EXTREMELY RARE set of 2001 Fender Custom Shop Abigail Ybarra Handwound and Signed Pickups offered to Fender Staff Members as final production PROTOTYPES used by Fender Custom Shop to approve the Limited Edition production. Abigail Ybarra (Abby) was the original Fender Pickup Master Winder. She made pickups for Musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and just about anyone who played a Custom Shop Fender guitar. She has now retired in May 2013. More about Ms. Abigail Ybarra below.

This is a rare Limited Edition set offered to Fender Staff in 2001. I purchased them for a project but ended up not using them.

1. Neck Pickup (dated 04/26/2001) - Output Reading: 6.4k

2. Middle Pickup (dated 04/24/2001) - Output Reading: 6.1k

3. Bridge Pickup (dated 04/23/2001) - Output Reading: 6.1k

What makes this set so rare are the following reasons:

1. Next to Leo Fender himself, Abigail Ybarra is quite possibly one of the most historical Fender employees in the history of the Fender brand.

2. Ms. Ybarra officially retired from Fender in May of 2013. Therefore, she has not hand wound (or created) a single set of Fender Custom Shop pickups since that day…nor will she ever again.

3. These pickups are HAND SIGNED and DATED by Ms. Ybarra herself (please see photos). DON'T be fooled by fakes; the only TRUE hand wound Abigail pickups are HAND SIGNED and dated by her; they are signed “Abby” and with ink pen. You can see these sets are, indeed, authentic (please see photos). 


If you are unfamiliar with Ms. Abigail Ybarra, here is the following Fender description about the woman who helped become the “sound” of Fender: Abigail Ybarra came to Fender in 1956 and in 1958 began hand-winding and hand-building guitar pickups for the fledgling Southern California musical instrument company (pickups convert string vibrations into electric signals, creating the “voice” of an electric guitar). Ybarra’s hand-wound pickups have been included in Fender’s most popular instruments from the late-’50s to today, and were most likely found on instruments played by legends such as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly, Stevie Ray Vaughan and countless others. Her pickups have become highly desirable and sought after by artists and collectors alike.

“Abby is one of the many individuals, like George Fullerton, Freddie Tavares and Forrest White, who have set our course as a company and leader in our industry,” said Mike Eldred, Fender Custom Shop Marketing Director. “She has literally ‘set the tone’ for Fender.”

This is an incredible opportunity to own a TRULY unique and important piece of Fender history.