I've found myself doing the same thing Ray. I have two sets of expensive pickups lying around waiting for guitars...so you are not alone!
I bought two Squier VM Stratocasters and proceeded to load them both up with loaded pick guards. Each of the pick guards along with Fishman Batteries cost $400 and both are on $300 guitars!
There is no way I could sell either one for the $700 I have in them...
I just put a $200 set of EMG Fat 55's in my $189 Chibson Slash AFD and my god they sound great and now I'm playing that damn guitar everyday! I wish more people could see and feel the quality
of the guitar. It's unbelievable they can deliver something of the quality for $189...I do believe it's a 5 piece body though and a nice maple top, but with veneer for sure.
The Agile I've put $300 in only cost me $100...courtesy of GBall
My most expensive set ran me right around $400. Those are the Bernie Marsden Beast Buckers and they are worth every penny!
My first DiMarzio was a HS-3 I bought in 1987 for $30.00.
Times have certainly changed. I have either used personally, or installed for others, quite a few pickups from many well known, and some lesser known winders. Many, many of them with big names were not memorable in the least, and many more were totally forgettable.
My friend Fil 'Solo Dallas' Oliveri introduced me to Thro-Bak's last year. At the time, Thro-Bak was winding custom pickups for him, based on some data he obtained from inspecting several of Angus Young's guitars. This eventually grew into the "Powerage" pickups, wound by David Allen, and now Fil's winding his own "Solo71-T-Tops." Needless to say I was skeptical, but I decided to give Thro-Bak a shot in the VH Doubleneck.
After discussions with Thro-Bak, they recommended their SLE-101's for the 12 string side (Neck 7.6K, Bridge 8.1K, long A2 magnets) and SLE-101 MXV's (Neck 7.8K, Bridge 8.4K, Long un-oriented A5) for the 6 string side. At $549/pair (X 2) they were not terribly expensive, and yet, I was still skeptical, not only of Thro-Bak's, but boutique pickups in general.
I have to say, I was literally floored by the tone. The balance between all six positions (3 on the 12 string side and 3 on the 6 string side ) is perfect, but the TONE!!!! It literally sounds like six different guitars, that's how dramatic the change is when you switch positions.
NO pickup I have ever used personally, or installed for others, was this memorable. It's simply the most remarkable, sweet, airy, bell-like tone when played clean, (and the K40Y Majik Tone Beanz maintain clarity even when rolled off to zero) but when overdriven, the bass response is thick and full, but the G/B/e strings still ring out and cut through with an "every string in harmony" tonal signature that is almost like a snarl.
Single-string leads sound like full chords.
I am still blown away by them....
