The danger of spare pickups

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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Embenny
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The danger of spare pickups

Post by Embenny » Sat Jun 23, 2018 11:01 am

Wonder if anyone has had something similar happen to them...

10 years ago, I bought a set of chrome-covered HB-sized alnico single coils from Vintage Vibe Guitars to put into my Jag HH Special. I ended up moving cities before installing them, and downsized my guitars in the process, and the HH Special didn't make the cut. Those beautiful, unused pickups sat in a drawer and I felt guilty about having wasted the money on them, so I started looking for a cheap guitar to put them in and get some use out of them.

7 or so years ago, I bought one of those Gretsch Electromatic (Chinese-made) Bo Diddley signature guitars since Bo Diddley rocks and it had regular-sized HB routs that would fit my pickups. After 4 years though, I decided that I wanted to put Filtertrons into it, so I bought a set of TV Jones Classic/Classic Plus. However, before I even had time to install them, I came across a "too good to pass up" deal on a full-on 2001 Gretsch Bo Diddley model (the asking price was the same as what I had put into the MIC model and the pickups). And here's the thing - someone had already upgraded it with those same model TVJ pickups!

I was out of the return window for the pickups, and I now had two Bo Diddley guitars and two sets of pickups. I sold the MIC after pulling out the Vintage Vibe singles, and got a decent chunk of my money back out of it. So I now had the 2001 Diddley sig and two spare sets of pickups - the VVG singlecoils and the TV Classics. Overall I couldn't complain, since the "real deal" model played incredibly well and I got it for an absolute steal even before you factor in the set of TVJ's that came with it. Should have quit while I was ahead.

The sunken cost fallacy got to me though, so next thing you know I've picked up a Blacktop Jaguar off craigslist as a home for the TV Classics. I decided that I could make it a real "Gretschuar" by putting a Vibramate and Bigsby on it, so I threw more good money into those. But here's the thing - turns out that a Jag and a Gretsch with identical pickups sound pretty much the same. Real revelation, huh? The Gretsch was by far the nicer guitar overall, so I never really used the Jag, which also happened to weigh about twice as much with the Bigsby than the chambered Gretsch did.

So, I pull out the TV Classics and sell the jag. Now I am back to two nice sets of pickups calling out for a new home, plus a vibramate and Bigsby. I have at this point bought, and sold, two entire guitars and like $300 worth of bridge hardware just because I had this mental block about selling unused pickups at a loss of something like $100.

The pickups and bridge went back into a drawer, but before long I heard them calling out for a new home. This time, however, I let common sense prevail. I sold the TVJs on this very forum before I started down the same stupid path of feeling guilty about "wasting" nice pickups in a drawer. Their new owner is enjoying them, and after 7 years I finally don't have this stupid, self-created monkey on my back.

Next up is the decision about what to do with those VVG singlecoils and the Bigsby.

Has anyone else here done stupid things like this? Instead of taking a hit of like $100 on reselling some pickups (after getting a deal on the Gretsch with a free set of those very pickups!), I bought and flipped a new guitar, a used guitar, and wasted money on a Bigsby that doesn't fit any current guitar I own.

I have plenty of projects I've been proud of, but this series of purchases and sales was downright stupid, with the exception of the 2001 Diddley which is a "desert island" guitar for me. Hoping someone here and commiserate, or at least tell me to stop being stupid and sell the pickups and Bigsby before I end up buying more guitars to justify keeping them.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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MayTheFuzzBeWithYou
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Re: The danger of spare pickups

Post by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou » Sat Jun 23, 2018 4:11 pm

Could totally have been me! :fp:
Not in this dimension... but yeah! I'm also good in making plans of projects I want to execute so bad that wait somewhere in the back of my head for future part-finds to be completed with.

But happily I just sold the stock japanese jag pickups - and I'm about to sell the WRHB too.

