By: Staff
According to a press release from Dassinger Creative Services, Kent Armstrong has long been considered one of the premiere magnetic pickup designers and builders. His custom-made and specially-designed pickups are known for their rich sound, leveled response and unique low noise factor. Now, in the midst of his 40th year, Kent Armstrong is finally addressing the acclaim most guitarists have bestowed on him. Why Kent has remained a known, yet unknown artisan speaks of the man behind the pickup. He is humble person who in an age of “designer names” let his products for years, hold center stage.
Kent said, “Just one bad handmade pickup and you might as well have made thousands. You have to make every one right.” That expertise, personal pride, and his product and work ethics are the core reasons “Kent Armstrong’s name” is synonymous with craftsmanship worldwide.
For those non-musicians, the pickup is what is responsible for transferring the sound of the vibrating string into electrical energy. Amplified, the pickups (may or may not) color the tone and upgrade the guitar’s sound ability. This is every player’s dream come true. The pickup is the key and you could say that Kent Armstrong is one of the instrument’s master locksmiths.
Kent currently lives in southern Vermont and has always prided himself on his finished products. He could easily tout how guitar masters like Queen’s Brian May, the legendary Jimi Hendrix, Led Zep’s Jimmy Page, iconic Rory Gallagher or The Who’s Peter Townshend have Kent Armstrong handmade pickups on their assortment of guitars. Yet, until now, Kent Armstrong has remained “the quiet man behind his artisan name”.
Kent added, “I usually find out about a name artist using one of my handmade pickups when I read about it in a music publication. Sometimes their respective guitar techs place the order and later I find out it was for one of the guitar greats – funny huh?”
Google the name “Kent Armstrong” – there are over a million postings from varying guitar sites that feature his work. The primary focus site however, is the company that champions him the most – WD Music Products, Inc. based in N. Ft. Myers, FL. Their VP, Larry Davis said, “It’s been an honor and a privilege working with Kent over the past 20+ years. I just want him to finally get the Kudos he so richly deserves.”
After 40 years and somewhat reticent to do so, Kent decided it might be time to step out from behind his work. Today, Kent has a legion of electric guitarists who extol his guitar pickups as an industry standard. When Kent is referred to as a designer, he is without a doubt one of the world’s foremost (living) pickup artisans. For decades, “Kent’s work justified his means” but now, times have changed and adding “a face to your body of work” is essential.
“When I am making a pickup it is difficult for me to stop work. I find watching a great movie like “The African Queen” or a British comedy or satire a wonderful relaxant. I get to unwind from the rewind,” Armstrong joked. “Some of my best customers today are jazz or blues guitarists like Bucky Pizzarelli or B. B King. Handmade is an art and it is becoming somewhat of a lost art. I don’t want me or my pickups to suffer that loss especially when it is built on a 40 year history of custom work, study, experimentation and dedication,” he added.
While he has his Korean factory to make “Kent Armstrong pickups” more financially accessible to OEM’s and end users, Kent’s hand-wound custom pickups are in a class by themselves and so is Kent. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man and with that said, his home state of Vermont now has another artist to boast about (besides Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman and Mike Gordon of Phish, Aerosmith’s lead guitarist Joe Perry and musician KT Tunstall).
The quality and expertise of Kent’s hand wind pickups are second to none. When it comes to varying guitar pickups and their artistry, it starts with the name “Kent Armstrong”.
Ruth Gordon’s noted quote holds true, “to become somebody you have to last”. Kent Armstrong has more than just lasted. His name and his pickups have been an innovative guitar sounding board for decades. Credit is finally going where credit is due – Kent Armstrong – the pickup artisan.
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