One thing I discovered was that I couldn't even find the Fenders or Duncans at my local vendors and the usual online mega-corp outlets; every place I checked seemed to be out of stock. I've tried ordering things through my closest mom and pop authorized Fender dealer in the past, but they took a very long time and on one occasion never actually called me when the parts arrived. After the usual lengthy research, I opted to buy the Fender AVRI pickups from darrenriley.com. They and all the Duncans were in stock, but I chose the AVRIs because they were cheap and most likely the best choice for me. If not, my next stop is the Antiquity I set.
Darren also threw in four new mounting screws for free, which was a nice touch. I did, however, have a laugh at the awful packaging decision made by Fender on them. One screw per bag? It seems the logical thing would be to at least sell them in pairs.
So I hope this doesn't come across as spammy, but I just wanted to pass along a recommendation for Darren Riley. Anyone looking for guitar and amp parts should check him out, as I had a great experience. Great service, fast shipping (worldwide!), and great prices were had. It was nice to not have to roll the dice on an eBay transaction.
