One minute of your time please - Blindtest time!

[Dave Kerr]

Anyone else get a virus alert when trying to load the third file? I'm late to this thread, didn't try to download the first 2.

[SJE]

Well, I'm not sure what the purpose of this test is really. Should we suddenly expect this to be one of those "....well folks, the one you all liked were made by X Manufacturer....." type of tests where we're all made to look a bit stupid. Or are they pickups you made or are we to be told that they're all original PAFs?

So I will say that in both tests I did prefer the recordings of pickup 2. This does not mean I liked any of them. I am also not a fan of computer massaged sound samples.

You are one miserable tosser ain't ya!? Believe it or not all I am doing is just asking for people opinions on 3 pickups and I would believe a forum for pickup makers would be a good place to do it! I am not trying to make anyone look stupid just after peoples opinions. You don't like any of them and that's fine and that's your opinion believe it or not but I actually respect other peoples opinions.

None of the recording have been 'massaged', tweaked or anything else other than being played through an inbuilt patch in Guitar Rig 3 mainly since I don't have any other recording equipment to do it.

Of the three, one is a bench mark pickup which I didn't make - it's simply a way for me to get a handle on sounds mine create. I can sit and listen to my own pickups all day and think they sound great but it doesn't get me very far!

If you're so offended by it why bother listening to them or commenting?

I also think it's add a little bit of interest to the forum rather than the usual bitching and moaning over grades of metals and the like. I know there is the showcase but I'd actually like to hear some of you established winders put up similar sample to hear the kinds stuff people are working on.

David - the first one with the tones was call blindtest.mp3, then the current one is blindtest-take2.mp3 and then blindtestlead.mp3. I will guarantee it is virus free - I also test loaded it from the server and didn't get any warning.

[David Schwab]

I found there was way too much distortion to really hear much of a difference between them. Just a little too much sizzle. Are you using speaker emulation on the patches? That would smooth out the high end a bit. It sounds a little too direct.

One might have been a little brighter or what ever than the next, but it was so subtle that it could have been a difference in picking hand placement.

I think I liked the first one, but then by the time I got to the third, I couldn't tell them apart.

[SJE]

I found there was way too much distortion to really hear much of a difference between them. Just a little too much sizzle. Are you using speaker emulation on the patches? That would smooth out the high end a bit. It sounds a little too direct.

One might have been a little brighter or what ever than the next, but it was so subtle that it could have been a difference in picking hand placement.

I think I liked the first one, but then by the time I got to the third, I couldn't tell them apart.

ok . . . give me a minute . . I'll redo the lead one with a softer distortion and stick a speaker emulation on it . . .

then I'll explain all . . . I don't want the thread to drag out more that necessary - I just want to try and get a good middle of the road sound to show the pickups. This'll also help me for future pickups so I can get a better testing setup. Cheers.

back in a minute...

[David Schwab]

I use amp simulation when I record. I don't have any guitar amps, except for a little Crate, and that doesn't even sound good mic'd. But you have to be careful how you set up the patches. Many don't do semi clean tones very well, and without the speaker sim, you sound like you have a fuzz plugged right into the computer! That's an ugly tone.

Using less distortion will give you a bigger tone in the end.

I just posted this clip in another thread, but you can hear what the pickup sounds like because I didn't have a lot of distortion going on:

New Neck Pickup A2

That's an amp modeler build into my Roland digital mixer. I think that was based on a Twin. It sounds enough like an amp when used in recordings.

Now if you really want to sound like an amp, or a bunch of amps... get one of these: Eleven Rack

Check out the sound samples.

[SJE]

Cheers for that info and that clip sound great. I haven't really played around with Guitar Rig 3 that much so I still learning how to get a decent sound out of it! Anyway I used there Plex amp with a AC Box (sic) speak emulation to get the following clip:

New one - less distortion - with a speaker emulation

and it does reveal more of the difference in the pickups . .

[Spence]

You are one miserable tosser ain't ya!? Believe it or not all I am doing is just asking for people opinions on 3 pickups and I would believe a forum for pickup makers would be a good place to do it! I am not trying to make anyone look stupid just after peoples opinions. You don't like any of them and that's fine and that's your opinion believe it or not but I actually respect other peoples opinions.

None of the recording have been 'massaged', tweaked or anything else other than being played through an inbuilt patch in Guitar Rig 3 mainly since I don't have any other recording equipment to do it.

Of the three, one is a bench mark pickup which I didn't make - it's simply a way for me to get a handle on sounds mine create. I can sit and listen to my own pickups all day and think they sound great but it doesn't get me very far!

If you're so offended by it why bother listening to them or commenting?

I also think it's add a little bit of interest to the forum rather than the usual bitching and moaning over grades of metals and the like. I know there is the showcase but I'd actually like to hear some of you established winders put up similar sample to hear the kinds stuff people are working on.

David - the first one with the tones was call blindtest.mp3, then the current one is blindtest-take2.mp3 and then blindtestlead.mp3. I will guarantee it is virus free - I also test loaded it from the server and didn't get any warning.

