Sweetwater Minute - Vol. 104, Seymour Duncan Zephyr pickup demo

[DreadnoughtMetal2006]

Invader with silver wire - any thoughts..?

[Nosajjao]

hi definition vintage? that's like saying "here buy this HD vinyl record"

[BujoySeth]

this pick up is clearly not for everyone... but with someone who makes millions by playing guitar. a thousand is not really a problem at all.

[cilcannonvryce]

It is imperative that you listen to this audio presentation in 720p. Lars Ulrich says so. James says, "Yeaahhaaaya!"

[zepled112]

everyone bitches that these pickups are expensive

silver is pretty expensive

the pickups are wound with silver

plus labor

price sounds about right :-)

still too expensive for me though :-(

[123lowp]

I like seymour duncan JB and the blackouts.

[try4tuesday]

okay so silver conducts electricity better. I've seen musicians wind pickups with gold wire that supposedly conducts electricity better than anything. Is there anyway that i could hear this pickup in real life. If anyone has this pickup in Missouri please contact me I'm serious I'm a recorder.

[willeng84]

There doesn't seem to be a HUGE difference and I am an audiophile. Its a win/lose situation to my ears. Clean the zephyr did sound more smooth in the high end but questionably because it's just not quite as hot, when the distortion comes is when you can hear how quickly the notes fade in the higher registers, telling me its not as high output as its exact counterpart.

[tonellojohn]

The zephyr sounds sweeter than the other one. But not sweet enough for $1000.

[joeysimmen]

i can hear a difference. i feel like you're really hearing the true tone of the wood come through more in the zephyr which i like, but i agree they're too much. 1000 can add another great guitar or amp to anyones arsenal, and outside of a studio setting (ok, maybe with the exception of an amazing PA and a quiet audience in a perfectly tuned live room), no one's gonna give a second listen.

they sound good, and i support SD's attempt at taking pickups to a new level, but quit while you're ahead.

[paulsdino]

Aside from tone, I'm hearing that the Red strat sounds a bit choked.That could totally be in the set up.

[po1212Po]

please do humbucker comparison!

how do you expect us to buy 1000$ humbucker pickup without a single humbucker demo?!

[GardenStreetBand]

For those of use who have a few expensive guitars that we really like, maybe the right amps too, how could we not spend the cash to try these. I mean, $1000 is not a high price in terms of a new high end guitar or amp... I might rather spend a grand on these pickups, and get a familiar guitar sounding great, then spend more on a different guitar, which may not give me a better sound... I have to say I'm actually a bit intrigued by these mysterious pickups.

[Defenderofeyre]

I can definately hear a 900 dollar difference... if you're putting it into a 4000 dollar guitar :b... because if you're already up in that price range... this is what you want to amplify the great built guitar.

[IronBroadsword]

Not worth the price tag, and really we are splitting hairs at this point aren't we? I can tell the difference of course, but in a band setting or a recording mix it just won't matter.. IMHO a guitarist should focus more on his playing than getting the most expensive/best sounding gear. There's plenty of great gear out there for cheaper, so to me it's useless unless you've got money to burn.

[Defenderofeyre]

@IronBroadsword it's a pickup made for people in recording studios... not people on the road :b... not as if the audience would notice anyways... in a studio it's something different though... oh and... 900 dollars is nothing in a recording studio...

[IronBroadsword]

@Defenderofeyre Yeah, I get what you're saying and sure it's certainly worth it for a person who's dead set on getting that sound, but I don't agree that it is worth $900, studio or not. And way to assume I know nothing about studio work.. that just makes you look bad. My point was that good fingers trumps high end gear.

[Defenderofeyre]

@IronBroadsword yes they do... but good fingers with good gear trumps good fingers with bad gear... there is a reason for Andy McKee not playing a plywood made in china guitar...

[IronBroadsword]

@Defenderofeyre This being good gear is the part that is subjective. Anyway, let's agree to disagree.

