Pickups

The Un-Tele

By Pete Prown

The NF53 makes more sense once you stop asking it to be a Telecaster. Pete Prown spends time with the U.S.-built PRS and finds a guitar that borrows Leo’s bolt-on, 25.5-inch-scale vocabulary while heading elsewhere with a deep U-shaped maple neck, swamp ash body and Narrowfield DD humbuckers. At under seven pounds, it is comfortable and beautifully set up, delivering warm, punchy twang without the familiar Tele clank. The interest lies in what PRS does with those ingredients.

The ToneQuest Triple Lindy

By Riverhorse

The ToneQuest crew documents the building of three dream guitars — two Telecasters (Blue and Blondie) and a Stratocaster (Sunny) — using heavyweight parts from Allparts, MJT, Callaham, Pete Flynn, Jason Lollar, and Ron Ellis, culminating in Sunny's spectacular 1963 Fender rosewood neck once played by SRV.

Enter The Gristle

By Oscar Jordan

Greg Koch returns with Blues, a retrospective album featuring Larry McCray, Jimmy Hall, the Memphis Horns, and more. Koch talks musical influences, his Reverend signature guitar, Fishman Fluence pickups, Tone King amps, and the JAM Pedals Koch Ness Monster Supreme pedalboard.

Vintage Pickups For The Modern Strat Player

By Oscar Jordan

Lollar's Special S Stratocaster pickups deliver a darker, hotter, and gainier vintage single-coil sound with a fuller midrange and less glassiness — a dream upgrade for Strat players craving more power without sacrificing classic tone.

Music City Groove Master Telecaster Saddles

By Riverhorse

Music City's Groove Master brass saddles promise to solve the classic Telecaster "sitar" problem while improving string spacing and intonation. TQR's Riverhorse puts them to the test with TQR Advisory Board Member Clancey Compton — and the results surprised everyone.

THC H450/H455 Humbuckers

By Riverhorse

ToneQuest puts the Tom Holmes THC H450/H455 humbuckers through their paces in a vintage Goldtop, calling them a "game over" set that rivals — and arguably surpasses — the finest vintage PAFs they've played.

El Especial Supremo

By Riverhorse

A deep dive into the world of P90 pickups, tracing the journey of hunting vintage dogears, acquiring a TV Yellow Gibson Les Paul Special, and putting Ron Ellis Classic P90s and a vintage 1959 dogear through their paces — with interviews with pickup builders Ron Ellis and James Finnerty of ReWind.

Your Electronics Make A Difference

By Scott Ulrichs

RS Guitarworks' pre-wired vintage electronics upgrade kit for Les Paul-style guitars delivers a smooth, even taper and noise-free performance that transforms how your volume and tone controls behave. At around $120, it's one of the most cost-effective upgrades you can make to any electric guitar.

The Nash Equation

By Scott Ulrichs

Bill Nash's patent-pending Nautilus Neck applies the Rule of 18 to fretboard radius, creating a conical taper that delivers consistent action and playability from the 1st fret to the 12th.

A Player’s Perspective

By Pete Prown

Pete Prown offers a hands-on evaluation of the PRS Silver Sky John Mayer Model, tracing its evolution from its controversial debut in 2018 through its U.S.A. and SE variants, and weighing it against vintage Fender Strat benchmarks.

Pickup Reviews

By Riverhorse

Pete Flynn's handcrafted PAF-style humbuckers — reviewed in two sets, the Low Wind A2 and the A5 — deliver stellar vintage character at remarkably reasonable prices, earning high praise after more than half a year of real-world evaluation.

Justin Stabler

By Riverhorse

Justin Stabler is Trey Anastasio's trusted guitar tech — a Jersey-raised musician, luthier, and tone obsessive who has worked the road with Lauryn Hill, Bon Jovi, Hall & Oates, and Phish, honing his craft under mentors like Joe Glaser and Matt at 30th Street Guitars. In this wide-ranging conversation he shares hard-won wisdom on setups, NOS tubes, Trainwreck amps, vintage pickups, and the beautiful chaos of life in service to great music.

Ron Ellis

By Riverhorse

Ron Ellis of RE Pickups talks winding boutique humbuckers and Telecaster pickups for artists like Lee Roy Parnell, Jedd Hughes, Julian Lage, and David Gilmour, while sharing his transition to running the pickup business full time alongside his son Alan.

