are kent armstrong pickups any good

And while these guitars might be missing the tonal contributions of a plywood Dano, they still bring that beautiful twang to every guitar theyre in. Rickstar123 It may not display this or other websites correctly. And Strat Players like SRV retrofitted lipsticks into their Fenders years ago. I have to admit I have only seen and heard the import stuff from Kent Armstrong. You won't find the distortion on the WD website though. 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. Announcing the all new jazz pickup line! The neck model was built Reverse Wound / Reverse Polarity from the bridge model for hum-canceling operation when using both pickups. humbuck size p90s.. and the vintage 12 pole humbuck. Just an opinion but the early ones are great. They're were custom wound and came with the guitar. By contrast, the Armstrong (VT-made) PAF 12-pole humbucker has a much fatter, more electric sound. I got the hot-rodded PAFs and they have held up quite well. Hit the internet today, and youll find many companies making lipstick pickup replicas. I tried the humbucker sized P90s. They sound very authentic for P90's and when used in Parallel, they move into Tele territory for tone. But the in-between I've had Kent Armstrong pick-ups in my sheraton for about 15 years. These modern designs are much more reliable and standardized than vintage lipsticks while retaining most quirks that make old ones special. And if you do find them, youre going to pay a premium. Also, dont forget to dig into the rest of the Seymour Duncan blog. Sam: How was the pickup swap in your ElRey? I bought one of the pickups made by WD music in Kent's name. Well by looking at the list of players that he's made pickups for, he should be **** good. 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 The Kent Armstrong Humbucker on the Eastman AR371ce measured about 8.7K Ohms at the output jack. 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. Theyre unique pickups, different from a Tele neck pickup, different from a Stratocaster single-coil pickup. I have three MB-3 pickups to rewind. Since I wrote that post I did some trawling and found some good references, also got on the humbucker page at GFS and copy/paste all the specs on the ones I'll get next windfall. Specifically the tele bridge and the neck mini humbucker pickups. I have another Tele with an SD AlNiCo II pickup that I prefer over the Kent Armstrong. And Danelectro continues to build the reissue Danelectros around the lipstick pickup platform. Rewiring to 1 master vol plus a specific vol for middle pup should be quite cheap; it doesn't need any new / different components. Does anybody really play bebop these days? depends on the sound you want of course - they ARE at least as good as the Gibson Johnny Smith mini humbuckers that came on some of the older Gibbies and Heritage archtops, but well Also, the lack of adjustable poles is a turn off for me, YMMV, but I will say the best "smooth top" floating jazz pickup I've owned is the Bartolini 5J pickup, which is an excellent choice for that thinner, more acoustic sound. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. The PAF and bridge humbucker in my Jackson Soloist are excellent pickups. WebKent Armstrong - Any Good? I didn't like the Duncan I had in the bridge though and opted for a GFS Vintage Alnico Tele and was actually super impressed by it. It felt wrong and so I told him that I wasn't interested." You may have to register I like a pickup that is able to produce the true "natural" acoustic tone when it's fully on, but can go completely dark and everywhere in between. I had some 7 string pickups from KA. They are very dull and lifeless None of that typical P-90 sound. This is the same pickup used by Eastman on their 7 string archtops. This wiring results in an output boost with a woolier midrange punch than you might expect from lipsticks. Never worry about fitting a pickup under the strings again! Yup - I can stare at the screen for ages when you and Presa Tito are posting on a thread. If you have any other questions about lipstick pickups, lipstick pickup construction, or lipstick wiring, dont hesitate to get in touch! I'll have to get around to trying it in a "real" guitar one of these days. Virtually no one knows about the high end products. regardless, jazz pickups don't sound anything like MB pickups. Middle position, your stock Epi neck pup, 3. I had a KA Hot 60s Tele Neck pup in a project that I did few years ago, sounded awesome. But part of that is the guitar. If yours sound like P-90's should sound OR you are happy with them, then don't even think about replacing them. Up until now, I have had no other