A Tone Index

[Deadstar]

I think it's about time we clear up the confusion with everybodys description of how they want their pickups to sound using metaphors.

Certain descriptions may mean different things to different players (depending on their age, style, etc...) such as "open" which could be refering to the mid range "focus" or the high end's "sparkle."

Another one is "Crunch" a younger player into metal and hard rock may take this to mean a heavy mid-range "growl" whilst an older Blues orientated player may take this to mean that slight "edgy break-up" when the volume or gain is cranked up a little bit.

So should we make a list with descriptions and player references.

Warm, round, jangly, mushy, sharp, smooth, fuzzy (theres loads of types for that) harsh, beefy, meaty, etc......

I could go on all day. What does everybody else think?

[Matt \M/]

Or an 'EQ index' would be most helpful? ..   hard to buy a pickup you havn't tried compared to one you have and are confident in the tone of

[TwilightOdyssey]

Any subjective phrase is open to interpretation, but there is already an accepted consensus of what each word means.

Making a list of definitions will not stop people from misusing them.

Ultimately, there are only two kinds of subjective phrases: positive and negative. I don't mind if one man says "open" and another says "clear" and yet another says "bright". I also don't mind if someone says "tizzy" instead of "etched" or "brittle".

The bottom line is that you can infer what the person is describing by whether the context is positive or negative.

Audio terminolgy, both subjective (warm/cold, open/congested) and objective (tilted up a 8kHz) are part of my day job. I use and hear them all day long.

If you have the time and inclination to put together and online dictionary, go for it! But you may find yourself with a Hurculean task at hand!

[Deadstar]

Thanks guys, thought no-one was going to reply. I think Matt has the right idea it would be alot simpler to do something like that but after seeing some posts on particular pickups (eg. some one thinks a pickup sounds scooped whilst another thinks it has tons of mids) everything in the world of music is subjective in some form or other.

I was trying to get at the fact that some people (particularly newer players) are not used to the terminology yet so may not not understand particular descriptions, and of course the double meanings - which can lead to the wrong recommendation if it was taken the wrong way. One persons "cut" or "bite" usualy in the 2-5 kHz range (most sensitive area of human hearing; see fletcher munson diagram) may be anothers "harshness."

Anyway I definitely don't have the time to do this on my own and I was just trying to clear up the confusion we see here every day on the forum. Thanks for the thoughts though TO always the words of honesty and wisdom (dare I say age   )

[RorySRV]

I think if you do a tone index you should do all the techy stuff and then give an example of the sound it would give.

Eg. Miracle Man - Low end blah, Mid Range Blah, High End Blah

Think Zakk Wylde tone on steroids. Great for those pinch harmonics etc

Or something like that.

Just an idea   ,

RorySRV,

[Dakine]

talk about newbie, less experienced players and then suggest EQ guidlines  :roll:

This is NOT gonna be an easy task and I would wait till Tim and Ol have the new website with all the new clips launched.
Less ya wanna buy a set of every BKP and do EQ curves for em, as imagine Tim may have enough to do right now :)

Nice idea, but you say TomARto and I say TomAYto, less ya taste em then ya 'fishing in the dark' imo.

[Deadstar]

First off, when did I say I was going to do this myself?!?!?  :(

Anyway, of course I can't afford to buy every single BKP (I'm a student - one step up from hobo) And of course your always "fishing in the dark" unless you try out something physically yourself.

My initial plan was to make a list of the metaphors and give a little description of them in lamans terms and then technical (ie- Favouring Frequencies if it was a must) so anyone can use them appropriately within the context of a recommendation question, it was Matt \M/'s (I think)  idea for a list comparing each pickup to this.

OK - it was hoping for a bit much, but it would clear things up a little. Someones going to start chewing my ass for this now, I knew I should have started something complex  :roll:

[Dakine]

my point is/was, NOT be difficult, but that even laymans terms differ with most people and EQ levels are not easy to get for all pickups etc.

Nice innitial idea, just don't see any easy way of making it work any better than 'players forum' or asking advice from members who own the actual pups at this point.

[Deadstar]

OK I think the ideas died its death.  :shock: I can see all the complications behind it, yeah "players forum" is probably best method your right, I just wanted to make it easier for people   My ideas always seem over the top.  :lol:

[broken cord]

Oh cr@p, I thought if I came back to this thread in 10 or 15 minutes I could see and hear the entire index with five examples of each p'up. So sad.... weep weep weep. :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[TwilightOdyssey]

Oh cr@p, I thought if I came back to this thread in 10 or 15 minutes I could see and hear the entire index with five examples of each p'up. So sad.... weep weep weep. :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

LOL!!!

The new clips will be acccompanied by EQ charts.
All of the clips  were measured for bass, lower midrange, midrange, upper midrange, and treble response.

They will be available ... when they're availble!! :)

[Davey]

one thing to add..


if one person hears the pickup as scooped and another says it has a ton of mids, you can safely assume that one of them is deaf  :lol:




and terms of description are so subjective, it's impossible to do any chart about it.

[Deadstar]

LOL!!!

The new clips will be acccompanied by EQ charts.
All of the clips were measured for bass, lower midrange, midrange, upper midrange, and treble response.

They will be available ... when they're availble!! Smile

Where did you find that out???

and does that mean I win  

[TwilightOdyssey]

I didn't find it out, per se; just gathered from conversations with Tim.

So, yes ... you win! Or, will win, when they're up.
Those clips and charts will go a LONG way towards helping ppl select pups!

[WITH FULL DISTORTION]

Ok, here´s a good one that i created
think " two little children,playing on the sand, just a feel meters from the Sea. they are playing with their back´s turned to the sea. so, they can´t see if the waves will hit them or not.
Then, imagine a medium size wave,hitting the two children in their back.
Well,thats´what i call Tight Bass. crunchy Mids, And screaming Highs.(but i´m more into a singing/warm lead tone)
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
JP