Question:
Hmmmm, talking them into sending me there on business might be tough but I will look into it : 0
you’ll love it. The guy plays the hell out of a guitar. Got a phone concert, classical into REAL nice jazzy swing with blues overtones, into note for note Les Paul (how high the moon) on an ACOUSTIC he had at hand. I believe he makes these pickups with the love of a real player for good guitar sound.
Response:
Hmmmm, talking them into sending me there on business might be tough but I will look into it : 0 T – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Where is the area? I would love to play "Pick that pickup!!!" T You guys are both invited up to Bill’s factory with me any time you’re in the area. I can back up what I say with actual blind A-B comparisons with real vintage Fender pickups — stacked-coil technology has come of age, and there’s no longer any reason to put up with the hum to get the tone. This wasn’t true until a couple of years ago, so I certainly don’t blame you for what you believe! My experience with Lawrence pickups is that they are relatively free of tonal coloration, allowing the wood tones to come through. I prefer pickups with a little bit of character, although I am using Bill Lawrence in a couple of guitars. There are other factors influencing my choice, and tone was not the highest priority. For modern style toneful pickups, I prefer Aero, Shadow, certain Evans models, and the Gibson 500T. Unfortunately, none of these pickups will balance, output wise with the neck pickup, in my principle guitar. In retrospective, the Gibson 500T is one of the best. As far as I know, Bill Lawrence will not license his pickups out any more…he’s too responsible to do such a thing and he has had bad experiences in the past, due to the fact that mass production reduces the ability for him to oversee the quality of the product, and thereby reflects negatively upon his name, should the product not measure up to his standards. Anyway, most people replace their noisy pickups with noiseless models because of the noise, not because of the tone. If you want vintage tone, it’s not authentic without the 50/60 cycle hum, and like you said, you lose a bit of authenticity of tone when you have to use a second coil to cancel the noise, no matter how much the pickup maker tries to retain that original vibe.. Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right. Hum sounds good. You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item. T Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
I have found that the over wound pickups compensate for the my love of dialing a pickup down about 3-5 turns more than is suggested by Fender. I get all the output and punch with a little less bass. I like Leo’s original design and I think that if the truth were known, many of the "holy grail" guitars have a few too many turns of wire when the winder got distracted. : )
Close but no cigar — I can’t reveal the "holy grail" secret, but I can tell you that it isn’t extra turns and that even knowing it you can’t turn them out consistently. The idea is to get the "holy grail" tone in a reproducible way, which can’t be done by imitating Leo — who had no idea what he was doing. He used whatever war surplus wire was available and cheap, and his alnico slugs were rejects from the automotive industry. I have played a ton of pickups on the market. I only use one setting on my 1005 Blonde Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb amp. I use .010 – .046 Original (Nickel) bullets. I have tried every Fender CS pickup that is out there. I really like the Fat 50s too but not as much as the Texas Specials. I cannot find a DiMarzio that I can get any kind of tone from. I am fond of the tone of several Duncan efforts and in the hands of many friends, they sound phenomenal. In my hands, they sound average.
Thing is, none of these makers can do noiseless anywhere near right. Kinman is closer, Bill Lawrence is right there. I agree that I have not heard any of the stacked coil efforts that are still in the "Area 51" space age test labs. I sure can tell the difference between all the stacked coils on the market and my Texas Specials though.
You’ll be able to tell the difference between them and L-280s too — they sound more like those elusive "holy grails" than any modern production single- coil I’ve ever heard. Don’t get me wrong. I think there is a market for the noiseless pickups just as I think there is a market for EMGs. If it fits your style, more power to ya. However, if you want the classic Strat sound that you hear on all the records, you need Fender-branded, noisy pickups.
You’re wrong on account of never hearing L-280s, and therefore forgiven! :-) If that makes me a ludite, so be it.
