Aside from the fact their clients include David Gilmour, Radiohead, Pete Townshend and Pat Metheny, Cheltenham's Monty's Guitars make world-class pickups the rest of us can upgrade our guitars with. Founder Matt Gleeson and his talented team produce one of the greatest vintage-style PAF designs you can find anywhere and last year expanded the range with a special set inspired by Greeny. Now they've gone OverSpun and they might just have made the ultimate recipe to please players who don't want to go full vintage.
"We have been looking to release a set of PAFs that are at the hotter end of the vintage spectrum for a while," Matt tells us. "Most PAF stats fall into a fairly constant ballpark, some were a little hotter and some a little cooler, this was due to the less than accurate vintage build specifications of yesteryear.
You don’t just get more volume, there is an aggressive cut to these pickups that makes them really jump out in a mix
"Hotter PAFs are less common than an underwound PAF, and the hotter ones are often mid-heavy and lack clarity, but when a good one crops up it is a thing to cherish," explains Matt, who can deliver the consistency that vintage examples couldn't. "I have taken two individual pickups as inspiration, one from a ’58 burst and one from a ’59 355 that had all the PAF characteristics I love, the clarity and response but with added power.
"You don’t just get more volume, there is an aggressive cut to these pickups that makes them really jump out in a mix. With your volume knob you can run the gamut from really clear, crystalline tones to roaring, throat-ripping power. We are really excited to see what people think of them!"
Don't worry single-coil faithful, Matt hasn't forgotten you either. Far from it – he's drawing from the ultimate Strat player for the other OverSpun pickups in the lineup.
There is another side to Strats for this era that was highlighted by a gentleman named Jimi and defined on his Band of Gypsys live album
"I have always loved Strats from the late sixties, they have a different vibe from the same guitars a few years earlier," Matt says of the new OverSpun '69 Strat pickups. "Good ones have a glassiness to their tone which is simply incredible. Our ’69 Strat set has been out for a while and captures this perfectly.
"But there is another side to Strats for this era that was highlighted by a gentleman named Jimi and defined on his Band Of Gypsys live album. I have been working on a set for years that is inspired by this sound and feel it is time to unleash it on the unsuspecting guitar community"
New year – new tones. Monty's are delivering again. We're always floored by the choice and levels of quality from pickup makers out there and Matt's team are a shining example of just how specific you can tailor your favourite electric guitar now. The only problem is choosing…
Check out the new OverSpun sets and the full range of pickups, waiting looms, pedals and components at Monty's Guitars.
