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Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups

 

 

You are a big fan and collector of vintage pickups, we know your love and respect for the work of Paul Bigsby, can you tell us about your CAR pickups series?

 

Yes it’s true, I’m a bit obsessed about microphones, their looks and sounds… 😉

I didn’t want to settle for the familiar looks of traditional pickups (Stratocaster, Telecaster, Humbucker, P90, etc.)…

I’m a big fan of all kinds of design and rock’n roll. I discovered and became interested in Paul Bigsby’s work a little before 2000, telling myself that I would make a reproduction of these guitars… Anyway, the years go by, I do other things, and one day I took the “bull by the horns” (French expression)…

I first tried aluminium casting (like the originals) and produced 2 complete sets of pickups, but it was tedious, so the CNC machine proved to be the solution to produce these pickups…

I found a company in France that had the capacity and the know-how… In the meantime, I managed to get a complete set of original Bigsby pickups in the USA …

My buddy Nicolas Mercadal from Benedetti Pickups was able to operate… take them apart, scan them somehow, and then we started the tests…

This story lasted over a year…

 

Like what, even reproducing the existing is not so easy… 😉

 

We have gone a step further by offering different aesthetic finishes and a wider range of sounds. I think it’s fair to say that we now have good visibility on these pickups… but… only now… 😉

We can therefore produce pickups very close to the originals but also more powerful pickups like P90s (the original windings being very low-powered) and even humbuckers with a CAR look …

 

Find all the custom pickups made by Roadrunner Guitars in its online shop: https://www.roadrunnerguitars.com/categorie-produit/parts/pickups/

 

 

 

Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups
Roadrunner Guitars’ Custom Made Guitar Pickups – The CAR series

 

 

Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups

 

Tu es un grand fan et collectionneur de micros anciens, on connait ton amour et ton respect du travail de Paul Bigsby, peux-tu nous parler de ta série de micro CAR ?

 

Oui c’est vrai, je fais une petite fixette sur les micros, leurs looks et leurs sons… 😉

Je ne voulais pas me contenter des looks connus des micros traditionnels (Stratocaster, Telecaster, Humbucker, P90, etc.)…

Je suis un grand fan de design en tout genre et de rock’n roll. J’ai découvert et me suis intéressé au travail de Paul Bigsby un peu avant 2000, me disant que je ferai bien une reproduction de ces guitares… Bon bref, les années passent, je fais d’autres choses, et j’ai un jour pris le taureau par les cornes…

J’ai d’abord essayé la fonte d’alu (comme les originaux) et j’ai produit 2 sets complets de micros, mais c’était fastidieux, donc la machine CNC s’est révélée être la solution pour produire ces micros…

J’ai trouvé une boite en France qui avait la capacité et le savoir-faire… Entre temps, j’ai réussi à me procurer un set complet de micros originaux Bigsby aux USA …

Mon pote Nicolas Mercadal de Benedetti Pickups a pu opérer… Les démonter, les scanner en quelque sorte, puis, nous avons commencé les tests…

Cette histoire a duré plus d’un an…

 

Comme quoi, même reproduire l’existant n’est pas si aisé… 😉

 

Nous sommes allés un peu plus loin en offrant différentes finitions esthétiques et une palette de sons élargie. Je pense qu’on peut dire que nous avons maintenant une bonne visibilité sur ces micros.. mais… que maintenant… 😉

Nous pouvons donc produire des micros très proches des originaux mais aussi des micros plus puissants comme des P90 (les bobinages originaux étant très peu puissants) et même des humbuckers au look CAR…

 

Retrouvez tous les micros customs fait par Roadrunner Guitars dans sa boutique en ligne : https://www.roadrunnerguitars.com/categorie-produit/parts/pickups/

 

 

 

Some pictures of Roadrunner Guitars’
Custom Made Guitar Pickups
The CAR series

 

 

Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups
Roadrunner Guitars’ Custom Made Guitar Pickups – The CAR series

 

Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups
Roadrunner Guitars’ Custom Made Guitar Pickups – The CAR series

 

Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups
Roadrunner Guitars’ Custom Made Guitar Pickups – The CAR series

 

Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups
Roadrunner Guitars’ Custom Made Guitar Pickups – The CAR series

 

Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups
Roadrunner Guitars’ Custom Made Guitar Pickups – The CAR series

 

Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups
Roadrunner Guitars’ Custom Made Guitar Pickups – The CAR series

 

Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups
Roadrunner Guitars’ Custom Made Guitar Pickups – The CAR series

 

Roadrunner Guitars Interview 3 Custom Made Guitar Pickups
Roadrunner Guitars’ Custom Made Guitar Pickups – The CAR series

 

 

 

 

Roadrunner guitars on Luthiers.com

You can find him on Luthiers at this address: https://luthiers.com/listing/roadrunner-guitars/

Discover the articles and instruments for sale from Roadrunner Guitars: https://luthiers.com/post-category/luthiers-family/roadrunner-guitars/

 

 

 

 

In the coming weeks, as for all the others luthiers for plucked string instruments, luthiers for bowed string instruments, amps & effects makers, wood & supplies dealers, lutherie events, jobs, schools & teachers registered on our website, you will be able to follow our series of mini-interviews dedicated to the fascinating universe of luthiers.

See you soon…

#luthiers

 

 

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