KA handwound PAF/Benedetto A6/Lollar Imperial

[Jazzman301]

So I think I may swap the pickup in my 17" Peerless Monarch. It has a set/routed humbucker so the options are limitless. I have narrowed my choices down to these:

Lollar Imperial(high wind according to Jason)
KA handwound PAF
Benedetto A6

That is in no particular order. I am open to other suggestions as well.

What I am after is a warm dark smokey traditional tone. More in line with Wes but not as dark as say Jim Hall. Definately not looking for bright thats for sure. I am playing through a Vintage Ampeg Reverberocket and using heavy flats and play with my thumb.

'Mike

[mattymel]

i would actually go with a standard wound imperial. jason says to go with the high wound cuz he thinks jazz guys want it DARK. but, his low wind is actually the closest to vintage PAF specs. if you are going for a wes sound, playing with your thumb, i would do the low wind or standard. both sound great.

[robertm2000]

If you have a chance, check into Pete Biltoft's Vintage Vibe pickups. The advantage is that he will talk with you to find out exactly what you want, and he won't stop talking with you till he's dead sure. I have Vintage Vibe pickups on the best guitar I've ever played - built with hardware from a Squier 51 - and Mr. Biltoft and I must have traded eight or nine rounds of emails on what I was after - and I got it! His prices are somewhat less than some other boutique pickup makes, too.

[kris]

Wes played Gibson guitars maybe Gibson humbucker...?

[mattymel]

the PUs gibson uses these days aren't in the same league as Lollars.

[kris]

Originally Posted by mattymel

the PUs gibson uses these days aren't in the same league as Lollars.

Opss sorry.

[jorgemg1984]

Originally Posted by mattymel

the PUs gibson uses these days aren't in the same league as Lollars.

100% on this one.

[raylinds]

I have a Benedetto A6, and it sounds great. On the dark side, but not too dark IMHO.

[Jazzman301]

Yeah I feel like all these are honest options to get a sound I want but I want to get some opions and maybe options, like Pete Biltoft stuff, that I may not have thought of or even be aware of.

Jason has been very helpful thus far as has Bob Benedetto. He responds to emails himself and in a timely fashion as well and with far more than a one word answer. So I am in quite the quandry as to what to do. Unless I can find a retro Gibson pickup I am going to stay away from the current stuff as I fee the pickup that is stock in the monarch is as good as what gibson is hacking out these days.


'Mike

[AlohaJoe]

Here's another vote for Pete Biltoft... his CC blade pickup is fantastic!

[Jazz_175]

Originally Posted by mattymel

the PUs gibson uses these days aren't in the same league as Lollars.

Aarrgh!
So should I change the stock pickups of my 2008 Gibson 335 with some Lollars?
I think they are quite expensive though....

[Jazzman301]

His stuff is right in line with where the Kent Armstrong handmade stuff is. I think the KA handmade stuff is a bit more expensive. I am a firm beleiver in you get what you pay for, at least to a certain extent.

The thing about the Benedetto is they are mass produced(duncan?) whereas the other two options are honest to goodness handmade items.

Still not sure how to proceed.

'Mike

[mattymel]

Originally Posted by Jazz_175

Aarrgh!
So should I change the stock pickups of my 2008 Gibson 335 with some Lollars?
I think they are quite expensive though....

In a word...yes.

I'd look on eBay. My friend just got an Imperial used for $110. Personally I hardly used the bridge PU (though I replaced that too). But it's pretty much night and day from hearing 57s or burstbuckers. Even new ones are well worth it for me.

[Help!I'maRock!]

Originally Posted by Jazzman301

His stuff is right in line with where the Kent Armstrong handmade stuff is. I think the KA handmade stuff is a bit more expensive. I am a firm beleiver in you get what you pay for, at least to a certain extent.

The thing about the Benedetto is they are mass produced(duncan?) whereas the other two options are honest to goodness handmade items.

Still not sure how to proceed.

'Mike

i'm not 100% certain, but i believe that the Benedetto is wound on the same Leesona winder that winds the Seth Lover. the Leesona was the machine that Gibson wound their pickups on.

[Jazzman301]

Anyone have any experience with the Pete Biltoft HCC blade style pickup?

Humbucker-size Blade Style Single Coil Pickups

Thanks guys.

'Mike

[AlohaJoe]

Originally Posted by Jazzman301

Anyone have any experience with the Pete Biltoft HCC blade style pickup?
Humbucker-size Blade Style Single Coil Pickups
Thanks guys.
'Mike

I have one on my Guild and It's beautifully fat, balanced and rich but clear and clean at the same time. I have numerous instruments and this one sounds the best for jazz... by far. The blade with Thomastik George Benson flats is like dark chocolate for my ears!

Pete is great to work with too... very nice, reasonably priced and quick.

[Jazzman301]

Gorgeous Guild. I recently sold my 67 X50 with a mickey mouse pickup. At any rate do you recall what options you have for your pickup? Magnets etc? Also any chance of a YT video or mp3 of you playing that honey of a Guild?

