Chubtone Custom Pickups 62s

Handwound single coil Strat PUPS.

I popped them into a Fernandes 62 style strat.

I have been playing all kinds of music for the past 26 years so I've heard LOTS of pickups. I plug into a Seymour Duncan Convertble and they sound amazing. No frills, just good ole Stratty tone. The more I play them the more I love them. These pickups reveal things about themselves every time I play my guitar. I use a PODXT Live for gigs and they sound amazing through that on a Marshall setting. People ask me where I hide my amp!! These are also the quietest single coils I have ever used. I am impressed and eager to purchase more of them!

I wanted 60's Strat tone and I got it. I would replace these again if I lost them for sure! I have other guitars with Dimarzios and Duncans that have taken the backseat to my Chubbie Strat.

Actually, this is a Custom '62 set because the bridge is a '63 model. I ordered this because normaly on even output pickups, you have to jack up the bridge pretty high in order to get the same output level that the other pickups get from the strings. This way the bridge gets more air, less midrange and less brittle highs but still sounds strong. The neck and bridge are in the low 6kohm, the brige is a high 6kohm.

This set went on a seventies Fender usa strat that had a naturally "big"sound. I asked Mike if I would go for a compensating pickup sound - the '67's- or go for the other direction.. increase what's already there. Mike send me this set.

First of all, I already have his '69 pickups and love that hollow piano-bell vibe they give you. The custom '62's sound completly different. Instead of that delicate hollow upper lip you get a big fat redneck that screams "Rio Grande". Now, I wasn't looking for that SRV signature that everybody claims to have but boy.. these are some very bluesy, growling dudes. Unlike similiar pickups from VanZant and Fralin there's no midrange hump at all and that is a good thing. These can still make a convincing "Sultans of swing" in betweenie, try that with your Texas Specials..

The best thing however, the 69's and these custom '62's have "tone" instead of "sound". Now I have a box full of Duncans, fender, Vanzandt and Fralins lying under the sink. All good pickups but the stay there.

I am sure that there are lots of good pickups outhere, I dont know them all. Mike is a small one man company and easy to approach and sure knows what he is doing. Great prices too. I had to wait 2 months because he had run out of material but after a few weeks he send me a email that he was all set to go again. Very good. The fact that I bought a second set of pickups will say more than big words I guess.

Guitars; some Strat and tele from various years, Lp junior, Duo Jet and a 335. Amps; Vox AC-15, Dynacord Twen, Bassman silverface, Orange Tiny Terror, H&K cream machine.

Pickup features: passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: 6.21k neck, 6.22k middle

Model of guitar or bass: Erni Ball Music Man Silhouette
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: stock pickups ( dimarzio's ? )
Other pickups on guitar: chubtone in the middle, Kent Armstrong bridge humbucker
Artists using this pickup: not enuff
You musical style(s): R & B based jazz/blues/rock
Reason for pickup change: stock pu's were anemic, microphonic, losing tone

Perceived output level: maybe a little hotter than stock, actually CHUBBIER
Tone: very robust, balanced , articulate and spanky
Sonic evaluation: Using these through a GT Soul O 45 and Reverend Hellhound. Glassy, squinky out of phase tone ( both positions ), manly girth in the neck setting and actually great middle alone tones. Overdriven they remain articulate and don't lose they're sonic identity, 9th's and 13th's don't turn to mush. Also they are as quite ( actually quiter ) as the stock pickups even with the goofy "silent circuit" feature in EBMM guitars removed. Nice....

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: For the wide pallete of sound required for the diverse styles used they are an ideal match

Comments: These babys are sweet. They fit the bill for exactly what I wanted in single coils. Plus dealing with Mike Gray( he is Mr. Chubtone ) is a delight. Great tone, great customer service, more than fair pricing for pickups wound for your specific sonic territory.It's a win-win, e-mail Mike at mgray55@hotmail.com and check him out.