What Boutique Pickups have you used?

[Gearjoneser]

Normally, I steer toward Duncan, since they cover about everything, but I still like a few new/handwound companies as well.
I'm not even sure how big Fralin is, but I'd still consider them boutique, as well as Rio Grande etc.

Anyone tried Rolphs, Holmes, Bardens, Lollars, or other similar high quality pickups? Which ones are you sold on?

Right now, my number #1 strat has Chubtone 63's with a bridge pickup he made to my specs, called the El Gordo strat bridge. They're right up there with Surfers or Vintage Hots, although I like the Chubtones a bit better.
All the rest of my guitars have Duncans or stock pickups.

 

[Travis]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

Normally, it's Duncans or nothing for me. I did, however just drop a set of Rio Grandes in my Hamer Special FM about 20 minutes ago. I put a BBQ in the bridge with a genuine Texas in the neck. So far so good. I can't say that they're better than Duncans, just different. So far, they seem to be a lot like the Pearly Gates I took out of it. I might want something a little warmer, but I'll give it a few weeks before I decide for sure. If I get rid of them, it'll be back to Duncans. Just like all my other guitars.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

Currently have:

1. Tom Holmes humbuckers in my '59 Les Paul Historic
2. Lindy Fralin Blues Specials in my '54 Tele
3. Lindy Fralin Vintage Hots and Steel Pole 43 in my Strat

Also tried:

4. Harmonic Design humbuckers in my '79 Hamer Sunburst
5. Harmonic Design Z-90 in my '92 Hamer Studio Custom
6. Van Zandt True Vintage in my Strat
7. Lindy Fralin Blues Specials in my Strat
8. Lindy Fralin Unbuckers in my Ernie Ball Axis
9. Lindy Fralin 7.5K & 9.5K humbuckers in my '96 Hamer
Studio

There's gotta be more... :smack: ...just can't think of any!

Which ones am I sold on? 1 - 4. I sold the '79 Hamer Sunburst but I plan on using those HD humbuckers again in another guitar someday. They're great.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

Fralin 9.5 / 8.5 nickel covered humbuckers in my '00 LP. I have a 8/9 set sitting in the bullpen. Other than the CS duncan thats it for boutique.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

Fralin 9.5 / 8.5 nickel covered humbuckers in my '00 LP. I have a 8/9 set sitting in the bullpen. Other than the CS duncan thats it for boutique.

How do you like the 8.5K neck pickup? Is it clear enough for you? I loved the 9.5K bridge pickup but I paired it with a 7.5K neck pickup. Lew

 

[Falstaff]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

I have had:
Timbuckers (sounded great but I sold the guitar as it wasn't my thing any more).
Kinmans--sounded nice but I was experimenting and found something I like better on one guitar and gave the other guitar to my nephew (sold the other set of Kinmans).
Voodoo -- 60's Tele bridge. Makes all of my other guitars sound like ass in comparison. Sounds like a chorus of angels who happen to come from Bakersfield. I am putting an Ant I Tele bridge pu in another Tele and I'm looking forward to comparing them.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

How do you like the 8.5K neck pickup? Is it clear enough for you? I loved the 9.5K bridge pickup but I paired it with a 7.5K neck pickup. Lew

Its interesting you ask that question because that particular pup (the 8.5) Has excellent clarity and isn't boomy or heavy in the bass at all in the neck slot. However, the 8.0 neck from the other set is the polar opposite. It had a very dark, heavy quality that was quite out of character when paired with the 9.0 in the bridge. Its pretty much why they are on the bullpen right now. Just to be sure it wasn't guitar dependant I tried both sets in my LP and a Custom 22. In all combinations the the 8.5 neck was nice and the 8.0 was rather dark and boomy. I'm thinking that I will try pairing both of them with something else for a neck pickup and see how that works out.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

Its interesting you ask that question because that particular pup (the 8.5) Has excellent clarity and isn't boomy or heavy in the bass at all in the neck slot. However, the 8.0 neck from the other set is the polar opposite. It had a very dark, heavy quality that was quite out of character when paired with the 9.0 in the bridge. Its pretty much why they are on the bullpen right now. Just to be sure it wasn't guitar dependant I tried both sets in my LP and a Custom 22. In all combinations the the 8.5 neck was nice and the 8.0 was rather dark and boomy. I'm thinking that I will try pairing both of them with something else for a neck pickup and see how that works out.

