OFC pickups

[sarcaster]

Does anyone have any details on the OFC pickups that are in some of the higher panteras?
Just curious about the advantages/disadvantages of oxygen free copper pickups.
I see some of the Pantera owner posts on the forum where they have replaced the orginals with their prefered PUP of choice.
Can anyone shed some light on the sounds, styles and preferable some examples of what these rare PUPS sound like?

[Westbone]

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#oxygenfree

[Warrn]

You may want to note that that says the difference is insignificant in speaker wire, but it doesn't say anything about pickups.

[Westbone]

Yes of course I noticed that, It's only a brief explanation of OFC, try this

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8852

In other words it won't make a dot of difference in a pickup, not to the human ear anyway.

[Warrn]

Well alright then. Good to know!

[corsair]

I read that somewhere, too, many years ago; possibly in an electronics magazine or the like, which begs the question; was the whole OFC pickup thing just a cynical marketing ploy?

[Steve777]

That'll be the Kings new clothes then?

I remember a review in a Hifi mag years ago for the Nakamichi Dragon. Apparently, not happy with a tape reversing and the tape head moving across as in conventional tape machines, they advocated that the whole tape came out of the machine, spun 180 degrees on a carousel, and then went back into the machine to be played on fixed position tape heads. The review ended with " a £1000 machine to crack a £2.99 tape". Sort of said it all for me.

Our hearing degrades as we age therefore audio beauty is in the ear of the beholder. If OFC floats your boat, who am I to complain.

[corsair]

That'll be the Kings new clothes then?

That'd be my POV, yes...

the whole tape came out of the machine, spun 180 degrees on a carousel, and then went back into the machine to be played on fixed position tape heads.

Sounds more like a "Look at me! Look at me!! See how clever I am!!" scenario!!! I'd love to see one working, eh!!

[Dragondreams]

I'm of the same opinion as my peers here, most of it is hype and spin, usually to sell a product. I'm afraid I rank Gibson's Robotuning along with the Nakamichi Dragon. A solution for which there's no problem...

With pups, I'm of the opinion that the "sound" is down to the manufacturing process more than the materials used.

[Steve777]

Err .. Nakamichi in action ( just to prove a point) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf4eR3ZkvoY&feature=related

However, I do believe there is a distinct sound difference between Ceramic and Alnico magnets, alnico V shod Pups sounding warmer and less aggressive than their counterparts. What I would like to hear would a side by side comparison between a scatterwound and a machine wound Pup. Anybody done this yet?

[corsair]

Bwahahahahahaha - that's outrageous!! I want one!!

Nope; sorry Steve - never wound a pickup, scatter or otherwise!!

[grogg]

I agree the magnet quality and physical construction ie layout and tolerancing of pups make a difference. Cant believe the hype about hand/scatter wound versus machine, having said that I have a guitar with hand wound pups and they sound much better than any of my other guitars through a good clean amp. There are too many other variables to draw any conclusion from that though seeing as theyre mounted on a guitar hand made of very fine materials. (Im not gonna hack them about to prove the point tho)

Also the hype over wires/cables in general I think is tosh at audio frequencies.

[Dragondreams]

I've wound my own pups... and it's an exercise in humiliation that I can recommend to anyone who has a masochistic streak!

I think the main difference between hand-wound against machine-wound is the short-circuits that are introduced from breaks in the coating on the wiring. You get much less consistency when hand winding.

I have a bit of a soap-box when it comes to different magnets making the pups sound different. A magnet is a magnet, no matter what it's made of. The big thing is the strength of the magnetic field for a given size of magnet that varies with the different materials. To my mind, THAT'S what makes the difference, not the actual "flavour" of the magnetism. Which is why I get wound up about the way the different types of magnet are used as a marketing tool.

I'm of the view that you choose the pup that sounds "best" for your own application and style. I'm a huge fan of Iron Gear pups in the guitars I build myself. And I, hand on heart, couldn't tell you what magnets they use. I liked the sounds of the different models, so I bought them without looking at the specs.

[grogg]

Hear here

[Steve777]

Totally agree with you, and as I said "Audio beauty is the ear of the beholder". And as far as variables are concerned, your Iron gear Pups might sound excellent in one guitar but **** in another.

Strange that I can go to a shoe shop try as many shoes as want on MY FEET, yet when it comes to PUPs we have to go predominately off website sound clips or trying them in someone else's guitar.

After 70 years of electric guitar development, we are still soldering bits of PUP wire ! It would be great if all Pups came as units that are simple slotted and clicked into place as one might do with a memory chip. Plug and Play? Take your guitar to the Pup shop and try out as many as you like ! Now wouldn't that be progress ! Yes I'll take the SD JB and DM Distortion thank you very much. Wrap them up sir! Nah, I'll take them as they are.

No doubt the music industry would then get into standards mode and we would revisit a version of the Betamax V's VHS marketing war.

Oops ... I digress. Anyone feel particularly strong about string makes? I cant find a particular difference myself. Twang Twang !

[corsair]

Anyone feel particularly strong about string makes? I cant find a particular difference myself.

Oh, yes!! Dean Markley Blue Steel for this kiwi!! I like their sound - very bright, almost too bright but very very lively.... I have a very heavy set of D'addarios on the LX atm, and I'm liking them but they're not as "twangy" as the DMs....

[Dragondreams]

Totally agree with you, and as I said "Audio beauty is the ear of the beholder". And as far as variables are concerned, your Iron gear Pups might sound excellent in one guitar but **** in another.

Very true. So far, though, I've tried all sorts of combinations of IG pups in different tone woods and constructions of body. They've sounded great in all of them. And I'm NOT affiliated with Iron Gear in any way!

Love the shoe shop/modular p'n'p idea!

Anyone feel particularly strong about string makes? I cant find a particular difference myself. Twang Twang !

Now you're just being controversial!

[corsair]

... but we like it!!

[Dragondreams]

... but we like it!!

I'm a born and bred Yorkshireman (definition = a Scot with all the generosity squeezed out) so I tend to go for cheap. But I appreciate good quality, so I generally end up with either D'addario or Ernie Ball strings, since they're the ones I can get in bulk at a reasonable price. I haven't noticed any difference in tone or "feel" between the two brands.

My bass is a different animal though. I used to string it with Maxima Golds (when they were still in business). It helped that I played in a band with a salesman from a local music shop though, and he used to get me a hefty discount...

[Warrn]

I've never noticed a difference in string brands, just the different metal mixtures of the strings. I tend to prefer the brightest round wounds on my basses, regardless of who made the strings.