Ron Ellis 52T Pickups in the house!

I've been a fan of Ron Ellis' pickups for a while now. My first set was his Tele set with a Broadcaster Set. Here's a link to my write up on the Broadcaster Set: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/271513-ellis-broadcasters-house.html

Yesterday I finally got some time and installed Ron's 52T set in my Nocaster.
Wow...

I was left speechless. Just as great as the Broadcaster Set but in a very different way. Before I played the 52T set I cranked up my Tungsten Crema Wheat and played my Tele with the Broadcaster Set for about 15 minutes. Love them to death...I wanted to burn their tone into my brain.

Then I switched guitars and started the discovery process on the Ellis 52T Set.
Immediately what I'm starting to call the Ellis Grin hit my face. It was like discovering a New World.

First, the 52T set is constructed to sound like the best vintage sets from the early 50's. Not wound to create as much output like the Broadcasters. But trust me these pickups have a considerable amount of thick, juicy output.

Wound to give you the most incredible Tele-rich (I know it's a new word) sound. Harmonics everywhere, 3 dimensional, string definition even if you whack it. They never get muddy. The 52T Set is certainly a must-have set for any Tele aficionado!

The only problem I see with Ron Ellis pickups is once you hear them you must have them. In fact I know I NEED three Telecasters, one for each set.
Ron is sending me a 60's set for my Strat next week and sometime this summer a set of the 50'60 Tele Set. When a package from Ron arrives I know it's Christmas.

I'll post more about this set in the near future. Sorry I just had to gush...
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Never heard of these pickups. But anyone who gushes on about them like it was the first day after the prom has my interest piqued. I'm gonna do some research. Post more about them!

Vegas Bob what other Pus have you tried?

Never heard of these pickups. But anyone who gushes on about them like it was the first day after the prom has my interest piqued. I'm gonna do some research. Post more about them!

Check out the thread by Bill Hullett (sp? - sorry Bill if I got that wrong!) about the recreation of 0514 that Nacho built for him. A few of us ordered sets from Ron after that. Myself included (build nearing completion-ish).

Cheers,
Geoff

The list of pickups I've played in Tele's is too long to list. I've had Bareknuckles, Barden, Lollars, Kinman, Mare, Duncan, & Fralins in my main Tele. Playing Tele's owned by my friends and hanging out at the Vegas vintage shops I've played many real Tele's from 50's Broadcasters, Esquires and Tele's.

It's only my opinion but I have to say the search has stopped for me with the two sets of Ron Ellis pickups I now have, the 52T's and the Broadcasters. Somewhere down the road I'll have to try a set of his 50/60's Tele set. I have a set of the Ellis 60's Strat pickups heading my way in about a week. I have high hopes these will end my search for the perfect Strat set.

Ron is still just a one man factory. Winding is his passion but not his career at this point in time. He can only make so many sets per week. He takes his time with each set and gets it right.

From what I've heard the current wait time is at least 30 weeks, probably longer. Wait a few more months to order and the wait time will be much longer. I predict as more sets get out there and folks get to hear and play them the rush for Ellis sets will get much longer. Hand wound pickups take some serious time...

Off topic a little...
Still loving the Ellis Tele sets I have. My Strat 60's set with the Hot Bridge arrived about a week ago. Installed them instantly in my 56 Custom Shop Strat.

Same quality standard set with Ron's Tele sets. Finally the Strat tones I've been searching for years. Thick, fat and juicy. Every one of the five positions has the Ellis Magic.

Ron has ended my search for the perfect Strat set but in particular he's solved the elusive perfect bridge problem. The Ellis Hot Bridge pickup is crazy. With the volume at 9-10 it's the best Strat bridge I've heard, hands down. But here's where it really is so different from every other one I've had. When you roll down the volume to 7-8 the pickup takes on P-90 characteristics. Roll down even farther to 5-6, loose the pick and play with your fingers and you're getting Beck tones.

The Hot Bridge has a second benefit. The #2 position still has the awesome quack but it's so much fuller than any other set I've heard. Doesn't lose that #2 tone all Strat addicts crave, it's there just better.

Here's a very good recording of the Ellis Strap pickups. The set in Lance's guitar is the 50/60's set with the Hot bridge. Alder body. The 60's set is designed for Swamp Ash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qG384hhBqY

Never heard of these pickups. But anyone who gushes on about them like it was the first day after the prom has my interest piqued. I'm gonna do some research. Post more about them!

A little bit to help your reserach.....

Back in 2004 the same collaboartion produced the world's best pick ups. A set of pick ups that they would never replace. But oddly enough, they all have. With these.

At the time an eminent guitar builder did a review which for some reason I printed out and kept. I've scanned it, OCR-ed it and reproduced it here:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pickups/277966-pick-up-review-box.html#post3355478

Have a read of that review before you do your research and you'll probably want those. Or are they these?

I understand the latest flavour of "these pick ups are keepers" involves an electron microscope but I'm not sure I'd get one of those on my control cavity.

Just be careful out there. It's easy to get sucked in by the hype but it does come round on a regular basis. It appears to be a 7-year cycle for the latest and greatest pick ups.

:neutral: Peter