Custom Wound Reviews
Review of Mojo Custom Wound Classic Series Strat and CBS series strat pickups
I am a huge aficionado of high end pickups and a gear addict in general.
I anxiously waited for these two sets to ship and to try them out in my player strats that I know sound great as they are. As a little background, I own several Vintage strats from the 50's and 60's. Well actually I just sold my 58 strat a month ago so that one is gone however…..
I believe that I know a great tone when I hear or better yet experience one.
Among other things I am official DiMarzio pickup endorser and love their hum canceling Virtual Vintage series pickups, however there is a beauty, tone and feel that only comes when a single coil is produced in its original form.
I also own some Fralin strat replacement pickups, Suhr LP's 60 pickups and more……
Now let's get to business and see what I found with these 2 Mojo Strat pickup sets:
Custom Wound Classic Strat
First, I have installed the Classic set which is supposed to reproduce 50's style pickups in its true form. The set is calibrated right so the bridge pickup gives you a little more output 6.5k Ohms compared to the neck at 5.8k Ohms.
I found the set to be incredible sounding! It had the sweet tone reminiscing me of my 58 strat pickups. It is definitely very bright sounding set, but the highs were very smooth and overall the attack was extremely fast and tight, yet very dynamic and rich sounding. I tend to be one of the few so called shredders out there that actually love the old school of strat and tele tones with relatively low output pickups and somewhat bluesy tone in general. This set was definitely a winner whether I was pumping the volume of my amp at 11 or if I was playing some clean passages that delivered tones where the Vintage guitar aficionados would die for. The key here is the overall complexity and richness that came with extremely fast attack and very bright overall sound. 2 thumbs up.
Custom Wound CBS Strat
Second set that I have tried was the clone series CBS strat style pickups.
You know the details. Grey bobbin, cloth wires, staggered pole pieces….
The set is calibrated in the terms of output as well so the bridge pickup has more oomph.
I like that fact especially, since I have always wished that my late 60's strats would have a tad more output in the bridge position.
Anyway, generally speaking I find the original Fender Grey bobbin pickups from mid sixties to sometime in 1974 to be my favorite single coil pickups of all time. That is my personal preference.
Here is what I found in the terms of sound after installing the pickups. These pickups definitely delivered the growl and slightly more aggressive feel than the 50's set even though the bridge pickup has slightly less output. The overall sound of the pickups is a tad warmer and slightly more aggressive feel than the classic set of pickups while retaining incredible clarity and punch at high volumes. The attack was immediate just like the 50's set which I like in particular cause it allows a player to play at blistering speed and still keep the notes very well separated, focused and articulate. They sounded a tad more compressed to my ears than the 50's set but still very dynamic and rich sounding. The in between positions delivered authentic Knopfler-esque sweet clean tones and yes as you can predict I went there and played some of those long forgotten licks too.
They will definitely inspire you to play those old Richie Blackmore licks that you didn't play in awhile as well.
Conclusion
Sound and feel of any pickups or better yet instrument is for the most part personal preference type of thing and in my opinion all of the high end gear out there is simply great quality for the most part. The key is to find what works best for you with your guitar, your amp, your ears and fingers after all. Do I think that these pickups are better or worse than let's say Fralins, Suhrs, Duncans, Lollars….(You name it) then I would say no. That dilemma, as I described above falls within personal preference at this level of quality and workmanship. I think that in every way both of these Custom Wound Mojo strat pickup sets are 1st class boutique pickups that stand neck to neck with any other high end pickups available on the market today.
I truly believe that if you give these puppies a try, chances are you would love them, I sure do.
Vintage Guitar 2010 Issue reviews the Custom Wound Convertible Pickups
Vintage Guitar 2010 Issue reviews the Custom Wound Convertible Pickups
Mojo Custom Wound Convertible Stratocaster single coils are honestly the greatest Stratocaster pickups that I have ever used. The convertibles have a sound that comes off somewhat compressed and sustain beautifully clean. When in overdrive the hot position has no equal and inspires you to keep playing.
These are hands down the grail of all single coil Stratocaster pickups. The sound is so amazing that it renewed my desire to play more often. I've had so much zeal playing the Stratocaster clean, and when playing the hotter winds mode, I'm so into the tones that I actually sound better than my capibilities!
I'm playing a light weight ash bodied Strat and I own several guitars. Three are Stratocasters but the Mojo Custom Wound Convertibles equipped one has no rival. I want to encourage any Stratocaster player to install a set today. I was initially sold when someone who owned a Squier Affinity installed a set of these and I got to play it.
I was using hand wound pickups from a talented builder in Texas that I endorsed and they, to me, had no equal until I got the Mojo Custom Wound Convertibles. These pickups proved to me that I am superior because I'm Mojo Custom Wound Convertible equipped.
Most sincere thanks, B. Auten
