FAQ

(Frequently Asked Questions)

 Click the question number to jump to the answer.

Q0.  Bonus Question -- I don't have a question, I just want to see all the old pickup trucks without any text over them. 

A.  OK I like them too. Just scroll down or click the link to the bottom of this page then click any photo....

Q1.  I’m looking for a certain tone.  Can you customize to get that sound?

Q2.   How do I communicate the sound I am talking about to you?  How will you know if you get it right?

Q3.   Do you have stock models, examples I can hear online? 

Q4.   What’s the big advantage of custom made pickups over good high end stock ones?

Q5.   What’s the difference between your pickups and the ones from other “boutique” shops? Name some differences.  

Q6.   I like my guitar, but the pickups that came in it leave a lot to be desired. Why don’t the factories just put in better ones to start with?

Q7.   Custom sounds expensive.  I’ve just got an average guitar.  Is it worth it to put custom pickups in it instead of stock ones?

Q8.   I’m just looking. I want to know your prices, but I’m not ready to ask for an estimate.

Q9.   I haven’t found what I need. I’ve got some unique requirements, and I’ve already got some ideas and want to try them. What if I want to get into some serious customizing territory?

Q10.   I only see humbuckers and strat style pickups. Do you have other types?

Q11.   I have a shop. Do you offer discounts to the trade? What if I want my brand on it?

Q12.   Do you sell internationally?

Q13.   Man, this is a bunch of stuff to read. I’m a player, not a scientist. And I’m just an average Joe, not a rockstar. Why so much detail?

Q14.   What if I want active pickups?

Q15.   I hear a lot about handwound pickups. What’s the difference in machine winding versus handwinding?

Q16.   I have heard a lot of talk about scatterwinding.  Do you scatterwind?

Q17.   What’s all this talk about a Reference Pickup Library?

Q18.   I’m a player not an engineer. Why would I want a test report?

Q19.   You keep talking about vintage styles. What’s the big deal with that?

Q20.   Will your pickups make me sound like Stevie Ray?  (Actually, I get this one sometimes)

Q21.   I need a pickup that has lots of major mojo.  I don’t see that in the options you offer.

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Q1.    I’m looking for a certain tone.  Can you customize to get that sound?

A. Maybe – it depends. Certainly we can change the tone in different directions. Whether we can move it around enough to get what you want is the thing that depends. Customization can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. The further you want to take it from the classic designs, the more tradeoffs there are going to be. Usually you have to give up some of one thing to get more of another.  That’s just physics and how it always works.  And there are some limits to how far things can be taken. The more we change the design to get one thing, the more you probably have to give up of the others.  But there is still some amount of room within that space to personalize the tonal spectrum to your tastes. All you have to do is hear a variety of the different toned pickups that are out there to verify that. If you really want to get deep into the details, then to inform you for your decisions, and help ease that communication process, there is plenty of information and explanation available for you here about the specifications that change tones, and how they interact.

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Q2.   How do I communicate the sound I am talking about to you?  How will you know if you get it right?

A. We have to use words we agree on the meaning of, and comparisons to something we both can relate to, like a specific stock pickup we both are acquainted with.  Even that will have some variation depending on how it is played and what it is installed in.  Maybe we can start with whatever you are playing now, and try to get more of what you do like or less of what you don’t .  I can’t really guarantee any certain tone for a given situation, just that we can usually move it around a little in different ways. Whether we can move it a lot depends on where it already is when we start compared to the limits of what is achievable, and how much you can tolerate of whatever else has to change to get there.  I have included a whole section that is a tone glossary to get specific about the terms people use to describe tones.  Some of those things can only be heard and not measured easily, but when it is possible to make measurements, I have some of the equipment to do it and will give you the results.  I’ll know if the changes I make are moving the tone in the right direction by comparing to the same reference, but getting it just right will be harder to pin down. I will really only know if it is right if you tell me it is after you install it, but realize from the start that there are limits to what and how much can be done and how many times we both want to keep messing with it.

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Q3.   Do you have stock models, examples I can hear online? 

