VINTAGE VIBE GUITAR PICKUPS (Pete Biltoft) review

[SBBJD]

I feel compelled to share this...
You'll have to forgive the hyperbole, but I am just that excited about this.

The short version: Vintage Vibe Guitar Pickups by Pete Biltoft are unbelievably awesome, and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The long version: I found a sweet deal on a 2015 ASAT Special Semi-Hollow on Reverb.com, and bought it without ever having played it (or any other G&L to be honest). I found the build quality to be exceptional. And the set up, out of the box, was near perfect. However, if I'm being totally honest, I hated the MFD's. They are SO HOT and SO BRIGHT and SO SCOOPED. They are orders of magnitude louder than any other guitar I own. Based on the size/looks of the MFD's, I was hoping for a P90-ish tone (obviously, I should have done some more research). Style-wise and tone-wise, I fall somewhere in between psychedelic rock and downtempo electronic. I tried to adjust things to fit the ASAT in with the rest of my guitars. I tweaked with my amp, my pedals, the volume and tone on the guitar, even went so far as to try to EQ the pickups by adjusting the individual poles. I found some interesting tones, but nothing that even came close to fitting in with my other guitars and the band/project I play in. (To be clear, I am not suggesting that MFD's are bad pickups. I'm sure they are great for certain applications. They are just not my preference.)

There are not a lot of people out there that can make an MFD-sized pickup, other than G&L of course. But after an extensive search, I found Pete Biltoft at Vintage Vibe Guitars (http://www.vintagevibeguitars.com/).
We discussed the situation and decided that a custom set of lower-output humbuckers would be the best approach. He built them to my specifications and they were delivered within about a week.
The build quality and aesthetics are exceptional. They fit perfectly into the MFD holes. Their appearance is at least on par with any of the big name pickup manufacturers, if not nicer.

The tones are just almost too good to put into words. I had described for him the tones I hoped to achieve using words like "warm" and "round" and "mellow." I had given him examples of tones that I liked via youtube video links.
He somehow digested all of that and turned it into a perfectly matched pair of humbuckers that does everything I could have ever hoped for, and then some.
I have been playing for 20+ years and have never been this satisfied with any gear purchase/modification.
The ASAT was collecting dust, and it is now my main guitar.
I'm telling you - this man is an ARTIST.
Buy pickups from him - it will change your life!

[Craig]

I feel compelled to share this...
You'll have to forgive the hyperbole, but I am just that excited about this.

The short version: Vintage Vibe Guitar Pickups by Pete Biltoft are unbelievably awesome, and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The long version: I found a sweet deal on a 2015 ASAT Special Semi-Hollow on Reverb.com, and bought it without ever having played it (or any other G&L to be honest). I found the build quality to be exceptional. And the set up, out of the box, was near perfect. However, if I'm being totally honest, I hated the MFD's. They are SO HOT and SO BRIGHT and SO SCOOPED. They are orders of magnitude louder than any other guitar I own. Based on the size/looks of the MFD's, I was hoping for a P90-ish tone (obviously, I should have done some more research). Style-wise and tone-wise, I fall somewhere in between psychedelic rock and downtempo electronic. I tried to adjust things to fit the ASAT in with the rest of my guitars. I tweaked with my amp, my pedals, the volume and tone on the guitar, even went so far as to try to EQ the pickups by adjusting the individual poles. I found some interesting tones, but nothing that even came close to fitting in with my other guitars and the band/project I play in. (To be clear, I am not suggesting that MFD's are bad pickups. I'm sure they are great for certain applications. They are just not my preference.)

There are not a lot of people out there that can make an MFD-sized pickup, other than G&L of course. But after an extensive search, I found Pete Biltoft at Vintage Vibe Guitars (http://www.vintagevibeguitars.com/).
We discussed the situation and decided that a custom set of lower-output humbuckers would be the best approach. He built them to my specifications and they were delivered within about a week.
The build quality and aesthetics are exceptional. They fit perfectly into the MFD holes. Their appearance is at least on par with any of the big name pickup manufacturers, if not nicer.

The tones are just almost too good to put into words. I had described for him the tones I hoped to achieve using words like "warm" and "round" and "mellow." I had given him examples of tones that I liked via youtube video links.
He somehow digested all of that and turned it into a perfectly matched pair of humbuckers that does everything I could have ever hoped for, and then some.
I have been playing for 20+ years and have never been this satisfied with any gear purchase/modification.
The ASAT was collecting dust, and it is now my main guitar.
I'm telling you - this man is an ARTIST.
Buy pickups from him - it will change your life!

Can you post some photos and audio and/or video files of these pickups in your ASAT Special Semi-Hollow?

TIA.

[SBBJD]

I'd be happy to email you photos and links to some drop box audio clips.
scoottyblue@gmail.com

I investigated the process of posting such items to this forum and found that it was not worth the trouble...