A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

I am in the middle of a bit of a guitar purge, and was prepping my Watson Wolfgang copy for sale, when.....well, it has a really nice neck.

So now I am waffling,and part of the decisikn making process falls to the pickups. The ones on the guitar are lacklustre. I was thinking that, if I can find better pickups, maybe it can stay.

Because this is a cheap guitar, inexpensive pickups are the order of the day. I immediately thought of guitar madeness, but they want $120 to ship to Canada. That's nuts, so I am considering other options. And GFS shipping is punitive as well.

Does anyone know of any pickups that kinda-sorta simulate the Peavey Wolfgang or EBMM Axis pickups on a budget?

I am also considering Guitarheads Hexbuckers, but want more of an A5 sound, at least in the bridge.

I could also go slightly higher end and put those in my Sterling AX40, and drop the Sterling pickups down to the Watson.

Bottom line: if it's going to cost too much I'll sell it.

Yes.
Obligatory speech about regretting selling stuff.
LancerTheGreat mentioned once and I went and bought a couple of pickups from

https://dragonfireguitars.com/

I am satisfied.
Worth a look at least. In USA they have free shipping for orders over $50. I don't know about your latitude.

ID10t wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 10:21 am Yes.
Obligatory speech about regretting selling stuff.
LancerTheGreat mentioned once and I went and bought a couple of pickups from

https://dragonfireguitars.com/

I am satisfied.
Worth a look at least. In USA they have free shipping for orders over $50. I don't know about your latitude.

Yeah, I have looked at them shipping isn't great to Canada -- better than Guitar Madness, but not great.

Shipping is usually the killer to me. Add in the exchange rate and it gets ugly fast.

I've got a couple sets from Dragonfire, and have not been disappointed yet. My faves are the Phat Screamers, from which I can get a very decent brown sound - but it was a tweak heavy process to get there. They are ceramic mags, but they are a very warm sounding pickup while retaining good string definition.

They also have a brown sound EVH type set, but they're fairly new and I haven't seen anyone mention them yet.

$120 to ship a 3 pound package anyplace but the moon is insanity. Are there any good sources locally? For that kind of shipping premium, could you not walk into a local music shop and buy a set of actual EVH Wolfies for less?

rrobbone wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 2:40 pm I've got a couple sets from Dragonfire, and have not been disappointed yet. My faves are the Phat Screamers, from which I can get a very decent brown sound - but it was a tweak heavy process to get there. They are ceramic mags, but they are a very warm sounding pickup while retaining good string definition.

They also have a brown sound EVH type set, but they're fairly new and I haven't seen anyone mention them yet.

$120 to ship a 3 pound package anyplace but the moon is insanity. Are there any good sources locally? For that kind of shipping premium, could you not walk into a local music shop and buy a set of actual EVH Wolfies for less?

Actual EVH Wolfs? Heh, fat chance...$220 per pickup. Since I paid $295 for the guitar.....

At any rate I am looking so much for the Brown Sound on this one as I am the 90s era sounds.

That said, I did find a set of cheap zebra A5s by Wilkinson which could fit the bill for $50 Cdn.

The search likely will continue. This was a lot easier and more fun when the US and Canadian dolllars were at par.

Ouch! $220? I agree, too much.

The Wilkies should be just fine. I hear good things about them. Gotoh/Wilkinson is my parts go to - good stuff without killing my wallet.

rrobbone wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:25 pm Ouch! $220? I agree, too much.

The Wilkies should be just fine. I hear good things about them. Gotoh/Wilkinson is my parts go to - good stuff without killing my wallet.

And that was the best price I could find.

I watched a video with the Wilkinsons. Not promising.

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:03 pm

rrobbone wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:25 pm Ouch! $220? I agree, too much.

The Wilkies should be just fine. I hear good things about them. Gotoh/Wilkinson is my parts go to - good stuff without killing my wallet.

And that was the best price I could find.

I watched a video with the Wilkinsons. Not promising.

I'm asking/suggesting out of ignorance not smart aleckness.
Doesn't Amazon have a .ca? Look there for some Fleor or something and dive into that rabbit hole a bit. I don't have any Fleor but reviews don't look bad if you believe them.

ID10t wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:19 pm I'm asking/suggesting out of ignorance not smart aleckness.
Doesn't Amazon have a .ca? Look there for some Fleor or something and dive into that rabbit hole a bit. I don't have any Fleor but reviews don't look bad if you believe them.

I saw a few videos of the Fleor pickups, and took a shot on the high output rails for a future project.

What the place in NY state selling pickups? Found it.
https://www.ebay.com/str/guitarpartszone

What is the deal with shipping to Canada? Covid? Export/ import duties?

