Wolfetone Custom

Single coil set for stratocaster; haven't checked specs yet, I'm killing time writing this review. Black covers with heavy lacquer on magnet tops. Look to be well crafted.

A buddy of mine dropped off this Frankenstrat for me to work with the other day. He picked this one up on ebay (I do setup work on guitars to help pay the bills). The guitar has Wolfetone custom winds in all three positions, along with an RS Guitarworks wiring kit for strats (good stuff), coupled with a warmoth standard thin neck on an 81 vintage Ibanez Blazer body.

I have to judge the pickups without benefit of a decent guitar. Why people spend this sort of money on parts to toss them into an old body with an odd neck pocket requiring shimming to make the thing playable is beyond me. Therefore, I can't judge the pickups for sustain because the guitar has lost half its sustain for the aforementioned reason. I don't hate shims, but if you're paying for custom wiring, pickups and the dough for a warmoth neck, couple it with a decent body so the neck to body contact is tight. Jeez ... rant off.

I told my buddy to look for a new body; "classic" strat-style bodies from yesteryear don't always take aftermarket necks well. This is a classic example of just that.

So, I'm looking at this as a 'bench test' of the Wolfetones:

The neck is woody and tight - good lows and VG definition. 9
The middle is not wired to a tone control - bright and chimey, 8
The bridge is a bit jangly, but still solid strat - 8

The sound in the 2 and 4 positions, and overall, loses points simply because for boutique hand wound pickups they don't flip my switch. Sure, they sound pretty darn good. But I've heard other pickups that sound as good and cost half as much. However, and this is huge however, I can't really judge the pickups on a guitar that is nearly devoid of acoustic resonance. This is why I don't buy on ebay anymore - too many DIY project guitars end up as parts-0-casters and there are problems (such as neck-pocket joints) that aren't disclosed. It's a total crap shoot. Buy your guitar in a shop or on Craigslist so you can SEE it and PLAY it.


I realize that Wolfe is a small outfit, and he's supposedly good with customer service, so I take that into consideration in recommending his pickups.

These certainly look well made, and they sound good even in a nearly dead guitar. I'm going to climb out on a limb a bit and opine that these would sound very good in a resonant guitar with a good setup. Jerry Garcia? Who are we kidding? Why the h*ll do people bother to ask a pickup maker to fashion a set of pickups that 'sound' like a guy playing in the 70s? It's insane. But, and here's the caveat, unless you've quite a discerning ear and are recording with a top-shelf mic, spending $100 a pop for single coil pickups to set at home and riff, or jack into a amp with a pedalboard is tossing your money away on boutique stuff.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: gibson Explorer
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Gibson 500T
Other pickups on guitar: Duncan Jazz
Artists using this pickup: Me
You musical style(s): Heavy MEtal
Reason for pickup change: The 500T jsut didnt have enough punch for me. So I had Wolfe make me a pickup much like the 500T but with more ass to it and a few other changes. I'm definitly happy with what I got!

Perceived output level: Little hotter than the 500T but standing close to the amp gives feedback
Tone: Tight lows and great treble
Sonic evaluation: I'm running my Gibson Explorer thru a ENGL Powerball.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Heavy Metal: Iced Earth,Testament, etc.... Not the best for a clean sound, but if you want a all out thrashing metal pickup talk to Wolfe!

Comments: If it were stolen..... If I lost it..... If a flaming horde of locusts decended and unleashed a vile pestilence that destroyed all guitar pickups.... bla bla.... it fucking rocks I'd get another one.

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson SG
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Gibson Humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: N/A
You musical style(s): Alternative Rock
Reason for pickup change: The stock Gibson humbuckers were characteristically muddy ? a sound only Pigpen could love

Perceived output level: On a scale between Arizona and Alaska, these are a New Mexico
Tone: Not extremly trebly, but has a P-90ish snap
Sonic evaluation: My guitar setup is deliberately simple: It is a Gibson SG plugged into a Mesa/Boogie Rectifier.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: The upper harmonics produced by this humbucker are perfect for solos. However, Eric Clapton I am not. What I value most about this pickup is the balance between the upper and lower harmonics, which make chords sound so pretty.

Comments: One of the biggest misconceptions about a good distorted sound, I believe, is that people think you need an extremely hot pickup with lots of treble - not true. So when I came to Wolfe with my idea for a pickup, I told him I needed something that can make chords sound distinct on both the clean and dirty channel - quite a challenge on a Mesa Boogie.
I said Wolfe, from the reviews I've read, I know you make pickups that can growl, but can you make one that purrs? He asked me if this was a challenge. Damn right it was!
Not that I ever doubted Wolfe's skills, but the first time I played that pickup he sent, it knocked my on my behind. Not only did it have that P-90 snap, but it could even hang with my Dimarzio Super Distortion on the Rectifier's dirty channel. I have no qualms in saying this is the best pickup I've ever heard - it is just so cool.

Pickup features: Passive hum
Impedence or other specs: 12-14k

Model of guitar or bass: Ibanez RG-220
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock Crap'ups
Other pickups on guitar: another custom wolfetone in the neck
Artists using this pickup: Me
You musical style(s): Metal , Punk , 80's Rock ,
Reason for pickup change: old pickups sucked,very dead tone. flat,boring..bad sustain

Perceived output level: so hot satan down in hell turned on the AC!
Tone: screaming high's matched nicely with a deep bass sound when desired , nice midrange also.
Sonic evaluation: i'm using a Ibanez RG220 on a Peavey Bandit 112,also running half the time a Rp-200 multieffects pedal and a chorosion distrion pedal (this thing is nice!)
i was considering a few SD pups,george lynch screamin demon...got a test of those and found out they weren't what i wanted and wasn't worth there price.
Clean you can rack out a nice blues tone in the neck,or in the bridge and get a hendrix (little wing) type sound to flow but in distrion mode its full on metallica,megadeath ,and ah hell throw in some hairbands (lol)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Metal,but i'm trying to move around genre's.. these pups are really helping me do that with the tone. good for all Positions!

