Chubtone Custom Pickups 69 Strat Set

single coil passive pick ups

Telecaster with 3 single coils.
Custom guitar (blackburn).
Built with these pickups.

Output is very high.
Sano anp, and B-52 stealth.
Bassy on the neck,treble on the neck.
Melodic rock, Blues rock.

I would buy it again.
About 3 years. I own alot of gear.
I love every thing about my pickups.
No i did not compare...but i have played alot NOTHING comes close.

Pickup features: single coil, passive
Impedence or other specs: not sure

Model of guitar or bass: fender 60's strat re - issue, fender 1999 american deluxe
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: me
You musical style(s): Original Blues
Reason for pickup change: Couldn't find the tone I liked

Perceived output level: a bit hotter than normal
Tone: Very well balanced, airy and warm
Sonic evaluation: I use three different amps:
A Dr. Z maz 18, a Marshall jcm 900 and a fender super 60.
If you go to my website, www.donbrewerbluesproject.com I used these pup's on all of the songs posted.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Original Blues and these pup's are great for it.

Comments: If these pup's were lost or stolen I would definitely buy another set(s). I put these in both of my strats I liked them so much. They sound diffrerent in each guitar. I have been playing since the 70's.
I have tried rio grandes, wcr's, all of the fenders (I think) and they are all very good as well. These pickups however have their own vibe which fit my style perfectly. They excel tonally in all areas.
They somehow manage to be fat, clear, chimey and ballsy all at the same time. In my opinion they are definitely a work of art. This may sound over the top but when you play as much as I do you appreciate these things. On my new album I even recorded a couple of songs with the bridge pup and it sounds great, not "tinny" at all.

Pickup features: single coils
Impedence or other specs: between 6.2 en 6.5

Model of guitar or bass: strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): rock'billyswampfunkboogie
Reason for pickup change: I heard them on a guitar, that was enough

Perceived output level: Output is in de regular vintage strat borders
Tone: Blooming & open, harmonically rich & detailed. I had 3 strats and did some swapping with necks, bridges and pickups, just for fun. The Chubtones ended in the best combination; an old Fender JV with an new genuine Fender tremelo but with a old steelblock. I found out that a lot of a guitar sound comes from the neck itself, swapping it can give dramatic results. However, because of all these little experiments I could get a pretty good idea of all the pickups in this roundup (van Zandt blues, Duncan antiquity Texas hot and ssl1, Fender '83 and '77 and Tex Mex and an old Bill Lawrence S1 and the Chubtones '69 of course) The Chubbies have, compared to all the others an tighter yet more open sound and sound more "alive". For instance, compared to the Chubbies, the ssl1 and the Fender "83 were a bit dull, the Van Zandt sounded a little bassy with some top end and the Fender "77 were nice if you are in that "Chique Le Freak" style. The antiquity gave a comparable kind of tone but are a little emphasized on the mids so they lacked that open jangle of the Chubtones
Sonic evaluation: I have some strats and tele's, a LP junior, a duo jet and a Ibanez 335, amps are a silverface bassman, Vox AC-15, Dynacord twen and some little tubeamps from Hughes & Kettner, stompboxes a Chandler tube driver, Ibanez tubeking, Menatone Howie and a Toneman Dallas Rangemaster

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: The Chubetones are bluesy Pickups but more focused than your average SRV sound. To get that late sixties/early senventies David Gilmoure sound Mike recommends his '67 pups, these '69's are a litter hotter bit still have that "piano bell-like"quality

Comments: If you want a dropdead Hendrix sound, I suggest you buy a really good neck (and some of Mr.Hendrix talent wouldn't hurt eihter. Anyway, these '69's are a brilliant alternative if you are looking for a different twist on that signed sealed & delivered signature sound of a good strat.

Pickup features: passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: round the 6.5 k.

