Have You Heard Of Castle Pickups?

[Brazilnut]

I bought a set of Castle pickups from a Forum member a number of years ago. They were pretty old then--Castle was probably out of business 15 years ago, and these pickups just LOOKED old. The bobbins sag away from each other and the leads have been spliced more than once. The labels are unreadable...you get the idea. I think I put them in a guitar, and then sold the guitar but kept the pickups.

Anyway, today I put them in a 2021 SG Standard, which comes stock with 490s. I replaced the PCB with one of @Roxie13's impeccable wiring harnesses, this one with matched 450K pots, and soldered in the Castles.

The tone was, to put it mildly, an improvement. Any hand wound pickup is going to be better than factory, that's a given. But in this case, the difference was glaring. My silly little 6-lb SG is now a tone monster. The neck pickup is wide and deep and clear, and the bridge...! It's just immense!

So who was Castle Pickups, and where do I find more of them? That's what I want to know.

 

[smk506]

I’ve not heard of them, but I find whatever phenomenon that allows for a particularly good set of pickups to exist to be kind of fascinating.

I have a set of p90’s that came in a used mij Les Paul that are mind blowing. Very hollow and woody, they’re really special imo. I think they’re Duncans

Sometimes I think it’s attributable to just having the perfect setup for that particular guitar, sometimes I believe in magic pickups.

 

[Mr French]

Name rings a bell.

 

[Nick-O]

i've been so curious if anyone else had these pickups!

I bought a set neck ibanez les paul on tgp....really loved most everything about it.

it had zebra castle humbuggies in it.

i got in a bind and sold it to a beloved member here.

i soon got sellers remorse and had to have it back. its name was irma....

well, he sold it to another dude in CA....who stripped it of all the good parts.

i tried to negotiate a deal, but it had 57s in it, other tuners etc and was twice what i bought it for....so no deal was made.

but those pickups were exceptional....miss them.

don't sell them Bruce!!!

 

[Brazilnut]

I’ve not heard of them, but I find whatever phenomenon that allows for a particularly good set of pickups to exist to be kind of fascinating.

I have a set of p90’s that came in a used mij Les Paul that are mind blowing. Very hollow and woody, they’re really special imo. I think they’re Duncans

Sometimes I think it’s attributable to just having the perfect setup for that particular guitar, sometimes I believe in magic pickups.

Yeah, well, I did do a lot to that guitar, including tuners and hardware too, but those pickups are really special, I think.

 

[Brazilnut]

don't sell them Bruce!!!

I won't, Nick. I mean, they've been mouldering in a parts drawer fo 5 years. I must have known back then they were special., or I wouldn't have kept them.
I'm so sorry you lost Irma. Especially if she had a set of Castles in her!
At least now I know they were a thing once back in the day. Mine are zebra also.