The New Mick Thomson Fishman Pickup Reaction and Review

[@ToxicxEternity]

yess Phil! That tone is fricken tasty

[@ericthompson2323]

Hey Phil, that's my 98-99 ibanex rg7 on the wall back there you bought from me about 9 years ago when you had your old shop. Would love to buy it back if you sell it!!! Kinda regret selling it. Came from professional music center in Des Moines. Bought it for myself as high school graduation present in 99 haha.

[@RyanButterworth-j6y]

Do it for the Korn fan Phil!

[@johnpick8336]

Please Phil, reunite this man with his High School Sweetheart ?

[@jokok2333]

wth does tht mean?

[@sgt.grinch3299]

It is a nice set of tones. I loved the older EMGs. These are impressive pickups.

[@VintageRadius]

I put EMG 81 and 85 pickups in my first guitar before I even knew a scale. Kinda takes me back..

[@suzannecoholic1467]

WOOOOOT!!! They sound just great!! I love the way they sound. Amazing.

[@dexterj5615]

Honestly ive been really blown away with everything fishman has made. Particularly their bass soapbars. They sound like P, J, and MM all in one

[@Lomoholga2]

Perfect for wedding gigs

[@Stephen_Lafferty]

I love that guitar - it's a great demo instrument! Those pickups sound awesome for metal/high gain tones!

[@charlesb7831]

Honestly I always preferred Seymour Duncan active, I have a guitar with the original active Heavy metal Live wire and and Peavey guitar with Seymour Duncan blackouts. I have another guitar with EMGs , I just prefer the midrange on the Duncan's. I don't mind these, just not my thing right now. I did get the Eminence DV-77 speaker he did and put it in my Marshall JCM800 4010 combo, absolutely love that speaker!

[@icenhour76]

Your demo makes those pickups sound better than the Fishman video with the man himself. I wasn't wild about how they sounded in their video but they sounded outstanding in this one. Well done indeed.

[@two50ne77]

love the flame broiler intro

[@mikecarreca7864]

Hi Philip, they do sound good. I have several guitars with Seymour Duncan's, but I may have to consider trying it that way. When I received the KZbin notification of this video and saw Mick Thompson, the first thing I thought of was the Mickey Thompson N50s tires I had on the back of all my hot rods in the 60s.

[@DaleLyons31]

Wished EMG's got more love. Classic, precise, aggressive, inexpensive, easy to install.

[@Echoes-]

They are still very popular, EMG 81 and the Zakk Wylde Set (81/85) are the number one and two on the most sold humbucker pickups on Thomann.

[@DaleLyons31]

@@Echoes- Oh, I have no doubt about what you have said! :) I just have gotten tired of seemingly every reviewer jumping on the Fishman bandwagon, while taking subtle shots at EMG's.

[@Patrick-857]

I've just bought my first EMG set, and I feel like I've finally found the perfect pickups. I love how quiet they are, and how much they pummel the input stage of my amp, but can do crystalline cleans, and get bluesy as well. I love how ridiculously smooth and vocal they get with leads. It almost feels like cheating. I feel like a better player with them. I love how I can get harmonics to absolutely scream and pop out, and how they respond to palm mutes.

[@MontanaroPablo]

I think it's very interesting to compare them to the Devin Townsend set, both are a reinterpretation of EMG pickups

[@MusicTherapyLaz]

Love that old EMG sound! My first electric, a Wayne Robert Charvel designed Gibson, the WRC SR-71, was the first electric guitar I bought with my own money. A Super-Strat guitar made in 1988, it had an EMG SSH setup with individual mini switches to select each pickup on or off. It was stolen during a home robbery in 2006 ... though I still have the case. Wish I still had that guitar... it was AWESOME! 😎🎸🤘

[@frankorobinson1540]

I had a 84 charvel stolen in 87 forget about it cause I was pissed i missed it lol😂😂😂 2017 just for the hell of it I did i ebay search put the information in low and behold 9 months after I put a notification bell on the year make model color bingo someone had my guitar i said nothing paid the 750 got it back still had my kiss sticker on the back ,take a look reverb ebay you just never know 😊

[@joedomingos8486]

My buddy in high school got a WRC for Christmas the same year I got my first USA strat.

