The pickups and electronics are the heart of any electric guitar. Even if you have the most acoustically resonant, dynamic guitar in the world -- if the electric components can’t translate that to the amp, it’s not worth anything.
Early on I developed an appreciation for vintage guitars and the vintage tones I grew up with (thanks to my parent's good taste in music). Throughout the years, many vintage guitars have passed through my hands. I toured Europe with my band (learning that the reliability of your gear – including pickups - is very important), published reviews on P.A.F.-style humbuckers and vintage guitars in US and German magazines, played and recorded numerous guitars with original, vintage Gibson® humbuckers, and have had the pleasure to become friends with a lot of experts on all things vintage guitars. However, I rarely found modern and affordable pickups that had that OLD sound. When it came to electronics, it was even worst. There was simply no potentiometer on the market that was able to recreate the taper and feel of the legendary Centralab® pots from the 50s/60s.
As a Doctor in Science in molecular biology, I strongly refuse to believe in the voodoo circulating in the www. However, I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of using new technologies to get the best out of a classic design. Following a conversation with a friend who works as an aerospace engineer, I became interested in analyzing the influence of cryo-tuning of the metal parts on the magnetic field of pickups for electric guitars. We also used mass spectrometry to analyze the magnet composition of various vintage magnets in my own collection, and have the magnets for most of our pickups made here in the US to these specs. We analyzed (and sacrificed) several vintage Centralab® pots to get every detail about their taper and torque right.
After years of R&D, I am proud to offer my very own takes on those legendary vintage tones by using a unique combination of components, winding patterns, and patent-pending cryo-treatment method for all of our VIP pickups. And our VIPots, which are painstakingly recreating the old Centralab® potentiometers, have since become the No. 1 vintage spec replacement pot worldwide.
Our LOVERS™ humbuckers, VIPots and other VIP models have found their way into many guitars, played by beginners, professionals, to famous artists all around the world.
As a small business, we stand behind the quality and craftsmanship of our products.
We would love to welcome you into our growing circle of friends! Feel free to send us a message and share any thoughts, suggestions, questions, or feedback that you may have.
