Vintage Vibe Guitars CC-Rider

Single coil bladed P-90. I got the humbucker size.

Bridge 6k, neck 5.5k

Epiphone Les Paul Jr. see www.7worksguitars.com Lil' Christian.

Output is classic P-90. Starts as a clean twang and goes to a vintage roar as you crank the volume.

Sounds great playing blues, rock, even jazz.

So well rounded and great thru tube or solid state amps.

No Pedals needed!

Pete has been so helpful. Tell him what you want and that's what you get. All his pickups are so well made as well as tonefully well rounded. They do what you expect them to do.

I have stopped searching. Seymour who?

Pickup features: both single coil
Impedence or other specs: Neck- 7.2 k ohms Bridge- 9.0 k ohms

Model of guitar or bass: Relic style early 50's Esquire by Rock N Roll Relics
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: The Vanilla Sheiks
You musical style(s): Classic Rock, Blues, Jazz
Reason for pickup change: Wanted a very warm classic jazz tone from the neck pickup which would blend well with, and not overwhelm a vintage sounding Telecaster bridge pickup.

Perceived output level: Slightly hotter, yet very balanced from setting to setting. No percieved volume drop in any postion.
Tone: Very complex, warm, and defined neck pu tone. Bridge pu is hot and defined, retaining classic Tele bite WITHOUT those ice pick to the ear tones.
Sonic evaluation: I use an early '90s Marshall 900 4501 combo w/ 1-12 extension cabinet, or a Fender Blues Jr. Usually going straight amp w/ a touch of reverb, sometimes using a Dunlop Jimi Hendrix wah.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: These are single coils. They are a bit noisier than double coils, but are hum-canceling when combined. The complex tone is well worth the little extra noise. Great for classic Rock, Blues, as well as chord melody Jazz. Might be too noisy for Metal or super high gain amps.

Comments: I've been playing for 30 years and have gone through countless guitars, pickups, and amps. I like vintage Telecasters, and have three at present, two 1950s relic style, and one with a more modern setup. This pickup combination nails those vintage tones I love; from Roy Buchanan to Jeff Beck, all the way to that tasty warm 50s Jazz tone in a single guitar. If stolen I would replace these in a second. It would be hard to find a better pickup set, at even twice the price. Believe me, I've tried a load of pickups. I couldn't be more satisfied.

Pickup features: Single coil, single-bar
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: MIM 50s Tele
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: stock tele neck pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Biltoft / Vintage vibe Tele bridge
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rootsy - some country, some blues
Reason for pickup change: Trying something different... I've seen some players w/ Charlie Christian pickups in a tele, so I thought I needed to try it...

Perceived output level: Overwound, but in a warm, clear way... full bottom, but not muddy
Tone: big, round, warm, full, clear...
Sonic evaluation: Ash/maple tele through an 18-watt marshall, or a tweedy 6v6s thang... I like to twang, but I like to get gritty, too... I was looking for a tele neck pickup that had more oomph, without going to a humbucker... and p-90s can easily get a little too ratty too quick... this looked like an interesting choice. Very jazzy, stays clean pretty long, but will overdrive well. I love the fact that it's big and clean and clear, but has a solid bottom end and lots of warmth... often warm bottom = mud, but not here... Works great with the tele bridge, and is especially nice with the 4-way switch on a tele...

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rootsy, some country, some blues... not a high-gain pickup, but it sounds very good...

Comments: I like this pickup... a great balance to the tele bridge. Not my only tele, and not my #1, but quickly becoming #2... I would try to replace this guitar if stolen. Been playing for 17+ years, mostly teles, a strat or 2, a les paul or 2... I typically play through lower power tube amps... tweed deluxe, baby marshall... I love the tone, and the cosmetics... This is a great looking, and more importantly, great sounding pickup that really improved the guitar.

Pickup features: Single coil, "bar" polepiece
Impedence or other specs: custom-built humbucker replacements

Model of guitar or bass: MIK Epiphone Sheraton
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan JB and Pearly Gates
Other pickups on guitar: n/a
Artists using this pickup: just me, so far!
You musical style(s): indescribable intergalactic nostalgic noodling
Reason for pickup change: I recently got an ES-333, and loaded it with a S-D JB and Jazz pups, so I thought I'd take the Epi in another tonal direction.