A. Yes, I do have some stock models available. Certainly, buying a stock design is easier, quicker,  and maybe a bit less risky for both of us. Customizing also sometimes doesn’t make sense, say if you want a close copy of a classic vintage model for a restoration, or just because you already like the way the originals were made. In that case you may just want yours to end up as close to the originals as possible, so most choices are already decided.  I stock several variations of classic vintage styles, and I also try to keep in stock some of my own updated designs, as well. I’m working on getting sound files loaded on the website for all the stock models. Check out the MP3 files that are on the home page.

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Q4.   What’s the big advantage of custom made pickups over good high end stock ones?

A. You can have more input and control over what you end up with, which is one of the reasons I started out making them in the first place. Other than that, not a lot really, except maybe bragging rights, and the pride that comes from having something made up professionally and specifically to your personal needs and taste. Usually the cost is about the same as the higher end factory models or similar ones from other independent shops, and often even less so why not?  You can get more in terms of quality for your money with custom because you aren’t paying much for advertising and distributors profits. With the pricier stock ones you also are usually paying for a name, maybe either some association with a big name player, or the maker’s reputation.  If that’s important to you, then go for the stock one. But if you like the idea of having your own signature model and are willing to invest the time to work with me on it, we might be able to come up with something that will be just killer when you are the one playing it. 

Now, if the pickup you like best is one with an outstanding patent, then you only have the one choice to go with. You may have to do a lot of comparison shopping and maybe try out several versions to get what you need. I might be able to help with that too, I’m a dealer for some popular patented models, for example Lace Sensors and others. There are also some designs that are protected as a trade secret by epoxy potting and so on, and not practical for me to try to duplicate, or improve on. Examples that I am a dealer for include Bartolini and Kent Armstrong. Some, but not all of the higher end stock and independent maker pickups are about as good as it ever gets, and often better sounding than even some of the vintage examples. They did their homework and have their heritage and it shows. To be truthful about it my pickups or anyone else’s can’t really be any better made than some of the best ones coming from the big makers and the better boutique shops. There is only so much that can be done. But mine are made just as carefully and with the same kinds of materials, and probably tested more carefully. Most of my customers’ first comment is that the quality of construction and materials of my pickups is quite obvious when you look at them and compare to a lot of what is out there they are used to seeing.  The other difference is that you get to choose some of the design features to your liking, and maybe tweak your sound closer to what’s in your head that you are trying to achieve.  On the other hand, either installing one of my custom pickups, or a high end stock model from one of the major makers will likely be a big improvement over much of what’s out there in most of the usual guitars coming off the line today.  Once you get away from the higher end models there are a lot of cheaply made stock pickups sold, and supplied in the lower priced guitars. To me they usually don’t sound so good, unless you are just trying to go for a whole different tonal character or focusing on price alone.  You also need to consider the rest of your setup, and your musical genre because even the greatest pickups aren’t going to sound as good played through a bad amp or poor pedals. And even on a high end amp, settings matter. If for instance all you ever play is thrash metal, fine and more power to you if that’s your thing, but subtle tonal differences coming from your pickups aren’t likely to survive through that kind of signal train, no matter how you set your amp.

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Q5.   What’s the difference between your pickups and the ones from other “boutique” shops? Name some differences.  

