Faber pickups vs Mark 2's

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70 views and no opinions, unusual. Maybe I am asking the wrong question?

I have a Korean Love Rock, my first electric guitar. I recently became the proud owner of a Tokai ES 135 and naturally it knocks the socks off of my Love Rock. However I like my Love Rock and it has sentimental value to me. So I thought I might try to improve it by upgrading the pickups. While browsing Ebay I came across the Tokai Mark II pickups, after a query on this forum I decided I would bid on them. However that is not necessarily a guarantee that I will win the auction, so I continued browsing Ebay and came across the Faber pickups.

I did attempt some research of my own on these before coming to the forum to ask my question. however there is scant info on the web. It appears that Faber are well respected for the guitar hardware they manufacture but I have not been able to find any reviews of their pickups. As the pickups were taken from a brand new Tokai and Faber, from what I can gather are owned by the German Tokai Dealer, I hoped someone on the forum might be able to share an opinion on the quality of the pickups.

I would really appreciate any info you may have.

Thanks

Les
 
I don't have an opinion on the Fabers, but have a suggestion . . . if you want to make a significant difference to your Korean Love Rock, I suggest you look on the Bay for some used Gibson Burstbuckers or S. Duncan PAFs, yes they will more like a ?100ish (I bought a pair recently of BBs 1+2 for that) BUT if they turn out to be not to your taste, you can sell them on easily for similar money - they hold their value. The trouble with lesser known brands is, if you get it wrong, they are much harder to resell (I'm not suggesting one make is better than another - that's for an individual to decide). Whatever you do, keep the original p/ups for the guitar and should you sell in the future you can always swap them back. I have Tokai PAFs, Goto PAFs, Dimarzios, Gibson and SD pickups on various Tokais - they all have their own characteristics (no point in having a bunch of guitars that all sound the same IMO).
 
The MK II's are great pickups and should make a big difference to the Love Rock. IMO a Korean LR is not worth spending a fortune on, but the MK II's can be picked up very cheaply. I prefer them over Burstbuckers or most Duncans.

I know nothing about Faber pickups, sorry ;)
 
Guys, thanks for the replys. They all make sense. I understand the principle of buying the better known make for a good resale price if I decide I don't like them. I also agree that it is not necessarily worth while paying out a fortune to upgrade my Korean Love Rock. This also appeals to my intrinsic Sottish nature. :lol:

So here's hoping I win the auction.

Les
 
Without question, go for Toneriders.... very affordable and some of the best sounding aftermarket pickups around:

I prefer the Alnico IV over the II's:

http://www.tonerider.com/


Just loaded some Pure Vintage single coils into one of my Springy's. Did a side by side comparison to my other Springy with E's in it and they are almost dead on in terms of output. Truth be told, the Tonerider neck and bridge sound better than the E's.... middle pickup is about the same.

I'm ordering a set of Surfari's to replace the Van Zandt Blues pickups I have in my Fender Japan hardtail.....
 
I have heard a lot of good things about the Toneriders and they are a very good price. The only thing is that I'm not sure which of their humbuckers I would choose, not having had a chance to listen to them "in person". While, I have mark II's in my Es 135 and I know they sound great. I also realise they will sound differently in my solid body Love Rock but at least I have an idea of where they are coming from.

Food for thought though, thanks.
 
Without question, go for Toneriders.... very affordable and some of the best sounding aftermarket pickups around:
+1 on the Toneriders. I have a set of AC2's and like them. I've yet to try a set of IV's. These pickups are highly respected and will definately be an upgrade to your MIK Loverock without breaking the bank.
 
rayspang said:
Without question, go for Toneriders.... very affordable and some of the best sounding aftermarket pickups around:
+1 on the Toneriders. I have a set of AC2's and like them. I've yet to try a set of IV's. These pickups are highly respected and will definately be an upgrade to your MIK Loverock without breaking the bank.

Might have to try the II's as well.... similar to Seth Lovers but the Toneriders are wax potted.... which is a big advantage.
 
+2 on Toneriders. I got a pair of Rebel 90's and put them in my guinea pig Washburn Idol. They sound awesome, although I had to file down the mounts a little to fit them into the guitar. A little too wide and a little too square. That's the beauty though - I'd never dream of taking a file to a $300 pickup for the first time. Affordable and sound great.

Jason
 
best sounding i've tried is gibson 498t bridge 490r neck, when it comes to humbuckers.
sd pearly gates not bad, but the worst by far was the burstbuckers, but they were only in a gibson les paul :lol:
 
Ah, this is more like it. - loads of opinions on pickups. I might never be able to make a choice now. :wink:

BTW, while I was trying to find out about the Fabers an old thread came up in the search on this forum where Marcusnieman linked to a clip of Otis Spann with Peter Green - just wanted to say thanks, I had not come across Otis Spann before, and that was a killer track. I checked out the album as a result.
 
JohnA said:
Lesblues said:
JohnA said:
Yiou do realise those mkII's on ebay are gold don't you?

Yes, Thought I might just put up with them, as the price should be quite good.

You could always take the covers off of they look a bit odd

I wondered about that and possibly swapping them for the chrome ones on my existing pups but Paladin2019 suggested, on another thread,

"They will fit, but replacing the covers and screws is a challenging job because you shouldbe wax potting them. From what you say I don't think you're up to that kind of work yet."
 
Lesblues said:
JohnA said:
Lesblues said:
JohnA said:
Yiou do realise those mkII's on ebay are gold don't you?

Yes, Thought I might just put up with them, as the price should be quite good.

You could always take the covers off of they look a bit odd

I wondered about that and possibly swapping them for the chrome ones on my existing pups but Paladin2019 suggested, on another thread,

"They will fit, but replacing the covers and screws is a challenging job because you shouldbe wax potting them. From what you say I don't think you're up to that kind of work yet."

If MK II's ARE potted, which I actually have doubts, they must be potted before the covers are installed, I've removed the covers from some of mine with no trouble at all, just use a Stanley knife to carefully cut through the solder, and prise them off with your fingers.
 
JohnA said:
If MK II's ARE potted, which I actually have doubts, they must be potted before the covers are installed, I've removed the covers from some of mine with no trouble at all, just use a Stanley knife to carefully cut through the solder, and prise them off with your fingers.

Presumably I would either have to solder the chrome replacements on, or I could leave the mark ii's uncovered? Do I do something to the screwheads on top of the pickups?
 
Lesblues said:
JohnA said:
If MK II's ARE potted, which I actually have doubts, they must be potted before the covers are installed, I've removed the covers from some of mine with no trouble at all, just use a Stanley knife to carefully cut through the solder, and prise them off with your fingers.

Presumably I would either have to solder the chrome replacements on, or I could leave the mark ii's uncovered? Do I do something to the screwheads on top of the pickups?

Yes, you would need to solder the new covers on, it's an easy job though, don't let that put you off. The screwheads just poke through the holes in the cover, you don't need to do anything with them.
 

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