Tonerider Duke

[Pow_22]

Ive been a long time fan of Toneriders standard P pickups and i do love a traditional woody throaty P sound with flats through some valves.  However, recently in my jazz i put some used Wizard 84's in and have been blown away.  Yes they are hotter than standard but maintain a vintagey tone and dont go full on mud.  For my P,as a cheap option to the thumper, i noticed the Tonerider Duke, slightly less hot which could mean i maintain more of the vintage vibe but add a bit of 'push' to my sound.  Has anybody tried both the standard and duke models and could chip on with their thoughts on a comparison of the two?  Its a must that i retain that woody thunky sound so definately want to avoid a muddy dark sound

[ghostwheel]

In my humble opinion, it depends on a couple of things. First one, which strings you're playing. For example, I liked The Duke with Chromes 40-90, but it's nothing special with well broken in Sunbeams. And it's of some importance too, which Split-P you call "standard".

Some people who know Fender Pure Vintage '63, say that The Duke sounds very similar to PV63, but not exactly the same. They say, it's got a little bit more mids.

I'd say, it's jolly well worth a try as those don't cost an arm and a leg.

[Sean]

Deviating slightly from Tonerider but heading to a solution, I recently went through a little project where I needed/wanted a very specific tonal quality from a pair of pickups that I had to have custom made due to the configuration. 

 

I approached a few pickup makers and chose Laverack Guitars, they make Toltec pickups. Lee, who owns the business was able to interpret what I wanted tonally from a phone conversation and nailed it. They aren't expensive either. He does a range of J and P and will wind exactly to your spec or desire for very reasonable money indeed. Customer support is of the highest quality too. He has an eBay shop but always approach direct and have the conversation. 

 

https://www.laverackguitars.com/