# Looking for Canadaian pickup makers



## Pontiac6million (Oct 4, 2016)

I am getting a guitar made by a Canadian builder and would like some pick ups for it also from Canada. Looking I guess for vintage PAF sound that is good for blues that can also get some hard rock tones. Think of Slash on AFD but maybe a little less mud in it. Very hard to describe as I do not want his tone exactly but be able to get close if I choose. Like blues and blues influenced rock sound, although open to other styles but that is the base. Talked to a few winders already. Some short responses. I got a great reply from David at Sigil pickups. Good communication there. Let me know some great Canadian pickup makers and give these guys a shout out for their great work. Pleasantly surprised on how much Canadian talent there is in this market.


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## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

Reilander
MJS
Sigil
Soultone
Rainville
Vineham
...

Probably a few dozen more. That's just what I can think of off the top of my head.


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Pontiac6million said:


> I am getting a guitar made by a Canadian builder and would like some pick ups for it also from Canada. Looking I guess for vintage PAF sound that is good for blues that can also get some hard rock tones. Think of Slash on AFD but maybe a little less mud in it. Very hard to describe as I do not want his tone exactly but be able to get close if I choose. Like blues and blues influenced rock sound, although open to other styles but that is the base. Talked to a few winders already. Some short responses. I got a great reply from David at Sigil pickups. Good communication there. Let me know some great Canadian pickup makers and give these guys a shout out for their great work. Pleasantly surprised on how much Canadian talent there is in this market.


Dave is a great person to deal with. I’ve bought a couple of sets of pickups from him. They were both exactly as he described them. I’m a very satisfied customer.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Pontiac6million said:


> I am getting a guitar made by a Canadian builder and would like some pick ups for it also from Canada. Looking I guess for vintage PAF sound that is good for blues that can also get some hard rock tones. Think of Slash on AFD but maybe a little less mud in it. Very hard to describe as I do not want his tone exactly but be able to get close if I choose. Like blues and blues influenced rock sound, although open to other styles but that is the base. Talked to a few winders already. Some short responses. I got a great reply from David at Sigil pickups. Good communication there. Let me know some great Canadian pickup makers and give these guys a shout out for their great work. Pleasantly surprised on how much Canadian talent there is in this market.


Well the AFD thing will also be owning some sort of older JCM800 esque amp, and cranking the hell out of it. If you're covered there (and running a gibson scale guitar) you'll happily find most PAFS probably do the job.

I have a set of J S Moore PAF pickups in a custom build and they scream. Unfortunately I don't know if he's still really in the business. I also have a set of vineham tele pickups about to go into an @Ayr Guitars build, based on recommendations of members here. I'll update once I have the guitar in hand. I can say that it was fast communication and shipping time with Vineham, which means I'll probably grab another pickup or two from him in future.


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## Pontiac6million (Oct 4, 2016)

Budda said:


> Well the AFD thing will also be owning some sort of older JCM800 esque amp, and cranking the hell out of it. If you're covered there (and running a gibson scale guitar) you'll happily find most PAFS probably do the job.
> 
> I have a set of J S Moore PAF pickups in a custom build and they scream. Unfortunately I don't know if he's still really in the business. I also have a set of vineham tele pickups about to go into an @Ayr Guitars build, based on recommendations of members here. I'll update once I have the guitar in hand. I can say that it was fast communication and shipping time with Vineham, which means I'll probably grab another pickup or two from him in future.


I have a Traynor yba1 mod 1. So I think I'm mostly there. Sent an email to Jon @ JS Moore and got a short response. Will try talking to him again. Just want a good conversation with the winder before going for it. It will be put in a Monty Bluemaster. Thanks Budda for the comment


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## King Loudness (May 3, 2010)

Budda said:


> Well the AFD thing will also be owning some sort of older JCM800 esque amp, and cranking the hell out of it. If you're covered there (and running a gibson scale guitar) you'll happily find most PAFS probably do the job.
> 
> I have a set of J S Moore PAF pickups in a custom build and they scream. Unfortunately I don't know if he's still really in the business. I also have a set of vineham tele pickups about to go into an @Ayr Guitars build, based on recommendations of members here. I'll update once I have the guitar in hand. I can say that it was fast communication and shipping time with Vineham, which means I'll probably grab another pickup or two from him in future.


