pickup question

[AscentToZenith]

Ok so I have a bad idea that I wanted to try but I decided I'd ask this forum, You guys are pretty smart on this kind of stuff.

I have pretty shitty guitar, Like 300 dollar guitar. Well at least it was 300 dollars.

I can't afford a guitar that would be worth it, You know a 600+ guitar but I can afford a good pickup.

So I was wondering would it be worth getting a good pickup? I am looking at the Seymour Duncan Nagul pickup.

This is the guitar I use http://www.zzounds.com/item--IBAGRG121DX?siid=116989
Yeah I know it is pretty bad but hey, it is the player that counts right? Oh I suck at playing too :'(

But really. I am trying to get a better tone. I feel my tone is pretty good for what I have I just want to try to get more out of my guitar. So I thought about buying Nazguls.
Opinions on this? Would it help any or would it just be a bad guitar with good pickups?

 

[chesterfieldblues]

I remember, back in the days, upgrading my cheap Ibanez RG270 from shitty powersound to dimarzio air norton and dual sound, cost me about 150 euros, best improvement for the next five years ever..!

Also, one of my friend had an EMG 81 on bridge of his cheap Ibanez RG, we used to rehearse and he played with his v-amp 2, great sound !

As you mentioned it, your playing is the most important factor, before your gear, so work and improve it, and make yourself a favor and buy at least one good bridge pickup (used !)

 

[bryan_kilco]

Just do it. I owned an Ibanez S-470 from when I was about 19 or 20 till the present and I never changed the stock pickups out. Thought my tone was fine until I bought a new guitar with EMG 81's and it was an insane difference. Yeah, of course it was a different guitar altogether but I could only imagine the benefit my tone would've had if I slapped something better in the Ibanez.

 

[HannesITS]

Yes. Pickups deliver about 75% of the sound. So even a cheap guitar can sound awesome with the right pickups

 

[Soul Forlorn]

Just my opinion and based on my own experiences but...you can't polish a turd. Put a great pickup in a shitty sounding guitar and it only becomes marginally better. Still sounds like shit.

I've done a lot of pickup experimentation over the years. I've tried a lot of the same pickups in multiple guitars. In terms of tone, I think the effects of pickup swaps are highly exaggerated. Most people seem to have to GAS over something. Thanks in part to the internet, people love to GAS over pickups and exaggerate over how much their tone improved. Maybe they truly believe it. Maybe subconsciously they're forcing themselves to believe it. Changing pickups can have a big effect on output and feel. A fairly noticeable effect on clarity, articulation, string definition, etc. But tone? Subtle differences. The guitar itself is a bigger factor than the pickups. Put 10 different pickups in a Les Paul. Guess what? It will still sound like a Les Paul. Same goes for a Strat. Put the same pickup in a Paul and Strat. They won't sound the same.

Bottom line is that if you think your tone sucks, a pickup swap is very unlikely to change your opinion. The amp, cab, guitar itself, and your hands (technique, ability, etc.) are going to make a much more noticeable difference.

 

[SendFire]

Just my opinion and based on my own experiences but...you can't polish a turd. Put a great pickup in a shitty sounding guitar and it only becomes marginally better. Still sounds like shit.

I've done a lot of pickup experimentation over the years. I've tried a lot of the same pickups in multiple guitars. In terms of tone, I think the effects of pickup swaps are highly exaggerated. Most people seem to have to GAS over something. Thanks in part to the internet, people love to GAS over pickups and exaggerate over how much their tone improved. Maybe they truly believe it. Maybe subconsciously they're forcing themselves to believe it. Changing pickups can have a big effect on output and feel. A fairly noticeable effect on clarity, articulation, string definition, etc. But tone? Subtle differences. The guitar itself is a bigger factor than the pickups. Put 10 different pickups in a Les Paul. Guess what? It will still sound like a Les Paul. Same goes for a Strat. Put the same pickup in a Paul and Strat. They won't sound the same.

Bottom line is that if you think your tone sucks, a pickup swap is very unlikely to change your opinion. The amp, cab, guitar itself, and your hands (technique, ability, etc.) are going to make a much more noticeable difference.

I don't fully agree with this although I do appreciate what you're saying. It's true that a Les Paul for example is going to retain its tonal qualities even through various pickups but the OP obviously is not dealing with a high-end rig here.

I've gone back and upgraded even my "garbage" guitars with nice pickups and it's resurrected many of them into very playable instruments.

It's true you have to consider every element of the signal chain from the wood the guitar is made to the amp and tubes but on a budget I really feel pickups are the place to start- especially if dealing with an inexpensive guitar. It's like putting new tires on your car. Yes, a $1,000 guitar probably already has a pretty decent set of pickups in it, but a $200 guitar? Not at all.

Plus, with all the amp sims these days a decent guitar/pickup combo is all that's needed to get started with a very workable setup.

Finally, nothing has a higher cost/improvement ratio. A new amp/guitar costs a ton but a new pickup is under $100 and can make a huge difference.

 

[Studdy]

Does the guitar stay in tune and sound good on all frets? This is usually the main problem with low cost guitars. When the guitar isnt plugged in does it sounds good? If so then pickups will help. If the guitar sounds like shit, pickups will make it sound like louder shit.

 

[Rex Rocker]

I agree with Studdy.

IMO, a cheap guitar can always be improved as long as the body wood is OK and the neck is stable.

Sometimes people are just attached to their guitars. I used to have an old cheapo Ibanez SZ that sounded and stayed in tune much better than it did stock after I modded it a bit. Did I have to invest in it to make it sound, play, and stay in tune better? Yes. I felt really attached to that guitar so I didn't really feel bad for spending the dough on improving it. It wasn't as good as other more expensive guitars, but it was good. I never thought the guitar was shitty, though.

... But you don't sound too fond of your guitar.

I'd stick to the used market to improve cheap guitars. Nazgûls are new so they don't pop up used too often. I don't think Nazgûls sound all that great either, but that's just me. I'd stick to "safer bets" (Duncan Distortion, EMG 81, etc.), especially if it's your first pickup swap.

 

[AscentToZenith]

Well I enjoy the way my guitar sounds. Imo for being a kind of new to the whole tone thing I get pretty decent tones.
My mixing may be shit but here is an example https://soundcloud.com/furyof/djinn
https://soundcloud.com/furyof/metalcore-1 <-- while this song is more of a joke and just to have fun my style is more of a metal type of progressivey type style. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=119xf6xCu5I
is a good example of how I want to sound

And my guitar does stay in tune when I have the right tuning for the string gauge

Now I am looking for which pickup I'll buy. Thinking about a Pegasus, But mainly I just want something that will help my guitar but also fit the tone I want.

And also, Yeah my guitar sounds fine unplugged.

 

[ArsMemoria]

I have a cheap Ibanez AX that's really sentimental to me. I replaced the pickups, which were worth about as much as the guitar, love the sound that comes out of it. It's pretty much my main guitar for rhythms.

 

[Rex Rocker]

The clips sound cool!

Honestly, I'd say just go for it, just keep an eye in the used market to avoid spending too much.

Not to say these new Duncans are really... like... bad, but the novelty factor might mean you won't be able to find such a good deal on the used market like, say, a JB or a Distortion, which are not really "worse" pickups by any means.

I guess if you've really liked the clips of the Pegasus or Nazgul you've heard, go for it, but if you're starting to search for "your tone" without something absolutely specific in mind, I'm just saying something more "generic" but still good would be a firm stepping stone. Cheaper and easier to find used too.