The Southern Jazzmaster Adventures

ToneQuest embarks on a dual Jazzmaster adventure — upgrading a Squier J. Mascis model and building a custom TQ Jazzmaster from the finest parts on earth — with deep dives into Mastery Bridge, luthier Cody Gleason's finishing artistry, and a wide-ranging conversation with John Woodland on guitars, history, and the birth of the Mastery Bridge.

Heavenly Pickup Truckin' Tailgate Party

By Riverhorse

A hands-on roundup of Jazzmaster pickups — from Fralin and Lollar standards to rare Fred Stuart customs and April 1964 vintage originals — with insights from legendary builders Jason Lollar and Lindy Fralin on what makes the JM pickup unique.

Hendrix Izabella Single Coils

By Riverhorse

Sherman Stockton of Stocktone walks through the design philosophy behind his Hendrix Izabella single-coil loaded pickguard — custom-aged Alnico 5s built to capture the "Voodoo Sound" of Jimi's flipped right-handed Strat. ToneQuest's own field test confirms they deliver woody, round, fuzz-friendly Strat tone with beautiful vintage-style gray bottoms.

The Soul Behind Artisan Pickups

By Scott Ulrichs

Finnish guitar maker Juha Ruokangas takes ToneQuest through the painstaking, science-driven journey he and his team undertook to develop their Väinö and Aino PAF-inspired humbuckers — from chasing vintage tone references to solving the potting dilemma without wax.

Listening Beyond First Impressions

By Scott Ulrichs

A deep-listen review of the Ruokangas Väinö and Aino humbucker pickups, evaluated across a Gil Yaron LP and PRS Hollowbody II over months of real-world playing with a wide range of amps and guitars.

Pete Flynn’s Duane A3s Alongside The T-Tops

By Jonn Del Toro Richardson

Guitarist Jonn Del Toro Richardson puts Pete Flynn's A3 Duane Cherry Burst humbuckers and T-Top pickups head-to-head in his road-worn Novo, discovering two very different — and equally compelling — voices for gigging life.

The OTB Ultimates Among The Few Top Tier

By Riverhorse

With the great pickups every component matters.

The Strat 54S & FP 64S Pickup Reviews

By Riverhorse

Ron Ellis sits down with ToneQuest to discuss the 54S and FP 64S Strat pickup sets — Alnico 3-powered early-Fender magic and flat-pole perfection that have left the reviewer utterly unwilling to pull them from his guitars.

Burnt Copper Journeyman Relic

By Scott Ulrichs

Fender's Custom Shop Limited Edition Hotshot blends Stratocaster and Telecaster DNA into one eyecatching hard-tail hybrid, with hand-wound Bricenda Pineda pickups, a brass-saddle Tele-style bridge, and a burnt copper journeyman relic finish that makes a compelling case for players who love both platforms.

What Would Larry Cragg Say?

By Larry Cragg

Legendary guitar tech Larry Cragg responds to ToneQuest's question about Neil Young's '53 Les Paul "Old Black," detailing its wiring history and sharing his preferred treble bleed circuit.

Buckers Sets: Duane Cherry Burst A3 & A2

By Riverhorse

Pete Flynn discusses his Duane Allman-inspired rough-cast A3 and A2 humbucker sets, tracing the research and listening that goes into replicating iconic PAF tones, followed by a hands-on review that praises the pickups' clarity, body, and historically correct pure nickel covers.

Jonn Del Toro Richardson And The Tele Pickup Rambles

By Jonn Del Toro Richardson

Jonn Del Toro Richardson puts Pete A. Flynn's Telecaster pickups through their paces, finding clarity, open woodiness, and pure Tele tone across every position. A rave review capped with an open invitation to come play the guitar on the road.

A Conversation With Rich Renken

By Scott Ulrichs

Rich Renken, General Manager of Tyler Guitars, traces the history of Jim Tyler's innovations — from modifying Dann Huff's legendary 1964 Stratocaster to the genesis of the Tyler Dann Huff Original Classic — in a deep-dive conversation covering electronics, wood, and the sonic secrets behind some of the most iconic session tones of the '80s.

