do kent armstrong do alnico 2s? You may have to register The neck pickup produces a surprisingly authentic jazz tone with . I don't need to read posts like this, Greg! I currently have one of their mini-humbuckers in the neck of my Tele. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. But the in-between Post up some sound files, I'd love to hear them. I've known that these two types of pick-up magnets existed for a while now, what is the difference between them and what are the tonal characteristics of each? The magic is in your fingers. I got the hot-rodded PAFs and they have held up quite well. They are here to help. Wasn't so keen on the bridge which is hot @ 15k. But part of that is the guitar. And Strat Players like SRV retrofitted lipsticks into their Fenders years ago. It's just magnets and wire at the end of the day. In my case, a 30 minute job involving a certain amount of swearing. If I was having another Sei or similar built I'd have KAs in it. I'll have to get around to trying it in a "real" guitar one of these days. You must log in or register to reply here. But the in-between setting runs both pickups in series wiring. The customer changed his mind and went with a Different Armstrong. I played classic / rock / blues at the time and got several compliments on my sound after gigs. 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. no, i don't like those one bit. WebKent Armstrong is one of the foremost electric instrument pickup designers in the music industry. 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. Kent then went on to make his own pickups using the name 'Rainbow Pickups' and once his name was more established, he changed it to Kent Armstrong Pickups. Today theyre specifically designed for the pickups. I haven't needed to use him for years but his rewinds were superb. 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). That said, other Korean Kent Armstrong pickups I tried sounded very good as well, so I would not hesitate trying them. Today, lipstick pickups and their tone are still synonymous with the Danelectro sound. Daniel found he could source lipstick tubes from wholesalers for much less than standard pickup covers. 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. these prices are pretty reasonable i think. It may not display this or other websites correctly. 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. Epoxy casting inside the cover allows for added coil to give a sweet mini-humbucker tone. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. It will still fit and fasten to any other archtop that is replacing a floater. The fit and finish of the year 2000 Fender American Standard Strat are excellent. Sunny Coalville. Mike, Any experience with this one? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_archtop/Kent_Armstrong_Suspended_Jazz_Humbuck I just purchased an El Rey4 and I find the original pickup kind of listless. son. Announcing the all new Side mounted Jazz Pickup. has body but the upper frequency contour is really interesting. I contacted Kent Armstrong himself about the pickup thinking maybe I'd just have him make me new one and here was his These new pickups allow you to completely equalize the string balance through height adjustment of individual polepieces. I would be interested in you comments about the Benedetto swap. 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. Powered by Invision Community. I imagine earlier pre WD Armstrong pickups would hold quite a bit of value. good low end with plenty of midrange cut-through and hi sparkle 500k pots are good with P90's if the pickup resonance is in a good range. 04-16-2008, 05:17 PM Well by looking at the list of players that he's made pickups for, he should be **** good. Active pickups are battery-boosted for even more power, usually with an on-board 9v battery. 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). This page was generated at 01:08 AM. When searching for the right single-coils for his guitars, Daniel knew they would have to be easy and inexpensive to manufacture. To start viewing messages, 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. Check out any vintage Zep live footage, and youll see what we mean. He is a very good friend and a good guy also. The problem with P90s is that they are more than often too hot. The pickups are hot a great pairing with my Engal Powerball, Mesa Roadking and Carvin V3 all modern high gain amps. ive noticed that about my guitar that the middle doesnt really do much. Like FilterTrons to Gretsch, PAFs to Gibson, and Strat single-coils to Fender, they essentially define the soul of the brand. Again, it took me by surprise about the sheer number of pickups they produce. They sound very authentic for P90's and when used in Parallel, they move into Tele territory for tone. I had my LP wired so that 1 volume pot was a master volume, and the other was middle pup only. I changed out the stock p.ups because they were pretty crappy (apparently they have improved a lot over the years). 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. They cost around 40 give-or-take here (Seymour Duncan and I don't think they're anywhere near the Rolphs but I can't be arsed to swap them between guitars to do a real comparo. The vintage is real nice - sweet and full. Alnico magnets are the traditional 50s/60s Gibson/Fender standards and generally have a warmer fuller tone than ceramic. My Epi originals had a passive resistance of about 14.5K Ohms!!!!! I've had a number of Kent Armstrong pickups over the years, and been pleased with them all. I replaced it with a Dimarzio Tone Zone and have been happy as can be since. Looks like you haven't made a choice yet. Maybe I got a bad set but they were the muddiest most life-less pickups I have ever tried. Never worry about fitting a pickup under the strings again! If this is your first visit, be sure to I wandered over to the Kent Armstrong website earlier. These are the Kent Armstrong pickups in my Soloist: The bridge pickup has a bright fendery tone, for a humbucker it. 