Shep,

These (Custom Jimmy Page set) are by far the most spectacular sounding humbuckers ever! Name a pickup maker, I have them all and none comes close! Even better than my real long magnet pafs! All the sounds I described to you are there in spades: the squawk, spit, sizzle, the chirp, sweet fatness when the treble strings are bent, the hollow rauchiness, the tight bass and stunning crisp and open neck pickup. The only pickups that nail the rythmn sound of Page's chords on Nobody's Fault But Mine! I could go on but you already know. You sir, should be knighted!!

Thorn

Howdy! sorry for the long delay.

I really wanted to give the pickups the once over and listen to them again and again, to really make sure what I was hearing wasnt just a 'good ear day' thing. It wasnt! After trying several sets of humbuckers in my prized vintage les paul, THIS is the sound people talk about hearing. the previous pickups in that guitar were like trying to paint fine art with a set of crayons. My BK set ladles out amazing levels of subtlety and texture. they respond to pick attack like nothing I've ever played before. These pickups are pure inspiration and money in the bank if you are chasing a sweet singing sound. Try em!!

Nial McGaughey - SOLID CABLES

Hi Shep

I went to a local shop recently to try out a used Eric Johnson model. It is a great guitar with nice pickups but the neck didn't suit me. While waiting for a friend, I picked up a very ordinary Strat just to noodle around, and was floored by the tone. It was the most toneful guitar I ever played, and it was basically just a partscaster with crappy neck. The guy in shop told me it was the pickups - Sheptone Custom AB. I bought the guitar, put a better neck on it, and now have THE richest sounding Strat ever. The tone of the bass strings makes me want to join a surf band or jam with Duane Eddy, but they are also fantastic right across the range. I play a lot of blues and these pickups have made me a better player by leading me to focus on tone more than speed. I don't know how you do this, but don't stop.

Don W

Max Baranet (Builder of the MAX Les Paul guitars)

Hi Shep. I installed my tributes in my 68 Gibson 335 today and I must say that they are very very good! Last time i heard this sound was with a good original PAF from 59. The midrange are fantastic! The treble are just right and bass are also right not boomy. I`m a pro guitarplayer from Europe. Thanks for a good product.

Lars B.

Hey Shep, just wanted to let you know the pickups arrived on Monday.
They look fantastic, and sound even better. I honestly can't think of anything I would change about them.
They went into a les paul replica I build myself (http://www.bartlettwoodworking.com/guitar.html ) and wanted something really special for pickups to finish it off.
Again, thanks a tonne, you were great to deal with, and you'll be hearing from me again I'm sure!

Tom B.

Hi Shep

I finally managed to put the tributes into my 335 - F**K what a difference! This is the tone!

Petri N.

I own about 30 guits, the two P.A.F sets you've made me are the best sounding of all the pickups I own! YOU'VE MADE ME A BELIEVER!! THANKS

Mike T.

I have to admit that the first time I read on your Page "I will build
the last Pickups you will buy", I thought, hmm, the guy is very
convinced :-)

So I soldered the PAF Tributes first in my Cheapo, just to make it a bit
harder for you. It's a 400-EUR Vintage Icon Les Paul Copy, plays
great but sounded like s#?t. With your Pickups, I'm totally blown away.
It sings, it screams, absolutely unbelievable! I used CTS Pots and
Orange Drops, with my Keeley Overdrive and a small Blackheart Amp it
sounds GREAT !!

Thanks Shep for building such a great piece of Workmanship.

Regards from Germany,

Oliver G.

Hi Shep,

I've finally had some time the past week or so to run the PAF tributes through the paces and all I can say is wow! I've had a hard time putting the guitar down and I've really spent a lot of time playing with the amp settings. These things really sing and pull out everything from a really chimey tone to all out quack when pushed a little. I'm really looking forward now to getting the P-90's I've got on order and get them installed. I'm sure I'll then have my two main axes.

Thanks again! Scott W.

Lovin the last set(AB custom strat), put them in an 1998 clapton strat"blackie"with CTS pots and jensen caps, sounds amazing, owned a few strats now and a few pickups, read about "the tone" never experienced till now thanx shep would like to try a set of your PAF next. Rick L.

