Z Clones?

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that set has been on YJ off & on for a while now

with all the fees, shipping costs, and potential for duties at the country of destination, I doubt those will ever sell at that price ................

never say never ..............
 
Yes they are on Yahoo Japan since a long time.

But from what I have see Dry Z reach easily 60000 yens.
But theses dont have cover and are far to be mint then for this price...

Not to long ago I have show a Super Real Reissue with DRY 2.

I don't know but it may be the nearest pickups from Dry Z...
 
claudel said:
are there any "boutique" winders who have gotten close / nailed the Z vibe at a better price point?

Find a set of Ibanez Super 58 at a good price. The p/ups may have 3-point adjustment. I believe there are converters sold for 3-point to 2-point, or vice-versa.

Failing the Super 58's, find a pair of Dry-82's, and swap magnets for Alnico-2 or Alnico-3, or a slightly degaussed Alnico-5.

Or, just buy a really good set of "boutique" p/ups in the first place. There are quite a few excellent pickup makers on both sides of the Atlantic.
 
Mick51 said:
claudel said:
are there any "boutique" winders who have gotten close / nailed the Z vibe at a better price point?


Or, just buy a really good set of "boutique" p/ups in the first place. There are quite a few excellent pickup makers on both sides of the Atlantic.

That's pretty much the plan.

I'm just wondering if there's any winders that have tried to duplicate the Zs...

I have a some nice wood that needs a nice set of 'buckers.
 
are there any "boutique" winders who have gotten close / nailed the Z vibe at a better price point?
Funny you should say that try here
http://www.rdpickups.com/pickups.html

VR-P1 Alnico 2 7.6k bridge 7.4k neck
Initially based on the fabled Greco/Maxon DRY-Z pickups, produced for only a couple of years and found only in their premium guitars, our VR-P1 has a character and quality to rival the best vintage or current production boutique pickups.

Our VR-P1?s are very dynamic touch sensitive pickup, they respond very well to finger picking, with a range from smooth jazz tones in the neck position to an almost strat like clean bridge with the volume rolled back, but which can also deliver roaring classic rock tone. The neck position oozes those woody tones on the bass strings while retaining a nice balance with a sweet treble.
I have a set and they are bloody amazing
 
DryZ are hyped.
They're not very near the original.
The only thing feeding the hype is that 99.9% haven't got a real 57-60 LP to compare.

Hyped but of course not bad pickups.
Though, there are plenty of pickups that are as good for less money.

In my non-humble opinion :D
 
Koubayashi said:
DryZ are hyped.
They're not very near the original.
The only thing feeding the hype is that 99.9% haven't got a real 57-60 LP to compare.

Have you compared them side by side to the real thing? I had a real '57 Custom black beauty with 3 PAF's a little while back..The DRY Z's are certainly in the same ballpark..As many of you know, the real PAF's from back in the day were hit and miss..Not all were "magical"..
 
There are so many great boutique pickups available today that you're probably better off getting a set wound. For a low-wound PAF tone and at the price Dry Zs are commanding, I'd be more tempted to get a set of early-80s Gibson Shaw pickups or even some late 70s T-Tops (usually around $100 each).
 
Koubayashi said:
DryZ are hyped.
They're not very near the original.
The only thing feeding the hype is that 99.9% haven't got a real 57-60 LP to compare.

Hyped but of course not bad pickups.
Though, there are plenty of pickups that are as good for less money.

In my non-humble opinion :D

dry-z are crap, please sell me all you have ..
 
villager said:
Koubayashi said:
DryZ are hyped.
They're not very near the original.
The only thing feeding the hype is that 99.9% haven't got a real 57-60 LP to compare.

Hyped but of course not bad pickups.
Though, there are plenty of pickups that are as good for less money.

In my non-humble opinion :D

I'll wait til they are 2000?/pair :wink:
However, if they are crap....I guess you don't wanna pay more than 10?/pair :D
 
villager said:
seriously, I have tried all the boutique guys and only a few come close..

but it depends so much on the guitar...
You should really try the RDs mark they are really impressive
 
barburny said:
are there any "boutique" winders who have gotten close / nailed the Z vibe at a better price point?
Funny you should say that try here
http://www.rdpickups.com/pickups.html

VR-P1 Alnico 2 7.6k bridge 7.4k neck
Initially based on the fabled Greco/Maxon DRY-Z pickups, produced for only a couple of years and found only in their premium guitars, our VR-P1 has a character and quality to rival the best vintage or current production boutique pickups.

Our VR-P1?s are very dynamic touch sensitive pickup, they respond very well to finger picking, with a range from smooth jazz tones in the neck position to an almost strat like clean bridge with the volume rolled back, but which can also deliver roaring classic rock tone. The neck position oozes those woody tones on the bass strings while retaining a nice balance with a sweet treble.
I have a set and they are bloody amazing

Great news.

Of course, I read this after I ordered a set of pickups from elsewhere... :roll:


Glad someone is going for it, though.
 
villager said:
seriously, I have tried all the boutique guys and only a few come close..

but it depends so much on the guitar...

The wood is by far the most important part of the guitar.
****** wood and it sounds crap no matter the pickups.
In general the Japanese have good wood. In my experience, there is a greater risk to get a LP made from bad wood if you pick a random Gibson made after 1960 (especially after 1975 or so).
 
I have two set s of DRY Z pups; one set in a 1981 Greco MSV-850 & the other set in a Bacchus BLS-59

IMO the DRY Z works best in the neck position in both guitars; best sounding 'bucker for the neck position :D
 
I could see that, especially if they were in the mid 7k range... T-Tops have a similar vibe and sound wonderfully clear in the neck. I personally like a bridge pickup to be 8k+ or close to it, but I have seen some Dry Zs that were this hot.
 
I?m thinking about ordering a VR-P1 set from RD pickups:

VR-P1
Alnico 2 7.6k bridge 7.4k neck
Initially based on the fabled Greco/Maxon DRY-Z pickups, produced for only a couple of years and found only in their premium guitars, our VR-P1 has a character and quality to rival the best vintage or current production boutique pickups.

Our VR-P1?s are very dynamic touch sensitive pickup, they respond very well to finger picking, with a range from smooth jazz tones in the neck position to an almost strat like clean bridge with the volume rolled back, but which can also deliver roaring classic rock tone. The neck position oozes those woody tones on the bass strings while retaining a nice balance with a sweet treble.


I?ve never heard the Dry Z?s IRL but to those of you that has, would it be wise to go for a slightly hotter/fatter/warmer bridge pickup?

I?m in no way looking for a "hot" PU I just don?t want it to be to bright and on the thin side.
 
barburny said:
I have a set and they are bloody amazing

Just saw your post.
Are you happy with the bridge pickup, or would you have wanted it to be slightly hotter/warmer/fatter/darker?
 
Interesting thread, funny that you can now buy a UK made replica of a 30 year old japanese pickup that's a replica of a 50 year old USA pickup, but at the introductory price they've got to be worth a pop!

Might be nice to get some more details on the specs, wire gauge, spacer material etc to see just how close they realy are.
 

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