Testimonials

Nels Cline

“Bob Palmieri’s Duneland Labs pickups get close to being living organisms, so sensitive are they to the actual physics of nuanced sound production. Alive. And all the while possessing OOMPH, never being weak/wimpy/bland.”

Bill Frisell

“I had been hearing about Bob Palmieri’s pickups for quite a while. My good friend Nels Cline spoke very highly of him and I’d notice his name come up while hanging out at guitar shops. Last September I had the pleasure of meeting him for the first time. He had made some pickups for a brand new guitar I was getting that had been designed by Woody Woodland and put together by BilT Guitars. We had talked a little about what I was hoping for. He brought a few variations for me to try based on those conversations. What surprised me about this first meeting was that before I even heard the pickups I got to hear him play. I didn’t know he was such a monster guitar player. He’s a serious musician with serious ears. This made it really easy to communicate. It was about the music. There’s so much unexplainable, hard to put into words stuff that goes on in music. We play a note, or a chord, or make a sound, or whatever, and there is a whole world going on high up above all that. Overtones. A rainbow of stuff. To be in tune and in harmony we have to listen for this and hear it. It’s not about some mathematical formula. A machine can’t really do it. It’s about listening. Bob has the ears for this and is sensitive to it. I think that’s why his pickups are so awesome.”

Lionel Loueke  

“The pickup is so well balanced and doesn’t change the timber of [the Ken Parker Archtop] at any volume level.”

Hans Keirstead

“Your pickups are the best I have ever heard. I own 23 guitars, several of them very nice axes. But they all pale beside your pickups.  Super happy to have discovered your pickups… they are the clean buttery articulate sound that I never thought existed.”

John Eubanks

“I've never played a pickup that responded to bronze strings in that way […] exceptionally quiet and an accurate representation of the sound of the guitar.”

Burkhard Bilger

“Wow. It's like a whole new guitar: clearer, infinitely quieter, more spacious, and detailed sounding, yet still full of character. You managed to preserve its soul and deepen it. Thank you! This is even better than I imagined. You really are a wizard.”

Paul Lerman

“Wow - really a great humbucker you’ve made! Installed and setup to sound as close to the 355’s bridge PAF as possible. Had no real reason to compare it to the stock Gibson R8 pu, since the 355’s PAF is mucho superior.

Tested initially in disrortion mode, both with vol pot wide open and some dialed back settings (a fav for me is the hot feel of overdriven preamp mode but vol set between 5 and 7, so mostly clean output). The best aspect of the Blackpole is the smoothness of freq range and top end sweetness - really close to the PAF. Slightly more meat in your pu, which I like a lot - maybe better than my PAF. Has just the right feel to me, chording or lead - all chords seem to congeal so nicely, if that makes sense.

Also of course tried clean mode comparison (BTW testing with current fav amp one of Mark Bartel’s Starwood combos - a great, great amp. Try one if you haven’t - unique EQ structure that works amazingly well. HIGHLY versatile - clean to mean, with one of the best sounding reverb ckts I’ve ever played). Your Blackpole responds beautifully to fingerpicking as well as pick of course. Just a great clean, even freq response. I think as wide-range as the PAF with linear mids, the PAF seems a bit scooped by comparison. Wonderful pickup.

. . .

Now that I’ve played the Blackpole in a bit more, in comparison to the PAF in my 355, I have to say your pickup may be the best transducer for guitar I have played! Extended freq response, very flat, full dynamic range and amazing sustain. By direct comparison in various clean modes, the PAF seems to have a bump in upper midrange and a significant peak at the top end - results in a pleasing sound, but one I’d rather get thru the amp's EQ than the locked in in response of the pickup’s built in EQ palate. The Blackpole definitely has a good bit more high end, as one can easily hear in the beautiful HF artifacts in reverb tails.

BTW, now have installed a proper CTS push pull pot and single coil mode sounds really great as well, relatively noise-free too (for single coil). Also I’m finding that reduced treble response via tone pot, with .022 cap, provides a zillion delicious colors as well. Enjoyable!!

Just a really great pickup, the response, both dynamic and freq extension and the sustain are addicting. Congrats, you’ve created a great device. WOW, the Blackpoles in each guitar are amazing. A pretty good spread of uses: bridge pu in LP and neck pu in tele. REALLY loving each guitar more than ever.

The clarity, sweetness and drive of the LP is amazing and the parallel mode in the tele works perfectly in conjunction with that Zinman bridge pu, also makes the tele the warmest imaginable tele when on the neck pu alone. The tonal range of each guitar is phenomenal, clean or overdriven. Great pickups!!!”

Joel Pinson

“Wow, you weren’t kidding about output levels! These are real bruisers, but with finesse. 'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.'
All 3 settings (series, parallel, split) are great in their own right, rather than merely being ‘usable.’
Noise floor: They’re ridiculously quiet! Even when split, they’re as quiet as some of my humbuckers, lol.
Sensitivity: they feel very lively under the fingers and respond similar to an acoustic guitar, meaning they’re really responsive to touch. VERY different than most pickup I’ve ever played in that regard. (Though some Filtertrons, Rickys and goldfoils I’ve played have had similar qualities.) They def make me play different and it’s a very good thing I play a lot of acoustic guitar - I think that helps orient me a bit. I’m guessing this level of sensitivity and expressiveness has something to do with their big dynamic range? It’s kinda like the difference playing a small 15 watt tube amp vs. a 100 watt tube amp at the same volume - there’s something about having that extra horsepower under your fingers.
Big (wide bandwidth) and Bright, but tameable: You were spot on in telling to start with the tone control on 5. That’s closer to traditional pickup territory. They have an overall acoustic quality to them and they always retain that unless I roll the tone back to the 0-2 range.
Clean: absolutely gorgeous. I can’t imagine what I would change
Mid gain: great slice and cut. Very assertive.
High gain: I’m still getting a handle on this area to be honest - I can’t decide if they’re too hi fi or not for your typical modded Marshall tones.”

Terrence O’Connor

“My experience thus far with the Blackpoles has been great! They are unlike any other pickups I currently have. That current list is Throbaks, Wolfetone, Suhr, Dunable.

I play mostly "experimental" type stuff these days. Think Frippertronics type ambient loopscapes. That can have me plucking away pretty clean and ambient but it can turn on a dime and go full molten lava depending on the ‘colors’ I'm going for and working with.

I like the Blackpoles because they can get me to where I want to go no matter the application. In this particular guitar, I don't think I'll ever consider changing pickups. They are a great match. For the record...it's Korina body and neck, Maple top, Ebony fretboard. Killer tones.

The pickups have a very nice presence to them. Not overly bright or harsh, but can certainly cut through. They can also chug pretty well too, but that's not exactly what I do with them. I have series/parallel switching on both pickups. The parallel tones are super unique, albeit with a little less volume...but that's to be expected.”