Boy...that seems odd. I really liked the 7.5K neck but found the 8K neck to be a little darker and fuller than I wanted. The 7.5K was very bright...almost a single coil type of brightness. Tried a 8K and then had Lindy wind me a 7.75K. The 7.75K was brighter than the 8K but I decided I liked the 7.5K best of all...but I'm a Tele and Strat guy and don't find any neck humbucker to totally satisfy my need for clarity. Also, my ears are about shot! :laugh2:

I'm assuming all of your Fralins have the standard alnico 4 magnet Lindy uses?

Lew

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

I have Bardens in my Strat; great pickup, really like it.

My Kamikaze has Bare Knuckle pups. I've always been a rail pup guy, but now that I have a killer single coil, I must admit I'm very intrigued.

 

[theodie]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

I use Bill Lawrence XL-500 and L-500C in my Jackson soloist.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

Boy...that seems odd. I really liked the 7.5K neck but found the 8K neck to be a little darker and fuller than I wanted. The 7.5K was very bright...almost a single coil type of brightness. Tried a 8K and then had Lindy wind me a 7.75K. The 7.75K was brighter than the 8K but I decided I liked the 7.5K best of all...but I'm a Tele and Strat guy and don't find any neck humbucker to totally satisfy my need for clarity. Also, my ears are about shot! :laugh2:

I'm assuming all of your Fralins have the standard alnico 4 magnet Lindy uses?

Lew

I assume they are standard. I bought them from my buddie who ordered one set for himself (the 8/9) and the other for his shop. Ibought the shop set and ultimately got the other set as well. I'll have to ask if he ordered then non-standard in anyway.

I agree it seemed very strange. Thats why I went the extra mile to test both sets in a couple of guitars.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

I use Bill Lawrence XL-500 and L-500C in my Jackson soloist.

I've always thought the Lawrence and Barden pups would be cool to try. Was it Lawrence or Barden that sold rights to the name or something resulting in "real" and lesser built models from another source??

 

[krankguitarist]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

I've got a pair of lindy fralin blues specials layin around ready for my tele project, had em in another guitar before and they sounded great.

I like goin with duncans most of the time, but I'd realy like to try out some bill lawrence L-500 pickups, I just dont know what guitar to put em in .

 

[Bones]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

I have only used one besides Duncan custom shops, and that was a Rio Grande Muy Grande.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

I play the Antiquity Texas Hots in my buddy's 57 strat pretty frequently; I had a pair of Rio Grande Twangbuckers in my old Parts-o-tele; a Rio Tallboy in the neck of my Carvin and a Muy Grande at the bridge.

That's about it for me. :burnout:

BTW, do the Duncan/ EB Musicman ALbert Lee sig. pickups I have in my MIJ 62 RI count as Booteek ?

I only ask because you can't really buy them anywhere (unless they're in the guitar).

 

[Fiesta Red]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

I have Wagner Darkbursts in my Les Paul. They sound wonderful, and are staying.

-Mark

 

[jimmy]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

what, exactly, is a "Boutique" pickup?

 

[BlueGuitar]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

Boy...that seems odd. I really liked the 7.5K neck but found the 8K neck to be a little darker and fuller than I wanted. The 7.5K was very bright...almost a single coil type of brightness. Tried a 8K and then had Lindy wind me a 7.75K. The 7.75K was brighter than the 8K but I decided I liked the 7.5K best of all...but I'm a Tele and Strat guy and don't find any neck humbucker to totally satisfy my need for clarity. Also, my ears are about shot! :laugh2:

I've got Lindy Fralin Blues Special pickups in a strat and a tele, and some of his humbuckers in my Heritage H-535. It took me awhile to really appreciate his pickups in my strat since I had them adjusted too high. When I lowered them a bit, all of a sudden the sound became very 3-dimensional.

The tele pickups were really nice- I liked them better than the Antiquity I's but not as much as the Fender NoCasters (with Alnico 3).

But it is the Lindy Fralin humbuckers that have impressed me the most! I played mainly Gibson guitars from 1969 until the early 90's when I switched over to strats and teles. I've been dabbling in P-90-ish Gibsons the past few years but hadn't gotten excited about any humbuckers for a long time... until I put the LF humbuckers in my Heritage a few months ago. I guess what is most impressive is that they have a "Fender sensibility" to them... if you really like Fender-style single coil pickups you'll love Lindy Fralin's humbuckers. :dance:

I just measured the LF's in my Heritage at the output jack. The bridge measured 8.5k while the neck measured 7.9k (I seem to remember that they were labelled 8k and 9k when I bought them... ) With your observations about 7.5k being the perfect number I wonder if I ought to try removing some of the windings from each bobbin... (Assuming that my pickup has 6,500 turns total then I'd need to remove something like 400 turns- or 200 per bobbin. I need to research that further!)