Perceived output level: Hotter than stock Epi humbuckers, perhaps even edge out the S-D's for gain!
Tone: Warm and woody neck, bright and full bridge , nice Gretschy "doink" in the middle
Sonic evaluation: I had expected these to sound like some kind of a P90 variant, but that's not even close. Pete really has found some kind of mojo/magic to get a BIG, woody, full-bodied tone out of this neck pup. Just for fun, I A/B-ed it with a couple of other axes trying to nail it down, and it FAR out-warms the P90 in my LP Special (NOT a P100, BTW - it's the '98 reissue model), and the pup/axe that it sounds the closest to is the S-D Jazz in the neck of my ES-333. Imagine, a single coil as fat as a humbucker... The bridge pup is brighter than you might expect, but full, just as you'd expect, and the "both on" middle is as sweet a Gretch/fat single-coil "doink" as you could imagine.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is THE neck pup for that big "jazzbox" tone! The set would be great for rockabilly, fine for country (but not for Tele parts!), and most "vintage rock" applications as well. I personally just don't see it as a thrasher's pup... ;->

Comments: OK, let's talk about the motivation, and the entire experience:
Now that I had the screamin' blues tones covered with my ES-333, I wanted to go for something different with my Epi Sheraton. I had considered humbucker-sized P90's, but I have that tone covered by an (USA) Epi Casino loaded with S-D Antiquities and a (stock) Gibson LP Special. So, I thought I try something really different, and maybe get a big "jazzbox" tone out of the Epi - I ain't got nuttin' like dat...
I had seen CC-Riders on the Vintage Vibe website, they looked cool and was curious to know just what exactly they sounded like. I've used Pete's Strat pups in many axes (and highly recommend them to anyone looking for vintage-Strat sweetness), so I e-mailed him for the bird's eye lowdown on this caper, whatever that means.... Pete had one of his customers e-mail me with a candid review of his impression of the CC-Rider pup, and it sounded good, so I thought I'd give it a try.
The CC-Riders I received were cool looking, with that goofy, classic trapazoidal shape and big honkin' bar polepiece, but had a few mounting issues in the Epi, as the Epi (and Dots, and LP's) have hardly any space between the string height and the face of the guitar at the neck pup's spot. I believe that these would easily mount up on full-bodied archtops, with their raised fingerboards, but there just wasn't room on the Sheraton. I e-mailed Pete with my observations and suggestions, and quickly received a set that was cosmetically a bit different, with the bobbin tops trimmed down to "humbucker" size and a shorter bar polepiece, losing some of the visual "vintage Charlie Christian" vibe, but, were a perfect, no-worries, drop-in replacement for a humbucker, and would fit into ANY of the afore-mentioned axes. Pete is da man!
The next time I change strings on this axe, I'm definitely going with a set of flatwounds, because the guitar has completely changed personalities with the addition of these pups. That neck pup has the big, silky, woody fullness you usually associate with a seasoned ES-175, Super 400, or the like.
AND! The only other axe in my possession right now that comes close to the "doink" and rockabilly vibe that the Epi has now is my late '60's Gretsch Double Anniversary with the single-coil HiLoTrons. But Pete's pups make the Epi easily TWICE as loud as that axe, and the Epi's construction eliminates most of the feedback issues associated with the big ol' Gretsch. It's a good combination of tone and practicality.
BOTTOM LINE: If you have an Epi Dot or Les Paul (or other humbucker "clone"), but what you really wanted to get out of yer axe were the BIG TONES you associate with a Gretsch or some fat jazzbox, try these pups! Just the neck would be fine for for jazz, or get 'em both for rockablly.
Tell Pete WHAT axe you are gonna mount 'em, though, to get around the potential mounting issues. Heck, he may even update his website and offer the same custom set that he built for me as a regular item - watch for it! Good stuff.