OC Duff Tele Pickups, Any Users or Opinions?

[LIGHTNIN1]

I'm shopping pickups for my in-the-works Tele project, and I'm looking for some opinons on OC Duff pickups. I like the fact that he'll make them the way YOU want and his customer service is top notch. I've only seemed to hear good things but, I wonder, if he's that good, why have we not heard more? Hype maybe? Any other ideas for early Bloomfield/Butterfield Blues tone?

[esoteric pete]

dude....didnt i tell you....lollars or voodoo's......do i need to slap you?

j/k =)

[LIGHTNIN1]

Oh, so you tried the Duffs? What were your impressions?:)

[Bonedance]

Owen winds some terrific pickups. Tell him what you want tonewise and chances are good he'll nail it.

Not sure why you don't hear much about him here. Could be because there are so many talented winders mentioned here and some seem to get lost in the shuffle.

Lollar, Fralin, Wolfe, Rolph, Stuart, Hammel seem to be tops ( and with good reason! ) when tele pickups are mentioned. Vintage Vibe, Truetone, Manlius, Dave Stephens, Tom Short also wind some beauts...but for some reason, ( along with Owen ) don't get much mention.

Don Mare really seems to be on to something with his 2324 Roy wraps. Owen did the first run of Roy B type pups, so the man definately knows his stuff.

Really only one way to find out....and thats order a set!

[LIGHTNIN1]

I ordered my set yesterday. Owen seems to be O.K. with taking examples you have like famous guitarists tone and translating it into pickups. He isn't bothered by it and actually encourages it. I don't know to tell a winder I want 42 guage enamel wire wound in a beehive shape to 7.5k, I mean, I could but how would it sound? Owen was VERY fast returning inquiries and was eager returning email to decide on the final specs. I guy that's going out of his way to help you should always get our business. guys like O.C. Duff, Pete Biltoft of Vintage Vibe Guitars,etc. I'm getting too short on time to kiss the ass of the magic pickup guru who's already overcharged me. I just went through this situation very recently where a particularlly well known Tele pickup Guru took $500 of my hard earned dough and continually lied to me, made excuses and B.S.'d his way through every exchange. In the end, i only got back $385 of it, only because it's all he had in his Paypal account at the time....Never Again. If I can't have it in a reasonable amount of time, I don't need it. I also think when you're at this level of craftsmanship as far as pickups, you're seeing diminishimg returns on your dough.

[JohnK24]

I had Owen wind me a set for my previous tele three years ago...I told Owen I wanted a combination of Redd Volkaert vintage with some Brad Paisley attitude...Owen NAILED it !!! He's a good guy, very responsive...I'd highly recommend his work. I also liked the response and bridge pup I got from Peter Florence at Voodoo. His TE60 was killer, very punchy and had a nice edge to it.

[Bonedance]

I ordered my set yesterday. Owen seems to be O.K. with taking examples you have like famous guitarists tone and translating it into pickups. He isn't bothered by it and actually encourages it. I don't know to tell a winder I want 42 guage enamel wire wound in a beehive shape to 7.5k, I mean, I could but how would it sound? Owen was VERY fast returning inquiries and was eager returning email to decide on the final specs. I guy that's going out of his way to help you should always get our business. guys like O.C. Duff, Pete Biltoft of Vintage Vibe Guitars,etc. I'm getting too short on time to kiss the ass of the magic pickup guru who's already overcharged me. I just went through this situation very recently where a particularlly well known Tele pickup Guru took $500 of my hard earned dough and continually lied to me, made excuses and B.S.'d his way through every exchange. In the end, i only got back $385 of it, only because it's all he had in his Paypal account at the time....Never Again. If I can't have it in a reasonable amount of time, I don't need it. I also think when you're at this level of craftsmanship as far as pickups, you're seeing diminishimg returns on your dough.

You are so right Lightnin1! I want to give my business to someone who is eager to to do business with me. I realize the one man shops are busy and taking time to email or chat on the phone thakes time away fro making pickups, pedals, what have you.....but if you can't please your clients, why be in business?

