Chubtone Custom Pickups El Gordo

Hand wound passive single coil set for Strat

Wound fairly hot with Alnico V pole pieces.

Alder body Strat with maple neck/Brazilian rosewood fretboard, John Mann Tremolo.

These are big, fat ballsy pickups. I run a pretty clean amp with volume at 10 and gain about 6. I use a split effects chain and get my overdrive from my pedals. I'm using CTS 250K pots with the bridge on its own tone control. I like this pickups - they output is there so I have them set low in the pickguard. It took me a minute to dial them in, but not the volume is very equal across all six strings.

I'd buy another set no problem. I try to sample pickups by small custom winders and I'm really impressed with Mike Gray's work here. Don't be afraid of the output these have - they can be easily tamed and the benefits will be aparent. Good pickups deserve good electronis, pots, caps, switch and jack - don't be penny wise and pound foolish you'll be cheating yourself out of great tone. I control the drive of these from the volume knob and they are very dynamic with no mud. Try a set you'll be glad you did.

Pickup features: Passive Strat type single coil.
Impedence or other specs: quoted as 6.7k at neck (not tested)

Model of guitar or bass: 2004 American Series HSS Strat with S-1 switch
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Fender Tex-Mex Neck and Mid single coils
Other pickups on guitar: Remaining Fender Diamondback Humbucker
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Blues and Classic Rock on this guitar
Reason for pickup change: Quite frankly, the Fender pups sounded bland and wooly with none of the 'singing' harmonic tones or 'honk' and 'quack' of a Strat...yet they did not distort as well as my Jap superstrat either, so it was like having a lump of beautifully contoured dead wood.

Perceived output level: Wired hot. Not quite as loud as the remaining humbucker, but not overshadowed by it.
Tone: Much brighter than the woolly Tex-Mex they replaced, though definitely not brittle or harsh. In fact, a rich and warm harmonic content.
Sonic evaluation: So far, only used with my early 70's WEM valve practice amp...BUT all tests/comparisons were done with the same set up and so the sonic descriptions are relative.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: They sound great for a range of clean rock/funk and Clapton-Hendrix type tunes. Whilst they will crank up, they don't translate so well for heavy metal (it's a Strat), where, as ever, a distortion pedal loses all finesse and makes all positions sound about the same.

Comments: The El Gordos are wound hotter than some of the classic Strats, but with a view to maintaining some of the tonal qualities that the Tex-Mex had evidently lost in their own hotting up. Although I was not able to upgrade my humbucker from the same manufacturer for a complete sound upgrade, they gave an instant improvement in DIFFERENCE between the 5 positions (which previously sounded like wool-woolly-wool-woolly-woollier). Though not cheap, they were excellent value in themselves compared to the big name pup makers...and this is for hand made, scatter-wound singing pups.
They perhaps have very little prestige and resale value (yet), but if its the SOUND that matters...
I have been playing 32 years. Other gear far too numerous to mention.
I have Seymour Duncans and Dimarzios to hand. I have no experience with the high end (high cost) boutique custom pups, although I note that some others rate Chubtones as highly. On this I cannot comment.
Are they better sounding than the stock Fender? Yes. Are they the best you can get? I don't know.
I did compare them directly to a set of Mightymite single coil pups I have in a self-built Strat copy that I have been very pleased with, especially considering the price. The Mightymites sounded much better than the orgiginal HSS Strat. The Mightymites are even brighter than the Chubtones with lots of their own harmonics but they don't have the richness in the body that the El Gordos have.
I am satisfied with the sound at positions 1,2,3& even pos4. Pos5 (the hummer) still has a blandness about it, but coupled with the mid pup in pos4 still has a Strat sound that was all but lost.
The sound will be complete when I find a suitable replacement Hummer.
To close, as others have said, Mike at Chubtone is an approachable guy. He certainly knows what he's talking about, which I must say, enabled me to risk doing the deal from here in the UK, without having heard the pickups first(!) He was willing to engage in my geeky, technical ramblings and offer a level of support in the way that a tech from most major manufacturers would not have the interest or inclination to do. Recommended.