Members SnoMan97 Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 Specifically the tele bridge and the neck mini humbucker pickups. Anyone have any experience with them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members curseoftruth Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 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 project that I did few years ago, sounded awesome. I was happy with it. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Prages Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 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 and very harsh. I replaced it with a Dimarzio Tone Zone and have been happy as can be since. That's the only first hand experience I have with Kent Armstrong pickups. It may have just been whatever model I had that I didn't like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mac_C Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 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 most life-less pickups I have ever tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rich-96db Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richey888 Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 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. Was not knocked out by the tele set I had. Not horrified, but bowled over with mediocrity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 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. Every one of my archtops (5) has a Kent Armstrong 14-pole PAF humbucker. IMO, they are the best jazz pickup out there. I once had occasion to call Mr Armstrong in Vermont and found him to be absolutely accommodating and quite a delightful person. he is quite the crackup...he was full of quips and one liners - it was an entertaining conversation. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aliensporebomb Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 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 EMGs or something else but they were so good I've kept them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mouse464 Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Matthew Bellamy of Muse used the "Motherbucker" In his first few custom guitars. Just youtube "Stockholm Sydrome Glastonbury" You'll get the idea, the idea that the motherbucker is Broootal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axegrinder Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 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. Every one of my archtops (5) has a Kent Armstrong 14-pole PAF humbucker. IMO, they are the best jazz pickup out there. I once had occasion to call Mr Armstrong in Vermont and found him to be absolutely accommodating and quite a delightful person. he is quite the crackup...he was full of quips and one liners - it was an entertaining conversation. 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. Mike, Any experience with this one? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_archtop/Kent_Armstrong_Suspended_Jazz_Humbucker.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Mike, Any experience with this one? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_archtop/Kent_Armstrong_Suspended_Jazz_Humbucker.html yes. no, i don't like those one bit. I may be wrong, but i think that is one of the overseas "licensed" pickups, not handmade in Vermont. Don't know for sure. anyhow, i've had 2 or 3 of those on guitars i've owned and they are thin and overly bright. 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. By contrast, the Armstrong (VT-made) PAF 12-pole humbucker has a much fatter, more electric sound. Here is the one I love: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeSF Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 sorry, didnt mean to digress from the original topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axegrinder Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Mike, thanks for the feedback (no pun intended). As long as you are talking about KA pickups and bumping the thread, I think of it as no dis-service to the OP. So those VT hand-wound, 12 pole HB's...how much does something like that run? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aliensporebomb Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 These are the Kent Armstrong pickups in my Soloist: The bridge pickup has a bright fendery tone, for a humbucker it has body but the upper frequency contour is really interesting. 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 clear edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BCH Posted August 4, 2020 Members Share Posted August 4, 2020 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. The pickups are hot a great pairing with my Engal Powerball, Mesa Roadking and Carvin V3 all modern high gain amps. They have a nice full tone not thin and bright like most pickups in this output range. 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. They allow me to play the most aggressive styles of music out there like no other, they really complete my tone. 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. Brian BCH Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dai Cooder Posted September 8, 2020 Members Share Posted September 8, 2020 I just fitted a tele bridge pickup and it's great. Bags of twang and not microphonic like the SD pickup I replaced. Even with a dynacomp switched on! Nice wire, nice waxed string cover on the coil, nice box, good screws and springs. Great price. It's just magnets and wire at the end of the day. The magic is in your fingers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tom Maynard Posted June 12, 2023 Members Share Posted June 12, 2023 I'm considering a KA MM Humbucker for my Sterling Ray4. Any experience with this model p/u anyone? Otherwise I'll spend about 3 times more on the Aguilar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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