Hey Shep
The PAF's are brilliant !
I love em :) my friends love em we all love em !

Tone G.

Hey Shep
The strats are just as good as your PAF's .
We love them, tried them on three different strats a 62, a 56  and a JV 83, the response and the tone is awesome in clean, crunch or heavier sounds. The balance between all three and all 5 positions are just perfect. They respect the instrument and do not have these modern, artificial annoying over tones and plastic dynamics. I haven t been impressed by pickups in a long time but i must say that so far they re better than I was even expecting.

Tone G.

Shep,
I got your Aged Nickel Tribute Humbuckers installed in my Max Les Paul this weekend and played it live Saturday night in front of a full house of screaming
rockers of all ages. 3 Words... Un - Freakin - Believable!!!! OMFG! Better Sounding than the real deal - Is that possible? It sure is... they kicked the snot out of my other high-end / orig. PAFs! I highly recommend your pickups to anyone who is seeking killer tone.

Scott Sheldon
MAX Guitars USA
www.mcimusic.com

Hey Shep,

Just thought I would drop a line here to say that I've never been more pleased with a purchase. Being an electronics klutz, I hired a reputable guitar tech to install the pups in my Fender Custom Shop Strat. The tech called me the night I dropped it off and told me he went ahead and installed them right away. He couldn't believe how lovely the sound was - he was amazed. I got the guitar back and I concur: this sounds better than any strat I've ever played including some very expensive 60s vintages. The harmonic detail is incredible, perfect blend of quack. punch and sustain. Like the title of this email says, your AB strat pups are pure gold, and made my strat sing like a million bucks. Thanks Shep for giving me a very distinctive musical voice!

Best always, Frederick R.

Hi Shep

You may remember me -- the South African from Cape Town who ordered a set of your zebra PAFs.

Well, it's been a couple of months now, and I'm liking these pickups more and more. I'd love to know how you've done it, but you've truly captured the essence of original PAFs.

I've just been watching the Led Zeppelin DVD and I'm amazed to realise that every tone Page got on stage is now available to me -- and I don't even have a Marshall amp. It seems there's a lot more of the sound in the pickups than most people realise. My little Mesa 5:25, set appropriately, now sounds exactly like Page through a Plexi. It's uncanny.

Anyway, just wanted to drop you a note to say thanks again, and to remind you (though I'm sure you know it) that you've pulled off something that even the CENSORED's and CENSORED's of this world haven't been able to.

Cheers Don B.

I have two things to say to folks that have similar expensive guitars with '57 Classics in them. One, YOU HAVEN'T HEARD YOUR GUITAR YET. Seriously.

And two -- buy a 45 watt soldering iron -- those things are soldered in like a plumber did them.

The first part of the afternoon, I played them straight into my Marshall TSL-100. It was supposed to be a "sound check" once I got them in and some strings back on, but I couldn't put it down -- the back cavity was even still open (and surrounded and layered with painter's tape -- very handy for protecting the finish during work in that little hole).

I got the pickups adjusted for height, and tweaked the screws to a compromise between even with the case and the radius of the fretboard and bridge. It was pretty obvious when I hit the sweet spot -- amazing tone.

I simply could not believe the difference in sound -- those harmonics aren't hype. These things just sound unbelievably good.

I finally decided to break away and finish the job, but it was tough to stop. I decided to use my little Blues Deluxe practice amp with my Pod XT Live when I was ready to kick things off again.

That's when I got an even bigger surprise -- I had to go through all my saved presets, because I'm hearing new, better sounds in all of them. I really didn't know that I was missing so much. With 32 banks of 4, that was a LOT of experimenting.

Even without the Pod, it's exactly as you describe -- you can do everything from Elvis to Iron Maiden with these things if you know how to tweak a decent, capable amp. I'm NAILING some Led Zeppelin stuff.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for putting so much care into building these pickups. I promise you, I'm giving them a good home.

Thanks, Guy D.