verification of this claim, until he directed me to the WD Music website (as milospilo has provided the link above). I believe he still does hand winds to order in the states. Haven't got them yet. They were meant to be used straight into a tube amp, although an OD pedal is ok. I've got a set in an el-cheapo Flying V I have. EDIT: forgot to mention, I'm especially interested coz I have a G-400 Custom which has 3 buckers also, and I have an active picup git, an Ultra-II with NanoMag, it can make some half decent tones. This page was generated at 01:08 AM. thanks for your help. I think it could do the whole fusion thing, but I have not really ran it like that. archtops) and has always had a real good product. I've been using Kent's m214 - m215 pair of humbuckers as well as the wpu10 - wpu11 for over 14 years now in nearly every custom that I have built because they blow away Seymour Duncan's Mayhem set and you can't beat the price nearly half as much. From years of modifying and designing special recipes for his customers, Kent Hot is darker After listening to Mark Whitfield's videos I thought his playing was excellent, however the Soho's tone was very bright and plinkyto me. Danelectros had a unique sound that no other guitar could capture. P90's are normally ~8H -- nearly double the inductance of an average PAF. WebKent Armstrong Hand Made Johnny Smith floating Pickup. Privacy Policy | Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Along with Dire Straits Mark Knopfler, Page also found his Dano perfect for electrified blues slide. My main problem is I live in a unit so I can never play anything out loud, I'm looking to re-locate asap. WebThe Rocker cleans up nicely and is warm, even in an alder/maple set up. They seem very open with a good output; they don't seem to colour the sound of the instrument as much as the Barts (which appears to be the general consensus)and somehow seem more balanced sonically. 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. Specifically designed for use with traditional arch-top electrics. I've only tried his Firebird pickups & thought that, even though they seem like quality product, tonally they were very "polite" & lacking any personalityflat & not in a good way. WebFor Sale First Edition 2003 Ibanez JTK1 JetKing w/ Kent Armstrong PAF Humbuckers in Transparent Black Red Sunburst Finish. I changed out the stock p.ups because they were pretty crappy (apparently they have improved a lot over the years). He was jamming on it while I was in the store which is what caught my attention. More than likely, the pickups are worth way more than the rest of the guitar anyway. The fit and finish of the year 2000 Fender American Standard Strat are excellent. Not horrified, but bowled over with mediocrity. I used them exclusively in my tele strat builds for a long time, and those are all nice pups, too. That neck pup on its' own with a little treble rolled off on the tone control would give you a warm mellow full sound, especially if you pick at the bottom of the neck. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. I really like my Ibanez AM205-AV Prestige. But they were very noise free. I've been browsing the wdmusic site and have found a few products with identical descriptions, one is for a ceramic version the other an alnico version, both are the same price and tech specs except for the magnets. And like the Rhoads fan mentioned above, the split tones are excellent, and not that weak-ass puss-o-matic tone which is the usual result of split coils. WebThese pickups are handwound in the USA by Kent Armstrong and retail for $160 new, not the import version. i wanted to have it rewired so it worked like a normal les paul but i could use the middle pickup on a push pull but i got told it would cost quite alot to do it. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. This page was generated at 01:08 AM. Please check your items carefully and confirm they are correct for color, position, etc. I love my Eastman 905, but I don't really love the Kent Armstrong floating pickup that came with it. We understand the questions. No lie, folks, he also built the Televersary. select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. Kiesel Guitars: Allan Holdsworth Signature. They have a nice full tone not thin and bright like most pickups in this output range. IMO, they are the best jazz pickup out there. Looks like you haven't made a choice yet. They offer authentic PAF tone, sounding open and warm while retaining excellent string to string articulation. He also has a line of Korean-made pickups that are very good for the price, but they're not in the same league as his hand-wound stuff. They are here to help. I just purchased an El Rey4 and I find the original pickup kind of listless. This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies. I put Kent Armstrongs in my much-reviled epiphone LP about a year ago and found them to be a good pickup and much improved over the stockers (obviously). In my case, a 30 minute job involving a certain amount of swearing. Ive found using a bridge Seymour Duncan Vintage Mini hum in the neck position of my Tele, gives me a warmer, darker No, I agree, with shells it's a lot easier and in some cases sounds richer. