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  #1  
Old 08-27-2014, 03:24 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Default Quality of electric guitar pickups such as Golden Age?

Has anyone ever tried the Golden Age pickups that Stewmac sells? Just wondering how they compare to the big name US Makers such as Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio in terms of quality and tone. When I mention tone, I'm talking about crispness and clarity from the pickup and not the signature tone of a manufacturer.

I'm played, and replaced, Duncan Designed pickups because I found that the real Seymour Duncans had better tone (i.e. crispness and clarity). Would the Golden Age be compared to quality to Duncan Designed?

http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_E...ectric_Guitar/

Thanks.
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Old 08-27-2014, 09:41 PM
muscmp muscmp is offline
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dru: while i really like stew mac and their products, i'd only try the golden age pickups if i could return them if i don't like them. you may love them or not like them at all.

the problem with all pickup mods is that you really don't know what it will sound like until you install and run them thru YOUR amp. it could be $300 pickups that you don't like and $58 pickups that you love.

note that seymour does have a pickup chooser on his site that is very well done but those are his and not dimarzio, emg, fender, gibson, etc.

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Old 08-28-2014, 06:14 AM
Otterhound Otterhound is offline
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Big names are just big names .
The only real test is to actually try them .
If you don't like them , put them on eBay , give them away or simply chalk it up to experience .
I have used Klein pickups and liked them very much . Not exactly a big name there .
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Old 08-28-2014, 10:00 AM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Thanks guys. I'm not looking to buy them but just wondering if anyone has any experience with them, or read about them. I'm guessing they would have wider tolerances for the parts and the quality of the materials may be cheaper than the big US manufacturers; however, that assumption could be very wrong.
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Old 08-28-2014, 10:28 AM
redir redir is offline
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From my experience the Golden Age pickups are the real deal. I've been building and repairing guitars for 25 years now and have seen all kinds of pickups. My favorite ever are still Joe Barden for the crisp clarity that you seek but I had some customers ask me about replacing pickups for cheap but not dirt cheap when I happend to come across the GA pickups so I would give them a try. I was quite impressed. In fact so much so that I put a set of P-90's in one of my guitars and it sounds really really good.

Honestly I am not a shill for SM, they are just good pickups, well built and to the same standards as the ones they built in the old days. Having said that they are replicas of old pickups so you may not get the glassy powerful clear crispness that it sounds like you are describing but the Parsons Street unpotted P-90's I use are pure micro-phonic growly feed backing bliss
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Old 08-29-2014, 09:20 AM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redir View Post
From my experience the Golden Age pickups are the real deal. I've been building and repairing guitars for 25 years now and have seen all kinds of pickups. My favorite ever are still Joe Barden for the crisp clarity that you seek but I had some customers ask me about replacing pickups for cheap but not dirt cheap when I happend to come across the GA pickups so I would give them a try. I was quite impressed. In fact so much so that I put a set of P-90's in one of my guitars and it sounds really really good.

Honestly I am not a shill for SM, they are just good pickups, well built and to the same standards as the ones they built in the old days. Having said that they are replicas of old pickups so you may not get the glassy powerful clear crispness that it sounds like you are describing but the Parsons Street unpotted P-90's I use are pure micro-phonic growly feed backing bliss
Thanks Redir. Would you consider the Golden Age on par with Duncan Designs or a step above? I personally consider Duncan Designs a step (or two) below SD and DiMarzios but a step up on most Epiphone pickups I've played.
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Old 09-02-2014, 01:30 PM
redir redir is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dru Edwards View Post
Thanks Redir. Would you consider the Golden Age on par with Duncan Designs or a step above? I personally consider Duncan Designs a step (or two) below SD and DiMarzios but a step up on most Epiphone pickups I've played.
Yeah I never really did care for the Duncan Designs, the GA are definitely a step up. The Epiphone P-90's aren't bad as well as the ones they put in the Joe Pass but I always prefer to replace them anyway and the GA's make a good budget pickup (well reasonably priced anyway maybe not exactly budget) that actually is the real deal.
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Old 09-02-2014, 09:24 PM
zabdart zabdart is offline
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One thing to consider is the type of sound you want your guitar to produce and how the pickups in question might help you achieve that. I know that sounds self-obvious, but try and get as much information as you can about DC resistance and inductance. A pickup with less DC resistance and inductance will generate a lower output signal and give you a signal with more brightness. A pickup with a higher DC resistance and inductance will generate greater output and produce stronger mid-range. If you're after the "jangly" sound of the early Beatles records or the Byrds sound, the former is the way to go. If you like to play with a lot of distortion, take the latter route.
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  #9  
Old 09-03-2014, 09:46 AM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zabdart View Post
One thing to consider is the type of sound you want your guitar to produce and how the pickups in question might help you achieve that. I know that sounds self-obvious, but try and get as much information as you can about DC resistance and inductance. A pickup with less DC resistance and inductance will generate a lower output signal and give you a signal with more brightness. A pickup with a higher DC resistance and inductance will generate greater output and produce stronger mid-range. If you're after the "jangly" sound of the early Beatles records or the Byrds sound, the former is the way to go. If you like to play with a lot of distortion, take the latter route.
Good point. I play mostly with some amount of distortion but I do like a wide range of pickups. My Alnico Pro IIs sound great as do my Super Distortion, just depends on what I'm playing. I don't play much clean stuff though.
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