I think I know who you are speaking of with the $500 tele pups. Sad, sad, sad. Sorry to hear you lost out. I don't care how good someones product is if they treat people like this.

Not to hi-jack your OC DUff thread, (I'm glad things worked out and I'll look forward to your tone report) but I wanted to comment on superior service I received from Don Mare. I sent him a tele bridge pup for a rewind on Thursday, May 25th. Even with the holiday weekend, it was back in my hands in less than a week. Hows that for turn around??! The best part though is the incredible tone and feel of the pickup. Excellent service and an excellent product.

[LIGHTNIN1]

Hey, Bonedance,
I emailed Don a few times awhile back about some pickups, but instead went with the almighty. I wish I got them, Don's a great guy and if his pickups are as cool sounding as his clips, I'll be there shortly. Let me know what you think about Don's pickups and we'll exchange notes!

[straightblues]

Hey, Bonedance,
I emailed Don a few times awhile back about some pickups, but instead went with the almighty. I wish I got them, Don's a great guy and if his pickups are as cool sounding as his clips, I'll be there shortly. Let me know what you think about Don's pickups and we'll exchange notes!Don's pickups sound better in person than they do on the clips. I just got my second set last night. Get them now before the word really gets out and the price goes way up. They are great pickups.

[Pedro58]

I got a set of Strat pups from himethat are fantastic. He's as good a winder as anyone, IMO. I've got pickups from some great winders (WCR, Duncan, Harmonic Design, Vintage Fender/Gibson) and his are equal to all. He's also very good with communication about what you want and friendly to boot!

[Bonedance]

Hey, Bonedance,
I emailed Don a few times awhile back about some pickups, but instead went with the almighty. I wish I got them, Don's a great guy and if his pickups are as cool sounding as his clips, I'll be there shortly. Let me know what you think about Don's pickups and we'll exchange notes!

As straightblues and Pedro said, Dons pups do sound better in person and he is really onto something with the way he's winding them.

I've been through a butt load of tele bridge pups in the past 5 years. While many were very good, there was just something missing. The moment I fired up my tele with Don's pup, ( I went for a broadcaster/P-90 mix around 11.5K ) I knew it was the right one. It mates beautifully with the custom wound Manlius bucker I have in the neck and responds exceptionally well to the guitars volume and tone control. Perhaps the most responsive and harmonically rich tele bridge pickups I've ever used. Even with the higher output wind, it retains that wonderful snap & twang. Killer clean tone and it sings with a bit of overdrive.

As you can tell, I'm pretty smitten with this one. It's been a long search, but I think I found the gold!

[shadco]

It's easy tell him what you are after and he delivers what you asked for.

I've ordered 3 sets

Tele he nailed em

Pair of P90's he nailed it.

Strat set perfect again

Owen rocks and his prices are good

[pbradt]

I'm shopping pickups for my in-the-works Tele project, and I'm looking for some opinons on OC Duff pickups. I like the fact that he'll make them the way YOU want and his customer service is top notch. I've only seemed to hear good things but, I wonder, if he's that good, why have we not heard more? Hype maybe? Any other ideas for early Bloomfield/Butterfield Blues tone?

OC Duff makes great, vintage sounding Tele pickups. Only more "authentic" ones I ever heard were Hamels, and we know how tough those are to get.

You can't go wrong with Duffs. They're the real deal.

[Chris Rice]

As straightblues and Pedro said, Dons pups do sound better in person and he is really onto something with the way he's winding them.

I'll echo that sentiment.

[El Kabong]

Owen wound me my p-up for my shell pink Nash Esquire. He nailed the tone of a stock '71 Fneder bridge p-up without the artifacts and signatures that many boutique makers add. I have no idea why he isn't a household name in the guitar world. I am a huge fan of his work.

[Bonedance]

Owen wound me my p-up for my shell pink Nash Esquire. He nailed the tone of a stock '71 Fneder bridge p-up without the artifacts and signatures that many boutique makers add. I have no idea why he isn't a household name in the guitar world. I am a huge fan of his work.