Hello Jeff, Bjorn here!
Just wanted to wish you a Great 2008!! I wanna thank you for the input you´ve made in my musical life during the last year, your stuff is just so great, can´t give you enough praise bro..the newest pu´s from you are in place in an old korina wood Strat body made by a US luthier some 20-25 years ago, one piece maple neck, and a (Gotoh) Floyd Rose as always..the singles are awesome as always, but the humbucker..man...probably the korina wood is one, but the humbucker with that "custom" magnet is so totally ruling that i can´t find words, it just takes no prisoners!! man, I´m just so happy with that guitar...had some problems with switching the middle pickup, since I´m so used to only one humbucker, one single and a threeway switch, but I´ll probably learn to master the 5-way switch as well :-))
All the best--let´s both wish for an excellent 2008!!
best regards Bjorn U.

Hey Shep,

I got the pickups on Saturday and installed them on Sunday. I played them through my victoria and they sounded great....but tonight was the test...we have studio time each Monday night for a project the band is working on. I usually record with my '59 345, through a '60 reverb unit and into an old '59 Deluxe....tonight I used the Sheptone equipped guitar ( a Dean EVO...with a maple top) and it blew the lid off the dump!!!! No effects except the reverb unit....no pedals...just pure tone.....nice chunky rhythm tones and big ballsy lead tones......thanks I love'm. I can't wait to hear them at our next gig.....I wanna see how they cut with the rest of the band at stage volume.
Thanks for all you help!!! Frank D.

While I have got a few spare minutes I will write you this note,

I was doing a direct comparison with the Strat I just put together with your AB’s, and my strat with fenders fat 50s which sounded good until we did the comparison. That is why I need a set.

Mate, Im not a kid that falls in love with every different sound I hear, Im nearly 50 and have been playing professionally for over 30 years here in Australia, and just love the sound of a good guitar. I’ve got the 1960 335 with the original pafs so my comparisons are good ones with your pafs, and even though I have not put your pafs in the old 60 wood you can pick the amazing similarities. As for your p90s I just put in the 77 les paul special, The harmonic overtones I am getting out of a guitar that was nice but a little dull is just bloody amazing.

I have compared your pafs, p90s and strat pickups with SD antiquities. Once again the antiquities sounded great,,,,, until they were compared to yours. I proudly promote your P/Us, what worries me mate is once the word really gets out about these things you make, how will you ever keep up.

Good luck and great prosperity Shep, you deserve it

Thanks, Brenton J.

Hi shep, andy had your pickups in a les paul studio for NAMM (i shared a booth with elmwood amps) and that thing just killed it. it embarrased all of the other guitars that were around. as the english say 'chalk and cheese, mate'

cheers, Nial M. (Solid Cables)

Hi Shep,

I have the Tribute's installed and they just blew me away. Of course comparing them to the stock Epiphone ceramic HB's is a real joke, but I would say it's something like listening to a stereo in the next room with the door closed and then walking into the room. I can now hear all the overtones and it really does sound great.

Thank you again for everything.

Regards, Steve S.

Hi Shep,
Pickups arrived today - I didn't expect them for another couple of weeks!
These are the ducks guts - the best.
I've tried CENSORED, CENSORED & CENSORED (which I like the best of the three) in my current Les Paul.
None of them nail the PAF sound like yours do.
I play through an Orville by Gibson LPS - JTM45(bass version)Marshall clone & old 25W greenbacks.The tone is now "THAT TONE"!!!
Biting,stinging,detailed etc.etc.
I'm a very happy boy, thank you Shep. Mark F.

I just tried your PAF humbucker set in my Hamer Sunburst, and it really sounds amazing, the difference with my other PRS guitars is noticeable, also I use your unpotted humbuckers with my overdrive pedals and effects and no microphonic squeal, unbelievable,

Thanks for making such an amazing and beautiful tone, Roberto A.

Shep,
I want to thank you and let you know my LP has now come to life!!!! Unreal, I thought she sounded pretty good before with a 57 classic and sd jimmy page pups in her, but my amp sounds like I uncovered it. The bridge sounds soooooooooooooooooooooooo good, plenty of honk, and the neck brings out the Betts tone i knew was in this LP. My hats off to you sir, you do great work and these pups are for real, very impressive. Thanks again and hope your Holiday was great and your New Year even better. Rick D.

Thank you, Shep. The damn thing sounds fantastic. You need to play this guitar one day (actually, all my guitars), because it's ridiculously great. I can barely keep my hands off it right now. : )
Thanks for all the excellent and enjoyable comm.
Be well, Oren C.