Well done, you've excelled yourself. So the truth is that they are your pickups. Why not say so in the first place.
Oh, and if you want to get personal, don't hide behind your computer.

[Ward]

Anyone else get a virus alert when trying to load the third file? I'm late to this thread, didn't try to download the first 2.

Yes, I did, it looked like the alert came from my computer so I clicked on scan now, instantly a scan report showed up ( wow, fastest scan I ever saw lol ) saying I had trogan this and trogan that and that I should immediately buy this software. I had to shut the computer down to get outta there.

[rudutch]

As recorded in post #1, I prefer #1.
As far as leads go, they all sounded similar enough I had no preference

[Mike Sulzer]

Cheers for that info and that clip sound great. I haven't really played around with Guitar Rig 3 that much so I still learning how to get a decent sound out of it! Anyway I used there Plex amp with a AC Box (sic) speak emulation to get the following clip:

New one - less distortion - with a speaker emulation

and it does reveal more of the difference in the pickups . .

One and two are quite similar; one is a bit better. Three is quite different and not very good.

But on the whole, I say get an amp and a mic.

[SJE]

Well done, you've excelled yourself. So the truth is that they are your pickups. Why not say so in the first place.
Oh, and if you want to get personal, don't hide behind your computer.

You seem to have a problem with something in your own mind. This is forum for pickup makers - why would they be anything but pickups I've made? You even replied in your usual way to my previous clip of my own pickups - will your brain not extended far enough to allow you to put 2+2 together or even better instead of being confrontational for absolutely no reason why not just ask?

As for you 'hide behind your computer' comment - try acting your age you sound like a wanna be hooligan. Everybody else in this forum seems to manage it.

[SJE]

Ok folks - thanks to all those who commented but as Spence is here to try and ruin the thread I'll wrap things up and explain what you've been listening.

1st Clip - My own pickup and newest pickup. The two bobbins are wound with different diameter wire (43 & 44 gauges). The rear ('treble') bobbin is essentially the same height as a Strat single coil and over wound using 44 gauge. The front ('bass') bobbin is the same dimensions as a usual humbucker coil and slightly overwound. All the pole piece at just that - no screws are used.

I purposely over wound the rear coil due to the magnet I used - Alnico 8 well actually an LNGT40 from which nearly all reports I've read said it has a muddy tone so my intention was to brighten it but not to loose it's edge.

2nd Clip - The Ringer a SD Sh-3 Stag Mag - 2 x 8k coils with A2 pole piece magnets.

3rd Clip - Again my own pickup - the original one - made much in the same way as the 1st - with the treble and bass bobbins using 43 & 44 gauge and differing height bobbins. However this one isn't overwound as much as the first with the 2 bobbins being relatively equal in turns. Also this uses the Alnico 9 well LNGT60.

I have to say I am overall happy with the comments for the main reason that neither of the pickups were expressly designed for playing in the mild semi clean distortion. However the logic behind my thoughts were that using the different height coils and gauges would give a wide overall tone but with them being overwound they would be at there best under heavy distortion.

So the fact that in a blind comparison with a very good clean and mild distortion pickup as the SH3 they have in the main held there own or been preferred. I am happy. Just as a note the SH3 under heavy distortion falls apart and is thin and total lacks any balls.

The 1st pickup I am still getting used to myself and finding what it can do - under heavy distortion it really comes alive and doesn't lose detail in sound. Which I have to say has impress me thus far - particularly considering all the bad words I've read about the Alnico 8, the term muddy seems to follow it everywhere. I also agree that it's slightly bright under this mild distortion but that doesn't surprise me but once cranked up the brightest comes into it's own in keeping the note clarity.

The 3rd pickup has a really deep bass to it - I think in part thanks to the Alnico 9 and although in no way a traditional sound it's has as Belwar said (which i agree) a depth to it. I think some more experimenting with differing coil winds and wire gauges will find that the Alnico 9 can do some nice sounds.

If folks are interested I wouldn't mind doing similar for my neck pickups . . . . . but I'll make sure that I tweak the sound full in the first place!

Cheers all to those who commented

Steve

[David Schwab]

I also liked the first one. Interestingly, the clip I posted is a pickup made in a very similar way.

[RedHouse]

Anyone else get a virus alert when trying to load the third file? I'm late to this thread, didn't try to download the first 2.

YES

[SJE]

YES

Redhouse can you tell me what virus alert you are getting? I run AVG on my own PC which runs a scan everyday and since my main job is actually Networks and the Internet I know that it is 100% clean so it certainly isn't coming from my PC.

I've never had a problem with my host and viruses but if you can tell me what virus alert you are getting I can look into it. Many of the alerts are redherrings since the scanners look at the pattern of a file and since mp3 are varible it might be just that there is a bit pattern in part of the file that matches to a virus pattern.

If you let me know which virus you are being alerted to I can clarify with the hosts and triple check the files for it.

Cheers