Do Pickups get better with age?

[ProfitOfDoom]

I was talking with a buddy the other day,,,and hes got a old gibson LP.
He was telling me that the magnets in the pick up actually get better,,well I dunno about betetr but says gives a unique tone with age,,I guess kinda liek wine,gets betetr with age.Is this true?

[ShadowMan]

I wouldn't think so, they aren't wine or cheese. I don't think there's anything in a pickup that it's breaking down would be benificial. There's the overall thought that vintage is better, this may be the line of thought.

[PoWaToM]

He's right that they will 'change' in terms of tone somewhat over time, but whether the resulting sound is 'better' is a matter of opinion. It's probably a bad idea to keep the same pickups forever though - you might like the sound, your audience might not. It's like strings - dylan used to use exclusively old, worn strings (I think he may still do) - whereas I personally hate playing with too-old strings - they go out of tune far too quickly and are generally a pain in the *** if you're concerned about snapping all the time (read: I am poor and can't afford to randomly place strings).

[Scuba_Steve]

The wood however, does get better with age, do that may be why older guitar sound like teh secks.

[Pom-Bear]

Id Say pickups would get worst... as they would start to rust or deteriate over time?

[AmericanWeiner]

Magnets lose strength with age. This results in more sustain but less output.

Wood breaks down with frequent playing. For this reason, well-played solidbodies and heavy acoustics tend to sound warmer after a couple decades of play. However, acoustics with thin wood tend to lose their desirable musical properties.

/Thread.

[ingraman]

I think there's a tendency for guitarists to overestimate any instrument that's vintage. An old pickup will probably sound worse than a new one. Metal does not age well.

[AmericanWeiner]

I think there's a tendency for guitarists to overestimate any instrument that's vintage. An old pickup will probably sound worse than a new one. Metal does not age well.

Read my last post. A well-maintained pickup's aging doesn't have anything to do with the metal. Hell, you could take the magnets out and replace them in a new casing with the same wiring and such, and it would have the properties of the old pickups. It's all about the magnets.

[Animus Light]

Magnets get weaker over time. I would not say better. Wood gets better with age. Pick-ups... do not. They certianly do sound unique with age and some people like this.

[bmxfelon420]

i hate old strings. Personally, i think once a set of strings gets beyond a few months old, they start sounding kinda dead. I like strings right after they are done stretching, that is indeed bliss.

[espjunkie]

i hate old strings. Personally, i think once a set of strings gets beyond a few months old, they start sounding kinda dead. I like strings right after they are done stretching, that is indeed bliss.
Like Ernie Balls.
I don't know, my dad has a pretty old tele back in the 60's and it still sounds good. The magnets even looks like it's growing some rust, and the hardware. The wood is pretty much 'water-logged' but it still sounds good.

[Pom-Bear]

Ernie Ball strings sound good for about a week... then they go all crappy and they rust within 2 days of playing on them including the day u restrung them

i prefer

Rotosound or D addario they last ages and sound good

[bmxfelon420]

seeing as i have a strat style guitar, fender bullets sound pretty good in my guitar. They last longer than ernie balls, which i used to do. The ernie balls are alright, but i dont think they quite have the same depth that the bullets have. The ernie balls lasted longer before going completely ( either that or i play more now) but the bullets sound better.

[battousai]

Ernie Ball strings sound good for about a week... then they go all crappy and they rust within 2 days of playing on them including the day u restrung them

i prefer

Rotosound or D addario they last ages and sound good
my ernie ball strings last a long time and dont rust or get all out of wack.

[Slight Return]

Dean Markley Signature Series strings > A lot of strings

Although, the classic Ernie Ball strings come pretty close.

[Neil_1980]

another vote for the earnie balls, I play 2-3 times a week around an hour a time and they last a few months before they start to loose anything and certainly seen no rusting on them

[WindowLedge]

wow this thread turned into a string discussion . . .

I'm a D'addario whore myself.

[X-Ecutioner]

you bumped a 5 days old thread to vote for ernie balls?
way to go

[austin99]

magnets get weaker with age, which improves the sustain, some manufactures sell aged pickups so you can get older sound. Les Pauls definitely get better with age, I think its more the wood than the pickups, I recently replaced the pickups in my 20 year old Les Paul, I put the same pickups in a new Les Paul special I just got and the two guitars have totally different sounds, I think its more the age of the wood.

[Pom-Bear]

magnets get weaker with age, which improves the sustain, some manufactures sell aged pickups so you can get older sound. Les Pauls definitely get better with age, I think its more the wood than the pickups, I recently replaced the pickups in my 20 year old Les Paul, I put the same pickups in a new Les Paul special I just got and the two guitars have totally different sounds, I think its more the age of the wood.


r they both made of mahogany? i thought it was just the main expensive gibsons being made out of mahogany? its a tough wood tho compared to my guitars which r made out of basswood or Alder

[bannedlawl]

Almost all Gibsons and Epiphones are made of mohogany.

[austin99]

Both my Gibson Les Paul Custom and the special are made from Mahogony.

Epiphones are usually made of Mahagony/Alder or Mahagony depends on the model


http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=45&CollectionID=6

if you want to see the chamberd epiphone ultra

http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=242&CollectionID=6