Tone Lessons – Do it Once, Do it Right.

If you are here, chances are you are not 100% satisfied with your tone.  You’ve invested much time and money finding a guitar that feels and plays good.  Now you just need to get a set of Great Pickups that matches the tone you are hearing in your head.

Buying pickups is another investment of time and money, but it needs to be done.  You can save yourself a lot of grief by doing it right the first time.  Stop chasing the tone in your head with cheaply made mass-produced pickups.  Get the right set, the first time, then move on with your musical journey.  Read more about our innovative approach.

Some players have an idea of what their guitar needs to sound it’s best, others need a little help in deciding.  To help you make an informed decision we’ve posted video’s that show the different models pickups being played by the same guitarist using one amp. This will help you hear the differences between the models.    

Tone + Feel = Perfection

Everyone seems to focus on the word "tone". Well they should because it is very important but if you want to get the best musical experience from your instrument, then you need to be working with people who also understand the importance the word "feel".

Professional Players & Expert Luthiers understand this better than anyone. This is why many Pro's & Luthiers rely on our pickups. In fact, many pro's use our pickups in all of their guitars.

When designing pickup, the first step us to identify the desired tone. The second and most difficult step was to figure out how to maintain specific tones while also enhancing the dynamic range & sustain.

Stock pickups are lackluster & a majority of aftermarket pickups are stiff and lifeless. Our proprietary techniques produce pickups with unrivaled dynamic range & sustain. You'll instantly notice how the capture the harmonic content that you couldn't hear before. Some players refer to this phenomenon as 3 dimensional or being tube-like. Others just call it "perfection". 

We are humbled by the praise but more than anything we are just very happy that they appreciate our hard work & use our pickups to make music.

Pro Guitarist Testimonials

“You are a Genius. These things make a solid state amp sound like it has Tubes in it. They have this 3-D thing going on. I’ve tried every important pickup upgrade since 1983 & the pickups are the best by far. I want these in all of my guitars.”

-Mark Whitfield, Legendary Guitarist

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“Hey Maestro, the pickups sound amazing. There’s more depth to these than the stock pickups for sure. There’s a boat load of sustain too.”

-Will Brahm, Virtuoso Guitarist

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“It's like plugging into a nice Studio Tube Compressor...you hear every nuance of every note. Tone Specific pickups are more dynamic sounding, I'd say they're organic sounding. With other pickups you don’t get that. They sound very fat but very clear.  When you hit it harder you hear the dynamics you want to hear. I’ve been trying for years and with other pickups you don’t get that. They sound like vintage pickups”

-Leo Amuedo, Virtuoso Guitarist

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“They sound amazing. A big improvement over the other pickups I had. I use them in my #1 guitar for gigs and sessions.”

-Aaron Lebos, Jazz Recording Artist

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“Amazing pickups. They really capture the harmonics of each instrument. I use them in as many of my builds as possible.”

-Stephen Marchione, Legendary Luthier

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“I’ve had over 8 different sets of pickups in my guitar…I can honestly say without a doubt…these are the best sounding pickups I have ever heard... Well done gentleman…thanks for ending my tone search.”

-Benjamin Fargen, Legendary Amp Builder

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“I noticed the difference right away. I’ve tried every pickup you can imagine and the these pickups exceed everything else. Hands down the best pickups on the market. Just pure tone…the only pickups I’ll ever use”

-Lefty Ferguson, Nashville Guitarist

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“It sounds like the have Tubes in them...almost three dimensional. They just sound really sweet. I don’t how they do it but they even feel sweet. Just like vintage pickups but with more sustain and less noise. They are just amazing”

-Mike Gallaher, Legendary Guitarist - Joe Cocker, Leon Russell

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“You guys are Geniuses. I can’t put my guitar down...the response is very Tube like..very 3-D sounding. I just played a gig with the Tone Specific’s and I got so many compliments. It’s really amazing what you guys are doing over there. You've made all other pickups obsolete."