I agree 100% with what you said. Owen winds wonderful pickups and works with the individual to nail the requested tone.

As far as a household name...he is well known and respected in the tele community. With the huge influx of talented winders that have sprung up over the past 5 years, ( and the wonderful old standbys such as Lollar, Fralin, Rolph, etc ) many tend to get quickly forgotten after the intial flavor of the month has switched to the next new winder. Not to say Owen is a flavor of the month..he's not.....but, as with all thing gear, something new is always tweaking our fancy!

[TeleTubby]

...but, as with all thing gear, something new is always tweaking our fancy!

And thus, insuring the continuing survival of TGP.:-)

Phil, I've had one set of Duffs and they were great- I need to re-visit them. They got taken out too soon, as the next newest flavor Tele pickup came along. The set I had was wound to have a middle '60s era tone and I can honestly say, that's exactly what they produced. Really, very good stuff and I can't wait to try them again.

[LIGHTNIN1]

Thanks for chiming in Randy! It seems we share the same taste in alot of gear and I value your opinion. As a matter of fact, the MAY go in the body I just grabbed from you. Wow, that thing is light! Very, very cool!

[Notwerk]

Owen was quick getting back to me, but I ultimately gave Manlius a shot. The tele pickups worked out great and he was great about answering questions and keeping in touch.

Got what I wanted: A glassier, warmer, slightly hotter sound that retained plenty of the Tele character while losing the icepick on the MIM Tele bridge and bringing out lots of clarity from the neck. They sound great, and when I run them together, it's pretty much perfectly what I wanted. The price was very reasonable as well.

[Bloozcat]

As straightblues and Pedro said, Dons pups do sound better in person and he is really onto something with the way he's winding them.

I've been through a butt load of tele bridge pups in the past 5 years. While many were very good, there was just something missing. The moment I fired up my tele with Don's pup, ( I went for a broadcaster/P-90 mix around 11.5K ) I knew it was the right one. It mates beautifully with the custom wound Manlius bucker I have in the neck and responds exceptionally well to the guitars volume and tone control. Perhaps the most responsive and harmonically rich tele bridge pickups I've ever used. Even with the higher output wind, it retains that wonderful snap & twang. Killer clean tone and it sings with a bit of overdrive.

As you can tell, I'm pretty smitten with this one. It's been a long search, but I think I found the gold!

So, Don's not with Lace pickups any more?

Anyone know Don's website then?

[EuroCool]

http://www.onestepforum.com/wwwcannonpickup/index.php?mforum=wwwcannonpickup

[Chris Rice]

http://www.buckcannon.com
http://www.telecastermasters.com

[jcshirke]

Been reading this thread after I did a search for OC Duff pickups.

So, for those of you who have been through a lot of Tele pickups, what do you recommend--Don Mare or OC Duff? Or both/either? I'm sure they're both great.

Thanks.

[lukeness]

I ordered twice from OC Duff.

Neck pickup for my tele. Really good service. Even called me on the phone when I got it to make sure it was installed correctly cos I installed it out of phase. The pup sounds really good and is still in my Tele.

Bridge humbucker for a PRS. He was a little slower this time. Taking about 2 weeks longer than he said. All in all, I wasn't very happy with the tone I got from this pickup. I tried taking the pickup cover off... but then the whole thing fell apart and I don't know how to put it back together... silly me. Oh well.

[lclyman]

Owen has wound 4 tele pups for me...

He wound an esquire bridge replacement pickup for me that's just totally sublime.....

And another bridge wind of his turned my thinline completely around...

Our numerous emails back and forth taught me a great deal about pickups and all their variations and possibilities...!

And when there was a problem with one of his pups (that turned out to not be a problem but the fault of my tech) he was the very model of cooperation and customer service...

Highly recommended..

Larry

[bluehugh2]

I have a set of OC Duff "Nancys" in my Broadcaster knock-off... very traditional old Tele tone... I wouldn't change 'em! Great pickups... there's something "old" about their tone.