Iconix Pickups -- check em out

Frogman

New member
Iconix Pickups

http://www.iconixpickups.com/

I read a post from a forum member about this guy and it really intrigued me.


He is a super nice guy, very helpful, and is winding me a custom dogear P90 for only $60 plus shipping.

Here's the orignal post that piqued my interest:

I was considering a BKP set for a build I'm ALMOST done with, but I decided to take a chance on a guy in Michigan. Don Smith at Iconix pickups. Seriously great stuff. He did an absolute custom set for me and nailed the tones exactly. When I e-mailed him with what I thought was all the info he needed, he still replied with more questions and asked for links to vids or songs that contained the tones I wanted. Coincidentally, he brought out a set very similar to my custom order(18k instead of 17k everything else the same, double screw poles etc) about a week after he had shipped mine out. He did the set for $110. Yeah. Uh huh. Pennies.

The bridge is only slightly less tight than an EMG 81 and has a really thick character to it. It's not dark, just has a whole lot of meat on the bones but doesn't sound unbalanced. It's hard to describe I guess. Pinches are freakin amazing and palm mutes have authority without getting muddy. The 81 has a plinky character to palm mutes that sits well with metal, but it is kind of *****y. None of that here. Compared to a BKP Miracle Man, it has more mids, is just as tight and is much more open and much less nasal.
The neck is the most perfect neck sound I have ever heard. In my opinion of course. I like a very chimey, but lean neck pup. Something that can do Michael Amott lead tones. What he wound for me exceeded my expectations. I had planned to only put the bridge pup in, but when I heard the neck in a donor guitar it was settled. It has all the characteristics I liked about the BKP Cold Sweat, but it doesn't sound as weak. Tapping on it is heaven that I haven't ever heard before. Sort of a slightly stingy, bell-like tone. It actually made me slow down my melodies so I could hear the attack and the ring of them. It has some compression to the sound, but it's not stifling. It's perfect for me.

And they are silent. No noise issues whatsoever. Quieter than my 81/85 sets. No cool pup covers though. I had to get my own. The BKP Camo finish is just a forced patina on bare nickel anyways. Anyone can do it. Their black covers are spray paint and chip off really really badly. It's a shame to see a well made pup get dressed in crap. They are great pups, even if the price rakes you over the coals.

All of my statements are based on running a drop B guitar through a 5150 and playing metal somewhere between melodic death, folk metal, thrash and just plain heavy riffage like SepticFlesh and Meshuggah.


I suggest you check him out.
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

What kind of custom Dog Eared P-90 are you having him wind you?

I just asked if he can shoehorn a 17k high gain humbucker version under a Dog Eared P-90 cover and mounted on a tradititonal dog eared baseplate with 12 hex poles or dual blades like a X2N. We shall see what response I get from him.
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

Emaiuled the guy back and forth and he seems sketchy at best with vague answers and no specific answers to my questions. His website seems barebones and little to no pictures of his work. The videos and sound clips quality has much to be desired and the quality of the pickups is still questionable after hearing them. Nothing that would make me want to spend $70 for his work.

ps. that message you pasted in the OP was also listed on his "testimonials page" on the website. Not sure if that's a good thing if that's only one of the few testimonials he chose to add to his own page.
 
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Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

Well it must have been a misunderstanding on both our parts as he gave a much more detailed email this time. The short answers I was getting was making me leery, but he seems to know what he is doing enough for me to comission him to make me 2 pickups. Now just waiting on price and lead time to build these.
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

What kind of custom Dog Eared P-90 are you having him wind you?

I just asked if he can shoehorn a 17k high gain humbucker version under a Dog Eared P-90 cover and mounted on a tradititonal dog eared baseplate with 12 hex poles or dual blades like a X2N. We shall see what response I get from him.

Basically something very similar to a Bare Knuckle 'Pig 90.
45g wire, ~22k.

Well it must have been a misunderstanding on both our parts as he gave a much more detailed email this time. The short answers I was getting was making me leery, but he seems to know what he is doing enough for me to comission him to make me 2 pickups. Now just waiting on price and lead time to build these.

That sounds more like it. He's been real helpful and detailed with me.


