http://www.brierleyguitarpickups.com.au
The Smitty Custom Guitars 'Bluey' is one of my favourite axes. The only issue I have with it is (with all due respect) the pickups. They are very articulate, quite low output and very sweet sounding Amber pickups. But I really needed something with more meat.
Enter the great Mick Brierley, my friend and pickup winder supremo from South Australia. Mick wound some 'Rebellion's' for me. Rebellions are based on 'Big Red Rockers' that appeared in Mick's catalog some years ago. The BRR's have been slightly tweaked and are now available as these - 'Rebellions'. Rebellions are A2 based and run 9.5k through to 8.5k (bridge to neck). While being slightly hot they still retain dynamics and clarity. Perfect. At the time of writing you can pick up a set via Mick's website for around AUD$239.00. If they're not listed yet, just shoot Mick an email.
Today I'm running through an Axe-FX II. The sim I've used is my own preset based around Fractal's 'Deluxe' sim. I've added the properties of a Royer 121 Ribbon and some room reverb to take away the dryness. When I kick in the drive it is Fractal Audio's version of an Eternity drive. Having owned the real thing I can tell you that this sim is no slouch. There's more info on the Axe-FX II at http://www.fractalaudio.com.
Finally, I added a Waves L3-16 Limiter on the Pro Tools Master Fader to keep levels in check. This is a plugin that has put the finishing touch to pretty much every video I've made in the last 3 years and I really couldn't complete my work without it.
The Brierley Rebellions are keepers. They have made the difference between this guitar being used more often rather than substituted for another instrument. Thanks Mick!