The Story Behind WallBucker Pickups

Bruce and George McCorkle backstage Nashville 2006

My Mission

At WallBucker Custom Wound Pickups, the mission is simple: to enhance the voice and performance of your instrument. Every single pickup is hand-wound to order and meticulously crafted to match each guitarist’s unique tonal desires, playing style, and specific instrument.

A Lifetime in Southern Rock

Long before the era of modern social media, I founded Down South Jukin’, an online community dedicated to Southern Rock. The platform grew into a premier hub for the genre, eventually drawing in the very artists I grew up idolizing. This led to close friendships, artist interviews, and a deep integration into the music community.

My involvement transitioned into professional digital management and artist relations. George McCorkle, founding guitarist of the Marshall Tucker Band, partnered with me to manage his digital presence and frequently referred other industry professionals to my services. Over the years, I designed and managed websites for numerous prominent artists, including John Corbett and Beverley Mitchell. I also hosted the talk show “Straight Shootin’” on the online radio station 43 The Hawk.

After relocating to Tennessee, I served as George McCorkle's personal assistant, guitar technician, and webmaster. Together, we launched Southern Fried Magazine—an online publication dedicated to Southern music and culture—and founded “Jam-A-Que.” Held at my five-acre Tennessee property, this annual, free event brought together legendary Southern Rock artists and fans from across the country for a full day of live music and community. Following George’s passing in 2007, I continued to support his legacy by working and performing with his family’s group, the Southern Boys Band, before eventually returning to Arizona.

The Turning Point

For years, guitar work and pickup winding were tasks I strictly reserved for myself and a select group of close friends and artists, and Charity. That changed unexpectedly on New Year’s Eve 2024, when an emergency medical crisis led to immediate surgery and a diagnosis of Stage 4 bladder cancer, alongside severe kidney damage.

What followed was an intense, year-long battle at the Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Arizona. My life became a revolving cycle of weekly lab work, oncology and urology appointments, ongoing chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. In September 2025, I underwent a grueling, nine-hour surgery to remove my bladder, prostate, and lymph nodes.

Crafting with Purpose

The physical and financial toll of fighting advanced cancer is difficult to overstate. As medical bills and everyday expenses rapidly accumulated, my close friend Sam Morrison urged me to turn my passion for pickup building into a dedicated venture. The goal was simple: craft custom pickups for the artistic community to help fund my medical battle and create a lasting legacy.

Thanks to the rapid word-of-mouth support from the music community, WallBucker Pickups quickly evolved from a private passion into a purpose-driven means of recovery. When you choose a WallBucker pickup, you are not just investing in premium, custom-tailored tone for your instrument—you are directly supporting a craftsman’s fight for survival.

Thank you for being a part of the journey.

What’s up with the turtle?

You might be wondering what a box turtle has to do with premium guitar pickups. Well, plenty of brands have famous animal mascots—just look at the dog over at Raising Cane's! For me, the inspiration is a bit closer to home.

My wife and I rescue turtles and tortoises, and we share our home with several box turtles. Meet our official mascot, the "Tone Turtle," who is directly modeled after one of our rescue buddies named Bam Bam. Creating this brand allowed me to bring two of my absolute biggest passions together into one place.