Schaller pickups

[carfish7]

Shocked and amazed by the "just right" sound I'm getting from an old Peavey Nitro that sports a pretty hot Schaller hummer, I ask myself what wisdom the HFC brain trust might have regarding these units? I know I have been seeing them for decades now, and even had a few in some 80's Schecter guitars (where they sounded mostly like ass to my ears - ice-pick city in PT's and a Genesis), so tell me what the story is with these things. Didn't Heritage use them as OEM for a spell? Are there better era's or certain models that are mo'betta? It sure seems that one can find them super cheap on occasion.......

I suppose I could have just lucked out and found a stellar guitar making up for an average pickup, but this overwound beast just does it for me so I'm curious to try out other offerings from this line unless someone schools me away from them.

What say you experts - Schaller pickups as a whole good, bad, or just "meh"?

[FrankieIII]

I believe Schaller's pickups' biggest claim to at least early fame was the use of their pickups by Kramer from 1981 until sometime in 1985:

http://www.vintagekramer.com/parts9.htm

[gorch]

German traditional builder Hoyer have been using them in their stock guitars for quite a while. I had a pair of them in a Hoyer Bo Diddley prototype that made the base for my RS Bo Diddley design. The Schallers have been pretty good. I really liked them.

[edgar_allan_poe]

I had them in a Heritage 575 and they were fantastic in that guitar. Highly underrated pickups IMHO.

[tbonesullivan]

I have a pair in my Heritage H-535, the Golden 50s. No complaints here. They were OEM pickups for Heritage for close to 2 decades. The vaunted HRW pickups that heritage used to make were modified Schaller golden 50s. Their single coils were nice too, and the poles were HUGE.

[crunchee]

I once had a couple of Gretsch BST1000's from '79. both had Schaller HB pickups, chrome covers, unpotted, with a brass-colored bottom plate similar to old Dimarzios. They were OK but nothing to write home about. Schaller coulda had more (maybe many more) than one type of HB pickup, hard to say as all the ones in the Gretsch had on the bottom plates was 'Schaller'.

[formula73]

I had a few in old Kramers and have played a few in the 80s Heritages and found them 'meh'. I see people, now and then, looking for them desperately. I think most of the attraction is due to the supply having dwindled to near-zero.

[murkat]

I believe Schaller's pickups' biggest claim to at least early fame was the use of their pickups by Kramer from 1981 until sometime in 1985:

http://www.vintagekramer.com/parts9.htm

this.

Working at American Music in fremont area (Seattle, Wa.)

They picked up the Kramer line.

Thou I did not care for the modified Baretta, striker strat look,

The USA made Stagemasters and Focus's sounded exceptional.

I finally cracked one open to find the schaller pups.

Been impressed by those "tones" since.

and would not minding putting a Stagemaster in the stable