Naw, you’re just trusting your ear based on what you’ve heard. L-280s aren’t niche boutique items like EMGs — they’re the Swiss Army Knife of Tele/Strat pickups, and they’re priced so even MIM owners can afford to sound like they’ve got hum-free "holy grails." – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -T Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right. Actually, Bill Lawrence is one of two contract consultants working with Fender. The other is archtop luthier Bob Benedetto. Fender R&D would put a version of the L-280 in every Fender currently using Fender VNs if Fender marketing would let them — but marketing has decreed that Fender shall not use ceramic magnet pickups in Teles or Strats, so Bill is now trying to make something in the same class with alnico slugs. He’s not sure it’s possible and neither am I — previous alnico based stacks have missed the mark to varying degrees. The best of them are Kinmans — much pricier than L-280s and not nearly as close to the pre-CBS Fender single- coil ideal. Hum sounds good. Well then, I suggest you plug a hefty speaker into a wall outlet and enjoy yourself! :-) You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact. Urban legend promoted by merchants of "vintage" and replicated "vintage" products. Stacked coil pickups done right are indistinguishable from fine single-coils except for the absence of hum. I’ve done the blind A-B testing (same guitar, cable, and amp settings, slide-in pickguard so pickups can be changed in literally seconds) and I know. If you’re going by previous stacked coil efforts from the likes of DiMarzio, Duncan, and Fender, I don’t blame you for buying into the BS, but "difficult" is not a synonym for "impossible" — apply enough knowledge, talent and determination to the task and the difficult becomes possible — not easy, but possible and now accomplished. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item. They’re no different from Leo’s original design except for some extra turns and different wire. Overwinding makes for a limited tonal pallette — high-volume players like Jimi Hendrix and Roy Buchanan didn’t need it and neither do you unless you actually want to live with the limitations. It’s your call! T Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
http://come.to/realization http://www.atman.net/realization http://www.users.uniserve.com/~samuel/brucemrg.htm http://www.users.uniserve.com/~samuel/brucsong.htm
Response:
This version of the game requires you be honest with yourself because the absence of hum is a giveaway — it took me five passes before I convinced myself that the most significant difference between the the L-280 and the single-coil (a ‘63 Strat pickup good enough to fetch over $500 at a guitar show) was the absence of hum. The other differences were subtler, and actually favored the L-280 — somewhat better sustain (due to near-zero magnetism, according to Bill), and more even response string-to-string and up and down the neck. This pickup is a tone monster and would be one even if it hummed — but it doesn’t. Bill is in Bethlehem, PA, I’m an hour or so south of him in Bucks County, just north of Philly. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Where is the area? I would love to play "Pick that pickup!!!" T You guys are both invited up to Bill’s factory with me any time you’re in the area. I can back up what I say with actual blind A-B comparisons with real vintage Fender pickups — stacked-coil technology has come of age, and there’s no longer any reason to put up with the hum to get the tone. This wasn’t true until a couple of years ago, so I certainly don’t blame you for what you believe! My experience with Lawrence pickups is that they are relatively free of tonal coloration, allowing the wood tones to come through. I prefer pickups with a little bit of character, although I am using Bill Lawrence in a couple of guitars. There are other factors influencing my choice, and tone was not the highest priority. For modern style toneful pickups, I prefer Aero, Shadow, certain Evans models, and the Gibson 500T. Unfortunately, none of these pickups will balance, output wise with the neck pickup, in my principle guitar. In retrospective, the Gibson 500T is one of the best. As far as I know, Bill Lawrence will not license his pickups out any more…he’s too responsible to do such a thing and he has had bad experiences in the past, due to the fact that mass production reduces the ability for him to oversee the quality of the product, and thereby reflects negatively upon his name, should the product not measure up to his standards. Anyway, most people replace their noisy pickups with noiseless models because of the noise, not because of the tone. If you want vintage tone, it’s not authentic without the 50/60 cycle hum, and like you said, you lose a bit of authenticity of tone when you have to use a second coil to cancel the noise, no matter how much the pickup maker tries to retain that original vibe.. Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right. Hum sounds good. You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item. T Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
my 1005 Blonde Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb
Crap….that is 1995.
