New Guitar Pickups-To Buy or Not To Buy?

Set of single coil guitar pickups

Key points of the “vintage sound fallacy” include:

• Reproducible Specs: Modern manufacturers can meticulously duplicate the original specifications of vintage pickups, including wire type and size, magnet composition (e.g., Alnico II, III, IV, V), and winding patterns. This means a newly made pickup can sound essentially identical to a vintage one designed with the same specs.
• Physics, Not Magic: The tonal differences between various pickups are a result of their design and construction, which alter their electrical properties (primarily output level, resonant frequency, and inductance). These factors affect the frequency response, essentially acting as a type of built-in EQ. This sound can largely be replicated using modern EQ effects, further challenging the idea of a unique, mysterious “vintage” quality.
• Magnet De-Gaussing:  Gauss is the magnetic charge a pickup has. Original vintage pickups often have magnets that have naturally lost some of their magnetic charge (de-gaussed) over several decades. This results in a lower output and a warmer, more dynamic tone. Modern pickup makers can intentionally de-gauss magnets to replicate this specific characteristic, making it a feature, not an unachievable artifact of age.
  Magnets lose gauss strength starting after manufacture, albeit very slowly if not exposed to external factors. This gradual loss of magnetism, known as “magnetic creep,” occurs because the alignment of the internal magnetic fields can become disrupted over time or due to environmental factors like high temperatures, physical shock, or exposure to opposing magnets.

How and Why Magnets Lose Strength

• Aging: All magnets will lose a small amount of strength over time, even when stored properly. For example, neodymium magnets may lose about 1% of their strength per decade. Older vintage magnets much more loss during the first two years.

  • Heat: Exposing a magnet to temperatures above its maximum operating limit will cause the magnetic fields to misalign, leading to a permanent loss of strength.
  • Physical Shock: Impacts, drops, or other physical damage can disrupt the internal structure of the magnet and misalign its magnetic properties.
  • External Magnetic Fields: Exposure to a strong opposing magnetic field can cause the internal fields to align in a different direction, weakening the original magnetism.
  • Corrosion: Rust or other forms of corrosion can damage the magnet’s surface, making it more susceptible to losing strength. 

• Subjectivity and Marketing: Much of the perception of “vintage tone” is subjective and heavily influenced by marketing, nostalgia, and the association with iconic musicians (like Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton). The subtle differences between pickups of the same type are often minimal in the grand scheme of overall tone, which is also shaped significantly by the guitar’s wood, strings, amplifier, effects, but mostly the player’s technique. So the perception of “vintage tone” is the marketing ploy used to reel in unsuspecting, gullible guitar players searching for their sound. Basically it’s a marketing technique to lure in and make lots of money from unsuspecting buyers. The question still remains, New Guitar Pickups-To Buy or Not To Buy?

Guitar players love their guitars.

It’s an extension of them, it’s part of who they are. 

Players are emotional about their instruments. They think about how to do something positive and creative to make them sound better. It makes them feel good about trying to improve their guitars and do anything to make sounds better. Marketers use numerous superlatives and evocative adjectives to describe and sell guitar pickups to adoring crowds of guitar players, often focusing on the output level, tonal characteristics, and build quality. All of this hype is used against guitar players. Why?  To differentiate their products and appeal to a player’s desired sound needs. We are “musicians working for musicians” and simply want players to remain on the path to being great. Players who get caught up in false marketing claims get on the wrong path and lose the objective of playing music. Instead they go on a long fruitless search for some special sound that can be a life-long pursuit.

Enter the guitar parts marketers….

Step right up! Get your new ultra-powerful pickups with vintage sounds like you never heard before!!! Over-wound, vintage, coil-tapped, split coil, versatile, powerful, hot, high-output, raw, punchy, tight, dynamic, expressive, warm, fat, thick, full (more bass/ scooped mids),bright, crisp, clear, chimey, ringing, biting, twangy . As well as terms such as: creamy, smooth, glassy, chewy, rich, woody, organic, natural, brutal (for high-gain)   These marketing buzzwords are frequently used to describe the specific sound or “tone” of their pickups and confuse buyers.

Marketers use terms to help players envision a specific sound but they are subjective and difficult to quantify. 

The marketing guys will say anything guitarists want to hear. Why? It’s their job. The best marketer wins! They stay up all night  trying to figure out how to get players to buy pickups. However players don’t stay up all night trying to find ways to defend themselves against the seductive techniques being used to get their cash. They lose. Musicians spend unnecessary money for nothing. The result: The best marketers win! They get rich and the guitar players are poorer. Below are the terms marketers have thought up in their campaigns to get money from guitar players.
“Best-sounding” or “Ultimate”: General claims about overall quality. “Most powerful” or “Hottest”: Referring to high output pickups (often humbuckers or active pickups) that supposedly will push your amplifier into overdrive more easily. “Clearest” or “Most articulate”: Emphasizes note definition and a broad frequency response, often associated with active pickups or certain single-coils.
“Most versatile” is a general term to brag about a pickup’s ability to perform well across different genres and playing styles.
“Finest” or “Premium” simply the usual and customary “quality” claims sometimes described as “boutique quality” or “hand-wound” construction. All of these mean nothing.

