Frequently Asked Questions

Why are your pickups so expensive? The parts are like two dollars, right?

My pickups are priced to reflect the quality of the materials, the time involved in building them, and the realities of operating a small manufacturing business.

Over 90% of the parts I use are custom-made to my own specifications. Many are designed in-house and produced specifically for me rather than sourced from inexpensive off-the-shelf pickup kits. This allows me to maintain a level of consistency and quality that simply isn't possible with generic components.

In addition, many of my suppliers require substantial minimum orders. I often invest thousands of dollars upfront in materials that may take years to use. I choose to prioritize quality over volume and build every pickup with care, attention to detail, and long-term reliability in mind.

My goal has never been to make the cheapest pickups possible—it's to make the best pickups I know how to build.

Will you make me a custom pickup based on the specs I give you, the tone I hear in my head, or modify one of your stock models?

At this time, no.

For many years I offered a wide range of custom options and built pickups to individual requests. While I enjoyed helping players explore different ideas, I found that custom work often made it difficult to maintain the consistency and focus that customers have come to expect from me.

Today I focus exclusively on my standard models. Each design represents years of development, testing, and refinement. Rather than offering endless variations, I prefer to present a carefully curated lineup of pickups that reflects my own approach to tone.

Think of it like visiting a favorite restaurant—you come for the chef's signature dishes.

There is a small pinhole in one of the magnets. Is my pickup defective?

No. What you're seeing is commonly known as an inclusion, and it is a normal characteristic of traditionally cast Alnico magnets.

One of the foundries I use supplied magnets during the vintage Fender era and continues to use many of the same sand-casting methods employed decades ago. During the casting process, tiny inclusions can form within the magnet. When the magnets are ground to their final dimensions, these inclusions occasionally become visible as small pinholes.

These are cosmetic characteristics only and have no effect on performance, reliability, or tone. In fact, they are commonly found in many vintage pickups that players regard as highly desirable today.

Because these inclusions are a normal part of the manufacturing process and do not affect function, I do not accept returns based solely on minor cosmetic imperfections.

I'd like to sound like (famous guitar player). Which set will give me their tone?

Unfortunately, no pickup can guarantee another player's sound.

Pickups are an important part of the equation, but they are only one piece of a much larger system that includes the guitar, amplifier, speakers, strings, effects, recording chain, and, most importantly, the player.

For example, installing a vintage-style pickup won't automatically recreate Hendrix's Monterey tone if the rest of the rig is completely different. The amplifier and speaker setup alone can have a tremendous impact on the final result.

My pickups can help move you toward a particular tonal character, but no pickup can fully replicate another player's sound on its own.

Will you customize the polarity or winding direction of my pickups to match an existing set?

No.

To ensure consistency, serviceability, and compatibility, all of my pickups are built to my standard polarity and winding specifications.

Over the years I've found that custom polarity and winding requests can create confusion when pickups are resold, traded, or later combined with additional pickups. What works perfectly for one customer's unique setup can become a frustrating compatibility issue for the next owner.

By maintaining a consistent standard across my entire lineup, I can provide better support and ensure that future additions or replacements will perform exactly as intended.

I received my pickups but decided to sell the guitar or stop playing. Can I return them?

Unfortunately, no.

Because my pickups are built to order, I cannot accept returns based on changes in personal circumstances after the order has been completed and delivered.

I certainly understand that plans can change, but once a set has been built and shipped, I am unable to offer refunds for decisions unrelated to the product itself.

If you no longer need the pickups, I recommend selling them through the used market, where quality hand-built pickups often retain excellent value.