I messaged Craig @ Vineham over Christmas about getting some pickups for my SG. He'll be winding again in February. 

W.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Jon Moore is still in business, although my impression was that the amount of time that he devotes to winding varies based on his “day job” which is seasonal in nature.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Roryfan said:


> Jon Moore is still in business, although my impression was that the amount of time that he devotes to winding varies based on his “day job” which is seasonal in nature.


I don't remember what I have (though my inbox might), but damn do they do their job.


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2019)

wait for @sambonee to give you the lowdown on tonedrippers.


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## Vally (Aug 18, 2016)

Vineham all the way, great prices too


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Thanks @laristotle 

Tone drippers are Tele and strat for now. We’ll see what the future holds for humbucker.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

I highly reccomend Sigil for PAF tones. I have a London '66 loaded Epiphone Dot I'd put toe to toe with any Gibson in a tone war.


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2019)

sambonee said:


> Tone drippers are Tele and strat for now. We’ll see what the future holds for humbucker.


Drippers.








My mistake.


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

I have bought from MJS and Vineham and I'm extremely pleased with both.
Great communication with both and they each built exactly what I was after.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

I can't speak for the rest out of experience, but my set of Sigils shattered my expectations of pickups. Before I got them from @CheopisIV I didn't believe in the magic of high end pickups.


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

cboutilier said:


> I can't speak for the rest out of experience, but my set of Sigils shattered my expectations of pickups. Before I got them from @CheopisIV I didn't believe in the magic of high end pickups.


+1


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## Pontiac6million (Oct 4, 2016)

cboutilier said:


> I can't speak for the rest out of experience, but my set of Sigils shattered my expectations of pickups. Before I got them from @CheopisIV I didn't believe in the magic of high end pickups.


I've contacted Vineham, Sigil, JS Moore, MJS and Reilander. Only waiting for a response from one and hope to talk to them all again soon. Amazed and happy we have such a great selection here in our own backyard. I'm sure there are others out there and feel free to give them a shout out but I don't think I should need to contact any others. I'm sure Ill be happy with the result and will let you know when the Bluemaster is finished which pickups are in it. Will seek Brian's advice on the matter as well. Thanks all for the suggestions and feed back. Again feel free to give a shout out to these and other builders


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## DrumBob (Aug 17, 2014)

Well, don't try to buy any pickups from that character we were discussing a few weeks ago, the one who took people's money and never delivered. Can't recall his name.


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## Clapton78 (Dec 12, 2017)

I've been looking for a nice set of single coils for my mim Strat. I was considering pickups from Ken rose in the states, but then thought I should look for a Canadian winder... The 67 cosmic blues from soultone caught my eye and the price is right. The short demo that he has on YouTube sounds very good to my ear especially the one with gain. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with soultone? Thanks!

Sent from my SM-A530W using Tapatalk


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## Todd MacCulloch (Mar 8, 2018)

https://www.toneemporium.com is local Ottawa winder distributor.
They carry Strat pickups

I got a set of HB sized p90's around Christmas on a blemish sale - they are awesome


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## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

Todd MacCulloch said:


> https://www.toneemporium.com is local Ottawa winder
> They carry Strat pickups
> 
> I got a set of HB sized p90's around Christmas on a blemish sale - they are awesome


I haven't heard their pickups in person, but have seen reasonably good reviews around the web. Looking forward to trying them one day.

Just so there's no confusion though, their pickups are re-branded Asian-made pickups, not wound in-house in Canada.


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

I've had JS Moore wind some Jazzmaster pickups for me that were amazing, and most recently had Craig over at Vineham wind a Firebird pickup for me. I would recommend both in a heartbeat, based on the quality of their work!


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## ssdeluxe (Mar 29, 2007)

Pontiac6million said:


> I have a Traynor yba1 mod 1. So I think I'm mostly there. Sent an email to Jon @ JS Moore and got a short response. Will try talking to him again. Just want a good conversation with the winder before going for it. It will be put in a Monty Bluemaster. Thanks Budda for the comment



congrats on your Bluesmaster (any progress pics ?)

....great gtr, great amp (my #1 large amp is a Traynor Mark 3, modded.)