A. I do vintage reproductions, so because of that, I have a few models that are similar to some of the others that do those too, like most of the well known makers that offer vintage styles. On those, we’re all pretty much shooting at the same targets, copying the P.A.F., or the vintage Fender models, maybe with some kind of a twist on the design. My custom pickups are made with the very best materials and methods. They compare well to any of the best boutique pickups out there, for the styles I offer. I have included many of the other makers’ models in my test library. I sometimes do extensive comparisons to them as part of making my custom models, if that’s what the customer gives as a reference to work from, so I’m familiar with some of the top ones. There are too many good independent makers to mention all of them. I’d have to include the factory custom shops too because of some of their reproductions, but they’re not really independent.  Mine range from vintage to the hotter side of medium output styles but I’m not so much into the highest distortion tones. I may agree to try for those if you ask, but it’s not my genre and I can’t really hear it well. There are plenty of other makers that specialize more in that kind of tone.  My operation is a lot smaller than many other makers, and I am mainly specializing in an area that most of the other makers aren’t all that interested in serving.  
A niche I like to serve is the customization aspect, that many of them either won’t do unless it’s for a factory or a big name player, or else they don’t encourage it.  There are a few that will work with individuals though so it isn’t universal.  I go for that part of the market because I like the idea of it, and think there ought to be more of that kind of specialty around.  Also I’m still trying to get established.  No bones about it, the fact is I don’t have a big following and I haven’t got that many of my pickups out there being played yet. Heck – the fact is, I’m pretty much unknown right now, which is why I’m having to interview myself here. That’s just the way it is, no getting around it, and everyone has to start somewhere. Now I’ve been fooling around with these since about 2007 and then gotten into more serious experimentation, investing in equipment, and fairly intense study of it since maybe 2009 or so. That’s long enough for me to have gotten a decent understanding of the inner workings of a pickup, but it’s not like some of them that have been doing it a lot longer and have had their products out there in the market for years. I’m not making any claims to imply I’m at their level of experience – I’m not. My operation is more like maybe theirs was when they were starting out.  They had some new ideas back then and had to get them in front of some players and then work with them to come up with something that met a need. 

I’ve got my own new ideas too and also have studied and experimented a lot with what has already been done and written about, and there is certainly a lot that has been written about. So far every one of my customers has been really very happy with the results and service they have gotten, and many of them are now repeat customers. Anyway, I’m just being honest and up front about all that and I think my pickups will ultimately make their own reputation and stand the test of the marketplace just fine,  just like the other makers’ pickups did back when they started.  Look and listen for yourself.  If you like what you see - that’s good, but if you like what you hear, that’s the thing that counts most.  I can only make a few a week, because of the time I put into them and the fact that I make them all myself.  

For testing purposes, I do compare my custom models to widely available stock pickups from the big makers and better boutique shops.  That’s only because for customizing we have to have some common ground to start from, and you are going to have a better chance to have owned or played some of their models so you are familiar with what we are both comparing to, not so much because I’m trying to claim mine are better than theirs. In fact, if theirs weren’t good, and already proven in the market we probably wouldn’t want to be comparing to them.  It’s like the custom car shops of the 60’s. They didn’t often start from a clean sheet of paper with a whole new car design.  My quality level is equal to the very best of them but not really any better than that either, just more customized to your particular situation.  There is only so much that can be done, and I’m always right up front about that.  I can show you all day on paper how they compare, but until you put them in a guitar and play them it doesn’t mean a lot.  If the other makers pickups weren’t good too the market would have eliminated them long ago, just like it could eliminate me if I can’t keep up with the quality.  My pricing might be a little better because I’m still starting out and don’t yet have an established name or much reputation.  They can charge more because of that and it’s still usually worth it if you can find the right one for you in their offerings. I do have some of my own designs that are unique to me that they might not have anything comparable to offer.

Or maybe you are looking for something that isn’t as common like say a Charlie Christian or Filtertron or DeArmond type. I don’t have anything like that already of my own to offer but I can sometimes work with you on it. Something like that would be way out of my area of experience and I will say so, but I might know who does well on them, and just refer you to them directly.  Another case like that is if we are talking about one of the more common types but I think what you are looking for is something that is patented or already done really well by another shop. It may not be worth it to experiment on that. I do also have access to a few of the better factory custom shop models that I am a dealer for, so I might be able to get something appropriate for you that way too.

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Q6.   I like my guitar, but the pickups that came in it leave a lot to be desired. Why don’t the factories just put in better ones to start with?

A. I have the same question.  I think the answer is about marketing, but it’s just my opinion.  At least it creates an opportunity for guys like me. Here are my thoughts on it.

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Q7.   Custom sounds expensive.  I’ve just got an average guitar.  Is it worth it to put custom pickups in it instead of stock ones?

