I got the cheap ones (I was only 18 at the time) and was very pleased. Middle position, your stock Epi neck pup, 3. Inside the pickup, the improvements continue. Sky/kent Armstrong Pickups I used the vintage in the neck and the HPAOR1 in the bridge. I've got a set in an el-cheapo Flying V I have. I wandered over to the Kent Armstrong website earlier. My gut feeling is that they are one of the better import options out there but maybe not the same level as US aftermarket. This is the 7 string version of Kent Armstrong's super popular jazz humbucking pickup. 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. Even with a dynacomp switched on! I have a set of Kent Armstrong's Icon series Strat pickups. I've fitted their humbuckers and P94s to several guitars in recent years. WebKent Armstrong - Any Good? 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. Kent is a great guy. You are using an out of date browser. These new pickups allow you to completely equalize the string balance through height adjustment of individual polepieces. I have used Seymours and Gibsons and there's very little difference, except in the price. 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. 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. 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. The later made-in China pickups are not nearly as well put together as the old ones. Between the warmth and adjustability, you just can't beat this pickup. it does not have that upper mid spike and is much more PAFish? Kent Armstrong has long been the best jazz pickup designer in the industry. I was aware that Kent Armstrong made pickups and they were used in a lot of guitars. And.they sounded way different too. Judging by their use on low-end guitars I assume they're cheaper to make. 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. i think ill try and persuade my dad to rewire it for me. I had some double blade Strat pickups in my parts Strat for a while. Someone tell me if this is right, please add corrections? You are using an out of date browser. This instrument is listed as being in 'very good' condition in accordance with Reverb's definition of the term. Mike, thanks for the feedback (no pun intended). Does anybody really play bebop these days? Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Archtop pickups are halfway down. By contrast, the Armstrong (VT-made) PAF 12-pole humbucker has a much fatter, more electric sound. All rights reserved. Display as a link instead, Is there any better bang for the buck in a new guitar than this. 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. Well, this time he has outdone himself. WebThe Rocker cleans up nicely and is warm, even in an alder/maple set up. Clear editor. They also split for single coil use better than any other humbucker I've tried. 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. I had an old discontinued KA Tele neck pick that sounded great in one guitar, but just so so in another, so I put it back in that one it sounded good in, and sold the guitar. Great price. To start viewing messages,
The new owner loves the sound of the KA too. Top 3: The Best Jazz Pickups by Seymour Duncan We all do. Assuming they do, it is curious how so many Up solos the neck pickup. 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. But during the electric guitar boom in the 1950s, he added the original Danelectro and Silvertone guitar to his lineup, again with the starter-budget guitarist in mind. You may have to register
Upload or insert images from URL. His pickups are really, really nice. In fact, you were doing that on the vid and it was good. Vermont-wound pickups from Mr. Armstrong and his son are still within easy reach. JavaScript is disabled. While some might call it a brittle sound, others love the faster response and better note definition. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. The, not so good, PUs may be great to other folks. tone forum. It's funny that this thread just came up, because I discussed this topic with my tech just today. Daniel found he could source lipstick tubes from wholesalers for much less than standard pickup covers. It may not display this or other websites correctly. 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. What are Lipstick Pickups? Heres All You Need to Know I also suggest that you choose your priority for heat level. Kent Armstrong Pickups 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. 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. Very warm sound. link above. Happy hunting! Hughes and Kettner, Victory Amps, Black Star, Two Notes, etc. When I first got the guitar my standard procedure was to swap things for. Talk with your fellow tone freaks on the web's liveliest (and friendliest!) 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. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. If this is your first visit, be sure to
he is quite the crackuphe was full of quips and one liners - it was an entertaining conversation. I got the hot-rodded PAFs and they have held up quite well. Kent Armstrong has long been the best jazz pickup designer in the industry. JavaScript is disabled. It is only available as a side-mount (pickguard mount) due to varying neck sizes from manufacturer to manufacturer. 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 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. And Danelectro continues to build the reissue Danelectros around the lipstick pickup platform. I just purchased an El Rey4 and I find the original pickup kind of listless. What would you guys recommend fro the bridge of a Les Paul if I want deep bass, solid mids, and sweet(smooth) highs. I would have been doing all the work and Dan would get as much - actually more for just using his name. 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 This pickup has the deadly combination of power and tone! I replaced it with a Dimarzio Tone Zone and have been happy as can be since. Post up some sound files, I'd love to hear them. 