Ron Ellis Pickups....where to order from?

[DGTCrazy]

Is he still money up front?

As far as I know....yes. That definitely adds to the stress of the wait. I was only willing to do so since paying a few hundred bucks up front via a Credit Card didn’t seem as crazy as paying up full for an Amp or Guitar (that’s something I never do). Anyway....there’s no easy way around it.

 

[jim lavender]

Why Ron can't do a wait list ala KOT and take your cash when your name comes up is beyond me. That would alleviate any anxiety on the part of the customer and would also decrease his "where are my pickups?" Emails.

 

[earthmud]

My experience has been that the wait time for any of his pickups are extensive, but the humbuckers take a slight bit less time to receive than his single coils. Why? I couldn’t really say.

Now I can say a few things with 100% certainty; 1) Ron is one of the nicest guys there is (I won’t bore you with my stories) and 2) the 50’s/60’s Hot Bridge single coil set he makes is second to none and finally, 3) his Tele style pickups are just as good. The result; lots of orders.....but one person making product and running the show (I’m making an assumption here that things haven’t changed since we last spoke).

The back story is that few years ago after his wife left the business to take a full time job with good benefits, (those of us who have been self employed can relate) Ron became responsible for handling all the day to day things his wife took care of so well (she is a sweetheart too).

So now all the emails (when we last spoke he said he had to set aside at least 1-2 hours a day just to deal with that aspect IIRC) as well as now take care of actual ordering process, build pickups, manage the waitlist and take care of all the other organizational stuff that his wife did so well. So it all means that wait times have extended.

Going back to become a one person company again, trying to produce products and be responsive to customers in a timeframe that doesn’t seem unreasonable reflects into longer waiting. Remember that waiting for his pickups when his wife worked for him was not unlike the wait times for a Pete Cornish TTE or Super Chorus or an Analogman KOT for example, but now it’s anyones guess.

I can say this; if you are super patient and want some S,T or Humbucker style pickups that will leave you feeling as though you won the lottery, it’s worth the wait. I ordered two sets of the 50/60’s and I’m so paralyzed by what to with my second set that they are still in the box and it’s driving me crazy. The first set I put in a Fender CS ‘69 in Lake Placid blue (and they replaced the Abbey’s that were in it originally), and to say I was totally blown away is an understatement.

I have no skin in the game here, and my posting history reflects the fact that I rarely if ever do the “Fanboi” thing, but the bottom line is if you want his pickups, it’s going to be at least 8-12 months (if not longer)....and you won’t be disappointed once you get them. And if you are, I imagine that selling them would take any sting out of the inconvenience of having to had wait so long. YMMV.

Necrothread. Thanks for the response. I have a Broadcaster mid tall set in my K-line and a Broadcaster bridge in another Tele. I got both before things got crazy. The single broadcaster bridge I got of a local ebay seller. Paid 225$ just for the bridge. That makes the 300$ I spent for the original set a bargain. I ended up with Voodoo 59's in another tele instead of the Ellis buckers but I would still like to try Rons buckers someday.

 

[zosozep7]

I got in touch with Ron a few years ago and he responded. Once. Never heard from him again! I tried e few more times but eventually gave up. Does he still answer emails? I would love to buy a set!

 

[MasterEvan07]

As far as I know....yes. That definitely adds to the stress of the wait. I was only willing to do so since paying a few hundred bucks up front via a Credit Card didn’t seem as crazy as paying up full for an Amp or Guitar (that’s something I never do). Anyway....there’s no easy way around it.

@jim lavender summed it up succinctly. He could be the nicest guy, and I’ve spoken with him multiple times, but I don’t dig his model as it’s lopsided and antiquated. The market for winders has exploded - some amazing, some the same repackaged drivel - and I’m always gonna go for the guy who respects my money, not the one who holds it for a year or so.

 

[telesquire]

If you are a well known player then there are NO waiting lists. Just seen a well known YouTube guitar show host post that he has a set of '64s in the post, having only just ordered at Christmas direct from Ron and he had a nice long chat with him. Same goes for guys like Josh Smith and Kirk Fletcher. Queue? What queue? Sorry!

 

[CRAIG4FSU]

Got $1K to spend? Cut the wait down considerably.

https://reverb.com/item/8437649-ron...h1PTgIyEAQYASABEgJy9fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&pla=1

 

[rh]

Wait times are easily 10-12 months minimum, and you'll see on his FB page that some guys have waited 2 years or longer. Here's his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ronellispickups/

The last time he even posted on FB was in August of '15.

Having gone through this once for a Tele set: Unless you're famous or a friend your wait times will continually move back. It's his business and he can run it how he wants, so I'm not complaining. You just need to expect this.

 

[Liquid_Mojo]

I got in touch with Ron a few years ago and he responded. Once. Never heard from him again! I tried e few more times but eventually gave up. Does he still answer emails? I would love to buy a set!

I had the same experience. Heard from him once and never again.

 

[zosozep7]

I had the same experience. Heard from him once and never again.

After doing some surfing on the subject, i think ill pass. Some people paid 15 months or longer and havent heard from him. Im cool with being patient until they never contact you with details or updates. LOL!

 

[InkStained]

Paying someone $350 to ignore me sounds great. I'm in. Contact info?

 

[DGTCrazy]

Is he still money up front?

I’m so sorry I missed your post. Better late than never....LOL

To tell you the truth I don’t know what his process is right now since it’s been a few years since I last ordered and received pickups from him. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful, but maybe somebody else in this thread knows? Unfortunately if not, you’ll just have to contact Ron and find out.

On a separate note, Im still trying to decide what Strat to put my last set of 50’s/60’s Hot Bridge SSS pickups I got from Ron. First world problems.....

And to be 100% honest, had I not ordered my pickups when his wife was handling the business end as well as the projected completion times they had on their website, I wouldn’t have paid up front either, no matter how good I think they sound.

 

[Jim S]

I was talking with a well respected small company luthier last November 2018. He had a pair of the Ellis humbuckers and was underwhelmed.

Based on what I’ve read about the customer service, Ellis and Pickups should not be in the same sentence.

 

[DGTCrazy]

I was talking with a well respected small company luthier last November 2018. He had a pair of the Ellis humbuckers and was underwhelmed.

Based on what I’ve read about the customer service, Ellis and Pickups should not be in the same sentence.

As I’ve replied before, I can’t speak to his Humbucker pickups. His S & T styles are awesome. For Humbukers, Tom Holmes was the man, but at or over $200 a pop, I prefer my Lollards Imperial’s or a Jazz & JB from Seymour Duncan. And yes, it’s a total bummer his wife left the business as Ron is a mad scientist, not a Wharton Graduate.

 

[BadAssBill]

Bump...I heard a pair of his Tele pickups and they are the best I've heard other than the voodoo's that are no longer made. If anyone has info I'd greatly appreciate it...I'd love to get a set of his pickups.

 

[Nick Wilson]

pm'ing you his email now

Could you send me is contact info

 

[DGTCrazy]

Could you send me is contact info

Pm'd

 

[thereeds]

Pm'd

Could you send it to me as well? Thank you!

 

[andrewccm]

Sounds like Positive Grid and their Spark amp. Lol

 

[Blix]

His email is ronellispickups@gmail.com as openly shared on his FB page, be prepared to pay a lot.