Fred Stuart Black Guards Info? (pair well w. other custom neck pups??)

[rodeo_joel]

on the quest for new tele pickups to experiment with i came accross the name of Fred Stuart. I heard his Blackguard tele pickups were fantastic, a very vintage like imitation of the early Broadcaster style pickups. I was dissapointed to hear that Alan Hamel discontinued his highly reputed product.

anybody know how well the Blackguards pair with other boutique or custom neck pickups? just wondering because i've already got a neck pickup obtained (a Seymour Duncan Hot Rythm), so i really don't care to spend an extra $100-150 for a neck pickup if i really don't need to.

if i'm looking for a nice fat twang in a pickup, i've heard the Lap Wrap winding is the way to go. i'm a bit new to pickups and electronics info, can anybody elaborate a bit on how much the 'K' value influences the output? as i understand it, the higher the value, the greater the output (i.e. the hotter and muddier it sounds). is this correct?

if so, for a nice fat, vintage country twang would it be best to seek a lower 'K' value, like the one indicated on Fred's site (6.8 - 7.4 i believe).

Thanks,
Joel

[Geoff738]

Um,

You want the Stuart neck pickup.

If my experience has been anything to go by.

I picked up the Stuart Blackguards this summer. (I did post a small review probably in about September on here - doesn't answer your immediate questions though). I really love the neck pickup. Warm, woody, smooth, musical. Not muddy.

I'm a rock player who has typically played the bridge pickup almost exclusively on all my guitars. (Well, the vast majority of the time anyways). I go to the neck on the Stuarts all the time. Love it.

RE: the 'k value. Kinda sorta. As a generalization, yes, but Other variables factor in. You gotta use your ears, rather than thinking you can tell how a pickups going to sound simply by reading its specs.

Cheers,
Geoff

[claytone]

I agree with Geoff. Buy them as a set. That's how they are built and sold. The neck pickup is very usable, unlike most Tele necks. These are fantastic pickups.