David White was one of the earliest independent pickup makers to step outside the corporate mold and create something genuinely artistic. His work began in the early 1970s. But he didn’t find fame until the 80s when most players believed their only choices were stock factory pickups or the emerging high output designs from Seymour Duncan and Larry DiMarzio. Those brands dominated the market, but they were built for a different kind of player. Their sound was mid heavy, lacked clarity and were overly compressed…just too modern and lifeless. It appealed to the pedalboard culture that was forming around Boss distortion boxes and solid state amplifiers.
David White wanted something entirely different.
He wanted tone that breathed.
He wanted feel.
He wanted the response of a real vintage Stratocaster or a first generation Telecaster.
By the late 1980s, he began releasing pickups under the Old Glories name. Players who heard them understood immediately that this was not another mass produced aftermarket option. These pickups responded to touch in a way players had been missing. They were clear without being thin and bold without being harsh. They had the musicality of a great tube amp pushed to its sweet spot.
Long before boutique winding became trendy, David White was doing the work by hand. His designs were simple but intentional. Players who used his pickups talked about how the guitar began to feel alive under their hands. They talked about sustain that bloomed naturally, cleans that shimmered and overdrive tones that stayed expressive instead of turning into mud or fizz.
Later makers like Lindy Fralin and Jason Lollar helped broaden the boutique market, but they never matched the organic breath that defined an Old Glories pickup. Even today, players who own both often describe David White’s work as more open, more dynamic and more musical. His pickups served the players who cared more about feel than hype and more about touch than output and have been cited as Randall Van Dyke as the main influence in his ToneSpec line of pickups. David White is not a name you here often but his impact and influence is legendary and never ending.
David White passed away years ago, but his work remains influential. His pickups are scarce, yet they continue to be referenced as some of the most soulful single coil designs ever created. In terms of impact and craftsmanship, he belongs on the Mount Rushmore of pickup making. His name sits comfortably alongside Tom Holmes, Virgil Arlo and Alan Hamel. These are the makers who shaped the way serious musicians think about tone and who proved that small batch hand wound pickups can outperform anything from mass production.
David White may be gone, but he is not forgotten. His legacy lives in the Old Glories name and in the players who still search for the rare sets that survived. His work remains an example of what happens when a craftsman puts tone above everything else.
Here are some forum posts discussing David’s work, there’s not much discussion for these amazing pickups, just goes to show companies getting the most forum chatter do the best at paying for posts and marketing, not tone.
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/118455/wtb-david-white-old-glories?utm_source=
https://strat-talk.com/threads/making-my-89-strat-sound-as-good-as-my-07-ej.35563/?utm_source=
David White PICKUPS 