What’s wrong with the ones already in my Burns / BMG Special?
So How Are Sovereigns Different?
That’s all great, but how do they sound?
No, really, how do they sound?
What’s wrong with the ones already in my Burns / BMG Special?
Most factory-produced Tri-Sonic pickups from the last 20 years or so, including the Burns Vintage Tri-Sonic and the BMG pickups in the Specials, are made using a plastic bobbin and a single piece magnet of slightly smaller dimensions than those of the 1960s.
They’ll also will be based on the standard specification of 6K – 7K DC resistance, and steel bases on all three pickups, all of which are simpler and cheaper for mass production.
Whilst in itself this is not ‘bad thing’ (as there are many more guitars that use Tri-Sonic pickups than the Red Special), because of the many modifications made by Brian May to the set of pickups he bought in the 1960s, it’s not always easy to get “that tone” from a set of modern factory-made Tri-Sonic style pickups.
And when you have a guitar that looks like the Red Special, surely you’ll want it to sound as close as you can to it?
So How Are Sovereigns Different?
Yonderbosk Sovereigns are hand-crafted using values of DC resistance and Inductance close to those in the original Red Special, with all their modifications.
From things like the cotton tape-wound air coils and thinner chromed brass covers, to the two-piece custom-made ceramic magnets of the same dimensions as those used in the 1960s, these pickups look to replicate the construction of the originals, as well as their electronic characteristics.
A special non-steel base is used on the neck pickup to replicate the much lower inductance of the original – Araldite filled – neck pickup, which is what gives that terrific tone when played out of phase with the middle pickup – Like in the first solo of Bohemian Rhapsody.
With all these features combined, it’s going to be easier to be able to plug in a Treble Booster, crank up the AC30 (Or digital equivalent) and replicate that signature tone associated to Dr Sir Brian May and Queen!
That’s all great, but how do they sound?
Well, if the testimonials from some of my previous customers are anything to go by, then pretty darn close to the originals….
“Yonderbosk Sovereigns enabled me to get my guitars much closer to the response of Brian’s”
– Thomas Brunkard
“Changed my Burns to them recently… Can’t speak highly enough of them”
– Colin D
“Yonderbosk pick ups sound absolutely outstanding (Out of Phase REALLY sings!)“
– Lee B
“These are things of beauty and a steal at the price considering the work that goes into them”
– Jason W
“You’ll be blown away by these”
– Lee B
“To say I’m impressed with these pickups is an understatement“
– Matt W
“Buy these, they’re f**king amazing!”
– Jim W
No, really, how do they sound?
Here’s some footage of Thomas Brunkard, who is ‘Brian May’ with the Queen tribute band ‘Qween’, demonstrating the capabilities of the Sovereign pickups through number of different settings, including a direct comparison with the stock pickups in a BMG Special;
And here is a recording of my own Red Special Relic (MkII) with Sovereign pickups, played at the 2022 UK Red Special Meetup, through a identical rig to that used by Brian May (Owned by Luke Timmins, guitarist with Supreme Queen) and into three cranked-up Vox AC30s, ably played by Merlin Thomi.
YONDERBOSK™ 