Dom Polito of www.classicalbumslive.com recently joined the Porter artist family, and he’s been using a heavy relic set of Anthem PAF’s in his Gibson Les Paul. Dom is the director of the Zeppelin music, and the Anthems give him the tones he needs for the classic Page Tones. Here’s a video Dom did for us showing some of the tones from the anthems:
Brian’s Blog: Anthem PAF video from Artist Dom Polito
Posted: December 12, 2011 in General Updates, News0
We’ve recently hooked up with LA musician and producer Doug Grean, who’s been playing with Scott Weiland on some of his christmas shows. Doug’s playing a Hagstrom Archtop and came to us looking for a custom tone for this specific gig and sound. Doug put in two Smooth Humbuckers in the Archtop and, and new wiring harness from Porter. Here’s what he said about the Pickups:
…from ultra-mellow pillowy jazz tone to burning rock and roll in the course of 9 songs.Pretty impressive
Here’s a video from one of the first shows with the Smooth Pickups:
More dates to be announced soon!
Brian’s Blog: New Video Reviews from Gearmanndude
Posted: December 4, 2011 in General Updates, ReviewsInternet gear review dude, Gearmanndude has been rocking the Porter Standard Tele set for a few months, now and has recently shot a clean and dirty video of the pickups, playing through the positions and different licks.
The Porter Standard tele set was the first tele set released by Porter, and we’ve had great feedback from it.
Here’s the videos:
We’ve been experimenting with some different relic humbuckers and the relic process. We’ve gotten several requests for Reliced Anthem PAF’s that look old and worn, so we’ve been working on our process to offer these. I find they work best with nickel covers for a light aging, but chromes also work well if you want them to be really beat up and old looking. We plan to offer these on gold as well, but haven’t experimented with aging the gold covers. Relic covers are now available for a $45 up charge online and through our dealers.
Initial plans are to offer different levels of wear on then depending on the customers needs. Here’s a few that we’ve done so far:
Relic Nickel Covers, light-medium aging
Heavy Relic Chrome Covers
Brian’s Blog: Is my guitar a candidate for new pickups?
Posted: October 5, 2011 in Articles, General UpdatesWe get a lot of requests about which pickups we’d recommend from our line and upgrading stock pickups in various guitars. One of the things I enjoy about running Porter Pickups, is talking to customers and helping them find their tone. We often ask several questions about their styles of music, artists they like, and their specific guitar to develop a Porter Pickup just for them. Our models are meant as a starting point for custom color, cover and wind options. All those factors together make Porter Pickups truly custom.
We like to know about the guitar that the pickups are going in to. If the guitar has certain qualities, the new Porter Pickups will shine better in it. Here’s some of the things we look for:
1.
- How does the Guitar sound unplugged?
If the Guitar has a nice ring to it, and is generally pretty resonant, it will be a great candidate for new pickups. Not that if it doesn’t ring well new pickups won’t help, but it makes a big difference in the end result. Pickups are just a translation of the string vibration, so if thats good, the translation will be even better.
2.
- Do you like the playability and feel of the guitar?
If the guitar plays and feels “right” to you, but you’re not happy with the sound, new pickups can help. We often tell customers to make sure they love the guitar before upgrading it. With all the mass produced guitars out there, there’s some that aren’t special and some that are. If it feels comfortable in your hands, you like the setup, action and frets, then it’s probably worth putting the money into for new pickups. If the guitar has issues with the frets, setup, nut or anything like that, get that fixed FIRST. Playability is #1.
3.
- What are the electronics like?
Since all the signal path is important, we recommend upgrading the pots, caps, switches and jack of most guitars. Even higher end made in USA guitars can benefit from high quality components. We often sell new parts with pickups, so we (And the customer) knows that the best stuff is going into their guitar. Guitar companies are using cheaper parts to save money, so new pickups deserve better pots. Better taper on your volume and tone pots, better capacitors etc.
4.
- What are your pickups NOT doing for you?
