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Post subject: Fender Abby Masterwound pickup set & other Strat pups...
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:52 am
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Yep, I have a set of these (along with about 50 other Strat pickups sets) and they truly are something quite special. They are not at all like the Custom Shop '69 as far as tone goes. They are a calibrated set quite unlike all the other Fender Custom Shop sets. The best word to describe the tones from this set is KAARRRAAAANNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!

Really...


I made a recording last night and I'll post it here, but keep in mind also that my strings could have used to be changed but I didn't want to do that just yet (I have 10 Strats and resources are sometimes limited). Also I do have graphite saddles on this Strat, which takes away a bit of the brightness. I will make more recordings later...

http://marksmitchell3.home.mindspring.com/AbbyCL.mp3

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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 11:09 am
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SMark: KAARRRAAAANNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!! is right! WOW! Those sound beautiful and what chime and character. Open, spacious and airy! Best tone I've heard so far on any Fender Custom shop pickup I have. What were you plugged into?

When I installed the Fender Custom '60s into a Highway 1 that has Sperzels for a little extra mass and a new Callaham steel block and a set of Fender 150L strings, it sounds close to the Abbys. Did the same with the Classic '70s Strat with the Callaham Block and the CS '69s don't sound like the Abbys at all! Again, same thing with Callaham and CS '50s with beautiful fat tone but not as chimey. Those are my favorites for Trower type stuff which is probably why he chose them. Running the steely CS '60s into a Fuzz and/or Uni-Vibe sounds very grainy and harsh. The CS 59's where made for a Fuzz and Univibe because they almost have a Marshall-Celestion warmth to the tone and beautiful quack played into any amp. The CS '50s though wreaks of Vibe, warmth and openess. Here's my CS '60s-'50s clips but I was using some overdrive so the chime isn't as evident. They were so shimmery in fact from the new strings that I had to try to tone it down some with the overdrive. http://areyouexperienced.net/cs-60s.html

Thanks for the great clip and your playing as usual is pristine! Fender should hire you to make clips of all the CS pickups!


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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 3:15 pm
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SMark, those sound............................ WOW!

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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 5:27 pm
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Thanx.


The amp is my '73 Traynor YBA-1 Bass Master. I'm micing it from my 2x10 cab loaded with Weber C10VS speakers. And those speakers aren't really all that crisp either. I used to have a pair of Weber 10A125s in there and they were really chimey.

The Abby Masterwounds are pickups that really demand to be set low. They can become quite sharp if set too high. But regardless, there is no lack of bottom-end, the tone is just huge. Even in this somewhat compromised Strat. Another thing this Strat lacks is a significant tremolo block. Right now I'm using a tremolo that I picked up cheap from GFS. It will eventually get a new trem with a Callaham block. This Strat is a project that isn't complete, but it's set-up to play anyway.

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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:15 am
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Hey all,

This is fantastic! Thanks much for providing the link to the sound clip. I/ we all love the Abby Masterwounds as they have something special which really needs to be experienced by all players. They're magic!! Your mp3 is evidence of that.

Ok, here's some more evidence:

Image

Let's keep it up! Ahhh, tone.....

Billy Pirie
Senior Product Manager
Fender Accessories[/img]


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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 3:40 pm
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You bet Billy. Another thing that often gets overlooked about the Masterwounds is that Abby really did do this design herself. One piece of evidence in that regard is seen by looking at the magnet stagger. Instead of that horrible (my opinion) Fender "Vintage Stagger" that is typical of the majority of Fender aftermarket Custom Shop pickups which feature a G-pole that is way too high for a non-wound G-string on a flat radius neck, and a B-pole that is buried below the pickup cover... The Abby Masterwounds have a modern stagger that leaves the tone balanced top-to-bottom for most of today's Strat players.


These are as close to perfect as you can get IMO. I have set 117 of 300. 8)

Image

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Last edited by SMark on Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 3:48 pm
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SMark: You mention that the Abby;s can become quite shapr if set too high and need to be set low. Is this the way most Fender custom shop pickups work? I thought that if you lowered them is when they became sharper and when raised is when they get muddier/mushier due to excess magnet pull? Can you clarify how that works?

Billy Pirie: Beautiful pic! Could a set of those be bought from Fender or a dealer?


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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 4:07 pm
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No, that's not typical of all the Custom Shop pickups. IMO the Custom 54s are exactly the opposite, and the CS69 is great either way. I like the Custom 54s set fairly high actually, and the Fat 50s not quite as much. The Fat 50s actually sound their best when set to spec IMO. The Texas Specials can be notchy when set too high, but they can be carefully dialed-in as such. Still I like to keep them fairly low.

Maybe the one Fender pickup that is similar to the Masterwounds in that regard to "needing" to be set low to sound its best, is the current 57/62. It has such a high inductance that the mids just get too brash if it's set too high. Down low it is much sweeter. The Masterwounds have a much bigger tone though.

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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 11:46 am
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SMark & Billy Pirie: Those are real beauties! I'll be the pole heights does make a difference.

I have another question for you both but I'll post seperately about it regarding Custom 50s Trower Tone. Please check it.

Thanks!


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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 9:44 am
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I have a set of Abby's Masterwounds too, so pure so clean :D


Last edited by J Delay on Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Abby pickups
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 1:12 pm
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I have a set of the "1 in 300" - can anyone tell me what they might be worth? Trying to decide if I should remove them from my '88 Strat before selling it.


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Post subject: Re: Abby pickups
Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 11:04 am
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acrylictnk wrote:
I have a set of the "1 in 300" - can anyone tell me what they might be worth? Trying to decide if I should remove them from my '88 Strat before selling it.


Nothing, send them to me. :twisted: :shock: :twisted: :roll:

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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 1:46 pm
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I've seen sets of of these Abby's sell for over $600 on eBay.

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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:49 pm
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would anybody be willing to sell a set of those? i am ready to pay almost anything...


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Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:54 am
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I have 4 sets of Abbys and love them all. I bought them to sell but had to load them just out of curiosity. They never got removed from the guitars I loaded them in. I even listed one set and pulled the ebay add after playing the pickups. I even had to sell a couple of my guitars to pay for the darn things. That was tough but it showed how much the Abbys meant to me.

I thought how could a simple thing as a single coil be that big a deal. Bobbin, poles, type of magnet, wire type. Any good winder should be able to wind a good set like Abby. Nope. She must have some tricks. She needs to write a book before she bits the dust to pass on the secrete.

Thomas


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