The P.A.F. that got away—vintage clarity with modern punch. The Wolfetone Marshallhead is Wolfe McLeod’s love letter to the rare “hot P.A.F.s” that rolled out of Gibson’s Kalamazoo factory by happy accident in the late ’50s. Back then, coils were wound by hand, and not every pickup came out exactly the same. Some were just […]
When I dropped the DiMarzio Super Distortion T into my Tele’s bridge slot, I wasn’t expecting a time machine back to a late‑’70s Les Paul, and I think that is the best expectation to set for yourself. A single‑coil‑sized, twin‑blade humbucker is never going to be a 1:1 clone of a full‑size Super Distortion—but it […]
READER QUESTION: Is there a way to split a humbucker with a DPDT on/on/on 3-way toggle switch to get north coil-split/series (HB)/south coil-split… in any order? Thanks, Terence
The Seymour Duncan ’59 Model humbucker (SH-1) is one of those rare pickups that manages to combine vintage tone with practical versatility—all without the boutique price tag. Designed to emulate the character of late 1950s PAF-style pickups, the ’59 brings old-school flavor to modern rigs with just enough flexibility to suit a wide range of […]
The world of electric guitar pickups is crowded with variations on familiar themes, but every so often, a product comes along that truly surprises. The Fralin Big Single Mini is one of those rare pickups. It brings something unexpected to the table — a clear, chimey single-coil voice packed into a compact, Firebird-sized housing. After […]
The Seymour Duncan Slash APH-2 is an electric guitar pickup designed in direct collaboration with Slash himself. It’s a set of Alnico II humbuckers meant to replicate the exact tone of his legendary ’86 Derrig Les Paul — the one that drove Appetite for Destruction into the rock pantheon. What’s immediately worth noting is the […]
If you’ve ever wished for authentic single-coil clarity in a humbucker-sized housing—without the usual trade-offs—the Fralin Big Single might be the pickup you’ve been waiting for. Designed by Lindy Fralin as a modern evolution of the Mini-Humbucker, the Big Single manages to be bold, clear, and articulate while side-stepping the familiar buzz and hum that […]
The Seymour Duncan SM-2 is a mini-humbucker designed for players who want a punchier, more aggressive sound from a compact pickup. It’s part of the SM series—well-suited for guitars like Gibson Firebirds, Les Paul Deluxes, and others that use mini-humbucker routes. The SM-2, also known as the Custom Mini Humbucker, is the hottest model in […]
The DiMarzio Injector is a stacked hum-cancelling single-coil pickup available in two versions: DP422 (Neck) and DP423 (Bridge). Both feature Alnico 2 magnets and four-conductor wiring for flexible configurations, along with wax potting to eliminate microphonic squeal. History The DiMarzio Injector first hit the market in 2010, and it was developed in close collaboration with […]
When it comes to recreating vintage Strat tones without the baggage of vintage noise, DiMarzio’s Area series has long been a go-to choice. Of the bunch, the Area 58 stands out to me as one of the most satisfying single-coil pickups ever made. It’s a modern solution to a vintage problem—a clever design that captures […]
Question Hello, I am trying to find a wiring diagram for 3 humbuckers (old style 1 hot and 1 ground) with 3 volumes and 1 tone or whatever will work with 4 holes. I need to use a blade switch 3 way or 5 way. It is for a student in my high school woodworking […]
Question Hey I love your site! It’s very informative and super helpful, which I greatly appreciate. I have an upcoming project that I need help with for the wiring diagram. The pickups are Mojotone Mojo’tron (Filter’tron clone) and the wires are color coded as such: black (south start), white (south finish), green (north start/ground), red […]