[RE50NANT]

One of the things I think that most people don't do is work with amp sound. Most amps don't have the ability to reproduce the wide range of sound the guitar is capable of producing. I use a Vox modelling/fx pedal directly into a p/a as my guitar rig (try it, it's amazing). I have to artificially boost the low end to get the kind of sound I want (imagine what more dynamic pickups would do). It comes down to this... Are you a good enough player to justify spending your rent on pickups?

[whapaso]

I hear a distinct difference, however, the difference in price isn't justified. These should be priced in the neighborhood of other popular boutique pickups. $1000 for a set (essentially the price of new American Standard Stratocaster) is over the top. Duncan is obviously catering to the folks who have more money than they know what to do with...

@editorjuno, it's Falbo's job to promote Duncan products, have a clue...

[caulinrocker1]

1. i like them and would love to see a humbucker set in an sg

2. i think the sound is better but not $450 better

3. play a comparison of the zephyrs vs the lace sensor line because they as well have tone improving factors that WAY exceed normal pickup quality but at a price of about $100 ... who knows the laces may sound better for SOOO much less

[caulinrocker1]

@biescc its being compared to a custom pickup built to the same specs just without silver wire and two-metal pole pieces and instead has standard copper wire and standard nickel pole pieces ... both set were built as close as possible all the way down to being made by the same person except the ones in the red strat use traditional materials

[sixstringfretter]

I wish my hearing wasn't shot to hell. 30+ years of guitar playing has rendered my hearing flat. I honestly cannot hear the difference. They both sound great to me. (sigh) ...maybe if I heard them in person...

[editorjuno]

The level of bool$hit emitted by (most of) the pickup industry could fertilize every cornfield in Iowa. Falbo should be ashamed of himself for dispensing such nonsense -- there are people who sound like him in psych wards *because* they sound like him! There are many ways to obtain similar minor performance differences (which may or may not comprise improvements, depending on what one prefers) *without* resorting to absurdly expensive measures like silver magnet wire and cryogenic processing.

[skoragzi]

they may sound really fabulous, but seriously - in this economy? I'll never never buy them.

[ARom16]

These pickups (especially the one in the neck) sound fantastic, but there sure as hell not worth a grand.

[ModernProductionss]

i can hear the difference. but i dont hear the 900$ difference.

[mrgirllicker202]

I can hear the difference

[ChillerTone]

I hope I am not stepping on toes here.. I have researched the science of cryogenics, and promoted cryogenic pickups for two years. I carried out the same test using standard copper pickups, when swapping scratchplates between bodies the results were the same. The cryogenic treated pickups are far clearer producing a cleaner sound, the reference to Hi Def is very accurate. So before taking the easy option of crying "snake oil" go do ya homework. SD would not risk their reputation on "snake oil".

[peterm3964]

This is a whole new level of stupid . It defies belief that anyone could see the need for silver wire . Ahh fuckit I,m wasying my time on this BOOOshit

[JonnyWedel]

it reminds me of the difference between passive pickups and active pickups

[JonnyWedel]

WHY DON'T THEY SHOW HUMBUCKERS!?!?!?!?!

[HandRpuffin]

I hear the difference, but not enough to justify $1000 a set. I mean if they were a custom order type thing...go for it.

[freedomman121]

I'm not impressed with the tone of either. A better reference amp might have been a good idea.

[makowski20]

I can really hear the difference through my studio monitors. The Zephyrs sound much "crisper" and "cleaner". Would love to see the same demo with the humbuckers.

[zippityzzz]

REALLY????!!!!

Zephyr Silver Stratocaster Pickups

Set: $1,195

Single: $395.95

[zippityzzz]

Sounds like a lot of snake oil to me.

[lukeclearydotcom]

@zippityzzz Really. I can hear a distinct difference. I think the question is if it is worth the heavy price tag.

[JRSmith040184]

wish i could afford those pickups. very cool.