Dann Huff Original Classic Review

By Scott Ulrichs

The James Tyler Dann Huff Original Classic is a supremely versatile instrument built with Ferrari-like attention to detail in San Fernando, California — capable of everything from funk and jazz to rock and pop. ToneQuest's Scott Ulrichs spent a month with the guitar and found himself reaching for it nearly every day.

The Northern Sunlight Strat

By Riverhorse

A deep dive into a Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster discovered at Guitar Riot in Cleveland, followed by the building of a stunning pine-body ToneQuest Strat with Stocktone Rude Mood pickups and a Smokey B's custom harness — plus interviews with Sherman Stockton and Brandon Ficquette.

Modified 1935 Gibson L-50

By Scott Ulrichs

A "left for dead" 1935 Gibson L-50 gets a second life at the hands of a skilled luthier — transformed with a new cutaway, a Mojotone hum-cancelling P-90, and a reshaped neck into a uniquely playable and sonically stunning instrument. Scott Ulrichs chronicles the serendipitous discovery and remarkable resurrection of this one-of-a-kind archtop.

Pickups Of Future Past

By Oscar Jordan

Celebrating 30 years designing sought-after electric guitar and bass pickups, Jason Lollar and production manager Kevin Moe sit down with TQR to discuss the philosophy, craft, and future of Lollar Pickups — from P-90s and the new Super-Caster to hum-canceling breakthroughs and what's coming next.

Tom Holmes

By Riverhorse

Legendary pickup maker Tom Holmes discusses his return to the bench after heart surgery, the rare vintage Gibson bobbin mold he now operates himself, and decades of craft that have made his humbuckers the choice of Keith Richards, John Fogerty, and Peter Frampton.

RS Guitarworks Pre-wired Les Paul Harness

By Scott Ulrichs

RS Guitarworks' Billy walks us through the science and philosophy behind the company's proprietary SuperPot taper, vintage-voiced tone pots, and hand-wound PIO capacitors — and why getting the electronics right matters as much as any pickup swap.

The Tools For The Trade

By Scott Ulrichs

ToneQuest sits down with Josh Olken of Terrapin Flyer to explore his guitar rigs, signal chain, and the art of channeling Jerry Garcia's tone while finding his own voice in Chicago's long-running Grateful Dead tribute band.

Note-To-Note With Ron Ellis

By Riverhorse

Ron Ellis — retired Lawrence Livermore engineer turned full-time pickup maker — walks through the origins of the Frisell Neck humbucker, how the Frisell/Signature pairing delivers vintage single-coil clarity from a Les Paul, and why pickups should never be louder than the guitar beneath them. The interview closes with a bonus first-listen report on the Bette Set.

The Serendipitous Swap: A Tale of Two P90s

By Edward Zawadzki

Las Vegas guitarist Edward Zawadzki recounts how a mislabeled Ellis pickup order turned into a happy accident, transforming his 2013 Collings DC290 into the guitar it was always meant to be.

Deep Dive On Potentiometers And Capacitors

By Scott Ulrichs

An in-depth conversation with Taylor of Nostalgic Guitars explores how vintage Centralab and Sprague pots and caps shaped the tone of late-'50s and 1960 Les Paul Standards — and how to get as close as possible in 2025.

The Proof Is In The Playing. Just Try It.

By Scott Ulrichs

The editors share their own hands-on findings swapping harnesses, cap values, and taper types in pursuit of maximum clarity.

Guitar People

A collection of candid insights from legendary guitar people — including Neil Young's tech Larry Cragg, luthier Larry Pogreba, builder Fred Stuart, and Bill Collings — on neck setup, tone, acoustics, and the secrets inside great guitars.

Pickups

A roundup of insights from leading pickup designers and experts — including J.T. Ribiloff, Tom Holmes, Lindy Fralin, and Rick Holmstrom — on the history, materials, and craft behind great-sounding humbuckers and single-coils. From PAF archaeology to hand-wound coils to the role of wood, these voices reveal what really makes a pickup sing.

Compensated Wraparound Tailpiece

By Riverhorse

Joe Glaser and Tom Bukovac's Music City Stud Finder is a compensated wraparound tailpiece designed to improve intonation and resonance on vintage Gibson wraparound-bridge guitars. ToneQuest puts it to the test on a pristine 1955 Les Paul Junior.

