That's a good point Johan about the guitarists ears. I certainly was able to tell what kind of guitar and amp was being used quite often when listening to songs.
i didn't really get that into pickups to be honest. I found amps were more interesting.. But really, it's the whole combination that is important.
For example i went into a guitar shop in the early noughties with the idea of buying a second hand all valve practice amp. I was planning on a Fender Champ. I plugged into it with my Fender HM strat but wasn't very keen on the sound. Then the shop owner suggested I try this really beat up shitty amp from the front window which was a completely unknown make. I was sceptical but tried anyway. It was a vast improvement but still didn't quite grab me. He then grabbed a customised Jap 62 reissue strat with Seymour Duncan pickups. I was even more sceptical because I could see that he was trying to get me to buy more than I had intended. But I plugged in and the sound became The sound that I had been looking for for years. I ended up buying that package instead of the Fender Champ and was much happier.
It took a long time to research the amp but it turns out that the wiring diagram was basically nicked to create the first Vox AC30s.
So ideally you just need to go into the shops and try the complete packages.
i didn't really get that into pickups to be honest. I found amps were more interesting.. But really, it's the whole combination that is important.
For example i went into a guitar shop in the early noughties with the idea of buying a second hand all valve practice amp. I was planning on a Fender Champ. I plugged into it with my Fender HM strat but wasn't very keen on the sound. Then the shop owner suggested I try this really beat up shitty amp from the front window which was a completely unknown make. I was sceptical but tried anyway. It was a vast improvement but still didn't quite grab me. He then grabbed a customised Jap 62 reissue strat with Seymour Duncan pickups. I was even more sceptical because I could see that he was trying to get me to buy more than I had intended. But I plugged in and the sound became The sound that I had been looking for for years. I ended up buying that package instead of the Fender Champ and was much happier.
It took a long time to research the amp but it turns out that the wiring diagram was basically nicked to create the first Vox AC30s.
So ideally you just need to go into the shops and try the complete packages.
