Howard Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 To amuse myself during lockdown, decided to get round to wiring the bridge pickup on my MIM strat, to the tone control. Very easy. However, to my surprise found that the pickups were not the original fender type but Wizard 'Blackjacks'. All I could find out on the net was that Wizard Pickups are no longer in business. They may or may not be handmade/wound in the UK(Wales)? I bought this guitar, secondhand about 8 years back. Always been happy withe the sound and have only set it up a few times when changing string guage. Anybody know anything about these pickups? Cheers H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldG Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Hi H, I can remember a while back, the rave reviews about the Wizard P and J bass pickups.. pretty sure they were handwound in wales by a fella who previously worked for or with a famous pickup brand. Thats all I got though... I would be pleased to find them in a used guitar , I bet they sound fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 I installed Wizard pickups in a couple of Jazz basses and was very impressed. Yes, they were made in Wales and the chap has retired, I seem to recall that the business is up and running again but not sure who's involved, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 11 hours ago, Howard said: To amuse myself during lockdown, decided to get round to wiring the bridge pickup on my MIM strat, to the tone control. Very easy. However, to my surprise found that the pickups were not the original fender type but Wizard 'Blackjacks'. All I could find out on the net was that Wizard Pickups are no longer in business. They may or may not be handmade/wound in the UK(Wales)? I bought this guitar, secondhand about 8 years back. Always been happy withe the sound and have only set it up a few times when changing string guage. Anybody know anything about these pickups? Cheers H Yeah Andy Blake sold the business on due to health issues. Until that point he made all my pickups and we used to bounce ideas off each other. I've lost touch with him now but I hope he's OK. Wizard was bought out by two gents called Dave Walsh and Jon Perry, who rebranded the operation as Hot Rod pickups and shifted from Wales to Chichester. They share the same facility as Eternal Guitars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Posted April 17, 2020 Author Share Posted April 17, 2020 Thanks all. 'Sounds' like they are decent pickups. I was happy with them when I bought the guitar. Always assumed that they weren't the ceramic pups that were sometimes in Mexican strats, although mine predates the time that fender used those. Still interested to find out the spec for these 'Blackjacks'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Maybe Dave or Jon at HotRod could tell you, the handover from Andy took at least 6 months and he taught them everything he knew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 I have been in contact with Dave at Eternal Guitars and Pickups and he was kind enough to supply following info: Hi Howard, Thanks for getting in touch. Yes, I know those pickups very well. They were originally designed to produce a bright, glassy tone and offer players with rosewood fingerboards a tone similar to a maple ‘board. I used them for a few years, before deciding that I actually for preferred the ’Timeless’ models (which I’ve since tweaked a little to my taste) as they offer a far more authentic vintage sound to my ears. I don’t currently have the Blackjacks on my website but I do have the winding spec. if you ever wanted another set. All the best, Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 That's a nice reply. I'm glad he was able to help out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...