The Internet Is WRONG About Guitar Pickups

Guitars Pickups DO Matter.
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Chapters
00:00 - The BIG Debate
01:14 - Disclaimer
03:00 - The Point Of Reference
04:52 - My Tone Journey
05:49 - Subliminal Effect On Tone
06:45 - Comfort Is Key
08:22 - How Subjective Affects Objective
09:30 - A New Perspective
10:37 - Why Are We Like This?

[@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

[@diazzsama]

Keith Merrow playing Seymour Duncan pickups video is the GOAT

[@mohitrahaman]

Song name was "Pillars of Creation"

[@dannyatx]

shoutout pillars of creation

[@RizzleK]

Pillarssssss

[@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

[@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.

[@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. 😛

[@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!

[@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.

[@chrisnaishguitar]

Spot on, Keyan! Thank you!

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@AbstractLogic1]

Hey Keyan, In your experience how did you like the polymath set? were they more in line with what you enjoy about pickups after being so used to the feel of the juggernaut set?

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@BettyTheRaccoon]

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

[@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.

[@tlg09933]

i honestly really enjoyed this video and i think you makes a lot of sense dude

[@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.

[@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.

[@markusm4rk38]

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.

[@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!

[@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

[@KnightDarkGabriel]

Hi, I'm trying to match the pickup to the guitar wood. I mean I have a roasted maple neck a swamp ash body and stainless steel frets. If I can believe to the thnigs I read about this its mean the wood makes the sound bright also the frets.. In my mind thats also mean I have to balance this with a pickup with not so high treble. The tone what I'm searching is almost the same what you described in your videos before : tight low end, dynamic, etc. (basically : modern metal) I was thinking between SD Black Winter and maybe the BK Ragnarok.. I really like the juggernaut sound but I dont know if its fits to my guitar or not.. or this all matching thing is bs and doesn't even matter at all. Any thoughts about this? or idea what should I do? Thank you! ~and sorry that I don't speak English very well~

[@user-mq9sy4rf1s]

Great point! Would like to know how are those juggernauts different when it comes to covered/uncovered? Are uncovered really brighter in tone? Which ones do you prefer personally? I’ve been considering switching a pair of juggernaut pickups for my Jackson juggernaut et7 model(which you also own and also replaced the original mm1 pickups) would be glad to hear your thoughts about it

[@user-mq9sy4rf1s]

Moreover would like to know did you chose nickel or chrome pickup covers for your et7 model? Will chrome affect tone?

[@NoJobRob]

Hey man very informative as always - question for you: While I feel at home on 7 string necks, 6 strings have taken on a new 'convenience' so I'm curious about a 7str that 'feels' like a 6 & heard Misha's Juggernaut signatures fit the bill mainly due to the 44.5mm nut width, how accurate would you say that is? TIA!

[@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

[@bramswinnen]

Hey @KeyanHousmandLive , thanks for your video. I have the same feeling about the Juggernaut pick-ups, although I opted for the Lundgren M6 pick-ups after freshly ordered my Skerversen, very curious to see how it will turn out. greetings from Belgium

[@kalinkhaosofficial3055]

What are your thoughts on the Seymour Duncan Invaders I’m heavily considering them as my 1st “good” pickups

[@drewtaylor617]

I know with me I've messed around with other pickups myself. I've always gone back towards the Black winter's from seymour duncan. I've tried fishman, Hetsets, EMG 81-85, EMG 81-60, Seymour Duncan Alpha and Omega, Seymour Duncan Invaders, and Seymour Duncan JB SH-4. I've even played guitar brands with their stock pickups that are higher end guitars. The black winter's always wins for me. It goes with my play style. The funny thing is they are ment for deathcore or death metal. I mainly play metalcore, Nu-metal, or thrash. Hey they work for me. I 100% agree the right set of pickups will work with your play style. You just got to experiment until you find them

[@drewtaylor617]

The black winter's are also designed not only for deathcore or death metal but also black metal as well. I forgot to mention the black metal part my bad 😅

[@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!

[@s.e.n3264]

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

[@AzureNightsMusic]

My take on it from my experience is that pickups do make some difference BUT in the sense that they are like a 'pre-eq' before everything else. Ive fiddled about loads with EQ in the recent year trying to take the theory that certain pickups are boosted or dropped at certain freq. If i know what mine is + and - at then ill adjust it so it os a close match for another pickup freq profile. This gives me a good base for designing the tone. Tone still spunds dog shit in a mix i do though 🥲 other things obviously affect the tone then. I think it comes down to the law of diminishing return. Imo i dont think you get that much more benefit from paying £350 for some botique pickups if you are willing to put in a lot of preproduction work. Opinions?

[@josephbenz4913]

Tone is in whatever the KZbinr is selling.

[@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.

[@l.sch.7545]

Thoughts on the Jim LIll video ?

[@aminorerror]

Preach brotha!

[@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.

[@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.

[@djencode]

All of that said I feel you on the passive pickup thing with regards to feel, I'm struggling with this exact thing with that Jackson, I'm not getting the sound I want out of it compared to the guitars who's sound I enjoy more, both with passives.

