Psyclone Humbucker 2-piece Pickup Set - Nickel Review

Wow

I dropped these babies into an Ibanez semi hollow and holy Mackerel I was 100% impressed by the versatility in these pick ups. I was not unhappy with Ibanez's stock pick up but I was playing and searching for something different and I found it. So I was a punk rock kid that has aged into different taste and I was looking for nice edge of break up cleans to AC/DC rock. Well by… read more rolling the volume knob I got more on both ends than I expected. I also use the DSL40 unusually leave it on the 2nd channel of the four and was super pumped. And when I went to channel 4 ultra lead, dimed again not disappointed. I bought a second pair for my other Ibanez hollow body as well. I was not disappointed there either.

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The right size humbucker

This is to dispute the comment that these won't fit a humbucker size guitar. I had a local shop install these as a replacement for my Epi Sheraton guitar and they had no problem putting them in. I also want to add that the pickups sound awesome both clean and dirty. Seymore did a good job designing these and they are right up there with their other pickup models.

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Major sonic upgrade

I had a dual HH Fender Meteora. The body had beautiful ergonomics and was fun to play but the pickups were bland. I replaced them with the Psyclones. Wow! The detail on these — and with gain the power — is just amazing. This is my first exposure to Filtertron-style pickups so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. But these provide a voice that distinctly complements my other guitars… read more (single coils, humbuckers, P90s, Z-coils) and I couldn't be happier with them. As for the reviewer who had trouble fitting them, I have to admit that I didn't install the pickups but I didn't get billed for work making them fit. So, I guess mileage varies depending on the guitar.

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Not "Humbucker-size"

These pickups are not "Humbucker-size". They have tabs for mounting in a standard Humbucker equipped guitar, but are smaller by a 1/4" in length and width compared to a standard Humbucker with cover. This will leave an 1/8" of slop around the pickup in a standard mounting ring, similar to a Humbucker without a cover. The tech support at Seymour Duncan told me that he personally… read more installed the pickups that were taken to trade shows and that they mount "perfectly". He got a little hot and defensive when I pointed out the difference in dimensions. Back in the day TV-Jones had a mounting ring option to address this issue when the market was hot for a solution to upgrade the Humbucker size pickups in the original Gretsch 5120. Looking at their website today, I see they now have multiple flavors of Filtertrons in actual Humbucker size covers. How things have changed! This really is a case of false advertising on the part of Seymour Duncan. Very disappointing.

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So many Great Tones!

When I first saw these pickups, something told me to check them out. So I listened to the sound clips online, and I liked what I heard. I installed them in a Fender Squier Starcaster guitar, a semi-hollowbody. Now I have owned Gretsch semi-hollowbodies, and I've owned 335s; but the sounds I'm getting out of the guitar, with this set of pickups, is several levels above anything… read more I mentioned previously; in terms of tonal quality. Crisp, clear clean tones, reminiscent of early Rickenbacker semi hollowbody guitars; very great for Beatles sounds, Byrds sounds, and Tom Petty sounds. Chords are bell clear; single & double tones are distinct. Overdriven, it becomes a Blues/Rock guitarist's dream guitar! Neck pickup delivers great full tones, without being muddy. Middle(both) position, is an awesome tone unto itself. and the bridge alone delivers sharp tones, excellent for country, without being tinny & thin. I'm even using it to do fingerpicking; run through a Fishman LoudBox! All in all, one of the best sounding pickup sets I've owned in over 50 years of playing; well satisfied. JL

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