Pickups don't matter?

[Guitarjon]

Saw a new video by Spectre Sound Studios pop up on my feed yesterday. This time Glenn is claiming that aside from output levels, pickups don't change the frequency response. I think this test was way too narrow with the pickups that he used. If he had compared say an EMG to a Duncan the difference would have been quite noticeable.

Sure, sometimes the differences are more subtle than you might expect. If you put a bunch of Duncans side by side they often sound quite similar (but not exactly the same). I also think we can all agree that active pickups can sound vastly different than passives etc. My Fluence alone with the two voicings proves that there can be quite a difference imho.

Another good example would be the stock burstbucker 61s in my Les Paul Standard. They sounded so awful to me, absolutely no definition in the low end once you tuned the guitar lower then Eb. Replaced them with Duncans and the difference was massive. Much more clarity and less harshness. I could give many examples.

Anyway, here's the video I'm talking about, I'm curious as to what you guys think:

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I've done my part to avoid the YouTube Guitar Influencer circle jerk, I wish it wouldn't spill over so much.

None of these chodes actually believe any of this shit, it's just for clicks and to get the guitar nerdo-sphere worked up.

It's a self feeding engine by a bunch of dipshits and the absolute most cringe part of being a guitar player.

 

[Guitarjon]

I've done my part to avoid the YouTube Guitar Influencer circle jerk, I wish it would spill over so much.

None of these chodes actually believe any of this shit, it's just for clicks and to get the guitar nerdo-sphere worked up.

It's a self feeding engine by a bunch of dipshits and the absolute most cringe part of being a guitar player.

A lot of guys seem to take his claims pretty seriously but I agree that this has to be taken with a big grain of salt. Also that tonewood doesn't matter etc (which in my opinion it does). However, aside from Glenn's opinion, there's still an interesting conversation to be had on whether the differences between certain pickups are perhaps more subtle than we tend to think etc.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

A lot of guys seem to take his claims pretty seriously but I agree that this has to be taken with a big grain of salt. Also that tonewood doesn't matter etc (which in my opinion it does). However, aside from Glenn's opinion, there's still an interesting conversation to be had on whether the differences between certain pickups are perhaps more subtle than we tend to think etc.

Anyone who plays guitar often enough to be bothered by it already knows, or at least has deeply held beliefs that a YT vid or some other dude anonymously on the internet won't change. This is the sort of conversation that takes part between guys who spend thousands of dollars to sound really close to Metallica (or whatever) for 10 minutes a week.

But it's okay, because it's totally harmless to believe that you need pickups with hand hewn magnets made by a wizard in The Everglades to sound good.

It's also okay to argue about this sort of shit. It's the kind of low stakes human interaction that's somewhat healthy.

Once you realize everyone is trying to sell you something, be it a fancy new pickup, or the idea that you don't need a fancy new pickup, this sort of stuff just seems more silly.

I know you're fairly invested in this YT guitar thing, so please don't take any of what I say personal.

 

[John]

Maybe if he could produce anything that didn't sound awful on such a consistent basis, he'd make a better point.

In Glenn Fricker-fashion (and the way of the wannabe influencer, really), it's inevitably some clickbait and grasping at straws for material to ramble on about. Not worth the time dignifying with a click, nor a subscribe, nor the time to check out rAIDS Shadow Legend. Case in point with pretty much the same vibes, he stopped by a group a few years ago just to suddenly rag on comp-ing takes and pitch correction, insisting any recorded material with either of the two is garbage with nothing actually substantial to back it up, certainly nothing exhaustive nor empirical anyway.


This will continue to remain relevant so long as he's around and/or mentioned:

 

[narad]

I mean, I'm not going to believe this without a ton of properly done experiments (beyond Glenn's ability), given that the amount of anecdotal evidence I've accumulated. But I think one thing we could rule out wrt your initial post -- active pickups shouldn't be included in this argument (and therefore the fishmans not being a counter example), since that preamp can be doing boosting, EQing, clipping, etc. Unless Glenn wants to start talking about how pedals can't change your tone, the argument is dead there just from understanding what it means to be an active pickup.

 

[Kyle Jordan]

Stopped paying attention after he did one of his "debunking" videos that had clear, audible in the mix differences in the guitar sound/tone right along side him claiming otherwise.

He had some decent info on recording every now and then, but turned in to a clown.

Learned more from Frightbox Recording in a few vids then I ever did from Fricker.

 

[Deadpool_25]

My experience tells me otherwise.

 

[Guitarjon]

My experience tells me otherwise.

Exactly! The annoying thing is that once you make that claim to folks who believe Glenn, they'll say you're an idiot...

What I did find interesting though is that when I did a comparison of my own (with EMGs, Duncans and Fishmans) a lot of people said they couldn't hear a difference between the Duncans especially. I could hear a difference albeit perhaps subtle but there definitely was a difference between say the Distortion and the Nazgul. This is especially noticeable when you play them yourself.