Model of guitar or bass: Fender JV squire strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Duncan antiquity, van Zandt blues
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s):
Reason for pickup change: heard these pups and I was impressed

Perceived output level: output is slightly hotter than standard, on par with the van zandt blues but totally stratsville, not a beefed up Texas special midhump but just more of everything
Tone: tone is pretty hard to describe because there is no specific sound to them, everything is in sensational balance with a big open voice, not only sparkling highs but also sparkling mids and sparkling bass, they pickup fingers, fretboard and bodywood like your playing with super fresh strings all the time, must be the hand scatter process I guess. I have two other strats -a 80ties and a seventies- that now are loaded with a duncan antiquity texas hot and a ssl1, van zandt blues, a fender '82 and '83 pups and an old Bill Lawrence Black label but how nice all these pickups are in their own way, they now sound kinda dull and lifeless compared to mikes magic brew.
Sonic evaluation: Tell ya the truth, I was looking for a early seventies grey bottom sound -had a 72 strat once but had to sell it- and the fenders '69 didnt blew me away. Mike seem to know exactly what I was looking for (he advised his '67 pups) but I choose the '69's because of the woody quality and he was right about that. Of all the dimarzios, duncans, Fender CS and fralins I had on a strat, the Chubtones are a class of their own. Think I will order the '67's anyway.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: style I play is a kinda of swampashboogiechillen flamenco type of thing

Comments: Lots of guitars in the gretsch/tele/junior teritory, also because I found it extremely hard to get a nice sound from a strat.. to thin, to bright, to dark etc. Amps I use are a '73 silverface bassman, a 1999 Vox AC-15, H&K cream and blues machines, Fender tube reverb and old Chandler tubedriver, Ibanez tubeking and a Toneman Rangemaster.
All I can say, if you are still not totally satisfied with your antiquties or CS '54's do your guitar a favour and give Mike a call

Pickup features: Single coil w/ RW/RP middle
Impedence or other specs: 6.21K neck, 6.25K middle, 6.9K bridge

Model of guitar or bass: 1996 Fender Japan '68 Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Uuuhhh... eclectic?
Reason for pickup change: Surprisingly, the stock pickups are the first ones in a Japanese Fender (well, any Fender, really) that I didn't immediately want to change. They were actually quite nice. But they could be somewhat harsh, especially on the 3rd string, and especially with overdrive.
So I thought, "What difference would hand-wounds make?" When I saw Mike selling these on eBay, it really looked like he'd done his research and figured out how to capture the "vibe" certain years had.

Perceived output level: A smidgen louder than stock. Only a smidgen, though. (He is winding pickups within standard vintage ranges.)
Tone: Extremely balanced and piano-like. They have a pronounced midrange clang that you'd expect to hear in a late-60s Strat, but with a smooth top-end and poppy bottom.
Sonic evaluation: The Strat they're in has a light ash body and maple neck with separate maple fretboard. It has the potential to be a really bright guitar, but the lightness and openness of the ash smooths things out. I chose the 69s over Mike's 67s because they are wound slightly hotter and round the high-end just slightly.
They sound like the stock pickups, only better. Like I said, the stock pickups sounded really good. The Chubs have the same tonality, but without the harshness and with an extra helping of airy harmonic zing.
Every position is usable-- especially the mid pickup alone. This was a big selling-point for me, as I like to hang out with the mid by itself. And the bridge pickup by itself has extra oomph to make it not brittle and scritchy. Put it through a Barber Direct Drive and it roars. As for the neck pickup, well, it's good. Really good. It will do the Texas blues thing if you want, but because these aren't wound exceedingly hot, it doesn't mush and fart out like most pickups aimed at that sound.
Speaking of mushing out, I should say something about the dynamics on these: because Mike winds them to emulate certain years, he uses era-appropriate magnet and wire. Putting alnico-V with plain enamel wire gives you dynamics that are, well-- explosive. There is no compression with these when you really lay into the strings. Play lightly, you get gentle sounds; play hard, you get really LOUD sounds.
There are plenty of people winding to get an early 60s Strat sound (Mike does, too-- check out his 61s, 62s, or 63s for that), but very few that try for the late-60s "before CBS had a chance to really muck things up" sound. That's what I was looking for, and that's what these do.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Any style in which you'd use a Strat would be well-suited by these. And if you're a Hendrix freak, these are essential. They nail that vibe.

Comments: I'm really surprised that I'm the first to review Mike's 69s-- even moreso given that they are his personal favorites. In addition to his year-appropriate pickups, he also offers the Gordo and Guapo models which take the vintage recipe and give it that Emeril BAM. He even winds for Teles.
Why don't more people know about his stuff? Well, he's just one guy, he winds them by hand, and he doesn't have time to build a website. But if you get in touch with him (MGray55@hotmail.com), he'll wind you something you'll love for an extremely reasonable price.
I can't say enough how much I like these pickups. If I had gotten something comparable from another boutique winder, I would have probably paid twice what I did. Plus, Mike is extremely personable and responds to nit-picky geek questions with patience and aplomb.
These pickups rule.