Kent Armstrong toaster?

[ilan]

This is news to me. What do we know about it? Looks like a toaster from above, and a Hi-Gain from underneath.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=22670&item=7319327672&rd=1

[jps]

Oh oh!

[rickcrazy]

Is that a Kent Armstrong pickup? I don't think so. Is the label on the right original to the pickup? I truly don't believe so either.
To me the above pickup is merely a Japanese- (or Korean-, according to the label on the left) made replica of a Rickenbacker 'toaster' pickup.

[jnbass]

direct from Mr Pickup!

[grayk]

There is definitely something fishy there Sergio. Could those stickers be off the Silvertone Rockit - SRK1 ? It would seem a bit strange that this pickup has the same code. The Silvertone guitar has humbuckers. Its my guess Kent Armstrong supplies Silvertone with those pickups and someone has taken the stickers off and put them on this toaster. Only my opinion of course. I have also previously purchased 2 KA Sky range pickups and found them to be very cheap but very poor. A P-bass and MM Stingray, that both got taken out more or less as soon as they got put in.

[doctorwho]

Wait, I think I hear a frog ... rivet, rivet ...

[rickcrazy]

Well, I've seen many 'toaster' copies, and that one is definitely a copy. Not many months back Ted Staberow sent me a copy toaster that looked exactly like that

[espidog]

I'm a bit late coming to this thread, but...

Kent Armstrong has applied his 'brand' to a range of far-eastern made pickups that retail at low-mid prices. I'm pretty sure the one in that picture is one of these. The marketing blurb on these products claims that they are 'designed by Kent Armstrong', and to be honest, I have no reason to doubt this. I don't think Mr. A would allow his prestigious reputation to be screwed up by lending his name to anything he wasn't happy with, quality-wise. Furthermore, a couple of my fellow bass players have bought examples of these mass-produced KA products and have been very happy with their performance.

They're available from WD Music:

http://www.wdmusic.com/kent_armstrong_p ... 68_ctg.htm (USA)
http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/search/?manufa ... +Armstrong (UK)

I'm actually quite interested in buying one of the Toaster types to try out in my 4003. They're only £40 in the UK, and IMHO, at that price it's an experiment worth trying!

[ilan]

That's almost $80. For $150 you can get a real RIC part (Mike Parks has 3 in stock).

[espidog]

Not in the UK. Rick Toasters are £150 ($300) over here, and if I bought one direct from the USA, I'd end up paying a small fortune in import duties.

[ozover50]

It's been ripped!

[espidog]

It's been ripped!

Er...sorry mate, what are you referring to?

[ozover50]

The ebay posting, Ken....... removed, gone, extracted, deleted........ it's an "ex-item". No doubt the RIC legal team at work...... and probably rightly so as no doubt in infringes in one way or another.

Interesting that anyone would put out a toaster copy pickup..... I wouldn't have thought there would be sufficient market.

[espidog]

No mate, this thread dates from 2005. The eBay listing just finished ages ago!

[ozover50]

Oops, mate!! Pays to pay attention, doesn't it? I reckon 3 years must be a forum record for thread resurrection!!