You might look into BYO guitars Eruption set. They sell on Amazon for $65 to $85 with no shipping. I've got no experience with them, but they have decent reviews and are made with good materials. That was on the American version of Amazon.

ID10t wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:19 pm

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:03 pm

rrobbone wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:25 pm Ouch! $220? I agree, too much.

The Wilkies should be just fine. I hear good things about them. Gotoh/Wilkinson is my parts go to - good stuff without killing my wallet.

And that was the best price I could find.

I watched a video with the Wilkinsons. Not promising.

I'm asking/suggesting out of ignorance not smart aleckness.
Doesn't Amazon have a .ca? Look there for some Fleor or something and dive into that rabbit hole a bit. I don't have any Fleor but reviews don't look bad if you believe them.

They do. I thought I had found a set of A2s on there, but now can't find them. That is also where I found the Wilkinsons. I cannot imagine the Fleors being any better than the ones already on the guitar.

andrewsrea wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 9:56 pm What is the deal with shipping to Canada? Covid? Export/ import duties?

I don't know. I did manage to get one eBay shop to lower a punitive shipping rate -- they had a more expensive item shipping for less. They agreed.

Duties can play a role, but you don't get bitten on everything.

Keithe wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 10:21 pm You might look into BYO guitars Eruption set. They sell on Amazon for $65 to $85 with no shipping. I've got no experience with them, but they have decent reviews and are made with good materials. That was on the American version of Amazon.

I have one in my 5150 replica. It sounds great, and very brown, but as noted, that is not what I am aiming for here -- think Peavey Wolfgang or EBMM Axis.

I have started considering the GFS VEH, but it isn't what I am looking for exactly, and it costs a ton to ship. On top of that it's out of stock.

I am keeping an eye out for used pickups too. Never know when a winner will come up.

I wish better recordings of the Dragonfire A2 Buckers were available.

Had another thought, and checked in at Axcessories.com, and they still list their Mean Street SH77 pickups. These are described by Mitchel (it's his shop) as "like the Wolfgang pickups with a little more bite." And his shipping is (gasp) reasonable.

I'll still be at over $100 Canadian for the set. Some of the cheapies are high enough (after shipping) that for 25 bucks more I can buy a damn Tone Zone and call it a day.

When I do this, I will add new pots et al as well.

Then the steel saddles from my Sterling, with a larger brass block, and....this guitar's gonna rip.

I might also need the bridge posts redrilled, but I know a guy. He's more meticulous than I need him to be.

EDIT: and then I realized that the Mean Streets are "zebra'd" the wrong way for a Wolfgang. They would work for my Sterling though....

I can hand wind a set (no covers) to your spec for around $80+ shipping (AGF price). I can ask my friend who owns a post service how much to Canada. Ontario, correct?

The only thing I can guess for the shipping expense is that companies are using the more expensive, but also more reliable shipping services. USPS Priority has already slowed down by an average of 3 days and are advertising that, as the holiday demand increases - so does the risk of losing your package.

andrewsrea wrote: ↑Thu Oct 14, 2021 10:33 am I can hand wind a set (no covers) to your spec for around $80+ shipping (AGF price). I can ask my friend who owns a post service how much to Canada. Ontario, correct?

The only thing I can guess for the shipping expense is that companies are using the more expensive, but also more reliable shipping services. USPS Priority has already slowed down by an average of 3 days and are advertising that, as the holiday demand increases - so does the risk of losing your package.

I'll send a PM. That is a most generous offer.

Well, a bit of back and forth with @andrewsrea has told me that, once again, shipping to the Great White North is going to bite me, basically to the tune of $50 Cdn before customs. Given the cost of the guitar, and other costs (one of the trem posts need redrilling) t's not worth it, sadly. I have wasted some of his time and generosity. Apologies for that, eh?

I took a quick reading of the pickups in the Watson, and they come in at more than 15k, reading from a cable That's odd to me, as they seem a little weak. Then I looked at the distance to the strings and they are a bit far away. I'll futz with that a bit to see if I can get some more out of them. Some better pots may help too. Maybe I'll look at the magnets when I am futzing. I would not be surprised if these are the Fleor/Wilkinson pickups.

It's a setback, but I am not licked yet.

I think that I have some Dragonfire pickups that I pulled out of a line green Switch guitar. But, they are like green too! 21 or 24k or something like that. You can have them if they work for you.

jam wrote: ↑Sat Oct 23, 2021 10:14 pm I think that I have some Dragonfire pickups that I pulled out of a line green Switch guitar. But, they are like green too! 21 or 24k or something like that. You can have them if they work for you.

Thanks for the kind offer, but I am trying to keep the Wolfgang look, which means zebra.

I will make a thread about this guitar once I get started on souping it up.