JJ's Guitar Pickups: Arnolds '54 Loaded Pickguard Set

https://www.jjsguitarpickups.com

Josh Owen, my friend, bandmate and set-up guru said to me last week about the Arnolds '54 Set, "These are the Strattiest, Strat pickups I have ever heard, know what I'm sayin'?" And he's right. These are little killers. Sweet, happy with all notes, not in-your-face, bloom when prompted.

From Ben Bailey at JJ's Guitar Pickups:

"Arnold's '54 set. As per 1954, all three pickups are identical in wind and output, middle RWRP. Alnico III magnets custom made for us in the home of British steel, Sheffield, UK. You might see the magnets protruding from the lower side of the pickup. We carried out loads of prototyping, listening tests and mathematical modelling to reduce internal phase cancellation within the pickup. The result is a very pure sound that allows big, dreamy chords, great single note definition and great dynamics. They're an honest transducer. From the lightest touch to the heaviest strum, they put out what you put in.

Swampy neck pickup, open and wide middle, and a clear bridge pickup, a well balanced and melodic set. These have the "bounce" that early examples were known for."

Today's tools:

Guitar: Mary Kaye '57 S-Style built by Sam Brewster, Australia
Amp: Axe-FX III MKII running Cygnus FW 19.08 - 2 x Princeton Reverb models (stereo)
Cables: BOSS
Camera: iPhone 11 Pro
Soundcard: Fractal Audio Systems Axe-FX III MKII (guitar, mixing and bouncing).
Desktop Monitors: PreSonus R80 R-Series Active AMT Studio Monitors (https://www.presonus.com)
Computer: 2017 Apple iMac Pro, 2.5 GHz 14-Core Intel Xeon W, 64 GB 2666 MHz DDR4, Radeon Pro Vega 64X 16 GB
Software: Logic Pro X, Apple Final Cut Pro X, Compressor.