I have no experience of his full size humbuckers but have always thought his fender singles were real good and a lot of people speak very highly of his P90s. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Very nice guy. Well, this time he has outdone himself. For me, the tone is wayyy too bright, and it seems like the top 80% of the tone wheel is all the same (this could actually be a wiring issue, I have to have it inspected). Is there any better bang for the buck in a new guitar than this. Thanks to their popularity, finding vintage, original lipstick pickups is next to impossible. Hughes and Kettner, Victory Amps, Black Star, Two Notes, etc. But the pickups arent the only reason Danelectro guitars sound the way they do. tone forum. This wiring results in an output boost with a woolier midrange punch than you might expect from lipsticks. They're were custom wound and came with the guitar. Your IP: I've had a number of Kent Armstrong pickups over the years, and been pleased with them all. You may have to register
Posted March 1, 2021. 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. too many fuzz pedals to buy first! 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. What's the opinion from those Jangly, chiming, clear, and detailed are often used to describe their singular voice. The PAF and bridge humbucker in my Jackson Soloist are excellent pickups. I'd go for that configuration again if I had a 3 humbucker guitar. They certainly suit me, although YMMV. Unfortunately it didn't work out - for Dan wanted an additional 10% above of the proceeds for the use of his name. Like FilterTrons to Gretsch, PAFs to Gibson, and Strat single-coils to Fender, they essentially define the soul of the brand. Announcing the all new Side mounted Jazz Pickup. I played classic / rock / blues at the time and got several compliments on my sound after gigs. Anyone have any experience with them? do kent armstrong do alnico 2s? Nice wire, nice waxed string cover on the coil, nice box, good screws and springs. Your link has been automatically embedded. I dropped by my local guitar shop today and the tech had just installed KENT ARMSTRONG (?) Never worry about fitting a pickup under the strings again! They sounded decent. Danos usually feature a 3-way toggle switch. These new pickups allow you to completely equalize the string balance through height adjustment of individual polepieces. This explains why I wasnt as concerned with the Epiphones tone. I really like my Ibanez AM205-AV Prestige. 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. He is a very good friend and a good guy also. I was aware that Kent Armstrong made pickups and they were used in a lot of guitars. Mike, thanks for the feedback (no pun intended). The Epiphone pickups measured 7.7K (neck) and 8.2K (bridge). 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. Dan and Kent planned to reproduce the pickups that Dan and Bill Lawrence made for the famed see-through acrylic "Dan Armstrong" guitar, sold by Ampeg. JavaScript is disabled. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I can't remember what the model on it was, but I do remember trying to find it and it was discontinued. I believe he still does hand winds to order in the states. JavaScript is disabled. You are using an out of date browser. 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. My Epi originals had a passive resistance of about 14.5K Ohms!!!!! But they were very noise free. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. Kent is a great guy. I'll hafta get some of Telenators PT-90's. They weren't very good. I don't have one but I use the capacitor in my ToneBlock 202, and I do have the treble up higher than I used to. 6.6k. These new pickups allow you to completely equalize the string balance through height adjustment of individual polepieces. They also make a set of Rory Gallagher pickups that were made to replicate the original Rory pickups provided by his estate. Kent goes on to describe "It just didn't seem right to me. Performance & security by Cloudflare. It is only available as a side-mount (pickguard mount) due to varying neck sizes from manufacturer to manufacturer. KA's are available in double creme though and come standard with 4 wires if you're into coil tapping and in the UK they're extremely cheap and I think quite a bargain. thanks. Pretty much what the thread title says, anyone know if Kent Armstrong pickups are decent? This pickup is vertualy brand new. Your previous content has been restored. The neck pickup produces a surprisingly authentic jazz tone with, the tone rolled down, with it rolled up it's a a warm nice tone with. 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. Copyright 2021 Gibson Brands, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.kentarmstrong.com/KentContact.html. At this point, I do not know if Kent Armstrong supplies Epiphone with other OEM pickups in addition to these P90's. Seymour Duncan Strat Sized Lipstick Pickup, Seymour Duncan Danelectro Lipstick Pickup, Seymour W. Duncan Biography: The Man Behind It All, Mark Holcomb Scarlet & Scourge Signature Humbuckers, The Wes Hauch Jupiter Rails Humbucker Pickup Set, The Present and Future of Lipstick Pickups. http://wdmusicproducts.com/Merchant2_Code=PUHMBCKR. I imagine earlier pre WD Armstrong pickups would hold quite a bit of value. Judging by their use on low-end guitars I assume they're cheaper to make. The copper wire coil is now wound around a custom-sized plastic bobbin that features an Alnico bar magnet right down the center. Webhey guys, i was wondering if any of u have had experience with kent armstrong pickups. I think it could do the whole fusion thing, but I have not really ran it like that. Alnico magnets are the traditional 50s/60s Gibson/Fender standards and generally have a warmer fuller tone than ceramic. Fender has even offered several lipstick-equipped Strats right from the factory floor. In fact, modern guitarists such as Phoebe Bridgers still swing Danelectros over their shoulders quite often. Archtop pickups are halfway down. I got the hot-rodded PAFs and they have held up quite well. FWIW, the markings on the bottom of the original P-90's say Epiphone (engraved in the bottom plate) with a sticker on each that says either neck BHK or Bridge BHK for the respective pickup. 