Ash's top six of hidden gem pickups.

OilCityPickups

impmann said:

Mini Humbuckers sound amazing in the right setting - almost acoustic levels of detail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5qUa1ZRY4g

I'm also a massive fan of the original Shergold pickups (made by ReAn). Unusual construction (I'm sure Ash can give chapter and verse about it - he rebuilt one of mine for me) gives a very distinctive sound - especially if you fit 500k pots instead of the factory fit 100k ones.

I also rather like the original Kent Armstrong PAF+ he used to hand make when based in Ashford (not the Sky or "Designed by" Far Eastern ones). Quite bright, very pokey but with a great snarl. Hard to find now...

The Original Shergold pickup is a brilliant bit of British innovative design. Unable to get the sort of parts used in US pickups the over engineered a real classic out of whatever was to hand. They run on the same huge alnico magnet principal as Filtertrons ... and as @impmann says, with 500k pots they sound great.

See me restore a pair here

I had an early Manson with Kent's pickups ... they were awesome..

Grangousier

Out of curiosity, how much would it cost to make a pickup like a Shergold? I assume the fact that it's a completely non-standard size would push the price up so it would be cheaper to buy an actual Shergold, but you never know.

impmann

Grangousier said:

Out of curiosity, how much would it cost to make a pickup like a Shergold? I assume the fact that it's a completely non-standard size would push the price up so it would be cheaper to buy an actual Shergold, but you never know.

TBH, original ReAn pickups are totally made of unobtainium... so the price of NoS ones or even good used ones is quite high.

Grangousier

That's a shame - I have a 70s Shergold double neck that I love the sound of (like the chap said, completely distinctive), but it's quite impractical to play and store. It also needs a a lot of restoration. 

OilCityPickups

If I were to make a replica it would be pricey ... the covers would have to be vacuum formed etc and all the internal components made virtually from scratch. However copying the principal ... big alnico magnet, a very specific winding level and pattern ... could easily be done if there were a market.  

impmann

Grangousier said:

That's a shame - I have a 70s Shergold double neck that I love the sound of (like the chap said, completely distinctive), but it's quite impractical to play and store. It also needs a a lot of restoration. 

There is a guy near Glastonbury who has made exact replicas of the ReAn pickups in the past but I'm not sure if he's doing anything like that any more... his website:

http://www.grubersaberhagen.co.uk/

Grangousier

Thanks! It's been something I've vaguely wondered about for a very long time. 

Lebarque

Great thread! I've got to agree on Firebird pickups. I'm soon to put some in a partscaster. Amazing pickups. Not the ones that Gibbo put on their modern Firebirds though!

OilCityPickups

Lebarque said:

Great thread! I've got to agree on Firebird pickups. I'm soon to put some in a partscaster. Amazing pickups. Not the ones that Gibbo put on their modern Firebirds though!

Thanks mate ... no the modern Firebird pickups are nothing like the originals in sound ... they have tried to make them high output and sorta lost the plot!

earwighoney

OilCityPickups said:

Lebarque said:

Great thread! I've got to agree on Firebird pickups. I'm soon to put some in a partscaster. Amazing pickups. Not the ones that Gibbo put on their modern Firebirds though!

Thanks mate ... no the modern Firebird pickups are nothing like the originals in sound ... they have tried to make them high output and sorta lost the plot!

Yeah, what makes a Firebird what it is is that it's lowish output with 42AWG wire, not a million miles from some Fender style pickups. 

Ash have you ever tried using different alnicos for Firebirds?  I came across A4 Firebirds that sounded good, but different to most FB's I've come across. 

OilCityPickups

earwighoney said:

OilCityPickups said:

Lebarque said:

Great thread! I've got to agree on Firebird pickups. I'm soon to put some in a partscaster. Amazing pickups. Not the ones that Gibbo put on their modern Firebirds though!

Thanks mate ... no the modern Firebird pickups are nothing like the originals in sound ... they have tried to make them high output and sorta lost the plot!

Yeah, what makes a Firebird what it is is that it's lowish output with 42AWG wire, not a million miles from some Fender style pickups. 

Ash have you ever tried using different alnicos for Firebirds?  I came across A4 Firebirds that sounded good, but different to most FB's I've come across. 

I use alnico 2,3,4 and 5 in firebird pickups depending on the sound the customer wants ... A3 sounds very interesting too.

mudslide73

Great thread. Do you have a favourite Duncan pickup Ash? I know the JB has gone through some changes over the years and I think the Custom Custom is a bit underrated.

I've only had modern DiMarzios so haven't tried the classics.

OilCityPickups

Love the Custom Custom, and the pre-changes JB. My pet hate is the 'new' JB and the Pearly Gates: the former for sounding like an adenoidal weasel with it's bollocks in a vice ... the latter for being the modern humbucker I most regularly have to rewind!

earwighoney

OilCityPickups said:

 I use alnico 2,3,4 and 5 in firebird pickups depending on the sound the customer wants ... A3 sounds very interesting too.

Just as soon as I thought I was 'out', I'm almost reeled back in straight away. 

I'll send you a PM soon Ash. 

OilCityPickups

earwighoney said:

OilCityPickups said:

 I use alnico 2,3,4 and 5 in firebird pickups depending on the sound the customer wants ... A3 sounds very interesting too.

Just as soon as I thought I was 'out', I'm almost reeled back in straight away. 

I'll send you a PM soon Ash. 

I adore making Firebird pickups ... so anytime.

LastMantra

I've been doing a little bit of looking into the t-tops I have. Seems like at the time people often swapped them out for something more fashionable. 
There must be loads of them stashed away in parts boxes.
Think I definitely like pickups in the lower end of output values.

OilCityPickups

LastMantra said:

I've been doing a little bit of looking into the t-tops I have. Seems like at the time people often swapped them out for something more fashionable. 
There must be loads of them stashed away in parts boxes.
Think I definitely like pickups in the lower end of output values.

T Tops can be really nice ... unfortunately that tends to be reflected in their price.

LastMantra

OilCityPickups said:

LastMantra said:

I've been doing a little bit of looking into the t-tops I have. Seems like at the time people often swapped them out for something more fashionable. 
There must be loads of them stashed away in parts boxes.
Think I definitely like pickups in the lower end of output values.

T Tops can be really nice ... unfortunately that tends to be reflected in their price.

Yeah noticed some on reverb for silly prices!
Going by them I could sell mine for more than I payed for the guitar.

xscaramanga

OilCityPickups said:

Love the Custom Custom, and the pre-changes JB. My pet hate is the 'new' JB and the Pearly Gates: the former for sounding like an adenoidal weasel with it's bollocks in a vice ... the latter for being the modern humbucker I most regularly have to rewind!

I've heard you say this about the JB before. It's funny because I like the modern JB and I also like the pickups you've sold me a lot. Funny that our tastes are so different on the JB but I guess similar in other areas. Anyway, I've always wondered: what's the dirty secret about the JB—what changed between the 80s and now (both in terms of spec and sound)?

OilCityPickups

jonnyscaramanga said:

OilCityPickups said:

Love the Custom Custom, and the pre-changes JB. My pet hate is the 'new' JB and the Pearly Gates: the former for sounding like an adenoidal weasel with it's bollocks in a vice ... the latter for being the modern humbucker I most regularly have to rewind!

I've heard you say this about the JB before. It's funny because I like the modern JB and I also like the pickups you've sold me a lot. Funny that our tastes are so different on the JB but I guess similar in other areas. Anyway, I've always wondered: what's the dirty secret about the JB—what changed between the 80s and now (both in terms of spec and sound)?

Funnily enough I make a pickup called The Dirty Secret based on a pre changes JB ... they went down a wire gauge and changed the magnet the old one was closer to 14k than 17k. The old one was more open and string defined :-)