If you are serious about tone, you won’t settle for mass produced pickups. Serious players don’t trust their tone to eBay winders or random guys they meet in chat rooms. Pickups of this caliber are not cheap and most of these guys have a waiting list & they typically won’t disclose specs.
The winder known as Virgil Arlo is a bit mysterious but session players seem to really favor his pickups. You see guys posting video’s on Youtube talking about how they replaced their vintage pickups with the Arlo Pickups. The Pro’s using his pickups seem genuinely blown away by the tone in the clips we’ve seen. Like a lot of these high end winders, he doesn’t disclose his specs. We’ve seen speculation that he could be a former Fender or Gibson employee. Some forum posts have said he might be the alter ego of Jason Lollar or Don Mair, doubtful. Others have claimed that he is actually Alan Hamel working under a trade name. His website says that he is private guy that doesn’t care much for the spotlight & that the guys at Tone Specific help him out. He’s in Southern California and has 2 month wait. Are they worth the wait & expense? How do they stack up to the Ron Ellis & Tom Holmes pickups?
If you can wait 2 years, Ron Ellis will make you an amazing set of pickups. He started in the business working for the great winder Alan Hamel (formerly of Fender Custom Shop). Ron Ellis makes his own designs in Southern California and judging by the forums, players love them. He doesn’t have a website and is difficult to track down, you might try Facebook. He doesn’t disclose the specs of his pickups but players swear by them. Surprisingly, there are not too many video’s on Youtube but we found one above. Do the Ron Ellis Pickups stack up to the Tom Holmes & Throbak’s?
Tom Holmes is a former Gibson employee that has made a name for himself as an elite winder of humbucker pickups. He also imported a line of guitars made in Japan, sometimes you’ll see some of his Japanese humbuckers pop up for sale. Most people seem to prefer his USA models so pay special attention to where they are made when buying used. He doesn’t have much of website but you can find him on Facebook. If you can wait 6 month or more he can make you a set from scratch in his shop in Tennessee. Ask anyone that’s played and they’ll tell you the are great! Do the the Holmes Humbucker stack up to the Throbaks & Ron Ellis Pickups?
Jim Rolph is name that only serious tone chasers seem to know. Not a lot of guys plays these but the guys that play them absolutely love them. His website is seriously lacking so finding specs, wait times and ordering info is a bit tricky. We got one of his sets used and they definitely fit in with the rest of this group. His site says rewinds pickups and makes a variety of pickups but we did ready somewhere that he refuses orders for Fender spaced Humbuckers. Check the video, how do these PAFs stack up to the rest.
Based in Michigan, this savvy outfit acquired some old winding machines from the old Gibson Factory. Unlike everyone else on this list, they can make you a set and get it out the door in less than a week. You’ll also find a healthy supply at Reverb and eBay if you are in a hurry. Known for making PAF style humbuckers, they’ve got the best slogan in the business, “They don’t make them like they used to… we do.” Dimarzio may own the “PAF” trademark but nobody has positioned themselves better and shown greater marketing expertise than the guys at Throbak. These guys make several sets and disclose specs on their site. It doesn’t stop there, they also make a line of effects pedals and guitar strings. In recent years they’ve jumped into the Strat pickup market as well. Throbak is a true power house in the world of guitar gear. These guys must never sleep because they also find time to make some really interesting videos about humbuckers and they stay very active in the guitar forum chat rooms. They have a big fan base on the forums that love Throbak tone. Check out this very entertaining episode of Doug & Pat featuring Throbak Pickups. Do the Throbaks stack up to the Ron Ellis & Tom Holmes Humbuckers?
