Throbak or not to Throbak

[indy23]

I recently acquired an excellent 59 Les Paul copy. Made by Bacchus in Japan, it rivals my Tokai in build quality. Looking for a set of Pickups in the PAF vein. I was really against spending over 500$ for a set but the Throbak cognoscenti and their fervor have got me wondering. Anyone have any experience with Throbak? I have had other custom winder pu's and SD;s..
Thanks

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Throbak or not to Throbak

I would only throw back if the fish was too small to keep.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Throbak or not to Throbak

When you get into the subject of some of these boutique pickups, you'll get some real strong opinions. It's a bit like walking into a Baskins and Robbins and asking for a chocolate ice cream cone. Do you want plain chocolate, chocolate fudge or Rocky Road? I like peanut butter and chocolate and German chocolate cake...you might like another flavor, but it's still chocolate. But you'll have some yahoo that will tell you that Godiva ice cream is THE BEST, and you're an idiot for getting anything else.

Throbacks, Voodoo, WCR, Fralin, DMZ, Lollar, BKP, and the various Duncan pickups are all good--what kind of chocolate do you like? I'm sure you can hear the difference between the Bonamassa set, Seths, Ants, Pearlys and WLH sets, but does one of these have to be THE BEST?

And then there is the issue of cost and value. I dont think having a set of Zephyrs is worth it TO ME. I'm not knocking someone else getting them, but they're not in my budget. So I've opted for replacing the pickups in some of my Gibsons with Seths, Ants and Pearlys; I'm happy with the sounds I'm getting, and I liked the value given.

And in a guitar that is a copy, no matter the quality, I'd be concerned about "gilding the lily". Take the difference and stick it in your IRA.

Good luck in your decision.

Bill

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Throbak or not to Throbak

IMO, SD pups are as good as any made. They have their own flavor that's for sure, but there is such a variety of SD pups available that it's almost impossible not to find what you want.

I can't imagine spending $400 or more on a set of pups. When you get into booteek winders, you can easily spend 2-3 times the cost of a SD pup in order to get 1-2% closer to the tone in your head. Like Bill, it's not worth it to me either. There are more important things I need to put my extra money into (yeah, that's why I have over 35 guitars...right).

 

[tonaholic]

Re: Throbak or not to Throbak

If you're going to put that kind of cash into a PAF, get the Bonamassa set.

 

[El Supremo]

Re: Throbak or not to Throbak

Well, they did go the extra mile to get as authentic as can be. 500 bucks for a pair of pickups is a little steep for me personally, but I can imagine situations where someone would spent that much on a pair of pickups.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Throbak or not to Throbak

To me, those pickups are worth it if you are restoring an antique guitar on which the original PAFs are long gone, and you need something to hold you over until you can afford to "properly" restore the guitar. Otherwise, there are pickups out there that will likely do the same thing in terms of tone, but for half as much (or less). If "authentic" tone is what you're after, then IMO you are better off putting the big bucks into your amps and recording equipment than into a set of perfect vintage reproduction pickups.