Vintage Vibe Guitars Telecaster Custom

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs: Bridge 10.2 ohms, Neck 7.3 ohms, random-scatter wound

Model of guitar or bass: Home brew Tele parts caster
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: These are original to this instrument
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: don't know--don't care
You musical style(s): blues, country, jazz, rock
Reason for pickup change: NA

Perceived output level: Hotter than normal vintage-type pickups
Tone: Strong, very clear-very articulate (no mud whatsoever), slightly more mid-rangy than vintage type Tele pickups but still twangy
Sonic evaluation: home brew 3-piece, ash tele thin-finished with shellac, aniline dyes, and 1 coat of polyurethane strung with 10's, rosewood neck. Amps are all-tube,Reverend HellHound (super amp), Roland Jazz Chorus 77 which is a solid state amp, and a vintage Gibson "deluxe Reverb type" tube amp. No pedals--sometimes play w/chorus on the Roland--may get an overdrive pedal to give the HellHound "second channel" versatility (the HellHound is another superior product from a small mfg.)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: blues, country, jazz, rock--avid hobbyist, listen to a lot of live music played by pros, eg.'s Gil Parris--ex-lead guitarist for Doctor John and Blood, Sweat and Tears, and Joe Beck, Grammy-winning NY-based studio jazz musician, Jack Wilkins

Comments: Would definitely buy these again. These are very,very fine pickups. I had a Hamer tele with a Seymour Duncan Broadcaster in the bridge and a 5/2 alnico in the neck which was a super instrument, and this guitar is every bit as good with these pickups. Like the SD Broadcaster, the Tele Custom is a little stronger and more "full-bodied" than most Vintage-type tele pickups. I cannot stand shrill, "ice pick in the ear" tele sounds and these certainly do not have that. This still "twangs" but is very rich and very articulate in sound which I require. (I prefer a good clean sound to a hot, overdriven sound that is usually muddy and indistinct.) My first love is jazz and I could use these this tele to play jazz, a la Ed Bickert.
The build quality on these is amazing. Very, very well-made. What is most amazing about these is how quiet they are. I can play them in front of my computer monitor with no problem at all (if I hold them up to the monitor screen they start to buzz at about 12" from the screen.). I have a set of stacked single coil, aftermarket boutique p/u's in another instrument and I see, and hear, very little difference in noise levels. These p/u's are much closer in sound, though, to a vintage-type twang as they are true single-coil p/u's. The other, stacked-coil p/u's are also very fine products but do not quite have the single coil distinct-ness which these haveand which make single-coils worthwhile. These really are very, very close to being noiseless but with true single-coil character. The fact that they are hotter than normal guarantees, I believe, more mid-range than a vintage-type weaker p/u. These are not quite like P-90's though, and nowhere near a humbucker-based sound.
I didn't know Pete Biltoft from a hole in the wall before buying these. He is a genuinely nice guy who builds superior products and will answer emails and tel. calls. He also will build whatever you require in terms of a p/u. For the same price as a mass-produced, "off the rack" item, you can get something better. Pete would be my first choice for any other type of p/u. He also builds guitars, speaker cabinets, you name it.
Each p/u is delivered with a spec sheet which shows the model type and intended position, # of winding turns and direction, ohm-based resistance readings, magnetic field-strengths, installation notes, and separate installation diagram. (These pickups also carry a lifetime(!) guarantee for the original purchaser) Ultimately I am not an electrical engineer and could not care less about specs, except to the extent that they affect tone--these pickups deliver superior tone. I have a feeling, though, that Pete has a very good handle on how to make a p/u with a particular sound, and I suspect that product consistency is not a problem with his pickups. (The old hand-wound Fender p/u's were not the most consistent--some were hotter than others like the ones Stevie Ray Vaughn used in his #1 strat).

Pickup features: Passive single-coil
Impedence or other specs: Neck: 7.1k ohms, Bridge: 10.2k ohms

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Telecaster '52 Reissue
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Fender original
Other pickups on guitar: Both PUs were changed to Vintage Vibe custom Telecasters
Artists using this pickup: Unknown
You musical style(s): Blues, standards
Reason for pickup change: The original Fender pickups were thin sounding and the bridge pickup became extremely microphonic.

Perceived output level: Slightly higher output than the original Fender pickups.
Tone: Neck pickup is clear, the bridge pickup has nice twang!
Sonic evaluation: I like these Vintage Vibe (VV)pickups because they sound punchy when compared to the original Fender pickups they replaced. They are single coils, so they have less output than, say, a Gibson humbucker. The VV neck Tele neck pickup has a solid core that is not too bright; I can use it to play blues and jazz standards. The VV bridge pickup has twang with a little "sting"; I've wired them so that I get an out-of-phase combination in the in-between swich setting.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I think these PUs would be very versitile, especially the neck PU.

Comments: I really like these PUs! They are very, very well made using top-quality materials (it may even surprise you). Vintage Vibe makes a wide variety of PUs for guitar and bass. Where are you going to find a Charlie Christian PU that fits in a humbucker slot? I should mention that VV pay attention to PU shielding issues; my replacement Tele PUs are very quiet! As Peter is a very clever guy, ask him to build a set of custom PUs for you at a very reasonable price. He also makes guitars and produced beautiful hardwood cabinets for some amplifiers I built.