It's not a P-Rails, but it's interesting...

[Benjy_26]

Hi everyone.

I've recently used some more budget oriented pickups in some of my guitars and have come away with generally good experiences with Guitar Madness pickups. I believe that they're designed in the US and made by Artec in Korea. I've personally used their 62z for strat as well as their .25 Caliber ceramic humbucker. The humbucker isn't on the same level as say, a Custom, but the 62z sound like a great strat should, even when compared to Duncan and Fender offerings.

I scroll through their ebay store every once in a while and came across the following pickup. If the single compares to the 62z, it should sound great when split to that setting. I've never used their rails pickups, but the idea seems intriguing to me.

I may take the plunge just to see what it does.

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[hamerfan]

It looks like the have put their overstock together on a humbucker plate. Looks a bit weird like a Fender Paranormal.

 

[ICTGoober]

I've been surprised by how good sounding some Artec pickups are. I might look for one of these.

 

[GuitarStv]

I've been surprised by how good sounding some Artec pickups are. I might look for one of these.

+1

Artec pickups have also surprised me in a good way.

 

[idsnowdog]

The majority of budget aftermarket pickups like GFS, Dragonfire, and Warman are rebranded Artec's. https://www.warmanguitars.co.uk/product/g-rail-hybrid-rail-ceramic-humbucker-and-alnico-single-coil/

 

[Masta' C]

The handful of Guitar Madness pickups I have purchased were not Artec-made, but sounded very good for their price point. I have watched him use different suppliers for different models over the years, so anything is possible.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Haha, that's nuts - one way to have a true single coil and a humbucker in one position .

I've also been looking at Chinese pups lately. Some of them seem to be quite well made - PAF styles appear to have nickel baselpates (and covers), vintage style braided wiring etc. Of course, cuite a few of them are no doubt modelled on Duncans and DiMarzios.

 

[beaubrummels]

Looks like if it were Duncan, it would be called a StagRail

 

[Mincer]

So who is going to take the plunge to see how this thing sounds?

 

[Benjy_26]

It looks like the have put their overstock together on a humbucker plate. Looks a bit weird like a Fender Paranormal.

It does look cobbled together, but strat pickups are slightly wider than humbuckers. If this fits a traditional ring, it was purpose made.

 

[Benjy_26]

So who is going to take the plunge to see how this thing sounds?

I may have to, but I don't know what to throw it in. All of my strats are pretty dialed in at the moment.

 

[Benjy_26]

Can one safely assume that it's possible to combine all three coils available with each other or to use them on their own?

 

[ICTGoober]

I'd say since it's 4 wire, you can have it in series for a full throated sound, in parallel for a clean and brighter sound, or choose either "coil". I wonder if they are matched as far as turns of wire. I'd sure like to hear it.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

I'd say since it's 4 wire, you can have it in series for a full throated sound, in parallel for a clean and brighter sound, or choose either "coil". I wonder if they are matched as far as turns of wire. I'd sure like to hear it.

It won’t hum cancel with three coils. I’m thinking they probably switch to only two for the full size humbucker setting.


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[Benjy_26]

It won’t hum cancel with three coils. I’m thinking they probably switch to only two for the full size humbucker setting.


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I was wondering about that as well. I guess you'd need a on/off switch to go from single to humbucker and another switch to split the humbucker coils?

 

[idsnowdog]

The handful of Guitar Madness pickups I have purchased were not Artec-made, but sounded very good for their price point. I have watched him use different suppliers for different models over the years, so anything is possible.

The Artec QTA is a favorite of mine for my active guitars.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

I was wondering about that as well. I guess you'd need a on/off switch to go from single to humbucker and another switch to split the humbucker coils?

The way I’d do it is for the “humbucker” mode, the full size coil and one of the rail coils. For the “single coil” mode, the two rail coils. That way they are both hum canceling but you get the two different tones.

The thing I don’t like about the P-Rails is the two single coils sound too much alike, they aren’t hum canceling, and the two in series sound like mud.

I’m working on a humbucker that splits to a real single coil tone (not half a humbucker) while being hum canceling.


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[ICTGoober]

It wont hum cancel with three coils. Im thinking they probably switch to only two for the full size humbucker setting.

I don't see why not. Ibanez had all 3 coils on in series or parallel in their early Ibanez pickup (Steve Miller used one), and I had a Tele with a Mighty Mite Motherbucker 3 coil that could be wired with all 3 coils in series or parallel.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

I don't see why not. Ibanez had all 3 coils on in series or parallel in their early Ibanez pickup (Steve Miller used one), and I had a Tele with a Mighty Mite Motherbucker 3 coil that could be wired with all 3 coils in series or parallel.

Three coils won’t hum cancel. On the Ibanez guitar there was a rotary switch to choose combinations.

Here’s how a humbucker works: one coil has a north magnetic polarity and the other a south. The two coils are wired out of phase electrically. This is the same as the RWRP of a middle Strat pickup.

Because of the reverse polarity magnetic poles each coil senses the string with opposite polarity. Then the out of phase coils put the signal from the two coils back in phase.

But electromagnetic interference enters both coils in phase, so it gets canceled out, since they are wired out of phase.

If you add a third coil you will unbalance the system. That third coil will introduce hum since it can’t cancel with another coil. It’s like using a humbucker and a single coil at the same time.


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[ICTGoober]

But they WILL work. And as you say - not hum cancelling.