And you can't beat the price either.
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

Well he quoted me $70 for each pickup + shipping and I was ok with that and then asked for him to send an invoice. He said he did but nothing ever showed up in my paypal. He just told me to send a paypal payment to his email address, but I'd rather have an invoice in case things go south and being still a little leery with the type of shoddy email communication it is understandable. Well 3 days later I haven't heard from the guy after I sent 2 requests for him to send a paypal invoice I would gladly pay. His lack of communicastion now is making me question any kind of trust I would put in him after he gets my money and then I wait to see if I get screwed.
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

after being a long time duncan fan...i only use iconix pickups i know him i have 4 sets of his pickups and he might be hard to get a hold of since its only him making them but its money well spent....dont listen to the haters.
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

What "haters"? Haven't even heard about these pickups since...2012?

:lmao:
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

i talk to don everyday he builds all my pickups.
the only duncan pickup i really like is the sh5 its an all around good pickup.
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

no love for ceramic even on humbuckers? Most good humbuckers (at least that I know of) use ceramic magnets.
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

no love for ceramic even on humbuckers? Most good humbuckers (at least that I know of) use ceramic magnets.

I would expect an irresponsible statement like that to be coming from a 14 year old who has only been playing for one year on a cheap Chinese guitar (that came with humbuckers that can be purchased aftermarket for $5 a set) and only plays high gain metal.
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

You think 4 is a good sampling to know about "most" humbuckers? Even 28?! Even if you have owned 4 times that many pickups, it wouldn't be enough of a sampling to make such a statement.

Heck, I've tried a couple hundred pups and wouldn't consider making such a rash statement. There are other forum members who have tried so many pups that they make me look like a noob, and I'm sure even they wouldn't say such a thing (mostly because it simply is not true).

And you still think it's a responsible statement to say "most good humbuckers...use ceramic magnets"?

(There's no way in the world that I would want to be 14 again. That age is the epitome of immaturity while believing they know it all ).
 
Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

This was no sampling at all. This is ABSOLUTE ratio of alnico / ceramic high output pups of one of the best pup makers worldwide. Simple cold number , stat.

ONLY 14% OF HIGH OUTPUT HUMBUCKER THAT DIMARZIO MAKES ARE ALNICO. THE REST 86% ARE CERAMIC
Period. No sampling. No personal preference involved at all.

As far as age goes, older ppl bear the burden of all the insecurities and fears accumulated over the years. Innocence goes with the younger ppl. Unfortunately. The hard part for older ppl (me included) is converting experience into love and wisdom, not selfishness.
 
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Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

This was no sampling at all. This is ABSOLUTE ratio of alnico / ceramic high output pups of one of the best pup makers worldwide. Simple cold number , stat..

Of course you realize that this means absolutely nothing relative to your original statement.

ONLY 14% OF HIGH OUTPUT HUMBUCKER THAT DIMARZIO MAKES ARE ALNICO. THE REST 86% ARE CERAMIC

Again, this means absolutely nothing relative to your original statement. Now you are making a ratio of alnico to ceramic magnets used in only "high output" humbuckers by only ONE brand. Originally you made a blanket statement that "most good humbuckers," (that's ALL INCLUSIVE...meaning low, mid, and high output, and by every pup maker), "use ceramic magnets". I could make a statement that "ALL (100%) of Seymour Duncan's "Custom" pickups (not C5 or CC) have ceramic magnets, but that would be ridiculously meaningless as well.

Get my point?

As far as age goes, older ppl bear the burden of all the insecurities and fears accumulated over the years. Innocence goes with the younger ppl. Unfortunately. The hard part for older ppl (me included) is converting experience into love and wisdom, not selfishness.

I totally agree with you here.

Didn't mean to rag on you, but are we going to talk about "food" or just "grapes"?
 
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Re: Iconix Pickups -- check em out

This was no sampling at all. This is ABSOLUTE ratio of alnico / ceramic high output pups of one of the best pup makers worldwide. Simple cold number , stat.

ONLY 14% OF HIGH OUTPUT HUMBUCKER THAT DIMARZIO MAKES ARE ALNICO. THE REST 86% ARE CERAMIC
Period. No sampling. No personal preference involved at all.

As far as age goes, older ppl bear the burden of all the insecurities and fears accumulated over the years. Innocence goes with the younger ppl. Unfortunately. The hard part for older ppl (me included) is converting experience into love and wisdom, not selfishness.
"Love and wisdom" are not opposites of selfishness by any means.

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