Top Finds of 2009 / Heaven 57 Pickups

What better way to bring some character into a guitar than to wire it up with a new set of pickups? A new set of pups is not only capable of delivering great tone, but can also shape your guitar into the tone monster you've always wanted it to be. Coming at us from our Nordic friends across the sea is Lundgren Guitar Pickups, a Swedish based pickup company with a talented ear for great tone. Of all the fantastic pickup builders I came across last year Lundgren was by far one of my personal favorites. The mastermind behind Lundgren Guitar Pickups is non other than Johan Lundgren, a man on a mission to hand the world as many great tone tools as possible. After many years of playing the guitar, playing in bands, and studying guitar pickups, Johan decided to dive into the art of rewinding pickups. Then after years of trial and error, dissecting old pickups, and paying close attention to what makes a great pickup sound great, Johan finally mastered the rewind process. The next logical step was for Johan to build his own pickups, and so was born Lundgren Guitar Pickups. Today Johan and his company are responsible for some of the world's greatest sounding, greatest performing pickups. We had a chance to put a set of Lundgren Heaven 57 humbuckers into action. The outcome?... Well, it was absolute tone heaven.

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Lundgren Guitar Pickups

Jönköping, Sweden

Builder: Johan Lundgren

Years in the Game: 20

Heaven 57®

Humbucker

* Designed to 50's Specs

* Modeled after late 50's P.A.F.'s

* Wound with Plain Enamel Wire

* 5-40 Polescrew

* Wooden Spacer beneath the Bobbin

* Nickel/Silver Baseplate

* Alnico Magnet

* Heaven 57 also available in Aged Cover

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In only took about five minutes to decide Lundgren was one of my new favorite pickup companies. We took the set of Heaven 57's and swapped them into an Epiphone Dot we had laying around the studio. I also switched the stock ceramic capacitor for a .1uf polystyrene orange drop capacitor. Instantly the guitar was thrown back into the studio's rotation and sounding fantastic. The sound of the Heaven 57's vs the stock pickups was like a breath of fresh air, like playing a proper vintage Epiphone. The Lundgren pickups are that good, literally. The mission Johan had to dial these pickups into a late 50's P.A.F. sound is spot on the mark and without error. We had a chance to compare the pickups with a proper late 50's Les Paul Standard that was loaned to us and the similarities were uncanny. All of the woody, earthy, and chunky tone you would expect from a great set of vintage humbuckers can be found in the Heaven 57's. They added a classic vibe to the guitar that made it seem as if we were thrown back in time. The construction of the pickups is also very impressive, you will see just from holding them in your hands that they are built extremely well and will last you a life time. When hunting for pickups, at least for me this is true, I want to make sure it will be the one and only time I will be installing pickups into whichever guitar they are going into. Honestly it would be nice if all of us could afford to purchase our dream guitars, guitars with rockin' pickups and awesome specs. With the way things are going these days it just seems more logical to get a mid-priced decent guitar, then hunt down a great set of pickups to bring it up to par. I'll tell you this much, the set of Lundgren Heaven 57's definitely added a much needed boost of life into our Epiphone Dot.

There weren't many amps we paired these pickups up with that didn't produce an amazing sound. Everything from low-watt to high-watt amplifiers, and low to high volumes worked great with the Heaven 57's. Their classic Gibson P.A.F. tone gave them a natural aggression that drove clean tones into some of the most grit tearing rock tones I'd ever heard. Even better was driving an amp on the verge of overdrive and letting the pickups take care of the rest, this is where the pickups truly shined. Then matching them up with some of my favorite fuzz boxes? Oh yeah, absolute psychedelic/garage rock heaven. The first setup for us was a 100 watt Super Lead, and a TS808 for extra boost. We set the amp up straight up the middle and plugged into it's High Treble channel. I played through the neck pickup first without the TS808 engaged. The amp and pickups produced a sweet, warm, and rich sound that improved the guitar's dynamic range and enhanced the overall tone. To get a little grit out of the sound all I had to do was strengthen my pick attack. To get a completely sparkling clean tone from the neck pickup all I did was roll the guitar's volume back a tiny bit. Next I flipped into the Heaven 57 bridge pickup. Here I was able to get some stunning lead tones and growling rhythm sounds. The dynamic qualities that are in the neck pickup also translated to the bridge pickup. In the middle pickup position I got a perfect balance of punch and warmth. Taking the guitar's tone knob back about half way and kicking in the Tubescreamer created the most insane sounding overdrive sound. Think of Neil Young's tone blended with a bit of Stevie Ray's and that's what I got. Not too aggressive and just dirty enough to do some damage. In fact, this became my favorite Heaven 57 sound. Before switching amps we took the Super Lead and pumped it straight into a natural low overdrive. Like I mentioned earlier this is where the pickups really did their best work. I was stunned at how great our guitar was sounding. After flipping back and fourth from pickup to pickup I stepped on the TS808 and let everything fly. The distortion was open and whole, clear and not muddy, and in perfect harmony with the Dot's semi-hollow body design. With both amp and pedal cranked to their fullest we even got some edgy modern distortion tones that worked great for knocking out huge sounding power chords. One of the other amps we plugged into that really stood out to me was my modified 4x10 Deville. My Deville is the kind of amp that leaves no room for hiding, either something sounds good through it or it doesn't. Without any pedals, a tad bit reverb, and a evenly set tone stack, the pickups came off just lovely. The neck pickup was round and full, and bridge pickup crisp and clear. Playing both simple and complex chords sounded amazing. This is where you can tell a good pickup from a not so good one. A nice pickup will project every string evenly and clearly. A cheap pickup projects everything muddy and congested. Next the fuzz pedals came rushing in, both classics and newer stompboxes. All of them worked nicely with the pickups and never got out of control. When playing fuzz pedals you always want to make sure you have a pickup that can handle the job. We had no problem getting all the tones we wanted from the pedals. Even when we set really extreme fuzz setting the Heaven 57's were able to bring it back a notch by rolling back the guitar's volume. Just like you would expect from a vintage Les Paul or 335. In the end the Heaven 57's were able to cover many many different rock genres. Classic rock, blues, punk rock, alternative rock, country, hard rock, and even some jazz was possible with these bad boys. Now we have another guitar we can use in our recording sessions, gigs, and practices. I would highly recommend anyone looking for a authentic P.A.F. tone to seek out these pickups. Or if there's some other flavor you thirst for Lundgren I'm sure is capable of quenching it. There are a handful more different humbucker models, Strat, Tele, P90's, and even bass pickups. If you have a set you need rewound Lundgren can also take care of that for you. What does that say to you? I know what that tells me.... that these guys are on top of their game and very experienced in the pickup building process. We will try and report back on more from this awesome company and hopefully have some different models to introduce you to. For now if the 50's rock thing is what you crave, start here. You won't ever look back.

