Buckethead Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 (edited) I had a jam with the band at my mates place a couple days ago, and for the first time got to play on my rhythm guitarists guitar. I compared it to my own and realised that his ax, a Ibanez Roadstar II (single humbucker) and a Laney 50W amp of some degree. had a tone far greater than my Standard Strat hooked up to a Peavey Practice Amp . So now I want a pickup change, problem is, my only option is Sky/Kent Armstrong (they are the same company) Pickups, due to financial difficulty and the fact pickups are so hard for me to find in New Zealand. Anyone tried these pickups? especially the hot rails? I wanna get an idea of its capabilities before pouring hundreds of my hard earned cash into some. Thanks in advance. Edited January 5, 2006 by Buckethead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 EDIT: Indeed, I did not recall correctly. Thanks Gemm012! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemm012 Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 I believe you're thinking of Bill Lawrence pickups. Galen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 (edited) Kent Armstrong sells his pickups exclusively through WDmusic. I have a set of his humbuckers in my neckthrough semihollow. They are some of the cleanest pickups I have played. They're his version of the PAF; they have a very acoustic quality in my opinion, although that is heavily influenced by the guitar they're in. They sound good clean, distorted, with chorus, whatever. I'm using their P90's in my current build. peace, russ Edited January 5, 2006 by thegarehanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Alex Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Sky are Kent Armstrong's version of EMG SELECT according to the literature I've read, and certainly in New Zealand they cost a whole sack of pretty pennys. I wouldn't bother with them. Duncan's and real EMGs are gonna also cost a pretty penny or two round here, but way more bang for your buck. If your interested in some humbuckers, I've got 2 jackson pickups, nothing special, I pulled them from a "JS1" that wasn't. you could have em with a B/W/B strat pickguard for $40NZ plus shipping, pm me if you're interested(I'm in Auckland BTW). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Better amp comes before better pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Better amp comes before better pickup. ← Agreed. A decent quality amp will make a world of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borge Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 yeah i was wondering about that sky/KA thing, i saw this on trademe Please Note: SKY Pickups are exactly the same product as other Kent Armstrong Pickups offered in NZ. SKY is the Manufacturers Brand for Kent Armstrong pickups distributed outside of the USA. but it also says this at the start of the auction Sky Pickups - Designed by Kent Armstrong this or this is what your looking for isnt it? but soapbars right get a better amp first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Better amp comes before better pickup. Very valid point. I would trade in any of my "name brand" pickups for generic ones before I gave up my valvemaster for an off brand amp. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 Better amp comes before better pickup. ← Agreed. A decent quality amp will make a world of difference. ← And will also make you say : " Oh, so THAT'S what my old pickup really sounds like". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo T. Magnifficent Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 http://www.dbmmusic.com/category-1058-10.php these prices are pretty reasonable i think. ive heard both good and bad bout kent armstrong, but the overwhelming majority says good. the above link is probly a good bit safer than something like trademe too id imagine for things like defective pickups etc. but as stated above, better amp > pickups. its more expensive by a fair amount, but its a better investment if you get the right one. something like a line 6 spinder II 1*12 or 2*12 (or maybe a marshall AVT if you can get a bit more cash) would make a good practice amp for the rest of your life (or ther amps). plus I use my line 6 spider 1*12 over the laney or fender half stacks they have at 'the stomach' where my band practices (although once i have a good ditortion pedal ill probly start using the fender 4*12) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckethead Posted January 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Thanks for the tips, but in my current situation, I dont want to spend around a grand on a new amp, when a pickup could also improve my sound by a fair amount, while reducing that price to around $100-. And also, I'm not sure how accurate this statment would sound to you guys, but my current thoughts are that I would rather settle for a practise amp($100) until quite a later stage where i require a larger amp($1000), than to buy a practise amp($100), a in between amp($500), then a larger amp($1000), where after I get the larger amp($1000) I will probably never use the in between($500) amp again. And by the way, my strat is standard S/S/S pickups, so sorry Mr Alex but I cant use your pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haggardguy Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 This has been said time and time again, you don't need a huge amp, a 100W isn't twice as loud as a 50W, you can play gigs with a 15W amp, mic it, run it through the pa, if you don't have a pa ill assume you also have no vocals in which case you'll probably need a bigger amp. Also, peavey isnt an offbrand amp, just the crappy ones (i love my prowler). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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