Surprise! Normally I review only complete instruments, but when I was asked to review the Langcaster Ultimate Lo® Strat style pickup kit I said yes. It is 25 years ago that I fooled around with guitar electronics so it was a challenge to see if I was still able to do guitar modifications myself. In the cellar I found an East-German made Musima Stratocaster of 1980 which could do the job, because I didn't want to spoil my vintage Fender Stratocaster. When the package arrived from New Zealand( transit time only 7 days) I was pleasantly surprised by its contents. A Strat style white scratch plate with protective foil with three Langcaster Ultimate Lo® pickups, one volume- and one tone control, a 5-way pickup selector, an Overdrive mini toggle switch, an Overdrive control, battery clip, stereo output jack and the patented mini PC board for pre-amp and Overdrive. Everything is pre-wired and high quality components are used. For instance the pickup selector is fully closed, only 4 soldering points. Another Langcaster first is the application of 25 Kohm potmeters. Almost all guitar manufacturers use 250 Kohm or 500 Kohm potmeters, which higher resistance of course influences the output signal. Then a sachet containing two sets control knobs; one Strat style and one Tele style. Another sachet contains the mounting screws for the scratch plate, selector knob, shrink hoses and two spare pickup mounting screws. Further an extensive step by step installation manual. Langcaster offers also a detailed kit installation guide on their website: www.langcaster.com . Even a 9 Volt Duracell Pro battery was included, so nothing to complain about!

Installation
Armed with screwdrivers, a pair of nippers and a soldering iron I started the modification. After taking of the scratch plate of the Musima I had bad luck, the Langcaster pickguard didn't fit. So I had to take off all the parts, drill a hole for the toggle switch and transfer the parts from the Langcaster scratch plate to the original Musima scratch plate. So far a piece of cake. But then came the tricky thing. According to the instructions the battery had to be installed at the back of guitar in the vibrato cavity and the leads should be routed through the existing earth channel. Now Musima uses a very tiny earth wire and its channel wasn't big enough to feed three wires through it.
So I was obliged to take out the vibrato, drill a bigger channel( yes gents, I needed a drilling machine too), put the wires through and re-install the vibrato unit of which one spring had to be removed to make room for the battery. Then I had to rewire the output jack. Langcaster uses a stereo one, because the power supply is controlled by the guitar lead. According to the supplier the battery has a life time of 1000 hours continuous playing, provided that you take out the lead when you have finished playing.
Finally the scratch plate and output plate were fastened and I was ready for blast off.
The total installation time was less then 4 hours which according to Langcaster is not bad at all for an amateur.

Out-of-space sound
I'm not a novice to the Ultimate Lo® sound; two years ago I reviewed one of the first Langcaster Cobra guitars equipped with the same pickups. But even I was impressed by the 'way out of space sound' of this Ultimate Lo® kit and that has nothing to do with the fact that a three pickup configuration is much more versatile then a two pickup one. Joh Lang of Langcaster advises for amplification your own stereo system, but recommends a power amplifier with a rig consisting of one 15 inch, one 12 inch speaker and a constant directivity horn. But you better not believe him; I tested the Langcaster modified Musima guitar with a 1973 Fender silver face Champ with an 8" speaker, a 1995 Fender Frontman with a 6"speaker, a 2005 Roland Cube with a 12"speaker and a custom built rig consisting of a 180 Watt power amp an a 15"bass reflex enclosure. In every configuration the Ultimate Lo's sounded terrifically good in its own right. The sound is majestic: a tremendous volume, bright and clear, Hi-Fi like but still with a specific guitar sound, every playing nuance is notable. And then the total absence of noise and hum, even noted noise distributors like TV and computer plaid at 1 metre distance of these couldn't cause any notable noise or hum. Compared to the Cobra the clean sound has definitely improved. I regard the Overdrive as a bonus; personally I am not a fan of built-in effects, I prefer stomp boxes or modelling effect units. The Overdrive range of this kit is less extensive as the Cobra but Langcaster assured me that his customers really like this new Overdrive and who am I to doubt that!
Another advantage of the Langcaster low impedance circuitry is that you can use long guitar leads up to 200 feet/ 60 metres without any sound loss. Even wireless guitar transmitters give certain sound losses.
To avoid any trace of preoccupation I asked my wife to judge the modified Musima against some of my other so-called hot guitars: a Music Man Sabre 1, a Gibson Les Paul Artisan, a Gretsch Beast with DiMarzio's and a Melancon Cajun Gentleman; all humbucker guitars.
Also in her opinion the Musima was outstanding in tone and volume compared to the other ones, so that was the proof of the pudding!

Conclusion
For US$ 395,00 plus postage this Langcaster kit is a super bargain and within a few hours you can transform your average Strat copy into a genuine boutique guitar! And Joh Lang told me that there are more Langcaster goodies in the pipeline like a built-in FX unit with delay and chorus and a Ulimate Lo® bass version. Seeing the outstanding quality of this kit something to look forward to. The only point of criticism is the rather complex power supply installation. But when discussing this with Langcaster President Joh Lang he came with the following excellent idea: turn the recessed output upside down and there is space for the battery. Indeed a very clever man, isn't he?

Cees Bakker