[@MusicTherapyLaz]

@@joedomingos8486 Such a great guitar! I miss it! Lucky guy!

[@roberte03915]

I was not expecting to be impressed, but I was. Really nice playing there too, Phil. I was reminded a little of Sky Valley on some of those arpeggios.

[@jjones8817]

Your review videos are always enjoyable to watch. Thank you for another great product review!! See you Friday KYG 🤘🤓

[@mattstewart954]

Awesome!

[@fullmetaflak]

Not gonna lie, I don't normally like the sound of actives clean, but that really like both voices clean

[@GearStuffandThings]

The biggest advantage of the fishmans is that consistency across the production line is always there. Unlike wound pickups that will always have variables even if you have several of the same model. Fishmans tech prevents those variables

[@hughjanus5518]

Instead of the coils being wrapped they're made from printed circuit boards.

[@GearStuffandThings]

@@hughjanus5518very much aware :) thank ya though

[@Xenomorph]

That’s my favorite thing about them, not only do they sound great and are beautifully articulate but the consistency lets the woods, hardware and every little variable to your guitar shine through.

[@kingpriapatius5832]

I want a 7 string version for these pickups! Duncan did the same for Mick and he plays very low (drop-B, drop-A)!

[@two50ne77]

sounds so brutal but cleans up pretty pretty prettty pretty good

[@angusorvid8840]

Mick went from EMG to Duncan and now to Fishman.

[@jokok2333]

thank you for the review sensei

[@redkurn]

@Phillip McKnight odd. my bass boost doesn't seem to do anything (like HF Tilt never worked)... have continuity to my switch.

[@scottreynolds5455]

Fuckin' kicks ass!

[@crankshaft383]

Amazing. Awesome. Phil can strum and chill, Phil can chug and thrash. The pickups are cool too, I guess. Everything becomes vintage/retro/nostalgic eventually. Maybe EMG's will be like gold foils. Who knows... Slipknot will sound like Muddy Waters, or ragtime Jazz.👋 I've always been curious about/wanted to try Mick Thompson's DV-77 speakers. I bet pairing those 2 up would sound sick. And huuuge. 👍

[@DiegoHenaoV]

Great review! Quick question, what do you recommend to hang my headless kiesel and strandbergs on the wall. Thanks in advance.

[@TheCandel34]

Yeah, those pick up sound very mean and tight, tight like a tiger

[@johnnytruck2009]

Killer pickup's!!

[@hughjanus5518]

Does anyone else wire up all the different voicings on the back of Fishmans like I do and add extra switches to their guitars? People so often think Fishmans can just change voices, look how many pads are on the back of the pickup. Gonna have to get a set of these now.

[@gtr1952]

I'm not a slipknot fan, but the clean was a cool tone! Thanks!! --gary

[@LaccerHS]

I would love to hear some split coil sounds, also a comparison to the Modern V2s.

[@rexdarvog]

Mick Thomson has also used his signature Duncans on the Ibanez and Jacksons he played, glad to see that he has stop supporting Seemore Dungcan and the Fishman set is finally in production.

[@ashchase8340]

Seymour Duncan Blackouts 3

[@rexdarvog]

@@ashchase8340 That's right.

