Mis-judged the amount of discussion inherent in this, but will follow-up; Ken deserves props for the work he does... Never have I experienced better service in ordering a product. Emails were responded to in *seconds*. $25 bucks per custom pickup is un-refusable. Two weeks from order to door. New Mustang covers were even included (though I retain my NOS set
) As far as the pickups themselves, a few impressions and background:
Guitar had APS-1 pickups (~6KDC ohms, A2 mags). Weak/mushy/dull in an extraordinary way for single coils. The low input never manifested as clarity; it sounded best driven, still a one-dimensional sound next to my other guitars. Staggered poles produced a pickup height issue, the stock covers prevented them from being raised to ideal height. Impetus to order was a feeling that extra gain could make up the difference and forgive a few sins... I also was curious as to whether A5 magnets wouldn't produce a more "accurate" single coil sound than the A2s. Ordered (if its blurry to see below) ~11K bridge/~9K DC ohms.
The webstore copy stressed clarity in these pickups; I still expected to trade output for hairiness, but that has somehow not been the case at all, and the focus on clarity is not un-founded. My Mustang now jangles Piling gain on, adds to the harmonic content of the sound rather than simply producing a ripping distortion tone as I sort of expected would be the byproduct, based on my experiences with other higher resistance pickups. Of note is the tight, rounded bass sound; have seldom heard a guitar produce such a solid bass note sound as this. Overall sound is very well balanced; definitely still a "vintage" single coil vibe despite the output. Arrived RWRP (as proper) and wax-potted, no microphonics whatsoever.
...
...My only (small) issue is that there would be a greater ease to the installation process, if the leads were directed through the bottom of the pickup, rather than coming out on top; meant it was a bit difficult to thread the wires where they wouldn't be interfered with by screws.
It's hard to resist ordering another set; then again, I've replaced pickups on a whim in guitars before and come out disappointed, and I don't have any issue with the pickups in my other guitars. This might have been the only time I've sought to correct a specific set of issues through pickups, and I believe it to be a success. That said... The guitar overall still sounds like a Mustang, and while the pickup change hasn't made me like Mustangs say more than Jaguars or Jazzmasters, I now am at least inspired to play it for its new strengths, and can appreciate the guitar Sounds more like a Mustang *should*, no longer disappointing to pick up.
King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!