A. If you are serious about improving your tone, probably. – but it depends.  Customizing doesn’t have to be expensive or drastic. Maybe you only want a really good copy of your favorite stock or vintage pickup design but with a little change, like different magnet alloys, polepiece spacing, or lead connections, or a heat level that isn’t already offered in the stock models. An example of this would be where you might have a favorite pickup already in one of your guitars, or have played something in a friend’s guitar and you like them but there is some aspect you would like to be a little different.  As long as the pickup design you have in mind to modify from is one I already have in my reference library or can get a copy of, and you’re not wanting to stray drastically far from that pickup’s tone, and if there aren’t any outstanding patents involved, those kind of customizing jobs are probably easy enough and quick to do, won’t cost any more than good stock pickups, and it’s still a custom model made just for you. Or you might have already heard or played one of mine that I’ve customized before for someone and want one like it. You will only have to pay for as much customization as you want and need.  Here’s an example. Say you like the tone of a certain model humbucker, but need it to have a little more or a little less heat than that model, and want four lead connections so you can split the coils for a single coil tone option and you’d like a different polepiece spacing to fit a “superstrat” style guitar.  That’s a doable customization.  But if you wanted a whole lot more heat that could be a problem, because it’s probably going to change what you liked about the tone.

With the usual stock pickups that are available in stores and online, the maker has already made a lot of the same decisions as you could have specified, in order to build them up ahead and get them into the stores, and that is one reason why there are so many models available. If you look hard enough you can probably find some maker that has something close to what you have in mind as a stock model. A lot of people have been fooling with these same designs for a long time, and there isn’t that much that hasn’t already been tried.  Since I don’t build yours up ahead of time, there isn’t any real reason you shouldn’t get the benefit of being able to make many of those choices to better suit your own taste and needs. The cost difference to me in making them with different options is not usually very significant, and I don’t have the cost of stocking a lot of finished pickups.  So I can pass those savings on to you.

If we can be specific enough on what you are looking for to get your custom pickups right the first try, then we will both come out ahead.  It will be no more trouble to you and the same or less cost than if you bought and installed the high end stock pickups you like the sound of and that we are comparing to.  And the custom pickup will probably be closer to what you wanted than the stock comparison pickup would have been. But if the first try still isn’t close enough to get the results you need then it will definitely be cheaper to modify again from there with one of my custom winds than if you were to buy and install another high end stock pickup, which of course is the other choice and is what many players have historically done.

If your guitar is an average mid-range to lower priced model, most likely any change of pickups to either a custom pickup or some of the higher end stock pickups is going to be a big improvement over the factory ones.  In my experience and when talking to players I’ve met, unless the guitar is a higher end model the factory pickups aren’t usually going to be all that good.  It’s true you usually do get what you pay for. But the guitar itself might be just fine with a good setup, if the pickups were better quality. The factories do tend to put better pickups in the higher end models, so there isn’t as much room to improve quality, but still with any guitar, even in the higher end ones, there’s lots of room to change tonal spectrums to match your taste. 

One more thing, this kind of generalization based on cost isn’t always true, just often so with recent guitars. Especially if we get out of the realm of the typical Fender and Gibson copies, some of the older lower end guitars came with inexpensive pickups that have a tone of their own, for example the old Danelectros and Silvertones and a few of the 1960’s Japanese models like some of the Teiscos.  Now those pickups are becoming collectible because of how players like Ry Cooder and Jim Weider have skillfully exploited the unique tonal spectrums of those pickups that were inexpensive in their day.  Also, the factory models have varied a lot in tone over the years.  For one example, I recently tested some pickups from an older Japanese Squier Strat that sounded pretty darn good for their construction.

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Q8.   I’m just looking. I want to know your prices, but I’m not ready to ask for an estimate.