In my experience as a musician, guitarist, builder and designer I have had the opportunity to speak with many of the people representing the guitar pickup industry. I will not name names here as the focus of this article is to present ways to help players and not to denigrate any of the manufacturers. One particular conversation left me with an eye-opening revelation. In speaking with a pickup maker I asked, “why do you have so many different pickups”? The reply was simple and direct. “Shelf space”.  Although that answer was shocking, it was not surprising after thinking about it.  It was however a new psychological weapon against guitar players. They were now in more trouble than I realized.

“Shelf space”

How does “Shelf space” translate to bad news for buyers?  Think about it. All stores big or small have limited shelf space.  Why is “shelf space important to marketers in getting products to consumers?  Shelf space is critical because it is a primary channel for product visibility and sales, influencing whether consumers see and purchase products in a competitive retail environment. Gaining more shelf space increases brand visibility and customer interaction, which can lead to higher sales and a more profitable shopping experience for pickup manufacturers. If a player walks into a music store and sees more of one company’s product than another, it’s a no-brainer. That’s the one he buys. That’s the bad news. “We won’t get fooled again” does not apply here. Players are now helpless. The decision has been made another one bites the dust. It’s no longer a decision of whether or not to buy new guitar pickups, but “which ones” to buy. Who is the real winner here, the player or the manufacturer?   You answer that one.

marketing terms

Marketers leverage marketing terms against buyers, often alongside specific details like ohms readings, magnet type (e.g., Alnico II, V, or Ceramic) winding style, bobbin type, wire coatings against guitar players to differentiate their products and appeal to a player’s weakness for a desired sound. The result is that players feel left out of the “loop” somehow. They want to be included in the elite group of players who now have the ability to change the world with their new found “sound” and become noted, famous and rich musicians. So, they buy NEW PICKUPS” to solve all of their image problems. They are now started on an upward trajectory to success guaranteeing their new found sound will translate to instant fame and fortune! It’s simply a few solder joints away!

Marketers know this about guitar players and have an advantage over them. They try and convince players that what they need is one of their “New Pickups” to get just the right sound and make their guitar sound better than ever! Gullible ego-sensitive guitar players take the bait and swallow it hook, line and sinker. The result: guitar parts companies “get rich” from unsuspecting players who want to believe the hype and exaggerated marketing claims will solve their inferiority issues. The guitar sounds are no better than before, just different. This process repeats itself every day and guitar players are fooled time and time again with all of the claims that are just not true. As we all know the 99% of the players out there who are not making the hit records can least afford to spend lots of cash on virtually nothing whatsoever. They’re simply handing over money to salesman handing them a line of codswallop in exchange. This brutal bullying process just goes on and on.

• Focus on the Player: The core argument is that the pursuit of “vintage sound” can be a distraction from practicing and developing one’s own playing style and sound. It’s a rabbit hole that players can get lost in.  It takes away from the important part of learning and practicing to be a better player. If players stop focusing on nonsense like this they would stress less and learn more. At Haywire Custom Guitar shop we focus on the player and not the need they are pressured to feel for more expensive and useless toys. New Guitar Pickups-To Buy or Not To Buy? is still the question guitarists are always asking. We always try and answer them as honestly as we can. We won’t try and upsell you on new parts. Bring your guitar into us and we’ll make your existing pickups sound GREAT!  Promise!

Bottom line

In early 1988 when I lived in California, I went to visit an old friend, Roy Buchanan who was playing at The University of California, Santa Barbara campus one evening. After the show Roy and I went to his dressing room for some beer and sandwiches. We were surrounded by a few other friends, Carey Ziegler, whom I have known since High school and whom played bass for Roy for the previous 5 years, Seymour Duncan, a friend since 1980 and Paul Reed Smith whom I had just met that day and a photographer, Chris Hazzard who was there to take promo shots for the news organizations. During a discussion with Roy the subject of his impending birthday came up and I suggested a few items that may be useful. He said, “Can you build me a stomp box that won’t do anything but just light up when you stomp on it”? I said sure. Why?  Roy just looked at me and smiled and replied, “you know the sound is all in your hands”. I nodded in agreement. the he added, “I get tired of people asking me how I get all of those sounds out of my guitar. If I can just point to the box and say it’s all in there then I wouldn’t have to continually explain how I get my tone and sounds”.  I couldn’t help but laugh.

I sent the box to Roy in Fairfax, VA just prior to his birthday with best wishes. It had: an input and output connected together with an LED operated by a stomp switch powered by a 9 volt battery. He loved  it and used it on every gig until his untimely death in August 1988.

If there is one take-away here it’s simply this. No need to rely on anything other than your talent and ability. You don’t need props, play-pretties or crutches to be a successful and great musician. Make your own sound. It’s in your hands.

Cheers!

Rick Mariner

Roy Buchanan and Rick Mariner from Haywire Custom Guitars

Roy Buchanan, Seymour Duncan, Paul Reed Smith and Rick Mariner from Haywire Custom Guitars