Response:
It’s in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Where is the area? I would love to play "Pick that pickup!!!" T You guys are both invited up to Bill’s factory with me any time you’re in the area. I can back up what I say with actual blind A-B comparisons with real vintage Fender pickups — stacked-coil technology has come of age, and there’s no longer any reason to put up with the hum to get the tone. This wasn’t true until a couple of years ago, so I certainly don’t blame you for what you believe! My experience with Lawrence pickups is that they are relatively free of tonal coloration, allowing the wood tones to come through. I prefer pickups with a little bit of character, although I am using Bill Lawrence in a couple of guitars. There are other factors influencing my choice, and tone was not the highest priority. For modern style toneful pickups, I prefer Aero, Shadow, certain Evans models, and the Gibson 500T. Unfortunately, none of these pickups will balance, output wise with the neck pickup, in my principle guitar. In retrospective, the Gibson 500T is one of the best. As far as I know, Bill Lawrence will not license his pickups out any more…he’s too responsible to do such a thing and he has had bad experiences in the past, due to the fact that mass production reduces the ability for him to oversee the quality of the product, and thereby reflects negatively upon his name, should the product not measure up to his standards. Anyway, most people replace their noisy pickups with noiseless models because of the noise, not because of the tone. If you want vintage tone, it’s not authentic without the 50/60 cycle hum, and like you said, you lose a bit of authenticity of tone when you have to use a second coil to cancel the noise, no matter how much the pickup maker tries to retain that original vibe.. Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right. Hum sounds good. You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item. T Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
Where is the area? I would love to play "Pick that pickup!!!" T – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – You guys are both invited up to Bill’s factory with me any time you’re in the area. I can back up what I say with actual blind A-B comparisons with real vintage Fender pickups — stacked-coil technology has come of age, and there’s no longer any reason to put up with the hum to get the tone. This wasn’t true until a couple of years ago, so I certainly don’t blame you for what you believe! My experience with Lawrence pickups is that they are relatively free of tonal coloration, allowing the wood tones to come through. I prefer pickups with a little bit of character, although I am using Bill Lawrence in a couple of guitars. There are other factors influencing my choice, and tone was not the highest priority. For modern style toneful pickups, I prefer Aero, Shadow, certain Evans models, and the Gibson 500T. Unfortunately, none of these pickups will balance, output wise with the neck pickup, in my principle guitar. In retrospective, the Gibson 500T is one of the best. As far as I know, Bill Lawrence will not license his pickups out any more…he’s too responsible to do such a thing and he has had bad experiences in the past, due to the fact that mass production reduces the ability for him to oversee the quality of the product, and thereby reflects negatively upon his name, should the product not measure up to his standards. Anyway, most people replace their noisy pickups with noiseless models because of the noise, not because of the tone. If you want vintage tone, it’s not authentic without the 50/60 cycle hum, and like you said, you lose a bit of authenticity of tone when you have to use a second coil to cancel the noise, no matter how much the pickup maker tries to retain that original vibe.. Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right. Hum sounds good. You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item. T Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
You guys are both invited up to Bill’s factory with me any time you’re in the area. I can back up what I say with actual blind A-B comparisons with real vintage Fender pickups — stacked-coil technology has come of age, and there’s no longer any reason to put up with the hum to get the tone. This wasn’t true until a couple of years ago, so I certainly don’t blame you for what you believe! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My experience with Lawrence pickups is that they are relatively free of tonal coloration, allowing the wood tones to come through. I prefer pickups with a little bit of character, although I am using Bill Lawrence in a couple of guitars. There are other factors influencing my choice, and tone was not the highest priority. For modern style toneful pickups, I prefer Aero, Shadow, certain Evans models, and the Gibson 500T. Unfortunately, none of these pickups will balance, output wise with the neck pickup, in my principle guitar. In retrospective, the Gibson 500T is one of the best. As far as I know, Bill Lawrence will not license his pickups out any more…he’s too responsible to do such a thing and he has had bad experiences in the past, due to the fact that mass production reduces the ability for him to oversee the quality of the product, and thereby reflects negatively upon his name, should the product not measure up to his standards. Anyway, most people replace their noisy pickups with noiseless models because of the noise, not because of the tone. If you want vintage tone, it’s not authentic without the 50/60 cycle hum, and like you said, you lose a bit of authenticity of tone when you have to use a second coil to cancel the noise, no matter how much the pickup maker tries to retain that original vibe.. Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right. Hum sounds good. You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item. T Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