[@Shredder-KJ]

They sound fantastic in my opinion

[@ChrisPuckett]

Love metal Phil! 🤘

[@layedbackrelaxed7026]

Never would’ve guessed you were slipknot fan that’s awesome

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

Bridge pickup sounds exactly the same in voice 1 and 2 with the lead channel (of course), the only difference being the output. Voices 1 and 2 on the neck pickup sound different on the clean channel (of course), with voice 1 having more mids than voice 2. How much of that actually comes down to the difference between active and passive pickups themselves rather than active pickups having the option of an EQ remains to be seen. Slapping "passive" on voice 2 of both pickups is likely very disingenuous, since pickups come in many different levels of output and when clean can sound the same as an active pickup tonally. This is no issue with you or the pickups themselves, but the marketing and conversation regarding pickups needs to change.

[@tomeast0]

The difference in sound is also fairly negligible in my view. The change in tone is smaller than just changing the eq on the amp.

[@gaberox1]

I think Micks SD Blackouts were perfect. Fishmans are cool i have a few sets but Micks Blackouts are better to me.

[@a.c.4953]

Nice playing Phil, the clean reminded me of System of Down

[@thseed7]

🤘

[@elenbrandt290]

Interesting... "pulsatingly" interesting....very alive... I am sure my next-door neighbors would love for me to have them.

[@d3ath18]

What guitar is that?

[@rayschurr9337]

It's a Somnium Guitar. Made in Brooksville, Fl.

[@scramblesthedeathdealer]

I bet these would sound awesome in an Ibanez RG, too bad I just got a Seymour Duncan Dimebuckerand Dimarzio Humbucker From Hell for my RGR320EX. 🤷‍♂️

[@ellocalcrew613]

Seems like the bass on the cleans overpowers the rest , at least to my ears . With distortion they sound way better , but have a weird nasally mid . They’re probably great and a lot of fun if they came with a guitar , but I probably wouldn’t put them into any of my personal guitars .

[@southpawsNfriends]

Ehhh. Ill stick to my blackouts, but definitely a nice video 🙌

[@stug5041]

Fishman needs to sell sig pups individually - there’s plenty id buy if not always bundled with another I didn’t want. Idk why emg and fishman do this, Duncan and dimarzio let you buy what you want

[@Erik_Nordlund]

I’m guessing they probably design the active circuits and the pickups as a combination, but they could have one preamp per pickup or something to get around that

[@stug5041]

@@Erik_Nordlund I don’t believe they do. I think they just want more money. You can buy non signature pickups individually from both brands, and their signature models are not wholly different animals

[@Realasadonut]

I worked the dressing room at knotfest 2014: Mick had really good smelling hair (lol). Corey was really nice and the only member to speak directly to me besides Shawn Crahan. Fun fact: their head of security keep telling me to get Randy Johnson the ex baseball player out of there because he kept coming back when he wasn't allowed. By the second night, I ended up getting punched by Randy Johnson. Everyone kept telling me to sue, but I never did. Despite him being very much in the wrong, and me making $9 an hour and him worth 100 million 😬

[@MelloState]

Theyre alright just not $285 alright. Rather just adjust eq on my moderns

[@serritt005]

uggh the bass boost is one setting i wont use

[@GearStuffandThings]

So don’t

[@markgalvezkorff9854]

Goed goed❤

[@somebrains5431]

Fishmans are the EMGs of our time.

[@Patrick-857]

I tried a guitar with Fishmans, and went and ordered EMGs. I feel I made the right choice. EMG are a wonderful company to deal with too, and their products are very good. I have not been overly impressed with Fishmans. I get why people like them, but I feel like the main attraction is that they aren't EMGs. Because you know, 20 odd years of keyboard warriors on forums saying how bad EMGs suck without having tried them has made them uncool, whereas Fishmans are hip and new. People need to try EMG pickups before writing them off. They are so good.

[@clint7649]

Nice pickups ,but I will stay with my Wylde 81/85 EMG's

[@Patrick-857]

EMGs are still the best. I've been playing for 20 years and only just got my first set, and I'm really annoyed that I didn't do it years ago. I can't help wondering if all the years of seeing basement dwellers on forums saying how much they suck kept me away from them. What finally convinced me was the channel Mike Stamper Official. No talking just playing the exact same riffs through the same amps with the same guitar, comparing all the popular pickups. I soon found that the EMGs sounded better than everything else they were put up against, including all the popular Seymour Duncans and DiMarzios, as well as the Fishmans.

