$600 for a set of Barden Tele Pickups...

[Lewguitar]

I thought I might win a set on Ebay for $400 or so, so I typed in what I thought was a reasonable maximum bid of $500...never thinking they'd go for that much.

In the last minute of the auction they went all the way up to $600!

Holy Moly!

Lew

[ratherdashing]

For $600 they'd better make me sound like God on a good day.

[the guy who invented fire]

Bardens are amazing pickups and the truth is that $600 is a good price!

[PUCKBOY99]

NUTS!!!

[gripweed]

Apparently GFS makes a Barden style pickup that is supposed to be decent. I think they're called Little Killers?

[jeremy]

a friend of mine got $700 for the pair. they arent that good.

[Butch Snyder]

a friend of mine got $700 for the pair. they arent that good.

+1...

There too hi-fi for me. Plus they show all your mistakes - like I need that....

[gripweed]

+1...

There too hi-fi for me. Plus they show all your mistakes - like I need that....

Come on Butch, you don't need to be so modest. You have a hell of a lot of talent!

[gripweed]

a friend of mine got $700 for the pair. they arent that good.

IMHO, there is no set of pickups that is that good. I can get a great sound using Duncans for far less. Not that there aren't other more expensive pickups that I like. Just not 6-7 hundreds worth.

[Butch Snyder]

IMHO, there is no set of pickups that is that good. I can get a great sound using Duncans for far less. Not that there aren't other more expensive pickups that I like. Just not 6-7 hundreds worth.

Agreed....

[Bludave]

a friend of mine got $700 for the pair. they arent that good.

Yeah... I agree I have played many guitars wired with them and quite honestly I found them to be way to bright. I would never put them in my guitar.

Ebay has a funny way of making everything sell for more than it should. I watch a lot of autions and almost all the items that I watched sold for aobout 20% more then what they should have. I guess people get into a bidding frenzy in the last few minutes.

[Luke Duke]

Well Mike's (Mike Rocker) Barden equipped Tele sounded fantastic at UGD.

Luke

[MikeRocker]

Well Mike's (Mike Rocker) Barden equipped Tele sounded fantastic at UGD.

Luke

Thank you! When I was building that guitar I couldn't find any, and I kept calling around all over the place and finally found some at Elderly Instruments (one of my all-time favorite stores). I think they had 2 sets left - I should've bought them both!!! I think I got some of the last available. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to tone, but I really love the Bardens, they sound great. They really do sound Tele-like. I would love to get another set, but I wouldn't pay $600 for them. I'm afraid to take the guitar in for any work if it ever needs it, for fear that the pickups will disappear!

[teleblooz]

Much like Gibsons PAF, when something is not made any longer, legend reaches mythical proportions and prices skyrocket. Are original PAFS worth what they go for? I guess they are worth what someone will pay for them.

Make no mistake, Bardens are good pickups ( although I have no experience with Bardens, several buds who have had them state they are very delicate, can break easily and are near impossible to repair...even by joe himself ) and for the right player, the extra bit needed to complete the tone factor. I have a Kirchin/Redd CD and it's cool to hear the differences in their teles.

Are they for me? No. Would I pay that much for a set of pups? No. But I have no problems with others who do. As a player, you do what you have to to get the tone you want.

[zionstrat]

My handle could just have well been Bardenstrat- I love Zions, but it's the match with Bardens that make them magical-

With enough pup theory, it seems that anyone should be able to duplicate the Barden sound but no one that I've tried is even close- Dmzo crusier and cool rails have some of the mojo, but they just dont come close to the Bardens-

My zion now lives exclusivesly in the house because I couldn't replace these pups and I've apromiated their sound to the degree that I can get most of my sounds live and in the studio. But it's not easy.

If any manufacturer, and I mean, any, puts out a Bardenish pup, I will be the first to try out a set (hint hint)- If you play a strat or a tele and want classic sounds as well as modern and moderately high gain, you're almost gauranteed to love these pups-

Agreed $600 is too much, but that's the point..they are very, very good and there's nothing very similar out there-

[gripweed]

My handle could just have well been Bardenstrat- I love Zions, but it's the match with Bardens that make them magical-

With enough pup theory, it seems that anyone should be able to duplicate the Barden sound but no one that I've tried is even close- Dmzo crusier and cool rails have some of the mojo, but they just dont come close to the Bardens-

My zion now lives exclusivesly in the house because I couldn't replace these pups and I've apromiated their sound to the degree that I can get most of my sounds live and in the studio. But it's not easy.

If any manufacturer, and I mean, any, puts out a Bardenish pup, I will be the first to try out a set (hint hint)- If you play a strat or a tele and want classic sounds as well as modern and moderately high gain, you're almost gauranteed to love these pups-

Agreed $600 is too much, but that's the point..they are very, very good and there's nothing very similar out there-

Have you tried the GFS pickups?

[BlueGuitar]

I thought I might win a set on Ebay for $400 or so, so I typed in what I thought was a reasonable maximum bid of $500...never thinking they'd go for that much.

In the last minute of the auction they went all the way up to $600!

Seems to me that we need a computer virus that will attack EVERYBODY ELSE who goes to that auction page... their computer will crash so they can't outbid you at the last moment!

Just kidding, of course.

P.S. I heard them in a friend's Tele and would sure like to have a set in one of my teles...

[gripweed]

Seems to me that we need a computer virus that will attack EVERYBODY ELSE who goes to that auction page... their computer will crash so they can't outbid you at the last moment!

Just kidding, of course.

P.S. I heard them in a friend's Tele and would sure like to have a set in one of my teles...

I've never heard Bardens, at least not that I'm aware of. What is so special about them?

[the guy who invented fire]

I've never heard Bardens, at least not that I'm aware of. What is so special about them?

Bardens are hard to explain and they are NOT for everynody...listen to some Danny Gatton and you'll get the idea...simply amazing sounding pickups but again, not for everybody

[Lewguitar]

Bardens are hard to explain and they are NOT for everynody...listen to some Danny Gatton and you'll get the idea...simply amazing sounding pickups but again, not for everybody

I played Bill Kirchen's old Tele with Bardens at NAMM and I was blown away by the tone. I've never heard a better sounding Tele. Bill has a handmade bridge plate that's milled from a solid piece of steel instead of stamped from thin steel like all other Teles, and I'm sure that contributed to the strong, solid, deep tone. Also, Bill uses a Talos amp, and the Talos that I played through was a great super-natural sounding amp. But, IMO, the Barden pickups are among the very, very finest Tele pickups I've ever played. The tone is very throaty and full and not thin and ice picky...although every note rings clear as a bell if that's what cha play into them. By the same token, they get a very ballsy tone when you dig in and shape the note with your picking attack. I've never heard a better pickup for my style of playing. Lew