Kent Armstrong Vintage 12 N

Pickup features: Filtertron looking bucker with 12 pole pieces & nickel cover
Impedence or other specs: Around 8.2 or so

Model of guitar or bass: Warmoth Tele
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Dimarzio PAF
Other pickups on guitar: Lollar Special
Artists using this pickup: No one I'm aware of
You musical style(s): mixed bag of blues, jazz, alt country, rockabilly, blues and blues
Reason for pickup change: The Dim PAF ( a fine pickup btw ) was a bit muddy/tubby in the neck of my Alder Warmoth tele. Wanted something along the same lines as far as low output, but needed a bit more clairty than the PAF provided.

Perceived output level: This is simply a fine, low cost pickup. I've been through Duncan Seths Lovers, Jazz, Alnico ll, 59, et all. This one sounds like it was made for the neck of this guitar. Could not be happier with the tone.
Tone: Very balanced with a very open, articulate tone that responds well to touch.
Sonic evaluation: FIrst off, the split tone this pickup provides is stunning. Run in combo with the Lollar ( killer, killer pickup )the tone is classic middle position tele. In bucker mode, it still sound sweet, just a bit girthier. The mixed tones are stellar, but where it really shines is used by itself. If you paly the blues, you owe it to yourself to try this pickup. Less money than most out there, but a true bargain as far as tone. It has that wonderful open woodiness of tone. Hard to describe, but if you have experienced it, you know it. This pickup responds very well to touch. Dig in and it growls like a great PAF. Lighten up and it's sweet enough to cause a cavity. A beautiful pickup when played clean and it responds very well to overdrives. I've used it with several TS type pedals, Keely modded Blues Driver, AM modded TS, Aramat modded DS-1 and a nice Fuzz FAce clone. It'll take you right back to 67-69. Seriously, this is fine pickup. Equal to many hand wound pups I've had. It reminds me of a Seth Lover with a bit more clairty. I don't know if the 12 pole pieces have anything to do with it, but its a very nice pickup.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: I kind of shied away from Armstrong pups. I know they are made in Korea and I had a preconcieved prejudice against anything imported...."Harumph....not in MY gutiar MRS.!!" Well, I decided to get over my bad self and take a shot when one showed up on ebay. I was getting ready to ditch the Dim PAF ( I still like them, it just did not work with this guitar ) and put a Twang King or OC Duff single coil back in the neck position. This one popped up and I took a chance on it. Glad I did. I realize there are better pickups out there. They also cost about double ( or more ) than this. Based onthe price/perfomance ratio this pickup provides, it gets a soild 8. 10's are reserved for Lollars, Stephens, WCR's, Jon Moores, Wolfe, Electrokrafts, Rolph, Florence, Duffs, VV's, Biltoffs, Novaks, etc, etc, etc. ,