I also reinstalled the P-Rails into my thinline jag (for which I already was thinking about getting a Humbucker equipped mexican Jag or JM as they show up used for quite little money from time to time)
...which leaves the pair of GFS Surf 90s homeless now... they sound really good! But they look a bit odd tbh.

Further plans (if I only had the money!):
1) get a J Mascis JM, put a Lipstick pickguard into the behind the bridge position. Probably replace the bridge too.

2) Get a 60th Anniversary JM either black or daphne blue. To appease my urge of owning a B&B Matching Headstock Guitar. Rrrraaaawwwrr. They look really good and could be had for less than the classic player line?!

3) Start building a double bound JM from scratch and get a black matching headstock B&B neck from stratosphere as soon as they have one in stock.

4) Get a second thinline Jag (there would be one 50 min drive for 850€ with a case) and put either Curtis Novak Lipsticks for Jaguar or 65 vintage pickups in it +a Staytrem bridge. (But I already own the same guitar in the same colour...can't really argue myself into doing so... but it would be so cool on the other hand!
Plays, feels and looks awesome!

5) Last plan (probably the most reasonable one) get a custom guitar from my luthier of trust.

Still need a guitar for the Surf 90s. Back to start!
Hahaha!

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Gordon
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Re: The danger of spare pickups

Post by Gordon » Sat Jun 23, 2018 5:25 pm

I try not to accumulate too much, but something like 7 years ago, I bought a one-piece knotty pine Tele Esquire body made by a small luthier in Canada (I lived in France) to my specs. Didn't do anything with it, waiting for the right parts.

Fast forward a bit, 3 years later (!), I was to move to New York, and couldn't bring my guitars; so I sold everything, but that body. Once in the US, as my sole project, I got what I thought was the perfect pickup, a Duesenberg (which couldn't be sent to a US address for some reason, so I had a friend in Italy to buy it and ship it). Still nothing was put together.

Then I moved to Malaysia, bringing everything with me. Kept gathering parts from all over the world. Everything starts to fit together, just need to actually be assembled. Bought parts for a partcaster bass in the meantime, instead. Another move, to Singapore. Where I put together another partcaster (the silver Mustang I posted here and there).

Three or four months ago, the Esquire body was sold (at the price I actually bought it). Which, save for the few coats of oil I did at some point, was new, and still covered in the bubble wrap it originally came in.

Aaaaand, amusingly enough, for the past couple of weeks (so, before your thread), I've been thinking that I still have that pickup and those parts laying around in a box, and that I should put them to good use. Life's a big, perfect circle. :ph34r:
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Re: The danger of spare pickups

Post by kdanie » Sat Jun 23, 2018 5:44 pm

That's how some of my projects start, I have a set of 3 new G&L Z coils. a set of Rose strat pickups, a pair of p90s and some others waiting for bodies/necks. Sometimes a good set of pickups will inspire something interesting. Just need some time in the shop.

ken
Life is an adventure, not something to be suffered through. Don't like your life? FIX it!

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solfege
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Re: The danger of spare pickups

Post by solfege » Sat Jun 23, 2018 6:33 pm

The funny part about this is I'm totally considering picking up a couple sets of those bootstrap pickups to see what I can eventually find to put them in.

(Related: Anyone have thoughts on Alnico 2 or 3 vs 5 for P 90s?)

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MechaBulletBill
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Re: The danger of spare pickups

Post by MechaBulletBill » Sun Jun 24, 2018 5:29 am

solfege wrote:
Sat Jun 23, 2018 6:33 pm
(Related: Anyone have thoughts on Alnico 2 or 3 vs 5 for P 90s?)
i think the "proper"/accurate reproduction ones have a2. I have a set of a2 p90s in my sg special copy and they're very sparkley. I need to change out the tone pots coz they don't do much till you get below 5. would be interested in trying a5/hotter wind in the bridge position but (in the spirit of the thread) i have some firebird pickups that i might chuck in there for a while.

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