I came back to Roman after he did a sterling job on my homage to the “D28” (see Nora™ on this website). I had a sound in my head for my Vester ‘98 Strat – that of Mr Knopfler. One of my other early influences was Mr Gilmore. Of course there are the dream-tones of SRV: I wanted a homage to the ‘62 Strat – so I asked Roman.
Roman hand-wound a set of three, Alnico V, with 42-AWG, in aged white. Ramsay, was the luthier who replaced the frets on the strat and installed the PUPs (from his “Kitchen”). Ramsay (aka “Sonic Chef”) described the change in sound with the new pickups as, “more spacious”.
The sound is more “spacious” and refined: and there is clear definition between the character and voice of each of the pick-ups on their own and in tandem. From clucking with a slap back delay which takes you “Southbound Again”. Add swirling phaser takes me “Down to the Waterline”… Add some singing sustain or overdrive – and “I Still Got the Blues for You”. And if you dare go further south, there’s some gritty-blues with the front end boosted. To chill out, hit the reverb for some ambience, with echo / modulation, and it is reminiscent of “Floyd”.
All in all just what I was after, and as always co-created, progress photos and frequent up-dates on deliver or any changes in schedule – strong service bias. Top quality products used in the build, great craftmanship, documentation and quality control.
Stan Bellgard, Auckland, New Zealand
Cat Trick Band - https://cattrickband.com