Hi Jeff and sorry for not contacting you until now. I've had a lot of
things going on, probably just like you too.

I received my Stratocaster on Wednesday the 2nd and the pickups came
wonderfully on Friday 4th day so I had a couple of days to just
admire the wonderful instrument before giving it a voice chords
surgery, so to speak. The stock pickups weren't bad, but once again I
have to admit that you certainly are devoted to what you do. The
Sheptone Stratocaster pickups sound simply great: lively, articulate,
but not the least bit too bright, which many times is the case if
Strat pickups have don't sound the way they should. It was also very
easy to get these pickups in balance with each other.

Here's a little blues clip I recorded with the pickups:
http://mp3.jucciz.com/budda_sd30/strat_sheptone_blues.mp3

The clip was done with my usual home setup: Stratocaster to Budda
Superdrive 30 1x12" combo that was close miked with a Shure SM57. No
pedals, just a hint of reverb from the sequencer software.

I even had time to take a family portrait of all my current guitars
(as of January 2008) ... 7 sets of Sheptones there:
http://jucciz.com/kuvia/kitarat/perhepotretti8.jpg

Thanks once again for your great work and take care! Jucciz

Hi Shep,
It's been over a month since our last correspondence.
Just wanted to let you know I finished the guitar and
hooked her up. The (custom) pickups are sweet! Sweet
sounding! I like the double screws on the humbucker.
I'll let all my friends know where I got
them! Thanks again!
Best, Eric N.

Hello. Recently I purchaced one of your Sheptone tribute bridge pickups. I must tell you this pickup is absolutly amazing and nails the vintage paf tone to the T. In fact this is the best paf I have ever owned. Just want to thank you for great tone and that you have a customer forever. I put together a couple of youtube video for the world to hear and will be posting more. Enjoy! Ronnie


You Tube Clip#1

You Tube Clip #2 (comparison)

G'day Shep
I purchased a set of vintage PAF style pickups off of you a couple of months ago. I have finally installed them. They are EXTRAORDINARY.
I know this because I have some originals pafs in a 1960 es335 that I think are the best. Yours at least match them if not better... Brenton J.

Gday Shep,

Just put the pickups into a HSH configuration today for a mate. BLOODY AWESOME! Brenton J.

I picked up the LP today....What an incredible difference. I don't know enough vocabulary to describe it... Even my buddy with the Epiphone LP had to admit to it (He thought the pups that I replaced were really nice sounding) and he asked me again how much I paid for them.
Awesome. Thank you. Ed K.

Shep-
Pickups landed this weekend, and as I couldn't wait for the customer to get back in town I (with his OK)
popped 'em into a crap SAMICK SG copy we keep around the shop for stuff like this.

Holy Crap..................
These dusted a Les Paul w/ CENSORED, and a Pearltop Zemaitis clone with CENSORED Set.
Wasn't even funny.
And this was with crap pots and caps!
These are going to blow minds in his Korina Explorer.
Unbelievable Nice work, my friend!

It's been a pleasure, and thanks again! John

WOW!! That's the formula! I put it (The Growler) up against my Dimarzio Drop Sonic (my old favorite) and yours is just as punchy, but so much clearer! Awesome job! I also like the midrange better, it cuts through, but with a smoothness that's hard to find.

I'm going to keep trying it out more, and show it off to my friends! I will also be able to use it at my show at Cheers West this Thursday for a 'Live' performance demo.

Then on to getting you some recordings.

Anyway...you have been so patient, and I totally appreciate you giving me the chance to help define this pick up. It is the clearest, punchiest, low tuned pick up I have ever heard....thanks to your hard work. Mark S.

/.’][;’/.’,/.’;][?”;/.’,//.[!@#$%^&*()+(&^”::}>{&%@@^”>[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, never thought it would make such a great difference!

Maybe you should consider running for President.

Allemachtig bedankt (Dutch for thank you incredibly VERY much) Jan W.

Shep, Pickups (strat) came in yesterday, they are excellent!!! I put the guitar together last night. This thing is unbelievable. The guitar has the volume of Humbuckers but with Strat TONE. Most pickups that I have tried that are HOT seem to lose the tone, these don't, I'm very pleased. I will get a couple more sets from you in a couple of weeks. I build guitars and these are just what I have been looking for. Thanks!! Take care, Donny K.

