BG Pups "Billy Bucker"-proto-type

Single coil/Humbucker combo, medium output

1 piece Swamp ash strat body(hardtail) with Warmoth rosewood neck with ebony fingerboard. Bridge position humbucker size pickup used with 2 other single coils. I custom ordered this pickup with the idea of having a great handwound strat bridge pickup then mating it with another complimentary coil that would make a good humbucker tone when used in series with the strat coil.

The output in humbucker mode is wekaer than a Duncan JB but hotter than a PAF. The single coil sounds slightly hotter than a vintage 60's strat bridge Pickup. The single coil tone is very classic yet with more definition/balance in the frequency range which I expected. What I didn't expect was how complex sounding it was in humbucker mode. It literally sounds like 2 guitars are playing at once; a tele along with a Les Paul if you can believe it, well defined/balanced but not thin or harsh. Clips of it are here: http://www.arkamps.com/Download.html

I play this through an Ark Amplifier (50 watt master volume El-34)which is somewhat british in it's tone character.

I play mostly Pop/Rock and Progressive rock and some bluesier stuff at times. Works very well for all the styles I play these days. This pickup is only for the bridge position; the neck version I haven't played just yet as it hasn't been shipped yet.

If this pickup wound up missing somehow I would cry like a little baby!

I have been playing guitar for 31 years, and bass for about 22 years.

I really dig the unique open tone this pickup has in both modes, the humbucker sound is more complex than any Bucker I recall and I have used/experienced MANY in the past- I was the main guitar tech at a big Michigan store 10 years ago and I was absolutely obsessed at the time with pickups and many people would come to me for advice on what to choose in their situation. I hate the fact that very few players know about these unique creatures yet, they are not actually in stores yet!

At this point I cannot see myself ever needing to replace this pickup unless something bad happened to it, I am finally content with my "fat strat"bridge pickup tone after years of searching and experimenting. I was very surprised that this first proto-type turned out so well, I only really expected the single coil sound to be great and not the humbucker, at least not on the first try with that design approach.

At this point Bryan Gunsher is still figuring out what to charge for these pickups, they certainly won't be very cheap, and certainly don't sound that way either; it would be well worth $300 if he chooses to charge that much imho. This review may sound too glowing but you can hear the clips for yourself and decide. I really am happy with my custom pickup, no regrets whatsoever.