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 -  Vintage, Modern, Custom & Alternative Design Pickups - Made in Manchester
Custom Made in Manchester

My pickups are 100% handwound (scatterwound) on bobbins, vulcanised black flatwork or in some cases, removable bobbins to create 'air coils' with individually set eyelets to hold the wiring. Each pickup is hand wound at constant slowish speed of around with 41 AWgG, 42 AWG, 43 AWG or 44 AWG plain enamel or vintage formvar copper wire at the right amount of tension for each design. Pinched between forefinger and thumb on one of my handbuilt pickup winding machines, the tension I look for is just enough for the copper wire to warm a little whilst giving a noticeable 'pull' on the smaller motors I use.

Use the drop-down menu above to see my range of Strat, Tele, P90, Humbucker, Jaguar, Jazmaster & Bass Custom Handwound Pickups.


Handwound / Scatterwound Pickups

Unlike machine wound pickups, handwound (also called scatterwound) pickups can have a richer harmonic voice. The wraps of very thin coil wire are scatterwound, overlapping as the coil is built up to the required size for each or specifications for each particular design of pickup. A handwound / scatterwound coil does take time. I wind my pickups at slowish speed with varying tension to give a more open voice, overlapping the wraps of fine coil with a scattered pattern unique to each design. Unlike many uniformly pre-tensioned, machine wound coils, I like to wind my Creamery handwound pickups with a lower capacitance and a slightly higher resonant peak to give more dynamics in the tone, more clarity and improved string definition especially at gain. 


Custom Made Pickup Parts & Magnets

Most of my parts are custom manufactured - I try to use as few off-the-shelf parts as possible as my aim is to create truly custom & bespoke guitar pickups rather than simply focus on the same designs, using the same off-the-shelf parts as many other pickup makers.

All the magnets I use are custom manufactured specifically for me using my own specifications. I don't use off-the-shelf magnets from the various online shops as I like to be in control of the parts I use and can be confident of their unique specifications

Wax-potting process is a combination of 30% beeswax / 70% paraffin wax. Potting the pickup removes any trapped air in the coil and helps to stop microphonic feedback at high gain. Pickups can be purchased unpotted but high gain users should request potted pickups due to potential microphonics.


Custom Pickups - Wound to Order

All my pickups are custom wound, often to customers own specs when ordered. I don't have a shelf of pickups all boxed up ready to send so when you order pickups from me, they're made for you.

The pickups in my range can be a starting point when looking for the right tone for your guitar but often I will craft custom pickups specifically for the customer. As I said, I don't have a shelf of pickups boxed up and ready to ship, each pickup is wound to order based on the customer's unique spec.

Whether it be a strat pickup for a tele neck, a humbucker with flat baseplate or an upgrade to those muddy reissue Wide Raneg Humbuckers, I can custom design & wind you a set of custom pickups.

If you're seeking a little advice on the best type of pickup for your guitar, or simply want a custom pickup made to your specifications, just get in touch and we can chat about all the custom pickup options.

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