[@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.

[@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 😁

[@vincentbourely71]

Excellent video, thank you for your honesty. IMO everything matters in a guitar 😉

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@Hsiss]

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

[@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...

[@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!

[@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.

[@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,

[@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

[@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.

[@308media74]

Keyan , Since watching you for years i realized i needed a better tone. Following your lead i found it . And i agreee . Having cheap and expensive models its the BN i like the most. Aftermath

[@AaronMorgan666]

Keyan, have you ever tried the misha jackson pickups? I keep debating on trying them bc i feel like they would be budget juggernauts. Maybe not as good, but at least close.

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

I have, there’s a video on the channel of me comparing both. It wasn’t a perfect comparison, but it’ll give you some context to the differences you can expect to hear

[@AaronMorgan666]

@KeyanHoushmandLive thanks. I've most likely seen it. But I'll watch it again. I just looked for them and they are hard to find, but sold for a few hundred dollars. I like the solar duncans in my 6 string. Maybe I should just keep looking for 7 string solars. Also, have you tried the dimarzio fusion edges that ibanez uses? Dimarzio makes them for ibanez.i don't think you can even buy them from dimarzio.

[@jonass.2812]

How do I train my ears to hear differences?

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@blasher4]

Yeah it all depends on what a player is looking for as well as comfort. You have to take a leap of faith and try different pickups/guitars so that way you can make note of your likes and dislikes and go from there. Also don’t forget how important cab speakers are for TONE.

[@hexaldecima6839]

I heard you can put any active in any wood and it'll sound the same.

[@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!

[@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

[@necroux13]

Your hand turns the strings' potential energy into kinetic energy. The pickup converts some of the strings' vibration into electricity, which is sent through a cable, into an amp, and then a cab. The characteristics and quality of that electricity are shaped by the pickups just as the mic in front of the cab changes the sound that is recorded into a computer. I think the issue is that many people spend their time debating pickups and tonewood when really the biggest thing they could do to improve their tone is to spend that time practicing.

[@CoolGuyAtlas]

Most of the people who debate over tiny details tend to be people who are experienced or play professionally in my experience. I think the constant "just practice bro" is just projection from people who waste all day watching KZbin videos about how their cheap mass produced gear is just as good as high quality instruments.

[@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

[@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.

[@AlwayzTired]

Maybe in a mix, not the biggest difference, but I definitely notice when I change pickups.

[@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.

[@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

[@rylyn_burne]

100% agree. I like Fishmans for like drop B or higher but I have them in my 8 string and I just absolutely hate them. I've seen many videos of people getting good tone out of them but I just don't like anything I do so I don't play it that much.

[@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).

[@AtTheSourceStudios]

Thank you for his video brother.

[@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!!

[@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

[@saintluciaofficial2019]

I personally prefer passive pickups, and 90% of the time usually stick to the stock pickups of a guitar. After 16 years of playing extreme metal, most of it on 7 and 8 string guitars, I can say that pickups definitely make a difference. Can't say what differences they make because they're the last thing I really worry about.

[@ktsproductionstudio]

This was a good video m8

[@KeyanHoushmandLive]

thx m8

[@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.

[@Lethan072]

Interesting take with a lot of nuance. I think Guthrie said it best even if most people can’t hear the difference as long as the guitarist playing can hear a difference or feel a certain way it can change the way they play. And the way they play is what really matters. As someone who essentially has a different tone for every single video I personally decided to just stick with the same pickups and change other things in my modeler but that’s also a privilege that I’m able to do with a modeler. Absolutely agree as well the internet needs to stop nitpicking gear and signal chain and more time spent in other areas

[@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!

[@crmsx]

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.

[@guitarmichael]

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

[@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

[@graemedixon6314]

Well said

[@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”

[@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 🔥🔥🔥

[@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.

[@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).

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@supertim101]

100% agree, iv been playing juggernauts so long nothing else feels right to me... i tried some lundgrens m8s in my 8 string Jackson and just can't get along with them. they just have to much compression imo, they sound alright but they don't have "that sound" or feel ... I feel the same way about fishmans. unless youv played juggernauts in a use ht7 its hard to describe the mojo.

[@mrGood-84]

Thank you.

[@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.

[@user-qh5en1io5v]

Glenn Fricker will fight you, anyplace, anytime.

[@diablo05]

Along with his shouting lol

[@czdot]

Nope, he would tell you that in the context of MIXING it doesn't matter as much because by the time everything sits in the MIX, the guitars do not sound good on their own anymore. From the player's perspective, it totally matters. It's a mind game. If you think it makes you play better and sounds better than it's most likely a good choice to test out a bunch of pickups. Kevin found the right set. The rest of us will live with a nagging feeling there might be something better and never stop chasing it.

[@CoolGuyAtlas]

@@czdot You can mix anything into something usable, so it's a worthless statement to make. I watch speaker comparison videos and try out different IRs all the time, but you can highlight how speakers and mics are under appreciated without acting like pickups and even amps suddenly don't matter or barely matter.

[@HieuAnNguyen-qd9oq]

So where's the A/B test?