I played last night at a nice little pub on the beach in Sidney (a cool little town about 20 miles out). Was meaning to give your Strat p.u.'s a thorough thrashing but made the mistake of playing The Les Paul with the Tributes in it for the first set... That tone pretty much laid waste to anything in it's path!! F**k do they sound good. Pardon my French. Will do a real analysis of the Strat stuff as soon as I stop thinking about those P.A.F.S....a friend of mine has a real '59 Burst and I KNOW it doesnt sound as good-I've played em both! Don P.

I have to get another set for a 61 custom shop reissue SG.... Randy B.

Well, another late night at the rehearsal place..you´re fault it ended up being so late..I brought the Kramer since I didn´t have time to pick up the Hamer from my tech...man, what can I say??!! This is without doubt the best humbucker I´ve ever used..clear and articulated, sharp and sweet at the same time..feedback's (the "right" kind) whenever I want it..NO issues with squealing in spite of being unpotted, squealed less than my reference guitar for the day, same setup but with a DiMarzio Hot virtual PAF, so I´m extremely pleased..not the wife though, since I spent 2 hours late just jamming away some heavy Cream style playing..these pickups will bring the best out of me as a guitar player..my satisfaction level as a guitar player jumped up another 20%, thanks for your work and the inspiration it brings!!! All the best Bjorn U.

Jeff Bjorn U. here again---your stuff is sooo addictive..used the Kramer with the 9k yesterday at the rehearsal...I´m over the top with joy, the other guys heard the difference as well...for them especially in the pu being much clearer on open chord stuff and picking under a distorted tone...here is a recording I did using your pickups...your pickups are worth DOUBLE the price    soundfile    (file is a little quiet, turn it up!)

Hey, put the pickups in yesterday morning-went to a local blues jam at a downtown bar and tried them out-my friend Bill was there-I think that you can expect to hear from him. Then I had a classic rock gig up-island and got a chance to use them for the whole evening. Other then a couple of Hendrix and an SRV song that I used my old Strat for I played the Les Paul. They really nail the tone for me! In fact, I think that I actually prefer your bridge pickup to the CENSORED that I was using, and I really like the CENSORED! Using pedals I had no feedback issues, so that was huge to me. Great biting leads, the neck pickup captures that Gary Moore "Still got the blues for you" tone, and that solo was recorded using a real 59! I'm very pleased to say the least!  Don P.

Here is a song I recorded 100% with your pickups... "Dogeared" Using a Les Paul R9 played through a Fender Blues Jr. Amp with Weber speaker.

The tone from these pickups is phenomenal. They have a vintage vibe to them, that I have not found anywhere else. After dialing in some new
sounds on my amp, I finally found it... the sound I hear in my head. Some people spend whole lifetimes and thousands of dollars searching
for that tone in their head. I found my tone with Sheptone pickups. I am now planning on putting Sheptones on every guitar I use for recording. -

Justin P. Les Paul '59 Reissue

The pickups sound great. I installed them last night and then this morning I installed the RS Guitarworks SG pot and cap kit which is awesome too.

In a nutshell I'd say that the bridge is classic PAF and even more responsive to dynamics than most. The neck is warm, plucky, and fat and juicy when picked a bit harder. Both sound great clean saturated and with volume and tone knobs in various settings.

I'm pleased.

Compared to the standard SG pickups.

The bridge makes you work a bit harder for the bite which I like and when played softer with the knob rolled back a bit, but it's much more versitile than the 498.

The neck seems a bit rounder and fuller than the 490. I've backed it off a bit and can get nice full chords without mud, again when picked harder, nice, warm, juicy, licks can come to life.

Both sound very nice with wide open chords, Muted, single note, double stops...

These are very similar to my CENSORED PAF's but with a bit more output which is exactly I wanted. - Curt G. website Gibson SG

"I build guitars as a hobby. In the years I owned several guitars from a variety of manufacturers (in particular PRS, Gibson, Fender and Ibanez) and then I decided to build mine because I wanted to build a guitar on my specs (neck shape, scale, PU, wiring,...).

