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  #1  
Old 06-13-2018, 04:46 PM
Monsum Monsum is offline
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Default What does a £3 ($4) pickup sound like?

I've always wondered what these cheap Chinese pickups sound like.
So I got one off eBay, installed it in my old, laminate Eko guitar (It has a good acoustic sound), plugged into an audio interface with a 1 Mohm input and here is the recording (first part is a raw recording, without any effects, sounds very thin. At about 1:27 (half way through) the track is processed with EQ, reverb).


Do you think it sounds acceptable, considering the price?
I installed it more as an experiment and out of curiosity but some people might find these pickup alright I guess.


Last edited by Monsum; 08-19-2018 at 09:40 AM.
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Old 06-13-2018, 05:01 PM
YamahaGuy YamahaGuy is offline
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Sounds good to me. I'll give it another listen with my OTE cans, but initial listen sounds better than most UST and rivals K&K, unless my ears are playing tricks on me.
(Update)
Through my AKG K240s it sounds terrific. Very natural. I actually prefer the first part tone -- not sure what eq settings you made in the back half.

Regardless, for $4, I'd buy two or three sets just to experiment.

Maybe not as good as K&K, but natural sounding nonetheless.
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Last edited by YamahaGuy; 06-13-2018 at 05:11 PM.
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Old 06-18-2018, 07:49 AM
YamahaGuy YamahaGuy is offline
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Default Thread revival

I'm curious to see what anyone else thinks...
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Old 10-16-2018, 11:07 PM
activateclint activateclint is offline
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Ive experimented with a few handmade piezo disc pickups and they always sound pretty good and natural. I have a JJB-330 in my Sigma i used for years. The difference between K&K/JJB (usually 15mm discs) etc and these cheapos (usually 20mm) is pre testing the individual discs, however they do that, and the resin casing, quality insulated cables and jacks of course. Just about to make and install a set in my Gretsch Jim Dandy.
They usually need a preamp with a 1-3 mega OHM input to sound great. An EQ pedal like the Boss GE-7 has 1mOHM input works pretty well and doubles as the eq.
Win Win!

These look like the highest end of this style pickup. Look amazing actually.
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Old 10-17-2018, 10:30 AM
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James May James May is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsum View Post
Do you think it sounds acceptable, considering the price?
I installed it more as an experiment and out of curiosity but some people might find these pickup alright I guess.
I'm curious how you mounted the discs, and where exactly.
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Old 10-17-2018, 11:47 AM
Monsum Monsum is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by James May View Post
I'm curious how you mounted the discs, and where exactly.
I used the supplied double-sided tape. Because the discs are really big, it was tricky to place them anywhere close to where K&K-type pickups are normally installed.
See the picture.

The build quality of these pickup is not great. I ordered two of them and one came damaged and the other seems very flimsy. The sound is not bad but there are no frequencies above 6kHz.

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Old 10-17-2018, 03:45 PM
fred4321 fred4321 is offline
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Nice playing.
For what you paid it sounds good.
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Old 10-17-2018, 05:45 PM
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James May James May is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsum View Post
I used the supplied double-sided tape. Because the discs are really big, it was tricky to place them anywhere close to where K&K-type pickups are normally installed.
See the picture.

The build quality of these pickup is not great. I ordered two of them and one came damaged and the other seems very flimsy. The sound is not bad but there are no frequencies above 6kHz.

Those must be 20mm discs. Why they chose that size is beyond me.

It doesn't sound bad, but if you'd been able to put all three on the bridge plate under the bridge it would sound better. I'm not suggesting you do this in those positions, but in general these kind of transducers sound best if glued to the wood.
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Old 10-18-2018, 05:54 AM
varmonter varmonter is offline
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This just reminded me of pulp fiction.
"Just wanted to know what a 5 dollar shake
tasted like.. "

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Old 10-18-2018, 04:34 PM
tdq tdq is offline
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I wondered the same thing.
I went ahead and bought one, just like the picture the OP posted, and installed it in my parlor. Installed, with significant EQ, it sounds ok, but on its own it sounds awful.
I also have a JB which I've put on my resonator - a very different guitar, to be sure. It still needs a decent EQ but the unprocessed sound isn't awful. One of these days I'm going to mount them both on one guitar and do a proper comparison...

It's just a ceramic disc on a copper plate, how different could it be? I had a chat with a guy at work who is pretty knowledgeable on things electric (he makes his own pedals) but not on piezos specifically. We though maybe its just better QA on the more expensive options, but that's just a guess. It's definitely better build quality for the non-piezo parts. One of the discs came loose inside the plastic mounting on the cheaper piezo so now it buzzes. You get what you pay for...
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Old 10-19-2018, 01:54 PM
Gordon Currie Gordon Currie is offline
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I've used JJB, K+K, and Dazzo pickups extensively.

The tone of this was very upper mid-range peaky and not pleasing to my ears. One bright spot is that I heard no piezo quack or zing whatsoever.

Being a tone chaser, I can't imagine any situation where I would use this pickup.
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