'Mike

[AlohaJoe]

Thanks for the complement! I have no recordings, but he ships the pickups with 2 sets of magnets, readily interchangeable, and he's happy to explain the difference. I have Alnico 2 mags in there now and I like them so much I haven't even tried the 3s. It sounds similar to a real vintage Charlie Christian but with better definition. Anyway, it's worth the phone call. He'll do custom winds too... if you can explain what you want he can wind it.

[raylinds]

Originally Posted by mattymel

the PUs gibson uses these days aren't in the same league as Lollars.

Without more information, this statement is not really helpful. In what way are the Lollars superior? What is the difference in sound? Are the Lollars darker, brighter. warmer, more articulate?

Or is the difference in build quality?

[Jazzman301]

I dare say that build quality alone puts the Lollars and Biltofts and like products in a seperate class.

'Mike

[Help!I'maRock!]

Originally Posted by Jazzman301

I dare say that build quality alone puts the Lollars and Biltofts and like products in a seperate class.

'Mike

i disagree with this. build quality with regard to pickups is actually pretty consistent across manufacturers. every once in a while you'll get a dud, but overall they work for years without incident.

voicing is a completely different subject.

i would think that the Gibson pickups most here would like are the '57 Classics and Burstbucker 1 & 2. the Iommi, Young, and 500T would get little respect here, even though they're regarded as great pickups by the hard rock/metal crowd. where Gibson gets lost is in the 490 series. they're not quite good for anything (IMO).

[robertm2000]

I'll chime in again, for Pete Biltoft. One of the things Pete talked to me about was a CCRider pickup, wound with 38-gauge wire. That's what the original Charlie Christian pickup was wound with, and what some of the Charlie Chrsitian style modern ones are wound with. Apparently that wire gauge makes for a slightly wider-range frequency response. The point is that Pete Biltoft would have gladly made a CCRider for me with that gauge winding, at the same price as his regular CCR, but he said he didn't think it was necessary - and he was right! The CCRider I finally ordered has a wide frequency response, and a full sound that is clearly noticeable in comparison to most pickups, even humbuckers. It's just head and shoulders above literally everything I've heard, and the guitar it's on is now my only go-to instrument.

[Jazz_175]

Originally Posted by robertm2000

I'll chime in again, for Pete Biltoft. One of the things Pete talked to me about was a CCRider pickup, wound with 38-gauge wire. That's what the original Charlie Christian pickup was wound with, and what some of the Charlie Chrsitian style modern ones are wound with. Apparently that wire gauge makes for a slightly wider-range frequency response. The point is that Pete Biltoft would have gladly made a CCRider for me with that gauge winding, at the same price as his regular CCR, but he said he didn't think it was necessary - and he was right! The CCRider I finally ordered has a wide frequency response, and a full sound that is clearly noticeable in comparison to most pickups, even humbuckers. It's just head and shoulders above literally everything I've heard, and the guitar it's on is now my only go-to instrument.

I like the '57 Classic on my 175, maybe a little tendency to muddiness in the low frequency range (but it also depends on which amp I use, a bit with henriksen , very nice with Deluxe Reverb).
Do these HCC fit exactly in the pickup bed without extra installments?
Would be nice trying those in the 175. But I guess they are also quite expensive.

[bmw2002]

Originally Posted by Jazzman301

Anyone have any experience with the Pete Biltoft HCC blade style pickup?

Humbucker-size Blade Style Single Coil Pickups

Thanks guys.

'Mike

Jazzman301: greetings from Canton, CT, just down the road from you in Agawam. I have the Pete Biltoft on my Painter 175 and I agree with all of the positive assessments from other posters. Given that it's a single coil, it is (to my ear) a little bit noisier than a humbucker, but it does sound great - clear and warm. It replaced a Gibson Classic '57 on the guitar (by Tom Painter, the maker) to clean up the low end a bit. You can hear the guitar with the original pickup on Youtube if you do a search.

[Jazzman301]

How far down in CT in Canton? Geography aside I am a bit concerned about going to a single coil. I really love that warm smokey Wes like tone. Now before someone gets on me about why do you want to create Wes's tone and not find your own etc...I use that as a point of reference. Even if I got the EXACT equipment Wes used I could and never will sound like Wes. My physical structure alone prevents that.
Maybe I will shoot Tom Painter an email and see what he has to say.

'Mike

[bmw2002]

Probably about 15 - 20 miles. I'm a big fan of the Agawam Family Cinema .

Tom is extremely nice and helpful. Be careful, however, you might find yourself ordering one of his archtops. They are wonderful instruments.

[Jazzman301]

Haha. Well then good for me I don't have a spare $3500. Hell its taken enough to scrape together $2300 for a Certified Welding Inspector seminar and exam...
I may just pull the trigger and hope for the best. Worst case is I list it here or on ebay and get my money back. At $118 the price is very affordable.

'Mike

[Jazzman301]

Well I just pulled the trigger on a Pete Biltoft HCC. Having ALL the magnets shipped so I can play around if I want. Having it shipped out with the Alnico IIs installed. Hope its as nice as I have heard they are.

'Mike

[AlohaJoe]

Originally Posted by Jazzman301

Well I just pulled the trigger on a Pete Biltoft HCC. 'Mike

I think you'll like it. Let us know what you think!

[robertm2000]

+1 on letting us know what you think. I'm guessing (and hoping) a definite positive response. I love Pete Biltoft's pickups!