NorioDS
Tonerider pickups kick ass! I've never replaced the pickups in any of my guitars before but, after getting my Ibanez SA08LTD01 I thought that the stock pickups were too "muddy". Muddy is about the only word I could think of for it but, basically, the notes didn't "sing" and there wasn't a lot of separation between the notes. It probably contributed to me not playing much after getting that guitar. (Although work was probably the bigger factor at play here.)
So I very quickly bought a new set of pups - Toneriders (Generator & Rocksong). (At the same time, I bought Andre's Vox Satchurator from him - man that thing sounds good!)
So ja, I'm no techie, so the things just sat on a shelf for months on end. I did take a look to see if it was something I could do myself but the coil-tapping put me off trying.
Well, I made a few decent sales early on in December so I decided to finally take the guitar in to Jean Village Music (up the road from me) for a setup and get the pups put in. A week and R210 later, the guitar is playing much smoother than before and the pups sound AWESOME! (Methinks I got a discount - I wouldn't know because I never ask.)
The best description I can find for how my guitar sounds is: It CUTS
I guess that's a non-technical way of saying that it's crystal clear. It really cuts through whatever I'm playing and sounds soooo sweet! I now understand the importance of good pups.
Some folk say that the only people who notice the difference in pups is the player, and that's probably true because my wife doesn't get the difference at all, but then my argument there is that it's VITAL for me to hear the difference because it inspires me to play better and allows me to express myself better.
Suffice it to say that 2011 has been an excellent year for GAS for me. The BR-600, the Satchurator, the DD-3, the Tonerider pups, my sexy guitar, and my wee little Marshall 10w amp have all helped me feel more motivated to pick my guitar up again and actually practise.
I'll be the first to admit that I was never a good guitarist but I do feel that I'm getting my speed and fluidity back and that excites me because the next step is turning that into something that actually sounds good to the listener ? It's so frustrating not being able to do a fast run but that just comes from lack of practise - which I'm now inspired to do more of.
So, while I totally believe that tone comes from the player (if you suck, you suck, if you rock, you rock) gear DOES help you along the way, it DOES make a big difference - but only because it gets you to improve yourself to match your gear. It's kind of like how I feel when I put on a good pair of jeans, my Bronx and a nice shirt - it's still same ol' me but I feel like a new man and that helps me portray a more confident version of myself ? (Normally, my wife says I look like a "skollie" ?)
Anyhow, this is just a long-winded way of saying: WOOHOO!!!! ?
Wizard
Norio I agree that the overall ToneRider experience is just great.
I had the great pleasure of actually visiting Andre to pick up some pups and bumped into Foster vd Merwe at the same time.
What a wonderful pair of passionate and genuinely lekker people.
No wonder it is reflected in their product and their services.
I wholeheartedly agree that a cool sounding instrument is more likely to be picked up and played
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NorioDS
Yep the proof is in the pudding - I just couldn't resist playing today! Although I must also say that my new modal backing tracks also help a lot as it gives me something to strive for when I play, which is always good!
I've found that, with these pickups, I can turn the volume back a bit and get SUCH a sweet tone, and then just switch to bridge pickup and turn the volume knob up for some AWESOME piercing, screaming tones. Oh man it makes me a little wet each time ? (Just kidding! Relax! ?)
singemonkey
Congrats. I believe that while non-guitar players, or inexperienced guitar players, may not hear these differences consciously, it does contribute to their reception of what you're playing.
