🎯 Collector or Player?

At some point, every guitarist faces a choice:

Are you a collector who hoards gear and chases tone on forums…
Or are you a player who chases greatness through action?

If you’re on this page, chances are—you’re a player.

Now ask yourself this:

Are you the kind of player who watches tone videos for the 10th time…
Or the kind who finally pulls the trigger—and lets the tone do the talking?

Only one of those players gets the gig.

The rest?
Still scrolling. Still searching. Still stuck.

This is your moment. Own it.

Tonal Details:

They are a little more aggressive without losing the vintage sweetness.
Neck pickup is clear and punchy. When distorted it will not get muddy.
Bridge Pickup is full and warm but has plenty of zing to cut through the mix. It is a complex sounding pickup that is never shrill sounding. It really sounds great overdriven and can push an amp. A lot of stronger Tele pickups don’t sound very good clean but this one sounds great and can get super funky.
The in-between position can get super funky & sounds great clean or distorted.
These pickups clean up great by rolling back the volume. They also work great with the tone pots to tame a harsh amp.

Vintage Tone for Modern Times.

Although its nothing like a 1970's pickup, we call it the 1971 because this is the pickup they should have been making in the 1970's. It would have a logical step forward from the 50's & 60's. The way construct these things give you more Punch, Sting & Volume than our much loved 60's pickups.

These pickup fit the music of the 1970's and beyond like a glove. The Punchy characteristic was inspired by the lack of vintage style pickups on the market with good Punchy tone.

Who wants to play a a humbucker squished into a Tele form factor or a tone-dead rail pickup, when you can have a real vintage style Tele pickup, voiced for Punchy tone. Our painstaking design and testing process has yielded pickups that that sound great with tube amps, pedals, solid state amps, digital devices and even software.

We have a hard time making these quickly enough because pro's are putting these in all of their main guitars including their vintage guitars.

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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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"I was knocked out by your pickups! Plugged straight in, it sounds like it was going through a top shelf tube compressor—only better. I’m the luthier/owner of Stonetree Custom Guitars for over 20 years now. My goal is to craft a “brand new old guitar”. I have relied on a couple of the biggest boutique pickup makers for the most part, but your pickups are a game changer. I have built guitars for many pros including Eric ‘Roscoe’ Ambel & Joe Bonamassa."

-Scott Platts, Luthier

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"These are the best pickups I've ever used. I'm so happy to have these in my guitars. They are better than vintage pickups. I was shocked to discover they are even better than the Arlo's. They just feel & sound amazing. Man you are a Genius. "

- Will Crosby, Legendary Guitarist (BB King, Aretha Franklin, Mavis Stables)

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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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"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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"Something about the way they feel when you play...the way they make you play & respond to you guitar is so important because it's inspiring & let you play better. They are the most sensitive pickups I've ever played...the best!"

-Marty Pelto, Guitarist

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"I love your pickups. I put them in my guitar and it is exactly what I was looking for. We play old honky tonk and Western swing, so I have to cover a lot of ground between twang and warm arch top tones. The bridge pickup is the first one that has made me happy other than an original 55 bridge pickup. The whole set has that great 50’s sound and feel. I don’t use any pedals and the combo sounds awesome plugged straight into my Princeton. Keep doing what you do!"

-Sam Platts, 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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"I can't thank you enough for my pickup set. They are an answer to a prayer that I could create the perfect guitar. I spent a great deal of money for a Strandberg only to find the sound was not up to par. Now, it is fabulous. Thanks Again & God Bless You."

-Stephen Lalonde, 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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“Fascinating recording the Les Paul Gold Top with the 57/61 Deluxe PAF's and comparing to my other Les Paul with stock pickups! At higher gain levels the Tone Specific's has great definition. There are harmonics coming out of the amp in the room I’m not used to with when using the Tone Specific's & it translate's beautifully when recorded! Interesting!!”

Doug Rappoport, Session & Touring Guitarist

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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 wanted to thank you again for making these great pickups. At first I thought it was a subtle change, but the more I play, the more I can’t STOP playing! These things are sounding better every day. Anyhow, I am totally in love with these! I now own 2 sets & I can't get enough. I just bought another set for my brother."

-Mark Malin, Amp Builder

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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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“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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"I freaked out when a first heard the Tone Specific's...very musical pickups...your can actually hear them bloom."

-Andrew Kumar, Guitarist

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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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"They sound better than all of the other pickups I've used. I think they even send better than the Arlo's. I'll be using them in my future builds."

-Ken McKay, Luthier

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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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“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”. (He likes them so much, he put the box 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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How to Buy/Pricing

Tele Pickups cost $396 - Made by hand right here in the USA - Due to overwhelming demand, the current wait is about 2 months. To order click the "Add to Cart" at the top of the page.

The demand from Professional Guitarists & Luthiers is about enough to sustain us but we really enjoy sharing our creations with the general public. If you are willing to be patient, then we will be happy to make a set for you.

Our building process takes a little longer than most pickup winders and we have rigorous testing that is performed on all pickups before they ship. This includes sound test. The goal is to make pickups that will not only inspire you when you get them but also 20 or 30 years down the road. Our goal is for these to be the last pickups you have to install in your guitar. We work hard & in a mindful way to make the perfect pickup, this is why you rarely see our pickups for sale on the used market.

Players with good ears seem to hear the difference right away. In fact, just about every pro we've dealt with has ordered multiple sets altering hearing how these pickups transform the feel & the tone of their instrument. We are sure you will appreciate the attention to detail when you hear your new pickups.

Sound is something you hear. Tone is something you feel. Great Tone has the ability to move you & the audience too. When you are able to grasp this concept, then you've arrived & we can't wait to make you an amazing set of pickups.

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