No doubt that thing will sing with pretty much any good PAF attempt, but I can say my Bluesqueen with Jon Moore's in is so incredible responsive, there is so much expression from clean to od . 

My suggestion is to NOT wax pot.

I'm very curious to try some of the new breed of Canadian winders listed above.

good luck.!


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I am quite happy with my vineham tele set, so Im excited for my humbuckers to show up! I have a tour to play to baseline the outgoing SD's.


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## Pontiac6million (Oct 4, 2016)

ssdeluxe said:


> congrats on your Bluesmaster (any progress pics ?)
> 
> ....great gtr, great amp (my #1 large amp is a Traynor Mark 3, modded.)
> 
> ...


I haven't got any progress pics unfortunately. I did decide to go with Vineham sweat 59's but with an A2 magnet instead of A4. Don't think the pickups have been ordered by the builder though. Will update when I get word. I'll have to call and see how the build is going.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

Al Beardsell winds his own pickups.


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## rhh7 (Mar 14, 2008)

Ash Can Pickups by Ken Holmes is new here in Calgary. Ken is a friend of mine, who winds custom pickups. He also rewinds pickups.
I have a set of Telecaster pickups, which are going into a partscaster. He also did a beautiful job rewinding the neck pickup of my Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster.


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

jbealsmusic said:


> I haven't heard their pickups in person, but have seen reasonably good reviews around the web. Looking forward to trying them one day.
> 
> Just so there's no confusion though, their pickups are re-branded Asian-made pickups, not wound in-house in Canada.


John are we 100% sure of that?

I have never asked him the origin of his pickups.
I have used some and a friend that builds partscasters loves his stuff.

Todd - 
Craig Vineham is excellent to deal with.

Theres also Mcnelley Pickups 
Reilander Pickups (in bc)
MJS Pickups
Pickup Wizard

All excellent Canadian pickup winders

Nathan


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## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

nnieman said:


> John are we 100% sure of that?


Yes we are. But don't confuse that for thinking they are of inferior quality. If they are made well and sound great, it doesn't matter where they are made. There is no reason to think any less of their pickups just because they are made overseas. If anything, it's nice there is a Canadian brand at a nice price point.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

I've never tried a set of Custom wound from anywhere. So what's the difference in something like a Vinham vs a Duncan for instance? Are you guys finding better clarity and voice? Are they better balanced than something you'd pick up from L&M or online? I hope this isn't a can of worms I'm opening, but I have a feeling it could be. I don't want to throw off the OP's questions or derail, so keep that in mind as well please and thanks.


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## Double A (Jan 31, 2017)

Recently had Smitty at MJS wind a JM humbucker for me and its terrific. Can tell that he wants to really meet the needs of his customers.

Have had a few McNelly's over the years too and they're good pups but was more satisfied with the MJS experience.


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

Dorian2 said:


> I've never tried a set of Custom wound from anywhere. So what's the difference in something like a Vinham vs a Duncan for instance? Are you guys finding better clarity and voice? Are they better balanced than something you'd pick up from L&M or online? I hope this isn't a can of worms I'm opening, but I have a feeling it could be. I don't want to throw off the OP's questions or derail, so keep that in mind as well please and thanks.


The difference is our dollar sucks.
Big time sucks.

Its literally cheaper in most cases to get a custom wound pickup then a Seymour Duncan.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with seymours pickups but you can get something custom made for less money.




Double A said:


> Recently had Smitty at MJS wind a JM humbucker for me and its terrific. Can tell that he wants to really meet the needs of his customers.
> 
> Have had a few McNelly's over the years too and they're good pups but was more satisfied with the MJS experience.


Oh man you aren't kidding.
Smitty is ducking fantastic to deal with.
His customer service is Above and beyond.


Nathan


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

jbealsmusic said:


> Yes we are. But don't confuse that for thinking they are of inferior quality. If they are made well and sound great, it doesn't matter where they are made. There is no reason to think any less of their pickups just because they are made overseas. If anything, it's nice there is a Canadian brand at a nice price point.


Thanks

I was pretty sure that was the case at that price point.
I have heard lots of glowing reviews for those pickups.
I loved the one (humbucker sized p90) that I bought from him.

