New Orianthi Signature Model In the Works?

I always wonder why the pickups in the imports don't sound quite as good as the pickups in the USA models.

Are they intentionally made to be one notch lower in tone quality so the SE version of the guitar sounds almost, but not quite, as good as the Core model?

I mean it's just 42, 43 or 44 gauge copper wire wound around a plastic bobbin and either an alnico or ceramic magnet.

Seems like the same pickup could be made overseas and be just as good as the made in the USA model.

So it must be intentional...
 
There was an SE Orianthi model quite a few years back, when the SEs still had flat tops, and was very much what a CU24-based SE would look like, with a stylized "O" on the ebony fretboard.

So I imagine any new SE would be a CU24 with some kind of nice looking purple-pink fade to the maple top.
 
I always wonder why the pickups in the imports don't sound quite as good as the pickups in the USA models.

Are they intentionally made to be one notch lower in tone quality so the SE version of the guitar sounds almost, but not quite, as good as the Core model?

I mean it's just 42, 43 or 44 gauge copper wire wound around a plastic bobbin and either an alnico or ceramic magnet.

Seems like the same pickup could be made overseas and be just as good as the made in the USA model.

So it must be intentional...
If someone could make import pickups with the same characteristics as US-made pups, they would, and they would own the third-party non-OEM market for all brands.

Yet no-one has done that. I can only guess that there is "something" that takes a bit more care/skill than you can source from Mexico or the typical Asian suppliers.
 
If someone could make import pickups with the same characteristics as US-made pups, they would, and they would own the third-party non-OEM market for all brands.

Yet no-one has done that. I can only guess that there is "something" that takes a bit more care/skill than you can source from Mexico or the typical Asian suppliers.
I doubt it. Pickups are simple.

Those folks are just as skilled and good with their hands as workers in the USA.
 
Those folks are just as skilled and good with their hands as workers in the USA.
I don't disagree.

Yet the boutique-quality pickup at import prices market simply doesn't exist, as far as I know.

So I can't explain it other than there is something that can be more easily done in the US (and UK: e.g. Bare Knuckles) to achieve that undefined "quality" that apparently can't be reproduced in an import from a lower-cost manufacturer.

Unless the US/UK makers are purposely ensuring there is no real competition from those suppliers, using some sort of Illuminati control (or NDAs/non-competes).

The other possibility is that import pickups are just fine, and the mojo in US/UK made pups is The Emperor's New Clothes.
 
I don't disagree.

Yet the boutique-quality pickup at import prices market simply doesn't exist, as far as I know.

So I can't explain it other than there is something that can be more easily done in the US (and UK: e.g. Bare Knuckles) to achieve that undefined "quality" that apparently can't be reproduced in an import from a lower-cost manufacturer.

Unless the US/UK makers are purposely ensuring there is no real competition from those suppliers, using some sort of Illuminati control (or NDAs/non-competes).

The other possibility is that import pickups are just fine, and the mojo in US/UK made pups is The Emperor's New Clothes.
The pickups in my Korean made SE Singlecuts were pretty uninspiring. I did some magnet swaps and got them to sound pretty acceptable, but not great. The SE pickups in the SE Silver Sky are top notch. So clearly it can be done.
 
The pickups in my Korean made SE Singlecuts were pretty uninspiring. I did some magnet swaps and got them to sound pretty acceptable, but not great. The SE pickups in the SE Silver Sky are top notch. So clearly it can be done.
On the other hand, to meet price points we don't know what (or if) compromises are made in time or materials. Without that information, it requires skipping a logical step to conclude that it must be intentional that they sound different. There could be other reasons, and I'd say it's likely there are. Could be materials, could be the winding machines or the operators running them, could be the QC, we're never going to know.

I personally doubt it's deliberate.
 
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