Fred Stuart Blackguard Pups - beauty in action

[Fred Russ]

Just chiming in here to say that I just got a set of Fred Stuart Blackguard pups installed in my vintage 52 relic. I thought it would slightly change the sound but man it sounds awesome! Complex chime with no ice pick. On crunch settings, these pups sing at both bridge and neck positions. This is using a standard 3-way selector. The local shops were fresh out of a 4-way tele switch so I have one on order and will install once here.

I put custom pickups in all my gits but the versatile sound of these pups from Fred Stuart came as a complete surprise. I've heard they were good but man - its almost impossible to put the guitar down now. Running these through some of the Trainwreck and Dumble models I have on the Axe-FX and Zendrive - will post mp3s soon.

One of the best pup investments I've ever made.

[mowcheeba]

Looking forward to hear some soundclips. Seems like you have a setup to
get some nice sounds out of the Tele.
Would love to hear some clips made straight into the Dumble...

I almost got a set of Stuarts but ended up with some Hamels mostly
because of the Tall neck. Do think I would've been happier with the Stuart
bridge....

[Fred Russ]

Based on the consensus on many of the online forums, it seems that the Stuarts and Hamels are in the same ballpark as far as sound quality. I've heard though that Hamels may be a bit harder to acquire and that some say that the actual pup behaviors may vary from one build to the next.

Jason at Virtual Vintage Guitars was very good to work with - communication and service is great. I had to wait 4 weeks and the completed pups shipped on time. It was an all-around good experience so I recommend them.

Best,

Fred Russ

ps: will probably post an example of the Fred Stuart pups this weekend.

[Fred Russ]

Okay - got a couple of soundclips as promised for the Fred Stuart Blackguard pickups. Essentially its just me alone wanking on the telecaster - warts and all - so all the tone is there upfront.

Neck pickup:

http://www.soaringmusic.com/tele-neck_Fred_Stuart.mp3

Bridge Pickup:

http://www.soaringmusic.com/tele-bridge_Fred-Stuart.mp3

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Fred Russ

[rhh7]

Beautiful tone...excellent playing!

I would love to know the output rating of these pups...my favorite is the neck...

[Fred Russ]

Thanks! Jason told me that the pickups are rated between 6.8k and 7.4k - so I assume that the neck is probably the lesser.

[mowcheeba]

Great tone....sounds awesome. What more could one want?
Have heard some Stuart clips before but this is the best one
so far. Also, great playing.
You say you have a vintage 52 relic.....what does that mean?
52 Reissue that has been reliced, Custom Shop 52 RI LTD Relic or
an original 52 Tele(Blackguard)?

[Fred Russ]

Thanks for the kind words man! Oh I wish it was an original 52 blackguard! It a reissue.

[ray]

Nice job. I have a question. What amp are you using, and is that the overdrive from the amp, and is the delay, reverbe from the amp or pedals? I love the tone on the neck pup, almost has an Eric Johnson flavor to it.
How do we order these pups?
Thanks.
Ray

[Geoff738]

The only place to order them, as far as I know, is here: http://virtualvintageguitars.com/gui...rd_pickups.htm

I've had mine for almost a year now. Love 'em.

Fred, thanks for the clips. Nice playing.

I'll also add that the Stuarts will twang with the best of them if that's what you want. It's pretty obvious from Fred's clips that they don't sound too shabby with a bit of gain.

Cheers,
Geoff

[petebradt]

WRT Hamel - He's done. He's disappeared. I don't know much else, but he's gone. Stuarts are your best option, in fact, your only option for those pickups.

There's another guy who CAN make htem (I have three of his pickups) but he's not doing it now. I just ordered a Tele neck pup from Stuart, to complete my Vinniecaster. I should have it on about three weeks.

[Fred Russ]

Thanks guys. Yeah, Geoff posted the right link. Great guys to deal with.

Hey Ray - on those cuts, I used a Fractal Audio Axe-FX on a custom boutique Trainwreck/Dumble-like setting - something I've been tweaking on for some time now to get that tube-like ring. For the leads I added a little Zendrive for some added sustain and body.

[skiraly017]

Stuarts are really just something else. I have a set with a Lap Wrap bridge in my Nocaster and another set of standard Blackguards I picked up for such a ridiculously low price that I bought them "just in case". Jason's customer service is superb. You can't go wrong here.

[cbnutt]

seen this old thread, could some one tell me the price of these, ive tried calling and cant seem to get anyone at the number, how much for a set, or price of bridge only ? thanks....:)

[DMace]

Can't get someone at the number? That's odd. Every time I've called, Jason at Virtual Vintage picks up immediately. Anyway, if I remember correctly, the bridge alone is $138 plus $15 shipping. A BG set is $270 shipped.

[surfoverb]

Originally Posted by cbnutt

seen this old thread, could some one tell me the price of these, ive tried calling and cant seem to get anyone at the number, how much for a set, or price of bridge only ? thanks....:)

About $270..Expensive but worth it.

[Jaxson612]

Just pulled the trigger- pickups are on the way. $19 for shipping-say what??!!
I give a full report after I get them in.

[DMace]

Originally Posted by Jaxson612

Just pulled the trigger- pickups are on the way. $19 for shipping-say what??!!
I give a full report after I get them in.

Yeah, the shipping's a bit extravagent. But, darn, those pickups are sure worth it in my book. I hope you like 'em.

[jsganz]

Got mine a couple weeks ago. Since I'm in NY, the actual shipping cost was
almost $10 anyhow from CA. I guess the added shipping cost is to buy lunch for whoever packed 'em up.
The blackguards sound pretty outrageous though. Definitely a great choice as far as "boo-teek" pups go.
Incredible with the 4-way switch I installed as well

[Chrismo]

They sound amazing - are they fairly quiet for a singlecoil? I didn't hear a lot of the buzzing or humming when overdrive was used.

[jsganz]

Originally Posted by Chrismo

I didn't hear a lot of the buzzing or humming when overdrive was used.

Yeah...me neither. Especially compared to the stock Tex-Mex pickups that were in this Roadworn.

[thrashmetl]

Have a question!

I have a chance to buy a Blackguard bridge, if I wanted to get the neck down the road, should any Stuart BG neck match? or would I have to have him wind me a new neck pickup to match the output of the bridge I have?

[DMace]

Originally Posted by thrashmetl

Have a question!

I have a chance to buy a Blackguard bridge, if I wanted to get the neck down the road, should any Stuart BG neck match? or would I have to have him wind me a new neck pickup to match the output of the bridge I have?

I believe any BG neck pickup should match, as they are all wound within certain parameters. I've mixed and matched BG pickups before. If you want a confirmation of that, email or call Jason at Virtual Vintage and he'll tell you for sure.