Nathan


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Smitty is the best source of knowledge and options Canada side. And he’s no second fiddle. His pups are some of the best I’ve heard.


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## Todd MacCulloch (Mar 8, 2018)

jbealsmusic said:


> I haven't heard their pickups in person, but have seen reasonably good reviews around the web. Looking forward to trying them one day.
> 
> Just so there's no confusion though, their pickups are re-branded Asian-made pickups, not wound in-house in Canada.


Thanks - I didn't know. I updated the original post too.


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## Clapton78 (Dec 12, 2017)

So, I e-mailed the guy over at SoulTone and described what I was looking for in a sound. He got back to me very quickly and recommended one of his sets describing their tone and how he thought they differed from the mim ceramics. I decided to go for it!
Had a look on his facebook page and it looks like he was winding the set last night!SoulTone Pickups

Looking forward to getting these in my strat. I'll post some thoughts once I play them for a while! Cheers


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## Clapton78 (Dec 12, 2017)

Clapton78 said:


> So, I e-mailed the guy over at SoulTone and described what I was looking for in a sound. He got back to me very quickly and recommended one of his sets describing their tone and how he thought they differed from the mim ceramics. I decided to go for it!
> Had a look on his facebook page and it looks like he was winding the set last night!SoulTone Pickups
> 
> Looking forward to getting these in my strat. I'll post some thoughts once I play them for a while! Cheers


Following up on this post from just under a year ago. 

I put soultone's 67 cosmic blues single coil set in my 2002 mim Strat and I can say that I am very pleased with the results. Pickups were wound on order and delivered within a week or two, the price was great and soultone was great to deal with.

The sound is very nice and eliminated the harshness of the stock pickups. The neck pickup is very warm while the neck gives the expected honk/twang... Really a wide range of sounds using the 5 way switch.

I'd recommend giving them a try if your looking to replace some single coils.

Cheers

Sent from my SM-A530W using Tapatalk


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## colmax (Apr 16, 2010)

Pontiac6million said:


> I am getting a guitar made by a Canadian builder and would like some pick ups for it also from Canada. Looking I guess for vintage PAF sound that is good for blues that can also get some hard rock tones. Think of Slash on AFD but maybe a little less mud in it. Very hard to describe as I do not want his tone exactly but be able to get close if I choose. Like blues and blues influenced rock sound, although open to other styles but that is the base. Talked to a few winders already. Some short responses. I got a great reply from David at Sigil pickups. Good communication there. Let me know some great Canadian pickup makers and give these guys a shout out for their great work. Pleasantly surprised on how much Canadian talent there is in this market.


ColMax Pickups 🎸
Stoney creek


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## Fuzzy dagger (Jun 3, 2016)

Pontiac6million said:


> I have a Traynor yba1 mod 1. So I think I'm mostly there. Sent an email to Jon @ JS Moore and got a short response. Will try


I have the same amp and it definitely does the Marshall thing very well. Love that amp.
I also have a Les Paul with pickups from that guy out east that we won’t mention. They are great at the “tele on steroids” sound. Really good. Too bad the way that turned out.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

Fuzzy dagger said:


> I also have a Les Paul with pickups from that guy out east that we won’t mention. They are great at the “tele on steroids” sound. Really good. Too bad the way that turned out.



Huh?

You need to at least identify the guy, even if you don't give the whole backstory, so that those of us who aren't aware don't mistakenly order from him.


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

colchar said:


> Huh?
> 
> You need to at least identify the guy, even if you don't give the whole backstory, so that those of us who aren't aware don't mistakenly order from him.


Sanford magnetics.
There’s a big thread about him.

Nathan


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

nnieman said:


> Sanford magnetics.
> There’s a big thread about him.
> 
> Nathan



Ah yes, I heard about that.


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

Roryfan said:


> Jon Moore is still in business, although my impression was that the amount of time that he devotes to winding varies based on his “day job” which is seasonal in nature.



I bough some Strat pickups 6 years ago. Great


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Latole said:


> I bough some Strat pickups 6 years ago. Great


Jon recently wound me a set of Strat pickups based on Gilmour’s Black Strat but with custom pole piece heights & a mix of A5/A2 magnets in the bridge pickup.


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