I have found that the over wound pickups compensate for the my love of dialing a pickup down about 3-5 turns more than is suggested by Fender. I get all the output and punch with a little less bass. I like Leo’s original design and I think that if the truth were known, many of the "holy grail" guitars have a few too many turns of wire when the winder got distracted. : ) I have played a ton of pickups on the market. I only use one setting on my 1005 Blonde Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb amp. I use .010 – .046 Original (Nickel) bullets. I have tried every Fender CS pickup that is out there. I really like the Fat 50s too but not as much as the Texas Specials. I cannot find a DiMarzio that I can get any kind of tone from. I am fond of the tone of several Duncan efforts and in the hands of many friends, they sound phenomenal. In my hands, they sound average. I agree that I have not heard any of the stacked coil efforts that are still in the "Area 51" space age test labs. I sure can tell the difference between all the stacked coils on the market and my Texas Specials though. Don’t get me wrong. I think there is a market for the noiseless pickups just as I think there is a market for EMGs. If it fits your style, more power to ya. However, if you want the classic Strat sound that you hear on all the records, you need Fender-branded, noisy pickups. If that makes me a ludite, so be it. T – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right. Actually, Bill Lawrence is one of two contract consultants working with Fender. The other is archtop luthier Bob Benedetto. Fender R&D would put a version of the L-280 in every Fender currently using Fender VNs if Fender marketing would let them — but marketing has decreed that Fender shall not use ceramic magnet pickups in Teles or Strats, so Bill is now trying to make something in the same class with alnico slugs. He’s not sure it’s possible and neither am I — previous alnico based stacks have missed the mark to varying degrees. The best of them are Kinmans — much pricier than L-280s and not nearly as close to the pre-CBS Fender single- coil ideal. Hum sounds good. Well then, I suggest you plug a hefty speaker into a wall outlet and enjoy yourself! :-) You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact. Urban legend promoted by merchants of "vintage" and replicated "vintage" products. Stacked coil pickups done right are indistinguishable from fine single-coils except for the absence of hum. I’ve done the blind A-B testing (same guitar, cable, and amp settings, slide-in pickguard so pickups can be changed in literally seconds) and I know. If you’re going by previous stacked coil efforts from the likes of DiMarzio, Duncan, and Fender, I don’t blame you for buying into the BS, but "difficult" is not a synonym for "impossible" — apply enough knowledge, talent and determination to the task and the difficult becomes possible — not easy, but possible and now accomplished. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item. They’re no different from Leo’s original design except for some extra turns and different wire. Overwinding makes for a limited tonal pallette — high-volume players like Jimi Hendrix and Roy Buchanan didn’t need it and neither do you unless you actually want to live with the limitations. It’s your call! T Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
Absolutely stellar response. I have never read anything that objective from a Lawrence user. You are truly a Wickedlykillerguitarexplainingsonofabitch too. I am really sincere here…not trying to start a flame war. On a related topic. I have found a better way to stop hearing the hum. I just do not stop playing. Solves it all. : ) Thanks. T – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My experience with Lawrence pickups is that they are relatively free of tonal coloration, allowing the wood tones to come through. I prefer pickups with a little bit of character, although I am using Bill Lawrence in a couple of guitars. There are other factors influencing my choice, and tone was not the highest priority. For modern style toneful pickups, I prefer Aero, Shadow, certain Evans models, and the Gibson 500T. Unfortunately, none of these pickups will balance, output wise with the neck pickup, in my principle guitar. In retrospective, the Gibson 500T is one of the best. As far as I know, Bill Lawrence will not license his pickups out any more…he’s too responsible to do such a thing and he has had bad experiences in the past, due to the fact that mass production reduces the ability for him to oversee the quality of the product, and thereby reflects negatively upon his name, should the product not measure up to his standards. Anyway, most people replace their noisy pickups with noiseless models because of the noise, not because of the tone. If you want vintage tone, it’s not authentic without the 50/60 cycle hum, and like you said, you lose a bit of authenticity of tone when you have to use a second coil to cancel the noise, no matter how much the pickup maker tries to retain that original vibe.. Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right. Hum sounds good. You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item. T Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right. Hum sounds good. You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item. T – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right.
Actually, Bill Lawrence is one of two contract consultants working with Fender. The other is archtop luthier Bob Benedetto. Fender R&D would put a version of the L-280 in every Fender currently using Fender VNs if Fender marketing would let them — but marketing has decreed that Fender shall not use ceramic magnet pickups in Teles or Strats, so Bill is now trying to make something in the same class with alnico slugs. He’s not sure it’s possible and neither am I — previous alnico based stacks have missed the mark to varying degrees. The best of them are Kinmans — much pricier than L-280s and not nearly as close to the pre-CBS Fender single- coil ideal. Hum sounds good.