Aged Covers

also available for

Heaven 57 neck and bridge pickups

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For more info on Lundgren Guitar Pickups go to www.lundgren.se Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for more from this awesome pickup company. Lundgren also offers a wide variety of other pickup models and also does spectacular rewinds. Keep on rockin' and bringin' the noise!

Give me some of that old time Rock and Roll!!!

Being an addict of gear can sometimes be one big pain in the ass, "I want this, I want that, when will they make this...", and so on and so fourth. Then there's those few moments when we come across those very special pieces of gear. For me it's all about the old school, the classic sound of years gone by. Who the hell knows why it sounds so good, something about the way music sounded, was recorded, and played in the those days just bled earthy tones and organic greatness. One of the tools responsible for the meaty sounds of yesteryear is the vintage P.A.F. pickup, there is nothing like it. And unless you own one those magical guitars like a 50's Les Paul, chances are you won't be getting that tone. And so came along Rod Kinkade and his Skatterbrane pickups. To give us back the sound we have been craving and needing for so so long. Ah yes my friends, our tunes will scream vintage heavenly tones.

Skatterbrane

handwound pickups

In 1955 Seth Lover invented one of the greatest greatest guitar pickups known to man, the PAF, the world's first humbucking pickup. Through the years the humbuckers construction would change, using different materials and methods would eventually change the outcome of the pickups characteristics. Well, now we have the great old school tone of the original PAF through the wonderful Skatterbrane Pickup brand. Skatterbrane Pickups is the brain child of Rod Kinkade, a man with a talent for building some of the world's sweetest, and true to vintage voiced humbucking pickups. The sound, the build quality, the dynamics, and the harmonics all come together to make one hell of a killer P.A.F. pickup. A tone heard in all our favorite classic rock records, a sound that unleashed the rock and roll era. Now you can rock out with a authentic vintage humbucking tone by slapping in a set of Skatterbrane's into any guitar you see fit, it is an absolute dream come true! I put a set of Rod's humbuckers into a Gibson Studio Les Paul and the outcome was like day and night. A sudden rush of Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Frank Zappa, and Santana came blasting out of my guitar amp. I couldn't even begin to compare the Studio Les Paul's stock pickups to the Skatterbrane set. I was instantly shot right into a mind blowing, thick'n'creamy, rich'n'screaming tone of classic rock madness. It is damn near impossible to get a bad sound of these pickups no matter what amp I plugged into, now matter what pedal I used, and they sound absolutely amazing when recorded through low wattage amps. Skatterbrane pickups are well balanced, respond great to your playing dynamics, and stay tight and even through both light and heavy overdrive settings. They're also capable of growling out some really heavy and extreme guitar sounds, which makes them perfect for scorching lead tones. We all know when hunting down a pair of vintage PAF's that it can be a risky and difficult trip, you're never certain to get that great sounding set. Sometimes we strike gold, sometimes we're not so fortunate. The price of a vintage set can also rip a serious hole in your funds and with today's world we just can't afford to throw away that kind of money. With Skatterbrane's Rod makes sure every pickup delivers to it's fullest while at the same time keeping to the traditional build of the old time favorites. I believe just like our music writing sessions, shaping a pickups to give us the sound we want is also a form of art. How this is achieved I do not know. All I do know is that as a player I absolutely love the sound and tone of a great P.A.F. I needed to get it straight from the man himself, needed to find out where his nitch for building us pickups comes from.