[@RealGengarTV]

When people say "old EMGs", what exactly did they mean by that?

[@icenhour76]

The general opinion seems to be that the older emg pickups specifically the 81 and the 85 sound different now than they used too. With most people saying they liked the sound of older ones better.

[@RealGengarTV]

@@icenhour76 well I got that but it's there like an exact point where they changed sound? Like 2012's or is it more like some time during the 1990's or?

[@RealGengarTV]

@@icenhour76 I guess I'm also asking: what defines as "old"?

[@icenhour76]

@@RealGengarTV I'm not 100% sure when the cut off point is either seems to change depending on who's talkin about it. I've got emg pick ups from the late 90s up thru about the time they started coming with the solderless installation system. I don't notice any big difference in mine so I would assume old is either pre 90s or pre solderless install system but thats just a guess. Most of mine just came standard in ltds and schecters at the time.

[@Patrick-857]

@icenhour76 I don't have anything to compare to. I just bought my first EMG set and am absolutely thrilled with them. I wish I got some years ago. I didn't think much of the idea of solderless because I can solder, until I did the installation and and I'm completely sold on the idea. All manufacturers should adopt that standard, because it would make things so much more user friendly. I think I'll put them in all my guitars.

[@cvanhetkaar96]

Those pickups sound really nice, and …expensive? 😄

[@carnovector6396]

funny, idk what setup you got there but this sounds more like linkin park than slipknot to my ears

[@Aaron-zh4kj]

As a mid 20's dude, I'm shook that Phil, the chillest dad-type that could absolutely be my chill uncle, is a huge Slipknot fan. 😂

[@Echoes-]

I think Mick Thomson is actually older than Phil.

[@Aaron-zh4kj]

@Echoes- the years add up, if you think about it, it's just funny to me.

[@cucumbermelon6166]

Nice and muddy just like Slipknot!

[@brandonholguin2872]

Phil. Please do a video on Staple P-90 Pickups. Vintage Gibson's and Seymour Duncan's. I have a matched set of S/D's in my highly modified Epiphone Broadway Hollow Body Guitar set up for Rockabilly. The clarity in the highs and the growl is amazing. Especially through a 15" Combo Amp! In my IMHO Staple P-90's are the Most Under Rated Pickups.

[@NobotyBoi]

SEYMOUR DUNCAN 4 LIFE SON

[@Benbenbenbenbenbenbenbenben]

Man these pickups sound on another level. like you said: EMG, but better! And oh lord those cleans. Nice playing too, btw.

[@derekb2347]

I don't think I've ever seen Phil's stank face, so awesome!

[@DoodlesGaming]

His name is Thomson, just so you can change it for SEO purposes

[@Allan-ts1ux]

better than EMG by super sonic tones and now with boost.. crazy sounds especially with feedback

[@adamcogan211]

They sound nasty!

[@stephenmccain-wx2jy]

I'll definitely avoid these! Yuch!

[@Wh33lsofFortune]

Slipfishman..

[@pigxstix]

Lots of low mids.

[@RevGerryRM]

I don't care for them.

[@scottdalrymple1716]

Me neither 👎🏻

[@GearStuffandThings]

Not everything is for everyone.

[@drdoom8793]

What a surprise, the boomer doesn't like modern pickups 🥱

[@scottdalrymple1716]

What a surprise, this Boomer Loves Death Metal and extreme genre music but still don’t like the sound of these pickups. Everyone is going to have an opinion and to me these don’t sound that great. He was playing through an Engle so I was expecting a whole different sound.

[@TheFlatPancakeTheory]

Okay boomer

[@barry3045]

First.

[@jeremybradley559]

Wow they are harmonically rich. Not sure I like them.