Category Archives: News

Finding the right acoustic pickup can be difficult. There are several different kinds, and each has its technical requirements to get the best performance. On top of that, you need to consider the rest of your signal chain and how it interacts. And finally, each type of acoustic guitar pickup has a unique sound with…

Guitar tone pot value is something most of us don’t think about unless you really like to get into the weeds of tone. But many players do like to mix and match them, optimizing their tone control and guitar to play, sound, and react just the way they want. So we’re going to take a…

Push-pull pots can turn a regular guitar into an insanely flexible tonal solution for every occasion. Most commonly used for eliciting single-coil-like tones from humbuckers, players can sometimes underestimate what all push-pull potentiometers can do. But that’s a mistake, because they can work all kinds of magic while hiding invisibly in the routing your guitar…

Seymour Duncan rail pickups are bold. Even with a cursory glance, the magnetic bars cutting across their face jumps out at you. It’s striking when compared to the pole pieces or screws in most pickups. And these rail humbuckers are a fast track to inject your guitar with that same attitude. But rail pickups are…

As soon as Ibanez released their AZ line of electric guitars, the web lit up with searches for Ibanez AZ wiring diagrams. Everyone wanted to know what the Ibanez AZ pickups were. And that’s no surprise. The Ibanez AZ wiring is something new, and Ibanez players are one of the most loyal and knowledgeable fan…

The effect of an electric guitar killswitch has been around a long time. For decades players like Tom Morello achieved a unique chopped-up tone like Rage Against The Machine’s “Bulls on Parade” solo. And of course, Van Halen fanatics tried to replicate the staccato effect with which Eddie ended his “You Really Got Me” solo….

When you think of Seymour Duncan pickups, you often think of Mr. Seymour Duncan himself. Makes sense. His name is on the building, after all. But did you know that there’s someone who’s been at Seymour’s right hand as long as the company has existed? Did you know that this man is directly related to…

We get asked a ton of questions about lipstick single-coil pickups. We’re asked everything from what they sound like to “Will they fit in my guitar?” and more. We understand the questions. They’re unique pickups, different from a Tele neck pickup, different from a Stratocaster single-coil pickup. They’re their own thing. So what are they?…

After selling his namesake company roughly ten years earlier, Leo Fender was back in the instrument business. And even with such iconoclast instrument designs like the Stratocaster, Telecasters, Precision, and Jazz Basses to his name, he wanted to make something greater. It was a tall order considering all of those instruments are still considered the…

Are you confused by all the different types of single-coil pickups? You’re not alone. So we thought we’d do a deep dive into some of the most popular ’60s Fender-style single-coil pickup designs. We find these 60-year-old designs fascinating and hope you will too. We’ll discuss each of these pickups’ history and their unique sounds….