Interview
with
Rod Kinkade

Analog War Cry:

Where did the passion for building pickups come from?

Rod Kinkade:
It was simply that I tried so many other "Boutique" pickups, wanting to improve my Historic Les Pauls, and they always left me wanting to put the Gibson pickups back in. So, I started experimenting with winding my own. Now, all my Les Pauls have my own pickups in them.

AWC:
How long have you been in the game and when did you start Skatterbrane Pickups?

Rod:
Once I got the tone I was seeking with my pickup experiments, I decided to market them. I started SKATTBRANES in 2007, so, as you can see, I am a newcomer compared to the established masters like Lindy Fralin, Tom Holmes and Jason Lollar.

AWC:

Is there a certain era that influences you?

Rod:
Music wise? Well I love all kinds of music, rock, jazz, classical, pop, trip-hop, electronica, from Elvis to Emerson Lake and Palmer to Eurythmics, to Evanescence to Everclear. (I can do that with any letter of the alphabet.)

AWC:

What goes into the build process if you can walk us through it?

Rod:
Well, before I go to bed, I lay out all the parts, and get them prepped for the next day. Trim burrs off the bobbins, cut lead lengths, strip connecting wires, etc. In the morning I set up my machine and get my coil wire primed. I wind all the coils for the day first. Once they are wound, I do the assembly. Now, I am very paranoid about something causing a dead coil, so I test each coil individually, test them again when a pair is connected together, test again when they are mounted on the backing plate, again when I tape them up and once more after the cover is soldered on. I also test just before I ship.

AWC:

I see that for the most part you offer humbucking pickups. Why is that and are you planning on building others?

Rod:
I have already started to offer P90s, I call them SKATTER90BRANES. They have tested well in the field and I am ready to take orders.

AWC:

There is a very special sound and feel about your pickups, you can definitely hear the vintage tone of classic P.A.F.'s in your work. What is it you hope players are getting for your pickups? What separates your pickups from others?

Rod:
Well, I try to make a pickup that matches the tone I like, that is in my head. I have noticed some others are too creamy, or smooth, some are too harsh, some seem great until you dial the tone down and then they seem weak. I try to offer the best balance possible in the P.A.F. tradition. I LOVE when you turn the tone to 0 on the neck pickup and you get this woman tone, but with some grit and punch still present. It is also important that they FEEL right. Any experience player knows what I am talking about.

AWC:

What kind of materials are you using?

Rod:
I use only the best steel keepers, screws and slugs I can find, 42awg plain enamel coil wire, German silver backing plates and covers, individually rough cast AlNiCo magnets and the current industry standard in bobbins.

AWC:

Can you tell us a little bit about the different kinds of models you offer, some that you're most proud of?

Rod:
When it comes to humbuckers, I just wind one variant for the neck and one for the bridge. (and one for the middle pickup for a Les Paul Custom) You will get tonal variance with the magnets, various covers and pole screws I use. I also offer Pat No or P.A.F. stickers on my more expensive models. My Raw set and especially my R-K I-Q set have fairly expensive covers that retail for $60-$120 a pair if you were to buy them individually from a retailer, hence this accounts for much of the difference in price between say my $295 set, and my $395 set, and the magnets account for some of it too. People have to remember my standard set INCLUDES nickel cover and shipping to the USA for $295. This set is about 60% of my sales, although the Raw set is beginning to outsell the Standard set recently. I am most proud when my customers write back and basically say "finally"--as in their tonal search is satisfied. You see most of my customers have already tried so many other pickups, that is part of their hobby, to seek out equipment that can improve their tone. I also feel pretty good when I get so many return customers. This is very nice. I have ongoing conversations with many of my customers.

AWC:

What is it you hear when you think of the perfect humbucking pickup?

Rod:
Well, I like Peter Green and Danny Kirwan. I also like early Santana when he played a SG. I like Martin Barre of Jethro Tull, and even John Fogerty of CCR. Then there is Page, Clapton and Beck of course, and oh, Robert Fripp, Duane Allman etc. Now I really like Warren Haynes and very much like Derek Trucks.

AWC:

Was there a lot of trial and error when you first started building pickups?

Rod:
Oh hell yeah! I have always loved Les Pauls, and have studied their history and details, along with the humbucker pickup. Way before I even considered making pickups, I had a basic understanding of their construction and some of the specs. So I had a good starting point as a basis for my "trial and error". I made quite a few before I zeroed in on what I wanted, and with a few tweeks, I have stuck with what I settled on for the last 2 years or so. Man you should have seen some of the hairy monsters that were my first few bobbins!

AWC:

Is there any new designs coming out or anything you're planning on working on?

Rod:
Well, I have already developed a P90 as I mentioned. This is a very recent development that has happened since we last spoke. I like Telecasters, so it is not out of the question that I may do vintage style Tele pickups in the future. But, don't expect it soon.


For more info on Skatterbrane Pickups go to www.skatterbrane.com or click the logo on our links. I must say that if you're hunting for a great classic sounding humbucker this is a great place to start. Rock on and may the voice be with you.