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. Great pickups for jazz and classic rock tones, these pickups are the real deal. That bridge pup with full treble and plenty of gain on the amp gets you a nice biting tone like Claptons' John Mayall period. I've had several pups in my sheri. these prices are pretty reasonable i think. What I did not know was the extent of the Kent Armstrong catalog. Well by looking at the list of players that he's made pickups for, he should be **** good. They are some of the cleanest pickups I have played. I got the cheap ones (I was only 18 at the time) and was very pleased. On 28/02/2021 at 14:34, Tvrtastic said: Kent Armstrong has posted a little clip about his life. Danos usually feature a 3-way toggle switch. The tone is bright and detailed with a single coil type twang that also provides great crunch on Learning Jazz Improvisation - "Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate". Glad a better product exists from them but they need a top notch marketing person in the states. too many fuzz pedals to buy first! Privacy Policy | Theres a guy selling the following KA pickups around here for a reasonable price Are they any good? Not horrified, but bowled over with mediocrity. All times are GMT-7. There is a chance that you might have gotten a "good" set of P90's as stock equipment on your Epi. Opinions on KENT ARMSTRONG pickups - Seymour Kent Armstrong 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. Sunny Coalville. 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. Kent goes on to describe "It just didn't seem right to me. Most people consider Kent's jazz Pickups to be the best in the world and who are we to argue? These new pickups allow you to completely equalize the string balance through height adjustment of individual polepieces. If you go here. This sweet sounding jazz pickup comes in either neck-mount or side-mount configurations. Really thin and very harsh. Sam Sherry, Thanks for your response. Bags of twang and not microphonic like the SD pickup I replaced. Due to their size limitations and other considerations, lipstick pickups provided a low output and DC resistance that excelled at clean tones. Kent Armstrong I thought it sounded terrible. Kent Armstrong Pickups WD Music's Kent Armstrong Humbuckers- Are these any Very well built pickups, that sound good also. 1995-2022 Harmony Central, Inc. All rights reserved. Most people consider Kent's jazz Pickups to be the best in the world and who are we to argue? 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. I haven't needed to use him for years but his rewinds were superb. It will still fit and fasten to any other archtop that is replacing a floater. From the well setup action and the finely-cut nut, to the smooth polyurethane Haven't got them yet. There was a set in a D'Angelico I just traded. Alan Mearns - incredible Bach arrangements / playing. All are welcome, from seasoned pros to absolute beginners. Announcing the all new jazz pickup line! The pickups are hot a great pairing with my Engal Powerball, Mesa Roadking and Carvin V3 all modern high gain amps. Does anyone know if the Kent Armstrong pickups that "W D Music" sells are the real deal or - are they the Licensed pickups? Pretty much what the thread title says, anyone know if Kent Armstrong pickups are decent? Your IP: Kent Armstrong sells his pickups exclusively through WDmusic. Building A Jazz Language - Bebop focus, for the moment. More than likely, the pickups are worth way more than the rest of the guitar anyway. Was put on a customers guitar and modified to fit a D'Aquisto see offset bracket in picture. Today theyre specifically designed for the pickups. Always loved his drumming, but how about on guitar too, and singing.,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6IBeJMtpzY Kent Armstrong - Any Good? - Seymour Duncan User We get asked a ton of questions about lipstick single-coil pickups. Some others seemed to like them though. For reference, lets take a look at our (retired) Danelectro Lipstick Tube pickup. Here's a link to a great semi-technical explanation: http://www.guitartechcraig.com/techpckp/pickups.htm. L5 CES started in '53, had p90s, soon got staple pickups, then Carvin or Kiesel Alan Holdsworth HH2 These are the Kent Armstrong pickups in my Soloist: The bridge pickup has a bright fendery tone, for a humbucker it. I have 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. 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. You must log in or register to reply here. 67 AB165 BF Bassman "restoration" complete. Most of the time I played with the middle one set to zero volume. 04-16-2008, 05:17 PM Well by looking at the list of players that he's made pickups for, he should be **** good. this drumming also with respect, I could not agree less. This page was generated at 01:08 AM. Thanks again. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. IMHO, for a Casino a good set is about 7.5k/8k for the bridge and 6.5k/7k for the neck pickup. Please check your items carefully and confirm they are correct for color, position, etc. Jazz guitar players are less interested in output and the unique voice pickups can bring to their instrument. 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. Never worry about fitting a pickup under the strings again! 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. kent armstrong - Epiphone Electrics - Gibson Brands Forums WebEmail: [email protected] Phone: (239) 543-3625 Fax: (239) 543-5874 WD Music Products, Inc. 17570 N. Tamiami Trail Suite 1 North Fort Myers, FL 33903 They include his 61 Strat, 57 Strat, 66 Tele, Gretsch P90's, 59 Esquire and 78 Musicmaster pickups. Just an opinion but the early ones are great. 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've had Kent Armstrong pick-ups in my sheraton for about 15 years. This is fairly hot for a jazz guitar. They are very dull and lifeless None of that typical P-90 sound. It's just magnets and wire at the end of the day. IMO, they are the best jazz pickup out there. In fact, modern guitarists such as Phoebe Bridgers still swing Danelectros over their shoulders quite often. This explains why I wasnt as concerned with the Epiphones tone. 