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. 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. I dropped by my local guitar shop today and the tech had just installed KENT ARMSTRONG (?) Theyre unique pickups, different from a Tele neck pickup, different from a Stratocaster single-coil pickup. I put a set of noisless Kent Armstrong P90's in a PRS SE Soapbar 2 - I also wired them Series or Parallel. Your IP: ive seen a few for sale and was hoping u could tell me a bit about their sounds and what So now I use the Gretsch when I know an amp is going to be needed and my Heritage 575 is too modern soundingah the choices I get to make. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. While some might call it a brittle sound, others love the faster response and better note definition. Danos usually feature a 3-way toggle switch. Tech experts from Seymour Duncan are regularly on this forum, and are clearly labeled as employees of Seymour Duncan. Has anyone checked Peter Bernstein Zeidler? It may not display this or other websites correctly. im looking to a bluesy peter greeny kind of tone. Compare to Super Block United Kingdom. EMGs or something else but they were so good I've kept them. One common upgrade is the pickup covers. But the name is much more accurate than many players realize. WebKent Armstrong has long been the best jazz pickup designer in the industry. 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. tone forum. While scores of guitarists got started on these plywood powerhouses, most would move on to something more reliable as their playing progressed. 2 reviews, 4,340 hits, 0 comments 9.9 Superb HSDO-1 Super Distortion This is a high output, tight, bassy That is not a knock on Eastman, they 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 He was jamming on it while I was in the store which is what caught my attention. I have the Tele bridge pickup and it's OK, but not great. However, Dan and Kent had a major falling-out, as the story explains: "The proposal was for Kent to manufacture and distribute the pickups, and for using his fathers name they would split the proceeds. Learning Jazz Improvisation - "Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate". I just ordered some Burstbuckers (#2, #3) on the strength of recommendations on this forum. Theyre their own thing. I like the WD Kent Armstrong pickups very much. Bridge position a hotter KA like : http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Rocker_Alnico_Humbucker_Chrome_Cover_HRC-1A. it does not have that upper mid spike and is much more PAFish? I was happy with it. I emailed Kent Armstrong himself, and he said they were PAF's. Display as a link instead, He'll also custom wind you anything you want if you call him. Most people consider Kent's jazz Pickups to be the best in the world and who are we to argue? They weren't very good. The variability might have worked in your favor. The extended cover allows for use with traditional 7 string arch-top electrics. I had some 7 string pickups from KA. To start viewing messages, even the lower priced ones.. 30.00 or so, in single coils were excellent. He learned to wind pickups from his father and Bill Lawrence. 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. archtops) and has always had a real good product. The PAF and bridge humbucker in my Jackson Soloist are excellent pickups. When I first got the guitar my standard procedure was to swap things for There was a set in a D'Angelico I just traded. His pickups are really, really nice. has body but the upper frequency contour is really interesting. This is the same pickup used by Eastman on their 7 string archtops. Very nice guy. All are welcome, from seasoned pros to absolute beginners. Every one of my archtops (5) has a Kent Armstrong 14-pole PAF humbucker. www.wdmusic.com is the us distributor. They certainly suit me, although YMMV. It was strung with Les Paul Signature strings (009). select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. Though arguably, modern improvements have made lipstick pickup design better, some players live and die by the originals. They make the Mexi Standard that I've had since 1998 sound so good I play it as first choice on a lot of gigs now. 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. It is the bridge model of the 4/5 string soapbar. People still mistakenly use 0.022uF/22nF/22000pF or 47nF caps on anything, but even a 22nF is really too dark on mid level inductance pickups for fundamental note definition up the entire neck. The PAF is OK but the Distortion kicks but. The copper wire coil is now wound around a custom-sized plastic bobbin that features an Alnico bar magnet right down the center. They are here to help. Happy hunting! 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. All rights reserved. It felt wrong and so I told him that I wasn't interested." etc.) custom pickups into a 1994 Gibson Les Paul Standard. Terms & Conditions | Registered Trademarks, There are 2 different types of Kent Armstrongs. But then Danelectros are no longer the only place youll find lipsticks. 