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. You may have to register What's the opinion from those around here who's tried some of his work? I played a mates Bare-Knuckle p.ups the other day and they sounded AWESOME. Lipstick wiring is also a contributor. I ended up moving on from that guitar but that was pretty cool. But the in-between setting runs both pickups in series wiring. Were asked everything from what they sound like to Will they fit in my guitar? and more. I've had a number of Kent Armstrong pickups over the years, and been pleased with them all. These custom-made covers allow them to be manufactured in many different sizes and fit the most popular pickup routes like Strat pickups. Daniel found he could source lipstick tubes from wholesalers for much less than standard pickup covers. My Epi originals had a passive resistance of about 14.5K Ohms!!!!! http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_archtop/Kent_Armstrong_Suspended_Jazz_Humbucker.html. As long as you are talking about KA pickups and bumping the thread, I think of it as no dis-service to the OP. At this point, I do not know if Kent Armstrong supplies Epiphone with other OEM pickups in addition to these P90's. I have some KA's in a Benedetto Benny. Most of the time I played with the middle one set to zero volume. They include his 61 Strat, 57 Strat, 66 Tele, Gretsch P90's, 59 Esquire and 78 Musicmaster pickups. These new pickups allow you to completely equalize the string balance through height adjustment of individual polepieces. 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. A no brainer is if price is an issue and you're only playing jazz on this ax, you only need to replace the neck pickup. i dont know anything about those models mentioned, but just a word of props for Kent Armstrong, he is a super nice guy and makes a quality product. That pickup combo gave the most amazing tones. What's the opinion from those Again, it took me by surprise about the sheer number of pickups they produce. I used the vintage in the neck and the HPAOR1 in the bridge. It is only available as a side-mount (pickguard mount) due to varying neck sizes from manufacturer to manufacturer. 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. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. I would have been doing all the work and Dan would get as much - actually more for just using his name. tone forum. even the lower priced ones.. 30.00 or so, in single coils were excellent. In fact, modern guitarists such as Phoebe Bridgers still swing Danelectros over their shoulders quite often. Mar 9, 2015 #6 Among its other design factors, Danelectros magic can be traced straight to the highly unique pickups that Nathan Daniel designed. the pickups in my bree/blue fretless are kent armstrong hand-wounds very nice. I want to do it unobtrusively and I don't like piezo pickups, so I'm planning on getting a floating pickup and making a new pickguard to mount it. That bridge pup with full treble and plenty of gain on the amp gets you a nice biting tone like Claptons' John Mayall period. Someone tell me if this is right, please add corrections? You must log in or register to reply here. If it's a 3-humbucker guitar I strongly recommend the following : 1. the By Just depends what tones you're after; whatever you choose, you'll probably end up buying pedals to make it sound more like one of the others. Tech experts from Seymour Duncan are regularly on this forum, and are clearly labeled as employees of Seymour Duncan. I got the cheap ones (I was only 18 at the time) and was very pleased. but ebay prices will beat them.. handy for descriptions though. In fact, you were doing that on the vid and it was good. before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. One look at them, and its easy to see why they quickly took the name lipstick pickups. One retailer mentions that Kent Armstrong's pickups with adjustable poles can be adjusted to work with either nickel or bronze strings, a claim that doesn't appear to originate with the manufacturer. It would be hard to describe in words just how bad they were. ive noticed that about my guitar