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. I imagine earlier pre WD Armstrong pickups would hold quite a bit of value. WebKent Armstrong has long been the best jazz pickup designer in the industry. Don't know for sure. I used them exclusively in my tele strat builds for a long time, and those are all nice pups, too. Using the middle pup with either gives you something inbetween which I didn't like much. From years of modifying and designing special recipes for his customers, Kent Performance & security by Cloudflare. I had that configuration on an Epi LP and it worked great. This is probably a dumb question to a lot of you but I'm still relatively virginal guitar-wise. 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. 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. For that sort of tone you want the alnico 2 magnets. I e-mailed about a possible custom wind and Kent himself replied quickly that he'd be happy to do one. I'm about 90% there. No more actual lipstick tubes! In the same price range I prefer GFS pups. While I really like the SBUS, you can count me in that it's bright. WebThese pickups are handwound in the USA by Kent Armstrong and retail for $160 new, not the import version. That meant that the bobbins and custom-machined pole pieces Fender and Gibson used were out. Epoxy casting inside the cover allows for added coil to give a sweet mini-humbucker tone. 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). the pickups in my bree/blue fretless are kent armstrong hand-wounds very nice. 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. Kent Armstrong humbucker removed from This pickup is vertualy brand new. I have spoken to him many times on the phone. Legendary Tones - 2000 Fender American Standard Strat 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. That pickup combo gave the most amazing tones. It's like an on-board pre-amp boosting and distorting the signal. The variability might have worked in your favor. I put a set of noisless Kent Armstrong P90's in a PRS SE Soapbar 2 - I also wired them Series or Parallel. 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 Rickstar123 I have a Bendetto floater on my Guild Benedetto AA and I love it. I'd go for that configuration again if I had a 3 humbucker guitar. 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. S. Thank you for the awesome information in this thread to those who have posted. Are all of his current pickups made over seas? Has anyone checked Peter Bernstein Zeidler? Not a good comparison as the Kent Armstrongs you mention are his factory wound models.To pit them against a Bare knuckle that is a hand wound at 3 times the price.Have you tried any of Kent's hand wound models? For such high output pups, they sure preserve a lot of the guitar's acoustic tone. Im saving up for a burst les paul standard aswell would you recomend the same pickups for a peter green kind of sound? You are using an out of date browser. Lipstick wiring is also a contributor. He learned to wind pickups from his father and Bill Lawrence. 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). Though arguably, modern improvements have made lipstick pickup design better, some players live and die by the originals. It felt wrong and so I told him that I wasn't interested." Their relatively hollow, plywood-composite construction also plays a significant role. 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. Has an output of 8.14 k. It is the bridge model of the 4/5 string soapbar. So there should be a few good European Pickup builders Bare Knuckles, Haussel,etc? Kent Armstrong Review | Pickups | Reviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com The problem with P90s is that they are more than often too hot. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. and start thinking about it and then my bank account will suffer. At this point, I do not know if Kent Armstrong supplies Epiphone with other OEM pickups in addition to these P90's. are actually Asian-produced "Rainbow" pickups by Kent Armstrong. Instead, jazz players often focus on tonal purity Mar 9, 2015 #6 Kent Armstrong pickups - any good? - Ultimate Guitar A Smooth Sam pickup will breathe depth and articulation back into your favorite archtop guitar and make you fall in love all over again. Kent Armstrong Vintage Series 6 Shooter link above. He was jamming on it while I was in the store which is what caught my attention. But the name is much more accurate than many players realize. I have some KA's in a Benedetto Benny. The. I may be wrong, but i think that is one of the overseas "licensed" pickups, not handmade in Vermont. KENT ARMSTRONG Pickups?? I LIKE! | The Les Paul Forum Maybe more like a Ford fusion, then say a Holdworth type thing. good low end with plenty of midrange cut-through and hi sparkle He made pickups for many UK builders (not to mention Benedetto (sp?) Best Pickups for Everything If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. Sep 26, 2012 #9 Stephent28 Supporting Member Feb 1, 2005 C470, CO Improving my guitars tone. Part 2: A different pickup I'll have to get around to trying it in a "real" guitar one of these days. This pickup is only 3/8 thick but sacrifices nothing in terms of 2 reviews, 4,340 hits, 0 comments 9.9 Superb HSDO-1 Super Distortion This is a high output, tight, bassy yes. Neck postion, this KA pup : http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/PAF_Style_Chrome_Cover_HPAC-1, 2. I've had a number of Kent Armstrong pickups over the years, and been pleased with them all. 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. 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. I changed out the stock p.ups because they were pretty crappy (apparently they have improved a lot over the years). Looks like you haven't made a choice yet. Finally, modern lipstick single-coil pickups offer a variety of wiring improvements. The cheaper type are made in the far-east while the more expensive ones are USA made. 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 the tele bridge and the neck mini humbucker pickups. Among its other design factors, Danelectros magic can be traced straight to the highly unique pickups that Nathan Daniel designed. ive noticed that about my guitar that the middle doesnt really do much. do but ebay prices will beat them.. handy for descriptions though. The lead "Vintage" pickup was less chunky sounding than a Burstbucker 1 but creamier than an Antiquity. But then Danelectros are no longer the only place youll find lipsticks.