but after listening to the clips, I'm sure Pickup A is the Seymour Duncan.