that the middle doesnt really do much. Super Block United States. Kent goes on to describe "It just didn't seem right to me. Really thin and very harsh. SBUK They cost around 40 give-or-take here (Seymour Duncan and The pickups are priced nicely as well. He had a KA Vintage in the neck and KA Hot Rod (both nickel covered) in the bridge. The middle pup doesn't do much tone-wise on a 3 pup LP so the stock Epi pup is fine in my view. EMGs or something else but they were so good I've kept them. Inside the pickup, the improvements continue. But he is the ideal example of repetitiveness, and also extreme rythmic monotonity, which is interesting to Good info, I kinda want to check out a newer one from the custom shop. I had that configuration on an Epi LP and it worked great. Hijacking my own thread:doh: It's got the M213K PAF at the neck and a M214K Distortion at the bridge. Down solos the bridge pickup. I The downside was that you could get close to a Strat sound, and you could get close to a humbucker sound, but you couldn't nail either one. Kent Armstrong makes a number of different hand-wound pickups and will do custom work as well. www.wdmusic.com is the us distributor. I had a licensed Armstrong Floater installed in my Korean Gretsch Synchromatic(laminate) and I have to say it turned an unusable acoustic jazz guitar into an excellent electric jazz guitar for trad jazz/swing style rhythm playing and leads. All times are GMT-7. These are the Kent Armstrong pickups in my Soloist: The bridge pickup has a bright fendery tone, for a humbucker it. All are welcome, from seasoned pros to absolute beginners. Very well built pickups, that sound good also. There are 2 different types of Kent Armstrongs. Indeed, the Kent Armstrong lipstick pickups on Scheff basses sound strong and clear. 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. I currently have one of their mini-humbuckers in the neck of my Tele. Great pickups for jazz and classic rock tones, these pickups are the real deal. Very nice guy. That's the only first hand experience I have with Kent Armstrong pickups. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c0631601a9af2e4 I had a 12 polepiece nickel covered Kent Armstrong in the neck position of a double humbucker Tele for a while, and it was a very sweet sounding humbucker. Pasted as rich text. Unlike the Duncan SMB4D the Armstrong is very consistent all the way up the neck with thick mids, clear highs and growling lows. It sounded pretty good. Kent is a great guy. 62.133.128.109 Are all of his current pickups made over seas? http://www.kentarmstrong.com/KentContact.html. Display as a link instead, Playing them clean in a tube amp.best tone I've ever heard. If you go here. Also what is the difference between active and passive pickups? Judging by their use on low-end guitars I assume they're cheaper to make. I contacted Kent Armstrong himself about the pickup thinking maybe I'd just have him make me new one and here was his Santa Barbara, California. they have the full range and a brief description of each one. Between the warmth and adjustability, you just can't beat this pickup. Your IP: What would you guys recommend fro the bridge of a Les Paul if I want deep bass, solid mids, and sweet(smooth) highs. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. i think ill go for them. This instrument is listed as being in 'very good' condition in accordance with Reverb's definition of the term. Talk with your fellow tone freaks on the web's liveliest (and friendliest!) I mixed and matched and put his 54 neck and 57 middle with a 62 in the bridge to slightly increase output and fatten up tone. custom pickups into a 1994 Gibson Les Paul Standard. You are using an out of date browser. Thanks to their popularity, finding vintage, original lipstick pickups is next to impossible. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. I'm actually thinking of up grading. Specifically the tele bridge and the neck mini humbucker pickups. Anyone have any experience with them? I had a KA Hot 60s Tele Neck pup in a proje I'd like to try one. Especially the humbuckers and P90 humbucker retrofit and P90s Im very easy to satisfy; just give me a '58 Les Paul, a '52 Fender Tele w/ Bigsby, a '63 Gibson ES-335, a '62 Marshall JTM45, a '59 Fender Bassman, and a dozen or so assorted vintage Fender blackfaces and tweeds to play through and Ill be just fine. [/quote] Thanks. WebEmail: sales@kentarmstrong.com Phone: (239) 543-3625 Fax: (239) 543-5874 WD Music Products, Inc. 17570 N. Tamiami Trail Suite 1 North Fort Myers, FL 33903 I love the look of 3 humbuckers, but the extra one does little sonically.

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