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. well ive got a korean made epi which im guessing is about 93 95ish so would and upgrade to kent armstrongs be a good idea? before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. But the pickups arent the only reason Danelectro guitars sound the way they do. This is probably a dumb question to a lot of you but I'm still relatively virginal guitar-wise. I put a set of noisless Kent Armstrong P90's in a PRS SE Soapbar 2 - I also wired them Series or Parallel. 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 that configuration on an Epi LP and it worked great. This is fairly hot for a jazz guitar. Just an opinion but the early ones are great. I've fitted their humbuckers and P94s to several guitars in recent years. In the 1940s, Nathan Daniel found success with his budget line of electric instrument amplifiers, Silvertone and Danelectro. Their relatively hollow, plywood-composite construction also plays a significant role. Sam Sherry, Thanks for your response. Ceramic tend to have a "thinner" sound, but powerful ceramics give good metal tones when over-driven. I also suggest that you choose your priority for heat level. There was a Kent Armstrong humbucker of some sort in the bridge position of my US Masters when I got it. I thought it sounded terrible. Really thin 1995-2022 Harmony Central, Inc. All rights reserved. Looking for the ultimate Jazz/Fusion Allrounder Guitar, The "capacitor trick" on a Superblock US: 3 values compared (with audio), Looking for some Wisdom on Mini Humbuckers. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c0631601a9af2e4 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. You cannot paste images directly. Virtually no one knows about the high end products. They include his 61 Strat, 57 Strat, 66 Tele, Gretsch P90's, 59 Esquire and 78 Musicmaster pickups. link above. He made pickups for many UK builders (not to mention Benedetto (sp?) Someone tell me if this is right, please add corrections? You can post now and register later. Note: This instrument has been modified from it's original condition. We understand the questions. Due to their size limitations and other considerations, lipstick pickups provided a low output and DC resistance that excelled at clean tones. They also make a set of Rory Gallagher pickups that were made to replicate the original Rory pickups provided by his estate. 1995-2022 Harmony Central, Inc. All rights reserved. These pickups still deliver the same tone but are much more reliable and easier to manufacture. 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. Lipstick wiring is also a contributor. Perhaps Ryan Burke of the 60-cycle Hum Podcast described it best, saying, they basically sound the way they look: Despite their penchant for clean sounds, theyre also a ton of fun with a cranked amp exuding a snarly breakup and a loose low end. Clear editor. Judging by their use on low-end guitars I assume they're cheaper to make. That pickup combo gave the most amazing tones. but ebay prices will beat them.. handy for descriptions though. Copyright 2021 Gibson Brands, Inc. All rights reserved. I can cast beige ones but adding the colour decreases my working time. This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies. i think ill go for them. 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. Indeed, difficult especially without his hand. 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. 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. I'm really shocked at reading this thread as I have bought 2 guitars that have had KA pups (mini hum and hums) and in both cases these guitars were totally liberated by replacing themI replaced the KA mini humbucker with a Duncan SM-3 mini and the humbuckers with a Duncan JB and a Bare knuckle Stormy Monday. the upgrade turned both guitars from potential ebay items into favourites.go figure!? the only ones I didn't like were the stacked humbuck hot output.. way too dark for my taste. The Kent Armstrong Humbucker on the Eastman AR371ce measured about 8.7K Ohms at the output jack. I've had several KA PUs. In fact, you were doing that on the vid and it was good. Pasted as rich text. All of these modern updates have done nothing to quell demand for lipstick pickups, new and old. But not everyone. humbuck size p90s.. and the vintage 12 pole humbuck. I've had Kent Armstrong pick-ups in my sheraton for about 15 years. this drumming His current product line is produced to his specs overseas for the "mass" market and as such seems to carry a big "bang for the buck" combined with low cost. 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. He had a KA Vintage in the neck and KA Hot Rod (both nickel covered) in the bridge. Talk with your fellow tone freaks on the web's liveliest (and friendliest!) As long as you are talking about KA pickups and bumping the thread, I think of it as no dis-service to the OP. 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. Was not knocked out by the tele set I had. Hi, I don't have a personnal experience with the Armstrong Casino P90s, but I've had other KA pickups (a Firebird mini hum and lipstick pickps) and they were quite good. and start thinking about it and then my bank account will suffer. do Pickups like our Lipstick Tube Strat pickup drop comfortably into most Fender-style pickup routes. Specifically the tele bridge and the neck mini humbucker pickups. TDPRI, short for Telecaster Discussion Page Reissue, is the leading online community and marketplace for Telecaster guitars. They make many, many pickups. That's the only first hand experience I have with Kent Armstrong pickups. Unlike the Duncan SMB4D the Armstrong is very consistent all the way up the neck with thick mids, clear highs and growling lows. 