A. I make the pricing simpler and more upfront by grouping the designs into similar styles with a base price for each style then not charging anything extra for most options unless they cost me significantly more for parts or labor.  That way before you even get my estimate, you can have a fair idea of the approximate cost.  For example - handwinding takes more of my labor and costs more.  And vintage type wire costs more than the more modern types. So I have one base model for the kind of style that has those features, and a different and less expensive base model for a similar design but machine wound using modern wire, so you don’t have to pay for what you don’t need.  With either base model you can opt to change say the lead styles, cosmetics, or maybe magnet alloys, mounting options, or heat levels to suit your situation usually for the same base price. The available choices depend to an extent on what components I have or can source and on what makes sense for that basic style of model. Some options do cost more to make and I try to give a fair idea of that in the price list, but after all it’s a custom job so not every possible option is listed and also there are some cases where certain combinations of options may not be available, which is another reason why the estimate is needed. 

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Q9.   I haven’t found what I need. I’ve got some unique requirements, and I’ve already got some ideas and want to try them. What if I want to get into some serious customizing territory?

A.  More serious customizing doesn’t mean we necessarily have to reinvent the wheel every time.  It does take a lot of trial and error to develop a completely new pickup design and balance out some of the variables that significantly change the sound.  Just swapping out design parameters on theory alone is something of a crap shoot. That’s also a good way to describe it because prototypes can often sound like, well – just plain crappy on the first try or two, sometimes even after many more tries.  You wouldn’t want to play them and I wouldn’t want to sell them with my name on them.  And it takes a lot of time to keep putting them into and out of guitars to hear how they sound. So depending on what you want, it might take several tries to get anywhere, and I’d have to charge something for that labor and material. But if we can compare to some successful similar designs you already know you like the sound of, ones that I have or can get an example of, and explain how you want it to be different from those then I have a much better idea of what you are looking for and much of the trial and error part is already done.  In the case of my stock models, or in other custom work, I may have already tested and standardized various combinations. So for those kind of standardized options most of the experimenting is already done and doesn’t have to cost either of us a lot.  And of course the options that are more of a cosmetic type or different lead combinations don’t usually need extra development time and they don’t have to be any more expensive than whatever the additional materials cost. 

It is only if we get into territory that is outside those standard kinds of options, where I don’t have any data already available, that additional development may come into play.  That ends up being riskier for both of us, for example if I have to wind and test many times to get the desired results, or if after many tries we can’t get there.  I can’t always know those things ahead of time and I can’t afford to run a free research lab, but if I like the idea of what you are trying to achieve, and if you can define some specific goals for it, then I might be willing to take on some of that risk myself and negotiate something we can both live with. For example, I might say it’s risky but I’ll give it so many tries and if you like it pay a certain price, otherwise I’ll keep it and charge you nothing and chalk it up to experience. Of course, I have to really like the idea to do that.  I’m risking the labor and material for the development and you are risking maybe coming up empty handed for your time and effort to try it. Then if it works, we both win. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes. Now before you say that’s too crazy of an idea, remember this is just the same way that designs and prototypes for competitive proposals are often done in industry. But to do it, I have to believe there is a decent chance of success and that the idea has some future prospects to be able to take that risk, so if it looks to me like too much of a research project or too unlimited in scope then I am going to have to no-bid the job. 

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Q10.   I only see humbuckers and strat style pickups. Do you have other types?

A. I have more resources to work with if we are talking about humbuckers or strat style pickups.  I have to specialize a little to be effective in making comparisons to something that’s a known quantity we both can relate to.  Otherwise it’s too vague and experimental.  That usually means I need to own several examples to compare to. My library of reference pickups is growing, but it doesn’t include many other types.  I can only afford to grow it so fast.  I’m working on adding some others like Mini-humbuckers, Teles, Danelectros and Teiscos, but they’re not yet ready for prime time.  Because of my own tastes, the library also has more vintage types than heavy metal ones. Again, we can discuss any kind of a passive model, it’s just that I have more to work with and a better chance to give you something closer to what you are looking for if I have similar examples in the library.  But if I haven’t yet included the style you need in my own pickup making repertoire, I may be able to source it. I am a dealer for several of the major parts suppliers and I can provide many high quality brands of pickups including a vast selection from top names like Fender, Gibson, Seymour Duncan, Lindy Fralin, Bartolini, Lace, Kent Armstrong, Suhr, Joe Barden, Rene’ Martinez,  James Tyler, Fishman, L.R. Baggs, Brian May, Gotoh, Danelectro, and others. 