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. Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. No lie, folks, he also built the Televersary. I played a mates Bare-Knuckle p.ups the other day and they sounded AWESOME. To start viewing messages,
Danos usually feature a 3-way toggle switch. Up solos the neck pickup. I wasn't a huge fan of the noiseless P90's I briefly hadthere was a big volume imbalance. Mike, Any experience with this one? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_archtop/Kent_Armstrong_Suspended_Jazz_Humbuck Alan Mearns - incredible Bach arrangements / playing. 500k pots are good with P90's if the pickup resonance is in a good range. I once had occasion to call Mr Armstrong in Vermont and found him to be absolutely accommodating and quite a delightful person. I replaced it with a Dimarzio Tone Zone and have been happy as can be since. I like the WD Kent Armstrong pickups very much. When I first got the guitar my standard procedure was to swap things for. 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). Unfortunately for many years these sorely needed pickups - made by Dan Armstrong & Son never materalized.". Jazz guitar players are less interested in output and the unique voice pickups can bring to their instrument. Vermont-wound pickups from Mr. Armstrong and his son are still within easy reach. These are the Kent Armstrong pickups in my Soloist: The bridge pickup has a bright fendery tone, for a humbucker it. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Well by looking at the list of players that he's made pickups for, he should be **** good. Neck postion, this KA pup : http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/PAF_Style_Chrome_Cover_HPAC-1, 2. Don't despare so quickly. www.wdmusic.com is the us distributor. I prefer passive pickups for their character and subtle nuances. 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. They are here to help. I've got them in two guitars of my own. This is fairly hot for a jazz guitar. They sound very authentic for P90's and when used in Parallel, they move into Tele territory for tone. And not only did these metal tubes give his pickups a unique look, but the metal cover helps shield the electronics and mellowed the otherwise ice-picky sound of his design. But part of that is the guitar. Terms & Conditions | Registered Trademarks, There are 2 different types of Kent Armstrongs. He'll also custom wind you anything you want if you call him. It felt wrong and so I told him that I wasn't interested." Clear editor. I e-mailed about a possible custom wind and Kent himself replied quickly that he'd be happy to do one. I don't need to read posts like this, Greg! The fit and finish of the year 2000 Fender American Standard Strat are excellent. also with respect, I could not agree less. In the same price range I prefer GFS pups. etc.) These pickups still deliver the same tone but are much more reliable and easier to manufacture. All are welcome, from seasoned pros to absolute beginners. Theres a guy selling the following KA pickups around here for a reasonable price Are they any good? All of these modern updates have done nothing to quell demand for lipstick pickups, new and old. 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. From years of modifying and designing special recipes for his customers, Kent I have Up solos the neck pickup. Below are pictures of this model of pup as well as the Casino, as listed on the WD website: A site named "Dan Armstrong - A Man and His Guitars" outlines the history of Dan and his son, Kent, and their manufacture of guitars and pickups. Kent Armstrong humbucker removed from good low end with plenty of midrange cut-through and hi sparkle 2 reviews, 4,340 hits, 0 comments 9.9 Superb HSDO-1 Super Distortion This is a high output, tight, bassy We are not able to accommodate order changes or cancellations once you have completed the check out process. You could probably find a wiring diagram on the net, and it's a 15 minute job for someone who's good with a soldering iron. Even with a dynacomp switched on! I heard the hot rod vintage is better than a JB? I have one of his "hot-rails" type tele bridge pickups in my thinline and that is an amazing sounding pickup, not to mention the nicest made pickup of this type that I have seen from ANYONE (it even has a chrome plated grounding plate on the base), and that is one of his "mass-produced" pickups. Very warm sound. But the in-between setting runs both pickups in series wiring. For that sort of tone you want the alnico 2 magnets. Not horrified, but bowled over with mediocrity. One common upgrade is the pickup covers. Bags of twang and not microphonic like the SD pickup I replaced. It is true he never runs out of notes. Yeah, I have his "high output" (not the "distortion" model but the one below that) and whatever is below that (forget what it's called) models in my Carvin DC-127. IMHO, for a Casino a good set is about 7.5k/8k for the bridge and 6.5k/7k for the neck pickup. 