Sometimes it baffles me a little bit how people can't hear differences between pieces of gear in general though. I had a comparison of 53 amps and some people claimed they all sounded the same while they clearly didn't. I guess it's hard for those folks to hear differences that perhaps are more on the subtle side.

 

[lewis]

One time i went to Download Festival in the UK. Think it was 2009. Next to where I put my tent, was a guy from Scotland who had put up a full Gaezbo setup with his tent

day 2, I wake up at around 9am to someguy shouting and swearing at the top of his voice?. I went outside the tent to see what was happening and it turns out my camping Neighbor was already drunk, sitting on a deck chair, screaming at the sky. He was literally shouting for some clouds to fuck off etc.
Including giving the sun the middle finger - all this happening in a Glaswegian accent made it even more hilarious.
anyway, this random guy and his opinions on the clouds, were more informative than Glenn

 

[Dayn]

In true internet fashion, I'm not going to bother to watch the video and proceed to comment with my thoughts anyway.

I use the same patches for my digital amps for all four electric guitars that I have. Every single one sounds different. The two guitars with different Fluences sound similar, but they are different (I prefer the Abasis over the Moderns). And the very fact they have multiple voices within the single pickup that sound different is proof enough.

 

[Guitarjon]

Do you guys believe the majority of people who watch these videos believe him? Or do most of the viewers know better?

 

[narad]

Dude, Steve Terreberry is a thing. Do not try to understand the minds of the youtube viewer.

 

[Guitarjon]

Dude, Steve Terreberry is a thing. Do not try to understand the minds of the youtube viewer.

Point taken!

 

[Dr. Caligari]

I just don't care.

I know that different pieces of gear including pickups sound different. What other people think, what some loud person screams about on youtube, that doesn't matter to me.

I use my ears and use what works for me.

I know if I said I prefer this or that guitar with a certain pickup some people would scream at me that I'm an idiot and that it doesn't make a difference. Whatever, I don't care about them.

I think it's very convenient for a lot of people to be served a truth to cling on to in a 10-minute youtube video. It makes things easy. So good for them. I like to come to my own conclusions and see what works in my situation. And I know for me, not all guitars and pickups work well. Even stuff where I think on paper it should or shouldn't work, sometimes don't behave as I expect.

 

[HaydenLM1]

Not much to say but, Of course there are differences!

However, i would argue that you could edit the guitars in post to make any pickup sound like another (except feel and output).

E.g., if you record a DI, before the amp sim, you could EQ the raw signal etc..!

 

[CanserDYI]

To me most of a pickups "goodness" is it's feel which is lost in recordings, which is all Glen does. Have you heard the dude play guitar? I hate ragging on people for talent, but you are just not allowed to brag about 30+ years of playing or experience in the field of guitar, then proceed to play like that. Just not allowed.

He's always talking about getting the best performance out of guitarists, and in my experience, a dull feeling pickup with no bounciness will get a way cruddier performance out of me. That being said, when I listen to pickup comparison videos I'm often left scratching my head if I heard many/any differences, but if I were to play all of them I bet Id find way more.

 

[ExMachina]

It's clear that a lot of people commented without watching, which is fair since it's Glenn.

His main point was that the pickup change has one of the smallest effects on the tone so maybe it's not worth it to spend a bunch of money to change pickups. For the most part, the EQ changes due to passive pickup changes are pretty small, the change in output is a bigger factor, but then again, pedals exist.

Obviously, swapping from active to passive is a big change. That's an edge case and wasn't even what the video argued about.

As much as it pains me, I actually agree with the video . Then again, Im much more practical about guitar tone.

But dude, "tonewood", you serious Clark?

 

[Lemonbaby]

This time Glenn is claiming that aside from output levels, pickups don't change the frequency response.

Not sure how he changed the laws of physics, but I don't have the time to watch the video.

 

[Edika]

I don't agree with him but he looks a tad things from a recording perspective. In a dense mix with double or quadrupled tracks there might not be a significant difference in the recorded tone. It might still be audible, but nothing to make you say I can't record with a a Nazgul vs a EMG81. PAF's might be a different story lol. It might even be true for tube rolling in the preamp section and even changing 6L6 vs EL34.
But it makes a big difference when playing guitar by yourself or even live. The sound and feel will inspire a better performance, if you like what you're hearing. I tried several sets in the same guitar with the same strings and tuning and got different results. I even tried the same pickups in different guitars with same tuning and string gauges and they sounded different. In each case I had the difference between sets but still the sound of the instrument affected it. Even the argument that the amp makes not a significant difference he makes is silly.

But, one thing I agree with him is that the speaker and cab make a huuuuge difference. That was really obvious with your test with the Kraken and Invective were you used the IR with the Greenbacks and most people, including myself, thought the Invective did not sound good with the Invectives. Then you used the IR with V30's and it was like hearing a different amp! In live sound and recording. And the microphone has a big impact too.