Pick ups in the UK?

bladeskink · #1 08-31-2006, 01:17 AM

Hi,

Does anyone know a decent website in the uk (or one in the states that ships cheaply) where I can get replacement pick ups at a reasonable price? Compared to the USA, we pay rediculous prices over here!

Thanks

Mark
www.theskinks.com
www.myspace.com/theskinksrock

**bassybill** · #2 08-31-2006, 01:42 AM

With the exchange rate at the moment, buying from the states is a good option. I just ordered a set of Nordies for $240, works out about £130 shipped, not bad IME. I would expect import/VAT on these to about £25 when they get here. Check out a few sites inclusing blueberryhillbass.com - the owner Jay is a regular on here and a nice guy to deal with. What sort are you after?

One UK alternative is Wizard pickups (manufacturer), haven't tried them but heard they're good - try a search for Wizard in this forum.

bladeskink · #3 08-31-2006, 02:39 AM

I'm after the seymour duncan P-Bass quarter pounders.

i_got_a_mohawk · #4 08-31-2006, 04:44 AM

Try:

www.bestbassgear.com

www.thomann.de

www.ebay.com

RichValentine · #5 08-31-2006, 05:32 AM

www.basspartsresource.com

Its fantastically cheap, only 6$ for international shipping and its damn speedy to. Also most of the time it avoids customs.

Rich.

bladeskink · #6 08-31-2006, 08:27 AM

Cheers, that really is a cheap site!

MAGUS® · #7 08-31-2006, 08:42 AM

I've had stuff from BPR, and they're on the ball. Good US company to deal with. and keen pricing

Pbassred · #8 08-31-2006, 03:19 PM

Importing from the USA to the UK is painful. Shipping, import duty, value added tax, the fee for handelling those taxes.

i_got_a_mohawk · #9 08-31-2006, 06:38 PM

Approx 4% import tax, taxed to shipping and item price
17.5% VAT, taxed to the shipping, the item AND the import tax
+ "Clearance Fee", which is usually under £5

It isnt that bad when its on smaller things like pickups, i got my DiMarzio DP126 set for About £25-£30 cheaper than they would have cost over here, and thats after all the gumph tax they add on.

Delberthot · #10 08-31-2006, 07:00 PM

I've lost count of the amount of stuff I've got from bass parts resource. Not very good if you order something by accident and try to cancel it - ie they still send it. Fortunately I've only managed to do this once. Great value for money.

Also check out thomann, vox humana webstore, soundland.de or our very own Bass Centre in London

**bassybill** · #11 09-01-2006, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pbassred

Importing from the USA to the UK is painful. Shipping, import duty, value added tax, the fee for handelling those taxes.

Not in my experience. Sure, you have to pay shipping, VAT, import duty or whatever - still managed to get some stuff at good prices in the past, and current exchange rate is very favourable.

wateroftyne · #12 09-01-2006, 03:10 AM

Bladeskink... IMO, look no further than Andy at Wizard pickups. He'll custom wind something for you for a very reasonable price. They have a lifetime guarantee, too.

It sounds like the Thumper might be the kind of think you're after? He'll give you plenty of advice, though. I can't recommend him enough.

Here's a review I did of my Wizard J pickups....

MAGUS® · #13 09-01-2006, 03:16 AM

VAT, Import, Handling fees from US to UK is not an exact science.

Customs only do random checks. The system would literally grind to a halt if they checked every parcel.

I've paid as much as £40 in fees for a bass guitar, and then bought another Bass some months later and paid zero.

Paid £8 fees on a set of Model J's, 3 weeks ago and then 1 week later paid zero fees for an SD Precision

Its down to luck a lot of the time

dave_bass5 · #14 09-01-2006, 03:38 AM

I use stringsdirect.co.uk for all my bits (if they stock them of course). great next day delivery and very helpfull
I dont know what you mean by cheap but SD are doing the SPB-3 for £70. i guess thats not really cheap but ive seen it for more, even on line

**bassybill** · #15 09-01-2006, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAGUS®

VAT, Import, Handling fees from US to UK is not an exact science.

Customs only do random checks. The system would literally grind to a halt if they checked every parcel.

I've paid as much as £40 in fees for a bass guitar, and then bought another Bass some months later and paid zero.

Paid £8 fees on a set of Model J's, 3 weeks ago and then 1 week later paid zero fees for an SD Precision

Its down to luck a lot of the time

Dropped lucky, just now, then- my NJ4SVs have just arrived (thanks, Jay). No duty, no VAT, nada. Whoopee!

bsc · #16 09-01-2006, 06:54 AM

bassybill,

sorry to go off on a tangent here, but recently i have been thinking about replacing the quarter pounders in my precision just for something to do. Anyhoo, im not entirely decided in which direction to go but have seen nordstrand get alot of positive vibes here.

Could you expand my understanding of them a bit? Are they best suited to a particular type of music, etc? THanks alot

**bassybill** · #17 09-01-2006, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsc

bassybill,

sorry to go off on a tangent here, but recently i have been thinking about replacing the quarter pounders in my precision just for something to do. Anyhoo, im not entirely decided in which direction to go but have seen nordstrand get alot of positive vibes here.

Could you expand my understanding of them a bit? Are they best suited to a particular type of music, etc? THanks alot

Haven't tried the P pickups, but I've heard good things about them. I've just received (as you've read) some NJ4SVs that I'm putting in a passive Jazz ( a Geddy, actually) - these are supposed to be the closest you can get to trad single coil J pups in a hum cancelling design. Looking forward to trying them! The P pickups are reputed to give you the very best qualities of a vintage P pickup (rather than, say, some of the really "hot" p pickups, like Dimarzio - but remember I have no first hand experience of these, only the Jazz pickups).

The NJ4SEs have a slightly more "modern sound" by design, with a more upfront midrange. I have these in a graphite neck J (with a J-Retro pre) and I'm immensely pleased with this combination; this has become my main bass, by a mile. You can hear clips of it in the "Nordstrand rocks your face" thread in this forum if you haven't already come across them.

In terms of quality and customer service I can recommend Nordstrand (and blueberyyhillbass.com as dealers). The pickups sound great to me and lots of others - if you get the right pickup (ie, the one designed to sound like the tone you're after) I don't think you'll be anything other than delighted. They're not cheap but the price seems fair to me for a quality, specialist product like these.

MAGUS® · #18 09-01-2006, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave_bass5

I use stringsdirect.co.uk for all my bits (if they stock them of course). great next day delivery and very helpfull
I dont know what you mean by cheap but SD are doing the SPB-3 for £70. i guess thats not really cheap but ive seen it for more, even on line

This is why its worth buying from the USA sometimes. I paid £38 all in for that very pickup. If customs had decided to sting me, like i got with the the Model J's, i still would have only paid an extra £8. Luckily it got through - so £38 was the total i paid, for something that is £70 over here