If that’s not enough, and you are looking for something even more specialized, I’ll be happy to be a go-between for you with some of my pickup maker friends online that have some truly excellent specialties in particular areas.

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Q11.   I have a shop. Do you offer discounts to the trade? What if I want my brand on it?

A. If you are a luthier, or have a guitar shop, and want to work with me to make an exclusive co-branded limited production model, that is definitely a possibility and your inquiries will be welcomed.  I’m always happy to work with the better shops, and to me, any shop that wants my pickups is a better shop. Seriously though, once the initial development work is done, repeat production of a custom design doesn’t cost more.  I do offer trade discounts, which will depend on how many you order. And of course, for both new production guitars and for restorations, the  straightforward reproductions of the classic vintage designs are always available, made to match original specifications, where the costly development work was done by others long ago, often even by accident, but proven by legions of players. That’s a combination hard to beat, and I think you will find the difference compared to most of the current mass market offerings is obvious to the eyes and ears, very competitive with the factory custom shop versions and the better independent makers versions and definitely much less costly than attempting to acquire any of the true vintage examples. I make every effort to pay very close attention to the slightest details in all of my vintage reproductions. And if you are restoring a vintage guitar and need a first class repair or rewind done, then I have the experience, equipment and materials to do that job to a very high level of accuracy, and I am probably going to be willing to discount the rewind cost heavily to get the winding data from the original.

On the other hand if you are just looking for a cheaper place to get the same pickups that are already available to everyone else, my shop might not be the answer. I do try to make all my designs competitively priced, but honestly, I am not in a great position to seriously out-compete the bigger makers and national stores on that. I don’t turn them out hundreds in a batch, and I don’t have any employees or overseas contractors.  I am a dealer for several of the bigger pickup makers too, but it’s more as a side effect of my arrangements with distributors for sourcing certain pickup components and to offer convenience to you for including accessories like high end hardware or pickguards with your order. I don’t have a warehouse or resources to move enough volume in that channel to get the prices heavily discounted.  It is just me, and I’d rather work with you and turn out a few really special ones that fit your exact needs, than crank out tons of inventory to sit on store shelves for nameless customers to pick through.  This is strictly a one man shop with an emphasis on quality and individualization, not a high volume factory. There are already plenty of those. There is no real value added for either you or me if I try to match those kinds of offerings. As a retirement business operation, I’m not looking to grow any larger or to have a bunch of employees and financing to deal with.  I enjoy being hands on and creative, not having a killer backlog of repetitive work.

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Q12.   Do you sell internationally?

A. No. I’m not set up for that financially, and my pickups are made with vintage style materials, so they don’t meet RoHS standards.  I usually use a lead based solder, just as the originals did.  It’s only a tiny amount, but it’s in there.  There are also some countries that have a big problem with lost international shipments.  Plus, I am not trying to grow that much. Through my connections with other makers online, I can recommend some other good small independent pickup makers in other countries, whose work and ideas I am somewhat familiar with, and put you in contact with them.  Independent pickup makers in England, Italy, Canada, Germany, Australia, and Brazil come readily to mind.  Of course, for China, Mexico, Korea, and Indonesia, you could probably find them already installed by the factory in some of your guitars.

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Q13.   Man, this is a bunch of stuff to read. I’m a player, not a scientist. And I’m just an average Joe, not a rockstar. Why so much detail?

A. I’d rather give you too much information than not enough. Not everyone cares about all the little details but some do, and I can’t know in advance which details you do need to know. Hopefully this website is organized enough so you can find the answers you want and not have to read it all. If you do read it all and some of it seems a little repetitive that’s just so you can find answers if you look in one place but not another.  My sense from reading guitar magazines and the questions often posted in the various guitar forums is that there are lots of players who would like more information than they typically find on the maker’s websites.  By the way, if you have now read this far and haven’t already clicked away, so much the better.  For custom jobs, I am really only looking to work with players and luthiers that haven’t yet found what they are looking for in the market, and within that group, the ones that understand what their specific needs are and have enough desire and the patience to work through some details to get something really special and truly custom to their own unique requirements.  You don’t have to be a rockstar to afford custom gear, and I’m not really aiming for the rockstar market.  Lots of average players end up spending more than the cost of a custom set just trying out different pickups from the stores.  But you do have to be interested enough to dig into a little detail if you want to get something special.

