Rio Grande Surmaster pickups

[mosman]

I'm wondering if anyone has tried a Rio Grande Surfmaster pickup?
They reckon thay are a beefier sounding Mosrite replacement and I'd like to know what they're like as I might put one in one of my ex 65's.
Bill.

[MWaldorf]

Interesting. I've never heard of them before, though Rio Grande generally has a good reputation. For that price though, I'd go for a set of hand wound pickups from our own Ed Elliot. I've got them in my Partsrite and they really nail the vintage Mosrite tone.

[oipunkguy]

also seymour duncan makes replace mosrite pickups now, and you can get them custom made if you want. I have a rio grande babybucker in my johnny ramone mosrite, and that pickup is high quality and the tone KILLS!!!! but dealing with the customer service at rio grande is like pulling teeth....at least it was about 2 years ago, hopefully they've made improvements.
if I remember right the rio grande surfmaster was a beefed up version of the old 65 pickups

[mosman]

Well I had a Surfmaster put in one of my Ex 65's and it sure has more grunt when compared to my other 65. Now I'm wondering what the Seymour Duncan sounds like.

[Scotstandard]

My store is a rio grande dealer, we have never had any trouble with them at all. The same guy answering the phone is the same guy winding pickups. I own a few diffrent models. My favs are the Fat Bastards p90's spaced for a humbucker, turns any humbucking guitar into kinda mosrite zone. cool suff made in USA.
I havent heard the surfmaster but would like to.

[mosman]

Well I tried out my Ex 65 with the Surfmaster at band practice and I was a tad disappointed to say the least. I was after a pickup that would give me a big humbucking sound-or as close as possible-but without putting the guitar through too much structural trauma. Unfortunately it didn't do the job and as well as that it produced the most horrendous squealing and feedback to the point where my bass player and drummer were ready to toss me and the guitar out the studio door.
So anyways my hopes of playing a Mosrite guitar with a humbucker sound on stage seem doomed at the moment and next time I read a company's literature regarding their products I won't be so easily sucked in.
I dunno how Johnny Ramone did it with his gear.
Bill.
http://www.myspace.com/rocks1977
http://www.myspace.com/kamikazekits

[oipunkguy]

easy, johnny never stopped playing to have the guitar squeal!!! but he did use a Morley ABY box, with one side unplugged to turn off his sound.
the surfmaster pickup might not be wax potted, check that. if I was you, I'd just get some repro mosrite humbuckers from Tym Guitars, he's in freakin' Australia!

[bluther]

I"ve never used Surfmasters by Rio Grande but I did use the Rio Grande TEXAS and BBQ pups in a guitar I built about a year ago. They split nicely into single coil mode. Very versatile pups.