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). I always wanted to get a third pickup (the Armstrong Rock Treble, or something like that) for the guitar, but haven't done so yet. Talk with your fellow tone freaks on the web's liveliest (and friendliest!) In the 1940s, Nathan Daniel found success with his budget line of electric instrument amplifiers, Silvertone and Danelectro. There was a Kent Armstrong humbucker of some sort in the bridge position of my US Masters when I got it. Indeed, the Kent Armstrong lipstick pickups on Scheff basses sound strong and clear. But the in-between 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 had some 7 string pickups from KA. (and Szab (or Szabo) and not Sczabo or Szarb for God's sake). 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. sorry, didnt mean to digress from the original topic. However, there are some people who want even more flexibility in this style of pickup, so Kent has brewed up something new and even more versatile. Rickstar123 Is this Mark Whitfield's new D'Angelico??? S, Copyright 2022 - Jazz Guitar Online - All rights reserved - Privacy Policy. I have a Bendetto floater on my Guild Benedetto AA and I love it. Finally, modern lipstick single-coil pickups offer a variety of wiring improvements. select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. 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. Some others seemed to like them though. Then you can dial the middle one to zero. Here's a link to a great semi-technical explanation: http://www.guitartechcraig.com/techpckp/pickups.htm. They offer authentic PAF tone, sounding open and warm while retaining excellent string to string articulation. These are the Kent Armstrong pickups in my Soloist: The bridge pickup has a bright fendery tone, for a humbucker it. Both these Kent Armstrong made in the USA pickups are far superior to what Eastman is selling on most of their guitars. There seem to be a plethora of newer 100 watt smaller floor based amps these days. select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. It had a nice tone, good I tell every one of my customers to give them a try if they are looking for high gain, and let them all know I will gladly replace them with something of their choosing and not one have come back looking for replacements in over 14 years. WebFor Sale First Edition 2003 Ibanez JTK1 JetKing w/ Kent Armstrong PAF Humbuckers in Transparent Black Red Sunburst Finish. 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 What would you guys recommend fro the bridge of a Les Paul if I want deep bass, solid mids, and sweet(smooth) highs. 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. I currently have one of their mini-humbuckers in the neck of my Tele. While scores of guitarists got started on these plywood powerhouses, most would move on to something more reliable as their playing progressed. I'd like to try one. The cheaper type are made in the far-east while the more expensive ones are USA made. P90's are normally ~8H -- nearly double the inductance of an average PAF. I can cast beige ones but adding the colour decreases my working time. That's the only first hand experience I have with Kent Armstrong pickups. This pickup is only 3/8 thick but sacrifices nothing in terms of Assuming they do, it is curious how so many people automatically rip out the stock Epi pickups and replace them with (you guessed it) Kent Armstrongs. It was definitely an improvement over the stock pickup, which itself was not a bad pickup. Gotta find that pup and find a guitar to install it in soon! He has a Classic 57 mounted as a floating humbucker That could be a great solution! Using the middle pup with either gives you something inbetween which I didn't like much. Every one of my archtops (5) has a Kent Armstrong 14-pole PAF humbucker. I put a set of noisless Kent Armstrong P90's in a PRS SE Soapbar 2 - I also wired them Series or Parallel. I would be interested in you comments about the Benedetto swap. 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. no, i don't like those one bit. Just youtube "Stockholm Sydrome Glastonbury" You'll get the idea, the idea that the motherbucker is Broootal! Epoxy casting inside the cover allows for added coil to give a sweet mini-humbucker tone. VPB Hot Rod Series Hot Twins Split Pickup For Fender Precision Bass The lead "Vintage" pickup was less chunky sounding than a Burstbucker 1 but creamier than an Antiquity. Daniel found he could source lipstick tubes from wholesalers for much less than standard pickup covers. humbuck size p90s.. and the vintage 12 pole humbuck. I have a set of his humbuckers in my neckthrough semihollow. 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. Amazing humility saying built and repaired pickups for 50 years when he is the guy personally hand making the pickups for the amazing Ken Smith basses. and start thinking about it and then my bank account will suffer. They are very dull and lifeless None of that typical P-90 sound. The Kent Armstrong's were about 8K Ohms (as they should be). Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c0631601a9af2e4 The lipstick pickup construction not only achieved Daniels goal of being easy and cheap to make, but it also delivered a unique tone. WebKent Armstrong has long been the best jazz pickup designer in the industry. 