T-Bird pups by Mike Lull

TBird1958 · February 06, 2009, 10:22:13 AM

Hey Guys,

I meant to post this yesterday but a trip to the dentist distracted me

They aren't cheap............but then again its T-Bird parts.

http://www.mikelull.com/Test_web/store_new/store_home.htm

godofthunder · February 06, 2009, 11:17:16 AM

Wow ! A litle more than I thought but I'm sure buying !

Dave W · February 06, 2009, 11:58:40 AM

Disclaimer: I'm not a T-bird guy and I have no idea what originals sell for.

It's $289 for a small shop, US-made custom pickup with chrome cover, made to the same specs as the originals. Expensive, no doubt about that. But considering what it is, that price doesn't seem unusually high. If it sounds like the originals it will probably be a success.

Barklessdog · February 06, 2009, 12:31:43 PM

That price puts it out of reach for a lot of people.

godofthunder · February 06, 2009, 12:39:27 PM

No complaints here just more than the # that had been tossed around.

TBird1958 · February 06, 2009, 12:42:48 PM

But.....
What would (if it actually exsisted!) an N.O.S. '64 pup and ring go for on Ebay or some dealers shelf?
The last pup I bought was for my green '76, it was N.O.S. I binned it for $300.00 an was feeling glad to have it.

drbassman · February 06, 2009, 12:52:28 PM

Not a bad price when you get it all finished and sent to you in one package. small jobs like this are always gonna be more than the mass produced stuff that rolls out of Seymour Duncan every day. It's just a fact of life in the manufacturing world. High volume items create low price opportunities.

Barklessdog · February 06, 2009, 01:58:33 PM

Quote from: TBird1958 on February 06, 2009, 12:42:48 PM
But.....
What would (if it actually existed!) an N.O.S. '64 pup and ring go for on Ebay or some dealers shelf?
The last pup I bought was for my green '76, it was N.O.S. I binned it for $300.00 an was feeling glad to have it.

I could not agree more, but I thought $150 was a lot for a pickup. I could never justify that to my wife (son in college)

I would rather buy a Lull bird and be done with it. In Sea Foam Green of coarse.

If he took the tool to the orient he could probably make them for a third of the coast here. He bet he could sell double the amount at $120 -$150 each.

drbassman · February 06, 2009, 02:08:10 PM

Quote from: Barklessdog on February 06, 2009, 01:58:33 PM
I could not agree more, but I thought $150 was a lot for a pickup. I could never justify that to my wife (son in college)

I would rather buy a Lull bird and be done with it. In Sea Foam Green of coarse.

If he took the tool to the orient he could probably make them for a third of the coast here. He bet he could sell double the amount at $120 -$150 each.

You tell your wife what you spend for pickups? Are you nuts???

I also agree that he could mass produce them overseas much cheaper, but I'm still not sure how big the market might be in the end. How TB freaks are there beside us?

TBird1958 · February 06, 2009, 02:17:59 PM

Bill,

You hit the nail on the head..............Its a very small market that doesn't justify sending it overseas, aside from that Mike had his builder basically sign an agreement that these pups were *his* and that they weren't to be sold to anyone else.

uwe · February 06, 2009, 02:28:59 PM

Boutique price for boutique product. I didn't expect them to be cheaper really.

Barklessdog · February 06, 2009, 02:59:18 PM

It just takes them out of the "project bass" thing. It would be hard to justify or recoup your money by adding them to a $400- $600 bass in my opinion.

Yes, its great he is making them, but like The Crown Jewels, wonderful to look at, but out of reach for the commoner.

Nocturnal · February 06, 2009, 05:12:06 PM

Well the new EVH humbucker is going to cost $500 each, so this seems like a bargin! I was told that it's a long process to reproduce his original humbucker, plus he's signing them so thats why they will cost so much. I think these T-bird pickups may be just as hard to create so the price (while high) isn't bad for a boutique pickup. What did it cost for the custom pickups from Duncan? It was around this wasn't it?

lowend1 · February 06, 2009, 06:57:32 PM

Quote from: Nokturnal on February 06, 2009, 05:12:06 PM
Well the new EVH humbucker is going to cost $500 each, so this seems like a bargin! I was told that it's a long process to reproduce his original humbucker, plus he's signing them so thats why they will cost so muc

Methinks Ed is becoming a victim of his own hype. Used to be that he built his guitars out of spare parts - now he's a cork sniffer. Every time he signs with somebody new he swears that they are the only ones who could do it properly.

Lightyear · February 06, 2009, 08:40:46 PM

Quote from: drbassman on February 06, 2009, 02:08:10 PM
You tell your wife what you spend for pickups? Are you nuts???

But she is the keeper of the funds! SWMBO! Actually if I told her right now I was ordering one, or two, she wouldn't blink - she would tell me order away. Of course she would then tell me to call the Fraulien and order that $1800.00 chandelier she wants

AND once the chandlier was up she then would tell me we need the a new dining room suite - $3000.00 so you see $600 worth of shiny goodness would cost me $5400.00!! I make a sacrifice and so does she