Carondelet is the custom pickup operation
of The Fret Shack, a guitar and bass repair, resto and upgrade
workshop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Owner Jeff Richard winds every Carondelet pickup by hand, one at a time, using superior components and processes.
Jeff's list of Carondelet pickups users, owners and fans includes members and former members of Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kiss, ZZ Top, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, Black Stone Cherry, Steel Panther, Dangerous Toys, Lillian Axe, King Diamond, Goatwhore; and the backing bands for Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Alanis Morissette, Selena, Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Cody Jinks, Scotty McCreery, Teddy Pendergrass, Wilson Phillips, Marty Stuart, Billy Bob Thornton's The Boxmasters, and Maddie and Tae.
Jeff has trained at the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix; at the Galloup School of Guitar Building and Repair in Big Rapids, Michigan; and has over 40 years experience as both a guitar player and bench technician.
Jeff and his workshop is also an authorized warranty and service center for ESP, LTD, Takamine, Cole Clark, Guild and Cordoba Guitars; and he is an authorized installation and service center for FU-Tone.
"Carondelet"
(cahr-ahn-duh-LET)
Baron Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet (1747-1807) was a Spanish noble
who governed New Orleans during its
Spanish colonial period from 1791 to 1797. Our initial inspiration for using his name
was Carondelet Street, a major thoroughfare
named in the governor's honor that extends
through the "Uptown" Garden District
and Central Business District before
the street's name changes to Bourbon Street. We thought it would be nice to have a classy, upscale sounding name with a direct tie to our nearby and hugely significant American music market.
When further research unearthed
this circa 1790s painting of Baron Carondelet
holding a zebra PAF, we knew he was our guy.