So, all that said, let’s talk a little about you and what your requirements might be. If you’re here and in the market for custom replacement pickups for your guitar, I figure it’s more likely to be because you want a different and better tone, not because the pickups you already have stopped working.  Of course, if you do have a dead pickup or are rebuilding a guitar then this is a great place to look for a correct high quality reproduction, upgrade or rewind tailored to your needs. As long as you can give me examples of pickups you like the sound of we have enough information to work with for a custom job. Of course some informed players have done enough research and fooling around with various brands of pickups that they have their own ideas about what they want for specifications. By this I mean things like magnet alloys, and wire types, construction details and potting compounds, not just DC resistance and number of turns.  Many pickup makers want to avoid dealing with such buyers, because they believe the customer might be disappointed with the result and blame the pickup maker. And it’s true that some buyers will do just that. 

Of course, the pickup makers all have their own ideas about what works and doesn’t, and most all of them have lots of experience to draw on.  Most makers either just do not offer or else pretty much discourage requests by customers to build pickups to the customers’ specs.  I understand this, but if I am going to call my operation a custom shop, then I think that I should offer some amount of customization, as long as the buyer is willing to accept some degree of risk on the outcome, no different than the risk they would have to accept if they were building the custom pickups themselves. It often takes some trial and error to get good results. This isn’t a revolutionary concept- I’m not the only one to do this, I’m just saying what I do. So I offer a wide variety of options on most models, and I am willing to work with knowledgeable players who want to try out their own ideas. Again, there is some practical limit to what can be achieved with specific design variations, but there are still plenty of choices that are available for us to work with on custom models.

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Q14.   What if I want active pickups?

A. Right up front I need to point out that I prefer to work with passive pickup designs, so if you need pickups with active electronics they’re fine and I have nothing against them but I just don’t have much expertise to offer.  If you have some definite ideas about what you are looking for in active pickups I do have some professional acquaintances who are expert in that field and might be able to refer you to one of them.  That goes for bass pickups too even if you are looking for passive ones.  I’d just rather send you to someone that has more experience with them.

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Q15.   I hear a lot about handwound pickups. What’s the difference in machine winding versus handwinding?

A. I do both types. There’s plenty of difference, but each method has its advantages depending on the application. Certain styles are traditionally handwound and others have always been machine wound. So to be truly vintage accurate a pickup maker needs both techniques. There is more about this in the section on handwinding in the sales talk here.  (Scroll down to Myth#2)

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Q16.   I have heard a lot of talk about scatterwinding.  Do you scatterwind?

A. Yes, when I handwind, I often do a form of scatterwinding, but not always.  And when I machine wind, I sometimes program in a form of it there as well. There is a lot left to technique about this. Just random scatterwinding isn't always what you want. To me at least, it is more appropriate for single coils than for humbuckers.  See the section on handwinding in the sales talk here.  (Scroll down to Myth#2)

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Q17.   What’s all this talk about a Reference Pickup Library?

 A.  Everyone has a different idea of what great tone means, but many people agree some of the finest sounding pickups ever made were the production models of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. In my own experience this is true, and there is undoubtedly a huge demand for them.  Players and collectors have long ago snapped up most of the authentic originals and prices are now sky high. There’s a good reason for that.  Besides being scarce, those old pickups just sound great to a lot of people’s ears. That’s the kind of tone I am seeking in my vintage style pickups.  I try to get as close to those original materials, specifications, and methods as possible. To do that, I have spent a lot of time researching the available information, but also importantly, I have collected a library of reference pickups that I have extensively characterized using some fairly sophisticated electronic test gear. I use them for study and comparisons to my designs. I use every opportunity to add additional pickups and measurements to the library. That’s the only practical way I can think of to have any real chance of nailing down something we both can compare to for communicating your tonal intentions for customizing. Otherwise we would only be dealing with vague descriptions. Those are needed too, but not concrete enough to work with alone. I have a few costly authentic vintage pickups, but since they are so scarce and expensive I also collect examples of the high end contemporary versions others have produced and that you might have a better chance of being acquainted with.  I study their construction details and record dozens of measurements to compare to the same measurements taken on the ones I make. And when possible, I install them and listen.  Testing and electronic gear -- no matter how serious and elaborate, can only take one so far. It just speeds up the design process and testing.  In the end, you the player have the best test gear of all, your ears.