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. Don't know for sure. Armstrong or Rautia pickups are a much better way to go. VPB Hot Rod Series Hot Twins Split Pickup For Fender Precision Bass We are not able to accommodate order changes or cancellations once you have completed the check out process. Haven't got them yet. I'm not sure how their other pickups are. I have WebKent Armstrong - Any Good? sorry, didnt mean to digress from the original topic. Any users out there? This pickup is vertualy brand new. To answer that question, well have to dig into their history, lipstick pickup construction, and their relationship to Danelectro guitars. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Players love how they teeter between tone and chaos. I've had several pups in my sheri. They were very impresive. Kent is a great guy. Thanks again. I played a mates Bare-Knuckle p.ups the other day and they sounded AWESOME. Playing them clean in a tube amp.best tone I've ever heard. The reason I asked here is I know I'll get good info I can trust, you go through a lot of chaff before you find something really useful trawling. 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. They offer authentic PAF tone, sounding open and warm while retaining excellent string to string articulation. 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. 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. If yours sound like P-90's should sound OR you are happy with them, then don't even think about replacing them. But they were very noise free. WebWPU90H Hot Rod Series Hot Soap P-90 This beefed up version of Kent Armstrong's already muscular WPU90 pickup utilizes the sweetness of a pure alnico magnet. Some are excellent, some not so great, but of course that's a matter of taste. 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. Performance & security by Cloudflare. P90's are normally ~8H -- nearly double the inductance of an average PAF. 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). May 20, 2009 in Epiphone Electrics. All I know is WD sells Kent Armstrong pups at higher end pricing with no sound clips or specs. There was a Kent Armstrong humbucker of some sort in the bridge position of my US Masters when I got it. 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. There seem to be a plethora of newer 100 watt smaller floor based amps these days. Glad a better product exists from them but they need a top notch marketing person in the states. I have to admit I have only seen and heard the import stuff from Kent Armstrong. My gut feeling is that they are one of the better import options out there but maybe not the same level as US aftermarket. Using the middle pup with either gives you something inbetween which I didn't like much. They're were custom wound and came with the guitar. Not a new arguement but an interesting take. They are some of the cleanest pickups I have played. IMHO, for a Casino a good set is about 7.5k/8k for the bridge and 6.5k/7k for the neck pickup. They sound very authentic for P90's and when used in I have some KA's in a Benedetto Benny. i think ill try and persuade my dad to rewire it for me. 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. 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). WebThese pickups are handwound in the USA by Kent Armstrong and retail for $160 new, not the import version. WebThe Rocker cleans up nicely and is warm, even in an alder/maple set up. Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. I e-mailed about a possible custom wind and Kent himself replied quickly that he'd be happy to do one. 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 recommend them. 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). If this is your first visit, be sure to Gotta find that pup and find a guitar to install it in soon! Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Between the warmth and adjustability, you just can't beat this pickup. Kent is Dan Armstrongs (of ampeg plexiglass etc. 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. again, i cannot help with what you are really asking, but after reading some disparaging other comments, i thought i should at least share my experience with his handmade jazz pickups, which are superb. For that sort of tone you want the alnico 2 magnets. 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. the Matthew Bellamy of Muse used the "Motherbucker" In his first few custom guitars. Just youtube "Stockholm Sydrome Glastonbury" You'll get the idea, For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. While I really like the SBUS, you can count me in that it's bright. This company advertises that they have the hand wound Kent Armstrongs: http://www.oneflightupguitars.com/kentarmstrong.html. Alnico 3 with Formvar wire. Also, the bridge model had slightly increased output to better balance with the neck position pickup. Some others seemed to like them though. Up solos the neck pickup. I was aware that Kent Armstrong made pickups and they were used in a lot of guitars. Thanks one and all, that's filled in a lot of blanks for me, and hopefully others. Kent Armstrong has long been the best jazz pickup designer in the industry. L5 CES started in '53, had p90s, soon got staple pickups, then Carvin or Kiesel Alan Holdsworth HH2 This instrument is listed as being in 'very good' condition in accordance with Reverb's definition of the term. I once had occasion to call Mr Armstrong in Vermont and found him to be absolutely accommodating and quite a delightful person.