Vanson Pickups?

ellangus

OK, I have a 2016 Gibson SG Standard P90 T.
I'm looking to pop a couple of humbucker pickups into it (No routing needed as it's already routed under the batwing to fit both HB and P90s, I have the pickguard ready and waiting).

I don't want to spend a load of dosh right now, just fancy giving it a go.

Question is, I've seen Vanson pickups online for very humble money and was just wondering if anyone has any experience of them?

Also, Alnico II '57s or Alnico V 59s for an SG?

Failing that - next option up would probably be Iron Gear Blues Engines.

Any advice welcomed.

Ta.

Rabs

Vanson are excellent..  Such great sounding pickups for the price..  Really really..  I have used them on many builds... I would also advise to go with some PIO caps...

My favourite pickups I have tried from them are the humbucker sized P90s.. Really clear and open... But they have all been good so far.

mikem8634

Not Vanson but Alegree Old Timers are getting a LOT of plaudits here -

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/189518/one-for-the-paf-fans-stock-update/p1

Not sure if they're in budget but they may be worth a look.

I've not had pickups from Vanson, just hardware, and it has been remarkable value for money.

ellangus

Thanks @Rabs That's good to hear.

Thanks also @mikem8634 They look very good also and well worth consideration but with covers they come out at £80 for a pair as opposed to £31 for Vanson and at the moment I'm looking for cheap.

Thanks again

Rabs

Heres a sound sample for you on the humbucker sized P90s

ellangus

Rabs said:

Heres a sound sample for you on the humbucker sized P90s

Excellent, Thanks

mikem8634

Ooof! Fair enough @ellangus I didn't realise there would quite that much of a difference between them.

gjonesy

I put some tonerider pickups in a few of mine, v happy with them
If I were looking to do it again would try alegree next

Teyeplayer

Vanson are great value for money and sound good (I’ve had a few, the humbucker sized p90, a strat Middle pickup iirc). You may well find you upgrade in due course, but you can’t go wrong with that as a starting point at that price.

Funkfingers

The demarkation between some of the Vanson pickup models is a bit of a swizz.

For example, the Rockatron is just an 8/9k neck/bridge humbucker pair, dressed in slotted metal covers and with twelve adjustable polepiece screws instead of six. The DCR and bar magnet material options are identical to the faux PAF models.

OTOH, if you are paying under twenty Quid per unit, what’s not to like, already?

usedtobe

I’ve used Vanson pickups 3 times, if memory serves, and always been very happy with them.

ellangus

Thanks all. Comments much appreciated 

grinder

Entwistel pickups can be another option. They do some neodymium based pickups too:

http://www.entwistlepickups.com/

phil_b

Is anyone here familiar with John Robson

https://www.youtube.com/c/johnyrobo/videos

As a youtuber  a company recently offered to build him a custom signature guitar

he chose Vason pickups as his no1 choice.So they must have something going for them

ellangus

Cheers guys.

OK, does anyone know if there is much of a REAL difference between the Alnico II 57's and the Alnico V 59's or which might work best in an SG?

Funkfingers

The difference between A2 and A5 is that the latter has a stronger magnetic field. For any given height adjustment, A5 delivers a more trebly sound than A2.

Other Alnico magnet formulations exist but, as far as I know, Vanson does not offer those.

On a vintage spec SG, I would be more concerned about whether the humbuckers are covered than what magnet material is inside them.

The 2005 Gibson SG Special that I traded with HarrySeven three weeks ago had 490R/T (A2). My Fakai SG has PRS SE #7 ‘S’ humbuckers. I need to check the specs of these before asserting what their respective magnets are.