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".
Sound is something you hear...Tone is something you feel.
Joe Cocker's former guitarist knows this better than anyone and demonstrates this phenomenon in the video below.
Professional Players & Expert Luthiers understand this better than anyone. Many pro player tell us the Tone Specific Strat Pickups have the most sustain of any Stratocaster Pickup ever made. 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.
Stage Worthy
Life as a Professional Guitarist is filled with ups and downs. All gigs and tours end eventually, this reality makes every performance an audition. Top Pros know this & this is why they suffer over every detail.
You've spent a lifetime finding the right instrument, don't come up short with stock or average sounding pickups. Top Pros realize that an amplifiers circuitry actually starts in your guitar, precisely at the location of your pickups. Anything less than the best in your guitar will make your tone less than it should be.
From Nashville to LA, Austin to NYC, Brazil to Japan top touring Pros load up all of their main gigging guitars with Tone Specific Pickups. After hearing these pickups, you'll feel the same. Just take a listen.....
LIVE ON STAGE
Studio Ready
In this era of technology, everyone seems to have a home recording studio. As a result, the session scene has never been more competitive. If you want to make it these days, then you need to make every note count. Top Session Players understand this & choose Tone Specific to equip all of their main studio guitars.
Your next session date might be in a real studio. The producer might ask you to just bring your guitar, when you show up they might have you plug into a modeler or computer rig. If you show up with average pickups, you might not get a second chance. Our pickups are optimized to work well with vintage style amps as well as modern modeling digital devices. This is why serious session guitarists use Tone Specific Pickups.
RECORDING SESSION
Luthier Approved
Pro Guitarists & Luthiers have a few things in common. They both work in very competitive fields & the both want their instruments to sound as good as possible.
Luthiers spend years perfecting their craft & many hours testing various hardware and components to get the best out of their instruments. We are honored that so many top luthiers and guitar builders choose to use Tone Specific Pickups. Stephen Marchione discusses his approach to crafting some of the worlds finest guitars in the video below.
BUILDING A MASTERPIECE - STEPHEN MARCHIONE
Add Tube Warmth to Digital Devices
Tone Specific Pickups will instantly add tube-like warmth and dynamics to digital amps and devices. Our pickups have found a home with many vintage & boutique amps but they also sound amazing through solid state amps, digital devices & directly into computer recording software. If you close your eyes, you might think you were hearing a vintage tube amp.
IMPROVE YOUR DIGITAL RECORDINGS & PERFORMANCES
Pro Guitarist Testimonials
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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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“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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“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.”
-Mike Severson, Guitarist for Robert Glasper, Phillip Bailey
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How to Choose
For some people, it's an easy choice. They play Blues so they get the 1959 Blues Set...
For others, they just want a well-balanced instrument that will cover any style. Don't over-think it. You can use any of our sets for any style. The names are just meant to descriptive and none the sets will limit you musically. The terms Twangy, Bluesy, Jazzy & Punchy could easily be replaced with the words Chimey, Dynamic, Warm & Direct.
If your guitar sounds thin, then look at the Jazzy set. If your guitar is a little dull sounding, you might look at the Twangy Set. If you want the most dynamics possible from your guitar, then get the Blues set. If you want a punchy set that really cuts, then get the Punch Set. If your instrument is pretty balanced and you want to get the absolute best out of it, then look at the Deluxe Set.
