Kent Armstrong pickups

timmypix

Why not just get your humbuckers of choice uncovered then stick black covers on them?
https://www.axesrus.co.uk/Humbucker-Cover-German-Silver-Nickel-p/lpc003-4-5.htm

Stevepage

timmypix said:

Why not just get your humbuckers of choice uncovered then stick black covers on them?
https://www.axesrus.co.uk/Humbucker-Cover-German-Silver-Nickel-p/lpc003-4-5.htm

Could do. Would I have to dip them in wax to seal between the cover and pickup or is there no need considering they'd already be wax potted.

MagicBus

I may be wrong but I seem to recall that he made a range of pickups back in the 90's that were encased in epoxy plastic. They had Allen  screws for pole pieces. Anybody else remember these? They sounded pretty decent. 

impmann

Like this:

p90fool

Kent Armstrong rewound a couple of 70s Strat pickups for me in the early 80s when he was still at Old Surrenden. 

@ICBM I'm not surprised his Firebird pickups work well in a bass, but they're muddy compared to a vintage Firebird pickup in a guitar. 

I dismantled one though and potted the guts into a regular thin nickel silver H/B cover and it brought it to life, so his chrome covers must be too thick or made of brass or something. The difference was not subtle, it's gone from being thrown in my parts drawer as a waste of money to being the best pickup I've ever had in my Les Paul. 

ICBM

p90fool said:

@ICBM I'm not surprised his Firebird pickups work well in a bass, but they're muddy compared to a vintage Firebird pickup in a guitar.

Yes, that's why the owner had me take it out of his Eggle - it was just a bit nondescript and dull. I never thought more about it until years later when I was looking for a temporary pickup for the bass and it was still in my box of old spares.

Bork

Kent's son, Aaron took over. I use him for custom pickup winds and there's nothing he's not capable of.  He has made pickups for top boutique builders as OEM pieces.

stardustudios

I might be a bit late to this, but I've got a pair of resin cast humbuckers in my 80s Fingerbone Explorer. I'm not sure how easy it would be to track down a pair of these, but if you can, then I can assure you, you won't be disappointed. As far as I'm aware, there are hand wound from his boutique winding days & they just sing like none in any of of my other guitars.
  

impmann

Nice Fingerbone!!! I always fancied one 

jdgm

MagicBus said:

I may be wrong but I seem to recall that he made a range of pickups back in the 90's that were encased in epoxy plastic. They had Allen  screws for pole pieces. Anybody else remember these? They sounded pretty decent. 

Kent Armstrong Rainbow pickups.

impmann said:

Like this:

Yes, these. I still have one, a neck humbucker which is ace, one of the best-sounding pickups I have.

I sold 2 others to a forum member last year (?). 

He doesn't make these any more but his current range is comprehensive - http://www.kentarmstrong.com/

stardustudios

impmann said:

Nice Fingerbone!!! I always fancied one 

Thanks! It really is a fantastic axe. If the other models all sound as good as this, snap one up if you ever see one for sale! I've got an eBay alert set should any come onto market that way.  This has had a recolouring but everything else is original ('82/'83 I think). As far as I can find out, Paul Richardson only made a handful of Explorers, so I consider myself very fortunate to have such a nice one!  
I should probably post a full photo, just because...