Well then, I suggest you plug a hefty speaker into a wall outlet and enjoy yourself! :-) You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact.
Urban legend promoted by merchants of "vintage" and replicated "vintage" products. Stacked coil pickups done right are indistinguishable from fine single-coils except for the absence of hum. I’ve done the blind A-B testing (same guitar, cable, and amp settings, slide-in pickguard so pickups can be changed in literally seconds) and I know. If you’re going by previous stacked coil efforts from the likes of DiMarzio, Duncan, and Fender, I don’t blame you for buying into the BS, but "difficult" is not a synonym for "impossible" — apply enough knowledge, talent and determination to the task and the difficult becomes possible — not easy, but possible and now accomplished. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item.
They’re no different from Leo’s original design except for some extra turns and different wire. Overwinding makes for a limited tonal pallette — high-volume players like Jimi Hendrix and Roy Buchanan didn’t need it and neither do you unless you actually want to live with the limitations. It’s your call! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -T Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
My experience with Lawrence pickups is that they are relatively free of tonal coloration, allowing the wood tones to come through. I prefer pickups with a little bit of character, although I am using Bill Lawrence in a couple of guitars. There are other factors influencing my choice, and tone was not the highest priority. For modern style toneful pickups, I prefer Aero, Shadow, certain Evans models, and the Gibson 500T. Unfortunately, none of these pickups will balance, output wise with the neck pickup, in my principle guitar. In retrospective, the Gibson 500T is one of the best. As far as I know, Bill Lawrence will not license his pickups out any more…he’s too responsible to do such a thing and he has had bad experiences in the past, due to the fact that mass production reduces the ability for him to oversee the quality of the product, and thereby reflects negatively upon his name, should the product not measure up to his standards. Anyway, most people replace their noisy pickups with noiseless models because of the noise, not because of the tone. If you want vintage tone, it’s not authentic without the 50/60 cycle hum, and like you said, you lose a bit of authenticity of tone when you have to use a second coil to cancel the noise, no matter how much the pickup maker tries to retain that original vibe.. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Again with the Lawrence pickups. If they were so bloody good and authentic, why would Fender not have licensed them and have them in the Deluxe already?….right. Hum sounds good. You kill it, you lose tone. Simple fact. Get the Texas Specials. They are only slightly over wound and are a great Fender "Custom Shop" item. T Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00?
The best value in the world is the Bill Lawrence L-280 — beautiful vintage single- coil tone with zero single- coil hum for only $40 each. http://www.billlawrence.com/Pages/Pickup_Window/280.htm
Response:
I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
Did anyone say check the carvin single coils out? How about stew mac? http://www.stewmac.com http://www.carvin.com Twang! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
Did anyone say check the carvin single coils out? How about stew mac? http://www.stewmac.com
Be careful with Stew-Mac — they’re still selling the counterfeit/bootleg "Lawrence" pickups and they’re really poorly made. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -http://www.carvin.com Twang! I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
Like my fender tex-mex set up. Droped it into a Kramer classic series strat. A lot of people dont like the bridge PU because its so bright and snappy… like a tele. But it suits me fine. I have so many humbucker bridge guitars, this ones very refreshing. Supposedly the texas specials are warmer sounding than the tex-mex ones. Got this set brand new, unused off e-bay for $62. Later, Garrett – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
Response:
Texas Specials are overwound conventional Fender single- coil pickups. They’re well made and a good choice if (a) you like an overwound sound and (b) you don’t mind the typical single-coil hum. You can get a set of three Bill Lawrence L-280s (beautiful pre-CBS Fender tone with no hum at all) for less — $125 *including* postage — directly from Bill. They’d be what I’d buy, ymmv. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Are the Fender Texas Specials good. I found them on a website as a three piece set for $129. I would look on eBay for a set of used Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s or Texas Specials or Fralins. T What is a good set of three single-coil pickups for less than $130.00? — "I am not afraid of the dark unless there is something in it that will eat me if I give it a chance." –Rick Bragg
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