Anyone tried them? are they worth it?

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to tell you the truth i know nothing about these pickups but im sure when ceri or martian come around they will be able to give some insite on them.

not to get to far off topic, i checked out your youtube page and you have some chops! one of those videos you posted looked like you were on a t.v. show. were you? sorry bout getting off topic, i just wanted to complement you.

I have only tried them out in the store. They are hard to find but they pop up Ebay sometimes....usually pretty pricey. I loved the tone but didn't want to pay that much for a set so I put a set of S-5 Scooped Mids from Klein Pickups in my custom build. I like to think that I have a pretty good ear and I couldn't tell the difference without the ability to a/b them. I couldn't be happier with the set I have. Very clean, glassy tone. From my experience, I highly recommend Klein's stuff. Saved some money forsure. If you've got the dough then I'm sure you can't go wrong with real deal either. keep rockin.

I have a set in one of my project strats. They're absolutely awesome. Very chimey, glassy, etc. Sound great when pushed through a nice tube amp with a drive pedal. The things people say about them are true, but whether or not they're worth it depends what kind of budget you're working with. I built my project strat in better economic times and shelled out for the pickups on ebay. I'm sure you could get close to the same sound from other pickups.

I have a friend who just got got them and so far he is not to happy. Nice playing on your page and especially liked the Take5 cut.

These Big Dippers are OEM on the John Mayer signature series.

Big, smoky Strat tones with plenty of focused midrange and punch.

i assume John Mayer was using these at the Hard Rock Calling Festival 2008. if i remember, he sounded kinda lost in the mix. mind you i was watching on TV so i should have been hearing well-mixed FOH sound. i attribute this to scooped mids, which is what those pickups are designed for achieving. they sound clear and lean, and pretty sweet, but they're probably good only for bedroom rockers, not a gigging working musician.

Eric Clapton is right when he says you need a healthy dose of mids. plus, in the world of passive EQ, its much easier to take away than to add. i'd rather have a little surplus of any frequency range.

you can still get low output without killing the much needed midranges. low output is the key to getting that clean glassy chime.

another thing to keep in mind is that mids have a few significant sub-freq's. the low mids give you girth yet they can create mud in excess. the high mids actually give clarity and punch, yet they are shrill and sterile in excess. this is why eq pedals are a great asset. SRV'S tone relies heavily on upper mids.

No JM doesn't use the Big Dippers in his personal strats, he has something else in those. The big dippers only come in his off the shelf sig strats. Believe me these pickups sound just fine, I've gigged with mine on a semi regular basis.

Thanks for the info, and the comments on my playing! I recently saw John in Nashville and since then have been working to pick up on his style to blend with my own, the guy is truly a phenomenal guitar player, not so much as a person. But that discussion isn't for this thread And yes, that was on my local telethon at 4-ish and 6-ish in the morning. I was tired, and my tone is awful (line 6 amp directly into the house system...yuck.)

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Myspace
www.myspace.com/andygibson2

Youtube (rarely updated)
www.youtube.com/wannarok

I definitely recommend the Klein S-5 pickups, i got them put into my 08 standard strat and i couldn't be happier! I made a demo video too, check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueohjBy2-00

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2008 American Stratocaster
Customized Epiphone Les Paul Standard
Fender 65' Twin Reverb Reissue <3
Fulltone Fulldrive 2
Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive
Danelectro Drive
Big Muff Pi w/ Tone Wicker
Dunlop Hendrix Wah

They are essentially under wound CS69s; take it from there.

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You dig?

having owned both a JM strat with the Big dippers and an Early CP 60s with CS 69s, this is definitely not the case. The Big Dippers have more output than the CS 69s and are punchier and warmer. Very different sounding pickups.

How can, "Big Dippers", meaning, 'dipped midrange' be warmer?

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You dig?

The mid range scoop isn't as drastic as some people are making it to be. I'm just reporting what my ears heard while owning both, the CS 69s are definitely brighter pickups.

I avoid mid scoops at all costs. I've never known it add warmth or punch to anything. If anything its hollow and brittle sounding. A les paul is warm and punchy. Are they mid scooped?

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No no and no