-Cali Freeman, Session Guitarist in NYC

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“These pickups respond just like vintage pickups. What makes them better than vintage pickups is that each set is consistent. You don’t don’t get that with vintage pickups…some are great & some are duds.  The Tone Specific’s always sound amazing. There's nothing else like these on the market.”

-Dan Courtenay, Vintage Guitar Expert/Buyer in NYC

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“The sustain is really amazing. They’re really easy on the hands...they just feel right. They are so dynamic...I just love them.”

-Mike Machado, Blues Guitarist

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"Just like vintage pickups only better. They have this dynamic thing going on kind of like a great tube amp. I imagine this is what new vintage pickups sounded like back in the 50's & 60's"

-Dani Robinson, Blues Guitarist (Performs Jimi parts w/Billy Cox Experience)

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“You are a Tone Wizard. My guitar has never sounded or felt so good. They respond to my playing in such an incredible way. It's just like playing an incredible tube amp. These pickups are so much better than everything else out there.”

-Breck Phillip, Guitarist

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“They bloom just like a vintage tube amplifier. There are just really vintage sounding pickups. Super warm, dynamic & they sustain forever. They just agree with all of my amps. There's nothing else like them. I put them in all of my guitars, even my vintage guitars. 

-Ford Thurston, Guitarist for Randy Houser based in Nashville, TN

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“Very present, warm & fat. Big improvement over thin sounding stock pickups. They just sound huge”

-Alexander Flock, Session Guitarist

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“They sound great & complement each other very well. They play just like butter & sustain forever. Other pickups seem very stiff compared to these.”

-Rob Phillips, Guitarist

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“These are the quintessential sounding P.A.F. style pickups. They give you all of that warmth, bloom & sustain you’d expect in a vintage pickups without being overly wound.”

-Jay Leonard, Session & Touring Pro

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“These pickups sound absolutely fantastic. Perfectly matched and more versatile than my vintage pickups”.  (Also uses the 61 Punch P.A.F. set. He likes them so much, he put our product sticker on his guitar)

-Steve Ouimette, Session Guitarist - Alice Cooper, Guitar Hero, Public Enemy

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“Tone Specific always delivers a masterpiece. These responsive pickups catch the essence of my guitars & enables the musician to create the sounds he wants”

-Vincent Cleroux, Luthier

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“Super warm & articulate with great sustain. The best pickups you can get”

-Pete Mroz, Nashville Musician

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“Your pickups sound superb…they sound great in every guitar I’ve put them in…lots of sustain…clear”

-Dean Gordon, Guitar Builder

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“Tone Specific makes the best pickups. The sustain and warmth is incredible. They are very dynamic, very tubey. They destroy all other pickups. They go in all of my guitars. It's kind of like plugging into and old Neve console”

-Mike Severson, Guitarist for Robert Glasper, Phillip Bailey (Earth, Wind & Fire)

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"Your pickups are killer. I've played a lot of guitar in my life but these pickups are the best I've played. I know you've worked hard at your craft but you should be very proud. You deserve all the kudos you get. Thank you very much".

-Lightnin Willie, Blues Recording Artist

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Handmade in the USA.

Our Pickups are made by hand, one at a time, right here in the U.S.A.  

Our goal is to make the most Dynamic, Warm & Sweetest sounding pickups in the world. All of our pickups go through a very demanding series of tests over several weeks and in various conditions before being approved to ship.

They are all designed to work well with a variety of Amps & Effects. From Tube to SS to Digital, these pickups deliver the goods.     

Now every Guitarist can experience the joy of having vintage voiced pickups tailored for their preferred tonal style. Unlike the rest of the herd of boutique winders that just wrap wire around a bobbin to achieve a certain Ohm reading, we've taken painstaking path to tonal perfection. We welcome you to join us on this path. If you are thinking about Great Tones………….Think Tone Specific!