I was not sure on what PU to install on my last guitar project. I was looking for a REAL PAF sound so I decided to test 3 PU: CENSORED, CENSORED, CENSORED(I decided to test these ones because a friend of mine, who owns a guitar repair shop, borrowed them to me for a week-end).

I tested them but they didn't sound as I expected. I was a little disappointed because If you listen to the sound samples on the manufacturers' web sites you will thing that they will sound good but you are not able to really compare them because the amp settings are completely different... So the only thing you can do is to personally test them...

What to do? Finally I found on internet the Sheptone PAF Tribute. I listened to the sound samples and a voice in my head told "this is the sound I'm looking for". So I decided to buy them and do a test. The result? Really, really, really fantastic! On the market you will not find a PU that will sound better, these PU sound REALLY PAF! I'm so satisfied that I'm going to buy another set. There is nothing else to say ;-)" Salvatore C.           website

I received the pickup's and installed them man they are sweet! I put them in my 2005 1960 Gibson Les Paul reissue and through my Marshall Bluesbreaker. They sound just like Duane Allman's guitar on Live at the Fillmore album! I love these pickup's they are for sure the best PAF clone's I have ever had. They beat  CENSORED, CENSORED, CENSORED and just about anyone else I can name and I have had them all.  Kris H. ...here are some clips I recorded with my 1960 Les Paul Reissue      rock        blues        clean

Seriously, your pickups pick up every harmonic I threw at them with ease. They Squeal like a piggy (the good kind!). Pinch / artificial harmonics and natural harmonics are still within the realm of "midrange" a harmonic generated at the 12th fret is +1 octave.  The highest is the natural harmoic between the 2nd and 3rd fret.  This is +3 octaves.  blah. words words words.
 
The correct terminology for what I've been calling harmonics are overtones.   Your pickups excel at picking them up, not only in normal strumming but also with the harmonics as well.
 
I think the medium output of your pickups, combined with the microphonics caused by not potting them allow them to accentuate the midrange frequencies without adding any harmonic distortion before it gets to the primary gain stage.  I think that HO pickups like the CENSORED, allow the fundamental notes to be heard without a lot of the overtones. If the output stage is greater before the primary input gain stage, the source will introduce harmonic distortion very early.  That kills the overtones, which may allow for a more accentuated fundamental note.  That may be preferable for some people.  I prefer having the rich overtones because it gives the notes more definition in my opinion. 

The only caveat to this is that because they are un-potted, they will feedback slightly more easily than potted pickups, but then again, you don't have to drive them as hard as High Output pickups to make them sound as good because of the increased harmonic output.  They will definitely work with vintage, modern or modeling amplification.  High Gain amps like a Bogner Uberschall, Engl Powerball or a Mesa Triple Rec could be "cross the streams" bad for feedback.   You'd need to stand further away from the amp than usual.

These things through a Marshall JCM-900 will squeal the pants right off the girls.

Your standard pickups are incredible. I have bought and sold many guitars over the years assuming that since the pickups were brand names like the CENSORED, that the guitar was the reason I couldn’t get the sound I wanted. Had I known, that would have saved a lot of effort. I am putting these pickups in all of my guitars.” Chris C. Guitar- Petrucci Music Man soundfile

Shep Hey this is Gary...I tried out the PUs with my valve amp at church Sunday and all I can say is AWESOME  !!!!!

Great Vintage PAF tone with nice mids, growl, and bloom on both the bridge and the neck !!!! The neck is great for blues and stinging violin leads with my distortion also, a very clear sound… Found myself not using my chorus as much as the natural sound of these PUs is much more 3D than my CENSORED. Also I had absolutely NO squeal, even standing right in front of my amp at 3 feet and at moderate volume level. I get very NICE and controlled feedback when overdriving my amp with great sustain.

I also received some good comments that the guitar sounded very good! Gary W. 2006 Les Paul Classic

Hi Jeff got my pickups yesterday and Installed them right away so I could use them with my band last night, man these pups are nice and clear but still have a nice fullness to them I really dig these a lot, I've never used unpotted pickups before but heard about the feedback nightmares with unpotted pickups and I'm happy to say these did not squeal at all under high gain.

great job on these I will be getting some sound files soon John L. Gibson Les Paul

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