It's OK. Standel was known more for amps than guitars. The reason this guitar probably sounded dull with its original pickups, is due to the fact that Standel, tailored the impedance of their guitar pickups, to match their amps for a better (as in more hi-fidelity clean) sound with Standel amps. As a result most Standel guitars sound less than stellar with other (non-Standel) amps.