I use various electronic meters, an oscilloscope, a spectrum analyzer, and a gauss meter to do the characterizations.  For more about this see the section on test reports.  

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Q18.   I’m a player not an engineer. Why would I want a test report?

A. It’s not essential, but it is one way for you to get an idea of how successful we are on the customization you ordered. On custom jobs we are working to get a certain result compared to something specific we can both agree on like another pickup we are both acquainted with.  If we are using tone descriptors, they also sometimes can be quantified a little and measured.  So I compare your pickup to a reference pickup, and show you the differences between the two.  It’s also good to have the test data if you later want another one just like it.  On production models, while other makers may tell you in so many flowery words how their pickup sounds like one it is trying to imitate, with these tests I can show you exactly how the two compare in their responses and let you be the judge . Talk is one thing, but measurements, numbers and pictures are another animal. There is more tech info here. 

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Q19.   You keep talking about vintage styles. What’s the big deal with that?

A. Lots of people like the sound of the old factory pickups made in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  It is the sound that created rock and roll and the one that we all grew up listening to and want to hear. But try and buy one of the vintage pickups and you’ll find they are outrageously expensive.  There is more about all that in the sales talk here.

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Q20.   Will your pickups make me sound like Stevie Ray?  (Actually, I get this one sometimes)

A. Sure, 100% - as long as you already sound like Jimmy V. (or maybe Jimi H.), when you play on good gear. Stevie had an intensity and talent that could make even the cheapest guitar sound great, and fingers that could darn near play with barbed wire for strings. He superglued his fingernails down sometimes to keep going. He had some fabulous amps too, and tried all kinds of innovative ways to use them. It wasn’t all in his equipment, though it was often very very good. If you are already at that level, let’s talk about some custom signature pickups and maybe about endorsements or your next album. Otherwise, my pickups might make your guitar sound like Stevie’s guitar if you were somehow able to get someone like Stevie to play yours.  Sound comes from the player’s fingers and their brain.  Pickups don’t add one thing to anybody’s sound. All of them mainly take things away. That goes a little bit for strings too and sometimes wood, but not so much for amps and pedals which can both add some things and take other things out. For pickups, the real question is which parts do you want taken away and how much.  In my opinion, anyone that tells you differently is only adding more hype and BS to the myth, probably so they can sell you some snake oil. There’s a lot more about the facts on all that in the sales talk here.

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Q21.   I need a pickup that has lots of major mojo.  I don’t see that in the options you offer.

A. My pickups are packed full of wire and magnets. There isn’t enough room left inside them to keep even a very small mojo hand in there.  Actually all that kind of talk is all mostly just talk.  It’s no substitute for science, and doesn’t do much but add some colorful words to the conversation.  I don’t mind that but it’s still hype. If I could somehow charm them to create mojo I wouldn’t have to work.  It’s fun for thought and talk but kind of overrated  outside of that in my opinion.  I make them to look and sound as authentic as possible, and I work with you to help you tweak the tone.  Plus, they are custom made right here in Texas USA. If you need more mojo than that I suggest that you remove the pickups you have, wrap them in red flannel, put them into a mason jar with a little graveyard dirt and a silver dime and bury them under a crossroads for seven nights. It has to be the right kind of crossroads though. All the time – every minute – while they are buried you got to listen to the player you want to sound like, until that sound is stuck inside your head. Then dig them up and put them back in. If it doesn’t work you will at least have practice installing pickups so you can put in a set of mine.  Or instead of all that you could just try practicing more to start with.

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