Interview Bob Palmieri

By Riverhorse

Bob Palmieri of Duneland Labs discusses his radical rethinking of humbucker pickup design — including a 17-magnet architecture — and the philosophy of response, magnetic string pull, and tonal exploration that drives his acclaimed Blackpole pickups.

Blackpole Humbuckers Sets 2021 and 2024

By Riverhorse

Bob at Duneland Labs has built something truly singular with his Blackpole humbucker sets — impossibly powerful, hyper-responsive, and utterly alive. Reviewer Riverhorse tests the rare 2021 original and the refined 2024 version in a Goldtop and finds both among the finest pickups encountered in decades of searching.

Pete A. Flynn

By Riverhorse

Pete A. Flynn — musician, vintage guitar dealer, and founder of P.A.F. Pickups — talks about his decades-long quest to crack the code of late-1950s PAF and Broadcaster tone, and how he finally built the pickups that convinced players with the finest vintage collections that he'd done it.

The Mojave Desert Fringes

By Riverhorse

James Finnerty of ReWind Electric discusses his journey from vintage Gibson collector's assistant to boutique pickup maker, sharing insights on PAFs, magnet types, and building custom pickups for Trey Anastasio of Phish.

ReWind Pickup Reviews

By Riverhorse

James Finnerty's ReWind humbuckers go under the microscope in a marathon listening session with nine pickups, two Les Pauls, and a spread of vintage amps — the verdict is that a rare few modern builders are finally getting it right, and Finnerty is one of them.

From Myth to Reality

By Riverhorse

Mario Milan and James Finnerty's 172-page deep dive into the Gibson PAF humbucker is a richly illustrated, essential read for anyone who cares about the pickup that defined an era.

Hardtail Strat Evolutions & Revolutions

By Riverhorse

Rio Grande's Muy Grande single-coils and Dirty Harry P90s get a real-world workout in a hardtail Strat build, delivering Texas-sized punch, touch response, and a surprising tweed-like swagger that transformed a bright, thin-sounding guitar into a crusher.

Signature Humbucker 50/60S & 64S Strat Sets

By Riverhorse

Ron Ellis's Signature Humbucker, 50/60S, and 64S Strat pickup sets are put to the test — and emerge as some of the most tonally expressive, harmonically rich pickups the ToneQuest team has encountered in years.

Surfin’ The Bebop

By Scott Ulrichs

A 1959 Fender Jazzmaster on loan from Music Villa in Bozeman, Montana gets a 24-hour home audition — revealing surprisingly addictive tones through a Benson Monarch and a '64 Vibrolux Reverb. Scott Ulrichs explores what makes this vintage offset tick, from its paper-thin frets and hand-shaped neck to its uniquely growling rhythm circuit.

Stealing The Heart of P90 Magic

By Riverhorse

Sherman Stockton of Stocktone Custom Shop teams up with legendary guitar tech Tommy Alderson to clone the magical P90 from a 1954 Les Paul Jr, aging the magnets to capture the original's extraordinary tone. TQ puts the resulting pair through their paces with highly recommended results.

NoteWorthy

Lost in a sea of pickup choices? ToneQuest Report teams up with Lindy Fralin to answer your questions about windings, magnets, tone, and everything in between — email your questions and get answers straight from Fralin Pickups in Richmond, Virginia.

To Get Out of a Stratocaster (Easily)

By David Boze

David Boze explains how a simple, reversible Fender S1 switch mod can add two entirely new tones to a Stratocaster — including that coveted Telecaster neck-and-bridge parallel sound — without drilling a single hole or sacrificing any of the original five positions.

Brandon Ficquette of Smokey Bs

By Riverhorse

Brandon Ficquette of Smokey Bs discusses guitar wiring, harness construction, and the art of matching capacitors, potentiometers, and switches to bring out the best in a Stratocaster's tone.

PAFs… Definitely Maybe

Vintage PAF humbuckers remain the most treasured and elusive pickups ever wound — and the most misunderstood. ToneQuest digs into what makes a great PAF sound great, with insight from builders Tom Holmes and Lindy Fralin.

The Pickup Lines

By Riverhorse

ToneQuest sits down with pickup wizard Jason Lollar to explore the evolution of Fender single-coil Strat pickups from the 1950s through the '70s — materials, wire, magnets, and sound — plus a deep dive into his four signature Strat sets: Tweeds, Blondes, Sixty-Fours, and Specials.