Comments: If it were destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else? i'd buy it again in a heart beat
How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own? 1-2years
What do you love about it? What do you hate? i love everything about it,hate nothing
Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one? ya a few other things,SD's EMG's and such , because i've heard of wolfe's rep to please and he did.
Anything you wish it had? 2 hot chicks!
Are you satisfied with this pickup or still searching for that sound? satisfied for now

i plan on getting more wolfetone pups (not sure which maybe more customs) when i get a new guitar

Pickup features: very hot passive hum
Impedence or other specs: 14K i think

Model of guitar or bass: B C Rich
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock Rich pickup -usa handmade series
Other pickups on guitar: another wolfetone in neck
Artists using this pickup: me
You musical style(s): heavy rock to metal
Reason for pickup change: Stock p'ups were too "bass" heavy, and a little unbalanced. Also a little too muddy when cranked, with twitching highs that really didn't complement the guitar or amp. My amp setup is very bass heavy already, so needs no assistance from the p'ups which could give the sound of a bass guitar (almost).

Perceived output level: Very hot just as desired.... 14K is almost too hot for my high gain head...
Tone: scooped mids with no excessive amount of bass as found on the stock. Smooth high end too.
Sonic evaluation: The p'ups suit my guitar well, the only other choice for me would be an EMG 81, but sometimes i find active pickups a pain in the ass with all the changing batteries and making sure you don't overload the preamp. I looked at some Seymour Duncans, but they didn't really scream BUY BUY BUY at me like a set of custom made p'ups. Im suprised how balanced they are, even next to my monitor very little noise - which is un heard because my tube amp hiss' like a snake on steroids. Played through a 5150, JCM800 and my GH50. Clean sounds are possible, but the neck p'up -also wolfetone- handles that a lot better. This pickup is really made to scream...and it does its job well.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Heavy metal is genre of choice...though once dragged into a Jazz band practice until i was laughed off by the bassist and drummer because of my BC Rich...

Comments: Would get another set -and will do for my LP- one day once the car insurance and telephone bill are paid off. I'm looking into some humbucker sized P-90s that wolfe is working on, will see what comes of the prototype. With the two p'ups i have in the Rich i can't see myself changing anything other than the tuners - locking ones required - and the fucking floating trem that the asshole of previous owner asked for...The zebra style with double slugs compliments the maple / black guitar well. We are all on the search for "that" sound, the only thing i can wish for is a better clean sound out of the bridge pickup... but luckily i have a very good wolfetone neck pickup that caters for all my clean sounds.

Pickup features: Humbucker passive zebra type with double slugs
Impedence or other specs: 14.5k ohms, double slugs

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Les Paul
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: A crappy korean humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: another Wolfetone on the neck
Artists using this pickup: i could lie here....but i won't
You musical style(s): Hard rock/Metal
Reason for pickup change: i realised that my epi sounded like a piece of sh*t

Perceived output level: ok...imagine eating a red hot chillie, then another, then another, and your still nowhere near as hot as this pickup
Tone: i have played a few guitars in my time, from cheap fenders to a quality PRS, and none have had the tone that these things give. you couldn't ask anymore from them, they sound so rich and powerfull, and best of all theyre totally balanced. you literally don't hear any "humming" at all from them, even at max gain. i asked for something that would give me serious distortion, AND I GOT IT!!!
Sonic evaluation: ok, so i admit it, im not using the best gear in the business, but until i get all six numbers it looks like i will be using it for a while. I own a Korean made epi les paul goldtop (that now sounds the dogs bollocks), and a Trace Elliot 65w Tube amp. However, i did manage to hijack my cousins Marshall JCM600 SLX for a weekend to test the two wolfetones i bought...

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play from Hard rock to full blown metal..., but you could probably get away with playing some killer blues tunes on it too....

Comments: It all started from me complaining that my guitar sounded like SH*T, and it did! So a kind man at the H-C guitar chat suggested i give Wolfe a call...well what did i have to loose?
I explained my problem, and he immediately began asking about everything that i WANTED and not just what would be easy to make...
I said i wanted something powerfull, full of thick rich tone, and something that looks the dogs bollocks. I ended up replacing both pickups...why, well...
not only did he give me EVERYTHING i wanted, he gave me much MORE...
i could go on raving about the sound of these things all night, but my hands are starting to numb.
i couldn't see how he could improove his service ANY more, theyre custom wound and hand built to YOUR specification, and best of all he will rewind them for free if you dont like the sound. now Seymour Duncan...i think someone else has taken number one spot...dont you?
It would impossible for these pickups to be lost or stolen or destroyed or any other way that would mean me buying new ones (and i would!) because i now keep my guitar in a 25 inch thick reinforced concrete safe. I cant see myself ever buying a different type of pickup... Wolfetone is just that step above the rest...
If allowed, i would give this pickup manufacturer 11/10, if allowed i would make every guitarist thinking about changing pickups to buy wolfetones...
or maybe i should keep this one to myself eh bob?
seriously, if you want to know more about these things then email me, or if you want to get some contact wolfe:
icq: 16600336
http://www.laker.net/sjf/wolfetone/