Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
It depends. What are you going for‽
I spent A LOT of money on Seymour Duncan pickups over the years, thinking they were the best yet never being very happy. Then I bought a set of cheap pickups off AliExpress, and my mind was blown. They sounded better!
Now, I will never buy SD again. Gemini in Wales who hand winds his pickups that sound phenomenal yet cost less than SD’s machine-made pickups (yes, SD uses machines to wind). I also know a budget builder that sells pickups for £20 a piece, which frankly sounds equivalent to SD.
Final thought: Before changing your pickups, change your speaker. Either buy a new speaker to install, a new cab or do as I do and run an impulse response as you go direct to the board/ PA. The speaker makes a more dramatic tone shift than a different pickup.
Hand wound Gemini Pickup (£80 each): Precision Bass PIckups
I spent A LOT of money on Seymour Duncan pickups over the years, thinking they were the best yet never being very happy. Then I bought a set of cheap pickups off AliExpress, and my mind was blown. They sounded better!
Now, I will never buy SD again. Gemini in Wales who hand winds his pickups that sound phenomenal yet cost less than SD’s machine-made pickups (yes, SD uses machines to wind). I also know a budget builder that sells pickups for £20 a piece, which frankly sounds equivalent to SD.
Final thought: Before changing your pickups, change your speaker. Either buy a new speaker to install, a new cab or do as I do and run an impulse response as you go direct to the board/ PA. The speaker makes a more dramatic tone shift than a different pickup.
Hand wound Gemini Pickup (£80 each): Precision Bass PIckups
Last edited:
