it does not have that upper mid spike and is much more PAFish? Very warm sound. That's the only first hand experience I have with Kent Armstrong pickups. These pickups still deliver the same tone but are much more reliable and easier to manufacture. ive seen a few for sale and was hoping u could tell me a bit about their sounds and what In fact, you were doing that on the vid and it was good. When searching for the right single-coils for his guitars, Daniel knew they would have to be easy and inexpensive to manufacture. Amazing humility saying built and repaired pickups for 50 years when he is the guy personally hand making the pickups for the amazing Ken Smith basses. Mike, Any experience with this one? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_archtop/Kent_Armstrong_Suspended_Jazz_Humbuck too many fuzz pedals to buy first! I have mentioned in previous posts that my tech had claimed that the stock P90 pups in my '56 Gold Top Les Paul and Zephyr Blues Deluxe (see my sig.) Mike, thanks for the feedback (no pun intended). Tech experts from Seymour Duncan are regularly on this forum, and are clearly labeled as employees of Seymour Duncan. They offer authentic PAF tone, sounding open and warm while retaining excellent string to string articulation. Again, it took me by surprise about the sheer number of pickups they produce. I don't have one but I use the capacitor in my ToneBlock 202, and I do have the treble up higher than I used to. I dropped by my local guitar shop today and the tech had just installed KENT ARMSTRONG (?) Both these Kent Armstrong made in the USA pickups are far superior to what Eastman is selling on most of their guitars. Matthew Bellamy of Muse used the "Motherbucker" In his first few custom guitars. I contacted Kent Armstrong himself about the pickup thinking maybe I'd just have him make me new one and here was his I think it could do the whole fusion thing, but I have not really ran it like that. Well by looking at the list of players that he's made pickups for, he should be **** good. i think ill go for them. The PAF is OK but the Distortion kicks but. The PAF and bridge humbucker in my Jackson Soloist are excellent pickups. When I first got the guitar my standard procedure was to swap things for Inside the pickup, the improvements continue. The Kent Armstrong Humbucker on the Eastman AR371ce measured about 8.7K Ohms at the output jack. I have a set of Kent Armstrong's Icon series Strat pickups. Well, this time he has outdone himself. If you go for the re-wire, the easiest option is 3 volumes and master tone. Specifically the tele bridge and the neck mini humbucker pickups. Your link has been automatically embedded. Kent Armstrong makes a number of different hand-wound pickups and will do custom work as well. All are welcome, from seasoned pros to absolute beginners. Though arguably, modern improvements have made lipstick pickup design better, some players live and die by the originals. Your IP: You are using an out of date browser. No more actual lipstick tubes! Santa Barbara, California. I imagine earlier pre WD Armstrong pickups would hold quite a bit of value. Nice wire, nice waxed string cover on the coil, nice box, good screws and springs. I don't think they're anywhere near the Rolphs but I can't be arsed to swap them between guitars to do a real comparo. Theyre unique pickups, different from a Tele neck pickup, different from a Stratocaster single-coil pickup. Never worry about fitting a pickup under the strings again! Sam Sherry, Thanks for your response. 1995-2022 Harmony Central, Inc. All rights reserved. A good friend of mine (Roy) had a guitar built for him, to his own personal design and specification, by his good friend the one and only Sid Poole (who made the most finely built electric guitars on the planet before his recent death - even Paul Reed Smith himself is agreed on this, and even here we all accept the quality of PRS constructions and finishes). It may not display this or other websites correctly. I was shocked! I used the vintage in the neck and the HPAOR1 in the bridge. also with respect, I could not agree less. You may have to register IMHO, for a Casino a good set is about 7.5k/8k for the bridge and 6.5k/7k for the neck pickup. They are some of the cleanest pickups I have played. So while many ended up collecting dust in basements, others found themselves on the worlds biggest stages and recording timeless rock n roll. Is there any better bang for the buck in a new guitar than this. You could probably find a wiring diagram on the net, and it's a 15 minute job for someone who's good with a soldering iron. I may be wrong, but i think that is one of the overseas "licensed" pickups, not handmade in Vermont. they have the full range and a brief description of each one. He had a KA Vintage in the neck and KA Hot Rod (both nickel covered) in the bridge. #Bedroom Level# Tube Amp, Is it possible. I currently have one of their mini-humbuckers in the neck of my Tele. Looking for the ultimate Jazz/Fusion Allrounder Guitar, The "capacitor trick" on a Superblock US: 3 values compared (with audio), Looking for some Wisdom on Mini Humbuckers. Privacy Policy | Middle position, your stock Epi neck pup, 3. When I first got the guitar my standard procedure was to swap things for. Up solos the neck pickup. this drumming They include his 61 Strat, 57 Strat, 66 Tele, Gretsch P90's, 59 Esquire and 78 Musicmaster pickups. He made pickups for many UK builders (not to mention Benedetto (sp?) I really like my Ibanez AM205-AV Prestige. Upload or insert images from URL. I've fitted their humbuckers and P94s to several guitars in recent years. To start viewing messages, They sound very authentic for P90's and when used in So there should be a few good European Pickup builders Bare Knuckles, Haussel,etc? Not horrified, but bowled over with mediocrity. What's the opinion from those Sam: How was the pickup swap in your ElRey? Various humbucker models including PAF style and higher output ceramic humbuckers, standard Tele & Strat pickups, lipstick tubes, high gain metal pickups, Jazz, P90's, Firebird, LP Deluxe you name it. Paste as plain text instead, We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. Armstrong or Rautia pickups are a much better way to go. These custom-made covers allow them to be manufactured in many different sizes and fit the most popular pickup routes like Strat pickups. Kiesel Guitars: Allan Holdsworth Signature. do kent armstrong do alnico 2s? WebWPU90H Hot Rod Series Hot Soap P-90 This beefed up version of Kent Armstrong's already muscular WPU90 pickup utilizes the sweetness of a pure alnico magnet. The later made-in China pickups are not nearly as well put together as the old ones. While some might call it a brittle sound, others love the faster response and better note definition. His pickups are really, really nice. You may have to register In my case, a 30 minute job involving a certain amount of swearing. But the in-between They are here to help. Specifically designed for use with traditional arch-top electrics. Their relatively hollow, plywood-composite construction also plays a significant role. JavaScript is disabled. The tone is bright and detailed with a single coil type twang that also provides great crunch on Sunny Coalville. WebThese pickups are handwound in the USA by Kent Armstrong and retail for $160 new, not the import version. Building A Jazz Language - Bebop focus, for the moment. and start thinking about it and then my bank account will suffer. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. I'm about 90% there. My main problem is I live in a unit so I can never play anything out loud, I'm looking to re-locate asap. Glad a better product exists from them but they need a top notch marketing person in the states. It is only available as a side-mount (pickguard mount) due to varying neck sizes from manufacturer to manufacturer. Webhey guys, i was wondering if any of u have had experience with kent armstrong pickups. The middle pup doesn't do much tone-wise on a 3 pup LP so the stock Epi pup is fine in my view. Unlike the Duncan SMB4D the Armstrong is very consistent all the way up the neck with thick mids, clear highs and growling lows. And.they sounded way different too. And Danelectro continues to build the reissue Danelectros around the lipstick pickup platform. Down solos the bridge pickup. [/quote] Thanks. before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. All I know is WD sells Kent Armstrong pups at higher end pricing with no sound clips or specs. I've known that these two types of pick-up magnets existed for a while now, what is the difference between them and what are the tonal characteristics of each? I believe he still does hand winds to order in the states. Mar 9, 2015 #6 It's like an on-board pre-amp boosting and distorting the signal. It may not display this or other websites correctly. I tried the humbucker sized P90s. It would be hard to describe in words just how bad they were. Maybe I got a bad set but they were the muddiest mo You are using an out of date browser. They were meant to be used straight into a tube amp, although an OD pedal is ok. hi im thinking about buying new pickups for my black beauty and i came across kent armstrong pickups on ebay are they any good compared to standard epiphone ones? More than likely, the pickups are worth way more than the rest of the guitar anyway. Rewiring to 1 master vol plus a specific vol for middle pup should be quite cheap; it doesn't need any new / different components. Based on what I read on this forum there seems to be a lot of variability in the stock Casino P-90's. The Kent Armstrong's were about 8K Ohms (as they should be). Also, the bridge model had slightly increased output to better balance with the neck position pickup. It's funny that this thread just came up, because I discussed this topic with my tech just today. For that sort of tone you want the alnico 2 magnets. Talk with your fellow tone freaks on the web's liveliest (and friendliest!) P90's are normally ~8H -- nearly double the inductance of an average PAF. Great price. son. Alnico magnets are the traditional 50s/60s Gibson/Fender standards and generally have a warmer fuller tone than ceramic. thanks for your help. Like FilterTrons to Gretsch, PAFs to Gibson, and Strat single-coils to Fender, they essentially define the soul of the brand. I know for a while you could still get domestic KA pickups built custom direct by him and/or his sons - not sure if that is possible still today or if it is all via WD Music. But they were very noise free. Does anybody really play bebop these days? I've had Kent Armstrong pick-ups in my sheraton for about 15 years. They make many, many pickups. I recommend them. I was aware that Kent Armstrong made pickups and they were used in a lot of guitars. It had a nice tone, good Lipstick wiring is also a contributor. May 20, 2009 in Epiphone Electrics. This page was generated at 01:08 AM. I've had those pick ups in my MIM Tele for the last 5+ years and I think they're great, infact I kept them when I recently sold the guitar. There was a Kent Armstrong humbucker of some sort in the bridge position of my US Masters when I got it. I thought it sounded terrible. Really thin I can tell you for fact that the Stock P-90's in my 2004 Casino were not even close to the Kent Armstrong P-90's I replaced them with. This pickup is vertualy brand new. I was happy with it. I have another Tele with an SD AlNiCo II pickup that I prefer over the Kent Armstrong. But the pickups arent the only reason Danelectro guitars sound the way they do. They can be a little bit of figuring to roll off and clean up but once you find the sweet spot your good to go and you can't expect pristine creamy cleans from pickups of this output. He is a very good friend and a good guy also. I like the WD Kent Armstrong pickups very much. The, not so good, PUs may be great to other folks. http://wdmusicproducts.com/Merchant2_Code=PUHMBCKR. Post up some sound files, I'd love to hear them. These are the Kent Armstrong pickups in my Soloist: The bridge pickup has a bright fendery tone, for a humbucker it. There are millions of jazz basses out there, much fewer SB basses. Performance & security by Cloudflare. It was definitely an improvement over the stock pickup, which itself was not a bad pickup. the pickups in my bree/blue fretless are kent armstrong hand-wounds very nice. Indeed, difficult especially without his hand. People still mistakenly use 0.022uF/22nF/22000pF or 47nF caps on anything, but even a 22nF is really too dark on mid level inductance pickups for fundamental note definition up the entire neck. Not a new arguement but an interesting take. archtops) and has always had a real good product. Don't know for sure. You must log in or register to reply here. anyhow, i've had 2 or 3 of those on guitars i've owned and they are thin and overly bright. tone forum. To start viewing messages, But the in-between setting runs both pickups in series wiring. WebKent Armstrong - Any Good? Instead, they used a relatively crude Alnico V bar magnet with the copper wire wrapped directly around it. I've never had any experience of KA humbuckers but the single coil pickups that japasul is considering are great and for the price of KA's I don't think that you can go too far wrong. I did not. The neck pickup produces a surprisingly authentic jazz tone with, the tone rolled down, with it rolled up it's a a warm nice tone with. Daniel found he could source lipstick tubes from wholesalers for much less than standard pickup covers. But then Danelectros are no longer the only place youll find lipsticks. Unfortunately it didn't work out - for Dan wanted an additional 10% above of the proceeds for the use of his name. again, i cannot help with what you are really asking, but after reading some disparaging other comments, i thought i should at least share my experience with his handmade jazz pickups, which are superb. Between the warmth and adjustability, you just can't beat this pickup. This sweet sounding jazz pickup comes in either neck-mount or side-mount configurations. I have spoken to him many times on the phone. I've had a number of Kent Armstrong pickups over the years, and been pleased with them all. Very well built pickups, that sound good also. They're were custom wound and came with the guitar. There seem to be a plethora of newer 100 watt smaller floor based amps these days. I have a KA 12 pole humbucker packed away somewhere that I had in the bridge position of a Tele I sold, not sure if it's a US, and remember that it sounded really good and was good enough that I made sure to remove it before selling the Tele. They sound very authentic for P90's and when used in Parallel, they move into Tele territory for tone. WebThe Rocker cleans up nicely and is warm, even in an alder/maple set up. Assuming they do, it is curious how so many I tried the humbucker sized P90s. select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. Indeed, the Kent Armstrong lipstick pickups on Scheff basses sound strong and clear. Just an opinion but the early ones are great. All of these modern updates have done nothing to quell demand for lipstick pickups, new and old. I just ordered some Burstbuckers (#2, #3) on the strength of recommendations on this forum. Compare to Super Block United Kingdom. We all do. The cheaper type are made in the far-east while the more expensive ones are USA made. By Epoxy casting inside the cover allows for added coil to give a sweet mini-humbucker tone. Rickstar123 Copyright 2023 Seymour Duncan. That said, other Korean Kent Armstrong pickups I tried sounded very good as well, so I would not hesitate trying them. But not everyone. The pickups are priced nicely as well. These new pickups allow you to completely equalize the string balance through height adjustment of individual polepieces.

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