62.133.128.109 Ceramic tend to have a "thinner" sound, but powerful ceramics give good metal tones when over-driven. The Gear Page is the leading online community and marketplace for guitars, amps, pedals, effects and associated gear. Their relatively hollow, plywood-composite construction also plays a significant role. Also what is the difference between active and passive pickups? They can be a little bit of figuring to roll off and clean up but once you find the sweet spot your good to go and you can't expect pristine creamy cleans from pickups of this output. I recommend them. dude i love that guitar! This is the 7 string version of Kent Armstrong's super popular jazz humbucking pickup. I've had several KA PUs. Haven't got them yet. They also split for single coil use better than any other humbucker I've tried. I have the Tele bridge pickup and it's OK, but not great. I have mentioned in previous posts that my tech had claimed that the stock P90 pups in my '56 Gold Top Les Paul and Zephyr Blues Deluxe (see my sig.) On 28/02/2021 at 14:34, Tvrtastic said: Kent Armstrong has posted a little clip about his life. 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. They were meant to be used straight into a tube amp, although an OD pedal is ok. has body but the upper frequency contour is really interesting. This pickup is only 3/8 thick but sacrifices nothing in terms of the full rich sound that players have come to expect from him. 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. Sold through big-box retailers like Sears Roebuck, they offered budding players decent amps at bargain prices. 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. For reference, lets take a look at our (retired) Danelectro Lipstick Tube pickup. thanks for your help. JavaScript is disabled. This sweet sounding jazz pickup comes in either neck-mount or side-mount configurations. WebDescription Reviews (0) Description This is a low output humbucker that is reminiscent of the early Gretsch FilterTron pickups which are used for rock, country and rockabilly. They make many, many pickups. I got the cheap ones (I was only 18 at the time) and was very pleased. I've had those pick ups in my MIM Tele for the last 5+ years and I think they're great, infact I kept them when I recently sold the guitar. link above. #Bedroom Level# Tube Amp, Is it possible. WebThe Rocker cleans up nicely and is warm, even in an alder/maple set up. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Though arguably, modern improvements have made lipstick pickup design better, some players live and die by the originals. Yup - I can stare at the screen for ages when you and Presa Tito are posting on a thread. That assembly was then wrapped in cellophane tape, vacuum wax potted, and inserted straight into the trademark lipstick tube coversactual lipstick tubes! I have the Tele bridge pickup and it's OK, but not great. I have another Tele with an SD AlNiCo II pickup that I prefer over the Kent Armstrong. Wa By even the lower priced ones.. 30.00 or so, in single coils were excellent. These custom-made covers allow them to be manufactured in many different sizes and fit the most popular pickup routes like Strat pickups. As long as you are talking about KA pickups and bumping the thread, I think of it as no dis-service to the OP. Just an opinion but the early ones are great. My gut feeling is that they are one of the better import options out there but maybe not the same level as US aftermarket. There is a chance that you might have gotten a "good" set of P90's as stock equipment on your Epi. It's funny that this thread just came up, because I discussed this topic with my tech just today. 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. If you go here' date='. The neck model was built Reverse Wound / Reverse Polarity from the bridge model for hum-canceling operation when using both pickups. Happy hunting! I emailed Kent Armstrong himself, and he said they were PAF's. regardless, jazz pickups don't sound anything like MB pickups. All are welcome, from seasoned pros to absolute beginners. I've got a set in an el-cheapo Flying V I have. I had my LP wired so that 1 volume pot was a master volume, and the other was middle pup only. Down solos the bridge pickup. I was talking with my luthier the other day abound building an archtop and he was also saying he could put a BK Stormy Monday as a floating pickup even being a regular-sized humbucker. For the past 25ish years he was THE top pickup rewind guy in the UK and only recently relocated back to the states (his pickup rewind business here continues to operate in his absence). This company advertises that they have the hand wound Kent Armstrongs: http://www.oneflightupguitars.com/kentarmstrong.html. Rewiring to 1 master vol plus a specific vol for middle pup should be quite cheap; it doesn't need any new / different components. I have spoken to him many times on the phone. When searching for the right single-coils for his guitars, Daniel knew they would have to be easy and inexpensive to manufacture. I also suggest that you choose your priority for heat level. Super Block United States. [/quote] Thanks. http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/PAF_Style_Chrome_Cover_HPAC-1, http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Rocker_Alnico_Humbucker_Chrome_Cover_HRC-1A. The later made-in China pickups are not nearly as well put together as the old ones. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. If yours sound like P-90's should sound OR you are happy with them, then don't even think about replacing them. do His pickups are really, really nice. Thanks one and all, that's filled in a lot of blanks for me, and hopefully others. custom pickups into a 1994 Gibson Les Paul Standard. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. I was shocked! Only really good for heavy metal sounds, although if linked to an on/off switch can be good to switch from passive to active for screaming solos.
Mopar Coolant Equivalent,
Donnie Sumner Obituary,
Apush Period 6 Dbq Prompts,
Is Byron Ferguson Still Alive,
Melton Times Births Deaths And Marriages,
Articles A