So... people mostly agreed that no one really was saying that- but I'd argue- in one way they are...
You have a guitar... if you change the body- it's not the same guitar, if you change the neck it's a different guitar... so those aside...
You change the strings- not that much of a difference no matter how many people they swear by heavy guages tell me i'm crazy for using 7's and 8's--
You can change a bridge- but it's not practical, in some cases possible- or worth what the guitar is worth in many cases...
What's left? the springs- if they work well- it's not going to be much of a difference- you can change the frets once again- not practical
You can change the nut- which- i do in many many guitars- from tusq to genuine floyd rose- and it is an improvement- more so in tuning and sanity than sound....
You can change your pick- which does a lot of difference-- but overall- you're not doing any of those if you like the guitar- if you have to change everything than the guitar is the problem-
What's left to do in a guitar you like that controls every aspect of the sound? change the pickups
So- in practicality it is the most important part of your sound besides getting a new instrument
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A few comments also talk about microphones- Adele is Adele through a $50 mic or a $50,000 signal chain
BUT- no one is going to buy Adele's music if it was recorded with a $15 samson mic
So- getting professional sounds out of professional gear is what it's about...
Plenty of recordings have vintage Fender and Gibson pickups- plenty have newer EMG/Dimarzio/Duncan--
I've been lucky enough to have a great pickup company I've had a great relationship with over the years- and I've got to experiment with many many pickups- and I can't stress the importance of good quality pickups...
Steps to guitar:
1. Set ups
2. Fret dress
3. Pickups
Give me a $2000 strat with shit pickups and a shit setup and frets that cut you like a prison bitch- or an Ibanez RG- forget that- Ibanez GIO with a good set up and good pickups- and that's all I need.
One last note- I literally have 90% of the guitars I have just for the pickups
Or I keep a guitar because I want to have one with those pickups--
ALSO- no matter what they say- A $200 RG with good pickups isn't that much different in sound/tone than a JEM- and I have one that I think bites better than my JEM- so- I can afford to keep a bunch of guitars with a bunch of pickups around for sounds/recording/studio work- because I know what tool I need to get the sound i want for anything- and i know exactly what to grab- and what each is capable of and everything can do- AND- all those guitars cost less than what most of you spend one one guitar.
Not so much bridge mass as elasticity. If bridge mass were a determining factor, the best bridges would be made of lead.I forgot to mention a few other things:...bridge mass...
Not so much bridge mass as elasticity. If bridge mass were a determining factor, the best bridges would be made of lead.
Don't consider body material much different but I know a maple fretboard vs a rosewood IS EXTREMELY DIFFERENT!!! So don't even go there, please!!
True. You gotta change the pots to 250K to get that Stratty sound. Even then, it won’t sound exactly the same, but it’ll be a whole lot closer....placing Strat pickups in an Ibanez did NOT make it sound like a Strat.
PICKUPS MAKE A DIFFERENCE - But does the difference matter to you? Can you get something out of a pickup that you can't do with EQ, drive and compression?
Don't forget that IR's are linear. They do not take into account the minute differences you get from changing levels. Even for speakers and cabinets, the response you get at 80dB may not be exactly the same as the response you get at 110dB. It's usually pretty close, but there are usually minute differences (and sometimes even big differences if you push the speaker into breakup). Pickups are physical systems as well and they too can sometimes have similar idiosyncrasies (resonances, microphonics, etc.) that an EQ curve isn't going to fully capture.