Carondelet OTB Ultimates have the tone and tactility of the original “Patent Applied For”-sticker humbuckers produced by Gibson between 1957 and 1961, closely following the original blueprints, materials and fabrication techniques of these legendary pickups.
You read that correctly: Carondelet OTB Ultimates have the sound, feel, look and “wow” factor of the most coveted vintage pickups ever made, the engines at the core of the most heralded, most sought-out and most expensive electric guitars in history.
OTB Ultimates are the brainchild of noted session and touring guitarist Owen Barry and Carondelet’s Jeff Richard, who have captured the vibe of the best vintage Gibson PAF examples in a modern humbucker set. However, their version tweaks the historic recipe, calibrating each pickup for its position on the guitar (OTB Ultimate bridge and neck pickups are NOT identical!) and faithfully recreates that glassy signature vintage PAF middle switch position sound. Just nailing the PAF “both pickups” tone in itself makes the OTB Ultimate set today’s best alternative to bona fide vintage – at a very small fraction of the admission cost.
The bridge position Carondelet OTB Ultimate reads 8.2k DCR and the neck position 7.0k DCR. Both positions feature rough-cast Alnico V magnets; historically accurate coil wire, plastics and metallurgy; two-conductor braided shield leads; and are unpotted like original PAFs.
They come with period correct American-made raw German nickel silver covers, with the option of a “standard” modern cover with an etched Carondelet logo, or a sans-logo vintage correct “grail” cover, created from a 3D scan of an actual 1959 Gibson PAF.
Additional options include vintage (long) baseplate legs for Gibson and G-style guitars; or modern (short) baseplate legs for Fender and F-style guitars.
Bridge: Alnico 5, 8.2K DCR, 6.158h, unpotted, raw nickel cover, two-conductor
Neck: Alnico 5, 7.0K DCR, 4.829h, unpotted, raw nickel cover, two-conductor
COVERS ... VERY IMPORTANT: All Carondelet OTB Ultimates are housed inside metal covers. They greatly affect the mechanical resonance critical to their tone and touch response. The covers encase unpotted, loosely wound and externally taped pickup coils. The design is more vulnerable to the rigors of human and environmental interaction, compared to modern uncovered pickups. OTB Ultimates' covers are attached by exterior solder joints PLUS an internal high-tack industrial grade adhesive. The covers are NEVER to be removed. Removing the cover WILL damage the internal assembly and WILL KILL the pickup! Carondelet emphasizes ... DO NOT remove the factory humbucker cover for ANY reason. You will VOID your warranty!
BASEPLATE LEGS: We recommend long (vintage) baseplate legs for all Gibson, Gibson-style and vintage/traditional depth and spec H routs/cavities. We recommend short baseplate legs for modern guitars and guitars with shallow H routs.
DELIVERY TIMES: Carondelet pickups are wound and assembled by hand, one at a time. Due to speed limitations in the hand-crafted process and overall demand, lead times for Carondelet pickups typically range from four to six weeks.