I had bought a set of Van Zandt strat pickups before I got the Lindy Fralin Blues Specials, but took them out because they just didn't work right in my Fernandez strat (the one with the "magic" neck!) Although the VZ's sound okay in a different strat... go figure!

I consider the Seth Lover and Antiquities pickups to be comparable to boutique pickups... they are hand wound by experts- right?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

I've got Lindy Fralin Blues Special pickups in a strat and a tele, and some of his humbuckers in my Heritage H-535. It took me awhile to really appreciate his pickups in my strat since I had them adjusted too high. When I lowered them a bit, all of a sudden the sound became very 3-dimensional.

The tele pickups were really nice- I liked them better than the Antiquity I's but not as much as the Fender NoCasters (with Alnico 3).

But it is the Lindy Fralin humbuckers that have impressed me the most! I played mainly Gibson guitars from 1969 until the early 90's when I switched over to strats and teles. I've been dabbling in P-90-ish Gibsons the past few years but hadn't gotten excited about any humbuckers for a long time... until I put the LF humbuckers in my Heritage a few months ago. I guess what is most impressive is that they have a "Fender sensibility" to them... if you really like Fender-style single coil pickups you'll love Lindy Fralin's humbuckers. :dance:

I just measured the LF's in my Heritage at the output jack. The bridge measured 8.5k while the neck measured 7.9k (I seem to remember that they were labelled 8k and 9k when I bought them... ) With your observations about 7.5k being the perfect number I wonder if I ought to try removing some of the windings from each bobbin... (Assuming that my pickup has 6,500 turns total then I'd need to remove something like 400 turns- or 200 per bobbin. I need to research that further!)

I had bought a set of Van Zandt strat pickups before I got the Lindy Fralin Blues Specials, but took them out because they just didn't work right in my Fernandez strat (the one with the "magic" neck!) Although the VZ's sound okay in a different strat... go figure!

I consider the Seth Lover and Antiquities pickups to be comparable to boutique pickups... they are hand wound by experts- right?

Nice! Truth be told, I consider the sounds of the Seth Lover and Custom Custom in my Hamer Monoco and the 59 Trembucker in my MIJ single pickup Strat to be the equal of any boutiuqe humbucker I've tried. They just sound superb in those particular guitars and are just as enjoyable to play as the Tom Holmes humbuckers in my Les Paul. :dance:

You seem like you like the tone of the alnico 3 magnets (Nocaster pickups) and alnico 4 magnets (Fralin humbuckers) better than alnico 2 or 5. I'm still a little more traditional and favor a2 or a5 over a3 or a4. A3 and a4 are a little to "hard" and "edgey" sounding for me to use all the time. Although, like you, I really liked the Fralin humbuckers alot! I wish I had another humbucker guitar to use them in but I don't own many humbucker guitars. Just my Les Paul, Hamer Monoco and a couple of MIJ Strats that are routed for humbuckers.

I think, though, that if I did have another humbucker guitar I'd put those Harmonic Design humbuckers I've been hanging onto into it. A nice ES-335 type guitar would be perfect to put them in, as even in my solid body '79 Hamer Sunburst the HD's reminded me of Larry Carlton.

As for the Fralin Blues Specials, I love them in my Tele but much prefer the Duncan Surfers or Fralin Vintage Hots in my Strat...at least with conventional wiring. I did put the Blues Specials in a Strat with the 50's mod and in that guitar they sounded alot brighter and chimier and I liked them more. In a Strat with a master volume and master tone, doing the 50's mod (soldering the tone control to the output jack or terminal feeding the output jack) is easy. My Tele with the Blues Specials has the tone control wired that way too, and it improves the high end of the Blues Specials and makes them seem brighter and sparklier.

Lew

 

[Stringmachine]

Re: What Boutique Pickups have you used?

I had a strat a while back that had Lindy Fralin Blues Special's and they worked a charm. I am considering a set of Bareknuckles Miracle Man or War Pigs for one of my Les Paul's, as I have heard nothing but good about them.