ESP 2023

[neurosis]

I went from using EMG in a couple guitars, to trying Fishman Moderns, Classics, Abasi, and KSE sigs. I hated all of them.

Now a days I really don't like active pickups, but I'd still take an EMG over Fishman any day. Fishman just have this pristine, sort of clean sound to them. So much so that it just no longer feels or sounds like a pickup. It comes off as sort of sterile sounding.

It also just has this shrill in the high end that most digital stuff has. Even the highest end stuff of today, still has this in the high end.

I totally get why people love them but add in the crazy amount of wiring for options that IMO, are not worth it at all, add the price.... and the package is nowhere near worth it to traditional pickups.

Maybe all the voices is what gives them the versatility other players like but mostly people default to the sound that feels most traditional anyway? We like options but then end up dialing everything to sound how we like anyway, which often ends up sounding the same or close with different gear.
Might be that these pickups are voiced for certain applications or with specific rigs in mind? Anyway, this is all putting me on a path to discover. Now I just need to find time to try.

 

[Yul Brynner]

I thought Keith accidentally posted some top secret info when he was on here hyping fishmans about how they aren't really a pickup in the traditional sense but more like a digital pickup modeler that can be programmed to have different sounds instead of going back and rewinding a new pickup to tweak the sound?

 

[Seabeast2000]

View attachment 133989

Is that Junebug?