This may be a hard question for some to answer, but we usually go through what you like to play on the neck position, what you like to play on the bridge, etc. Some guitars can generally be muddy, or the pickups are too bright in one position. Some of those things can be adjusted with new pickups, specific wire, and magnets. Some of our models (Like the Smooth/Classic Humbucker set) are specifically designed for versatility and to pair with an otherwise muddy guitar. Your guitar should not be too muddy that you’d never thing of using the tone knob. Maybe the customer wants a bridge pickup that can cut through the rest of the band on a solo, or a neck humbucker that can handle jazz. We take all this into account when recommending models.
Usually with those 4 questions, we can recommend some pickups for you. We have a wide range of models for that reason. There’s been plenty of times we’ve steered customers away from certain models, because they might not be the best fit for their setup.
Strangely enough, I enjoy talking tone and making sure we’re sending the customer the best possible set for their specific guitar. Email us today at info@porterpickups.com and we’ll take a look at your tonal needs for your specific guitar.
Brian
We’re getting into the SSH and HSH pickup configurations really soon. One of the great things I discovered about my 1998 American Standard Strat is that it’s got the “Swimming Pool” route underneath the pickguard. It’s not only a good playing guitar, it makes for the Perfect test guitar for new pickups and pickup combinations. I keep several loaded pickguards around the shop to drop new models in and out for recording, testing and demos.
Currently, I have the unreleased Vintage Custom Strat set in it. Over the past month or two, i’ve been exploring the HSH combination. Below is a picture of the first Porter HSH set, while I was trying it out.
For this guitar, I did the Smooth humbucker in the neck, modern single coil in the middle, and classic in the bridge. My personal preference is humbuckers (Even in a Strat!) so this set worked out well. It was wired to tap the pickups in positions 2 and for to get some of that strat quack.
So far so good, but a few tweaks to go to make it just right! More details on the loaded pickguard pictured here coming soon, it was bought by a national touring guitarist.
“Scratch and dent” sale time! These are pickups that have been installed in demo guitars, or did not pass inspection visually, or were out on demo to guitar shops and builders. If you aren’t obsessive with a little wear and tear, you can get these for a screaming deal. (They are going to get beat up anyways right?)
Prices:
Standard Tele Set:SOLD!
60′s Strat Set: Ask!
50′s Strat Set: SOLD!
Smooth/Classic Humbucker Set Zebra:almost perfect condition, was installed by a guitar builder on demo. Like new. Regular Price $180 Demo Price: $150
All prices do not include shipping. (Usually $5 per set US, international more) Please email us at info@porterpickups.com to claim your scratch and dent set. We accept Paypal and Credit cards.
First come, First serve on these.
We’re excited to offer some new releases to our line of handwound pickups. I’ve been building each of these as custom orders over the last year, and now they are up in our online store or are available for special order through any of our dealers for sale. We’ll be putting more detailed descriptions of each in the near future. Most of the options are included in the shopping cart selections. If you have any questions, email us at info@porterpickups.com
New Releases from Porter Pickups
On top of making several more of our own videos, we’ve put together this collection of videos by both us and others who have reviewed out pickups. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/p/9FA2F177642128D5?hl=en_US&fs=1
One of the best things about making pickups for people is hearing their feedback. We’ve gotten some great reviews in, that i’d like to pass along. I hope to do more blogging in the future, but the business has really grown, so finding time to write has been challenging!
Susan S. From atlanta says:
I bought this set on a whim. I simply came across the website and thought I would branch out into new territory based on all the nice things that other players were saying. I have five electric guitars and really wanted my PRS SE Custom to get a chance to sound as great as it feels to play. I have a Suhr Guitar that kills, so now, my lesser expensive guitars seem pale-faced. But I like them and want them to sound as good as they feel. Wow. I feel like no one who was blindfolded would guess that this is a low-end PRS now, after having had these Porters installed! So happy with this set! I have to believe these babies will go up in price once the rest of the world gets a taste of them, so I would advise anyone who is looking into the pricey names to buy these and laugh about the change you still have in your pocket after having purchased the tone you thought you would pay a lot more for.
