Superstition Family of Humbuckers

How the “Superstition” Family of Pickups came to be:

If you know the history of pickups and how they are made, you know that everyone pretty much make them the same way. The difference between them is the person, the source materials, and the “recipe” they use. However, they are all basically exactly the same blue print. That is why I chuckle when I hear, “they are the best Pickup”.

However, every great pickup creator has a model, formula, or something that makes them unique. So, I began thinking on what I can do to make mine unique and special. The gears began turning. Then as I did every week I was sitting in my chair at MD Anderson getting my Chemo and Immunotherapy. I considered what makes a P.A.F. special? What makes a strat single coil special, a Tele, a wide range, a Filtertron, and so on. Why doesn’t a coil tapped/split Humbucker sound like an actual single Coil like a strat or Tele? What is the difference between how each of these pickup styles are made? Then the “what ifs” started going through my head.

When I got home, I sat on the porch looking out at the “Superstition Mountains” and the design started coming together. CAD drawings started for parts. 3D printing of parts, and then ultimately the Prototype “Superstition” Humbucker set were assembled and I installed into a guitar husk I had laying around. I plugged them in. I immediately felt I had something special.

I took the guitar out and let good friend Sam Morrison use the guitar live to get his feedback. I started imagining variations. Then another friend, Andy VonWinge requested a special set of lighted pickups. The Aurora was born. Sam requested a special set and the Nightengale was born.

At this point I have 4 variations on the design – the Original Superstition, the Aurora, The Nightingale, and the Sonora. But the design, tone, and properties made me think of one of my favorite songwriters, John Rzeznik, and the newest variation is now in progress. I reached out to John and he messaged me back. What a great guy!! Thanks John….

Find out more

Video

Sam Morrison after trying the very first Prototype "Superstitions"

Before offering, I wanted the opinions of others. I felt I had created something special. But, ultimately, what did others think. So, I slapped them in a guitar, took out to show for bud Sam Morrison to give a test run. Here is what he had to say...

EVERYONE describes them as "Studio Clarity", "Articulate", "3D" .

Nightingale Set

The Superstition Humbuckers are an amazing hit. However, they are expensive to make. So, I wanted to offer a model that had all the magic without the higher price tag. And the "Nightingale" was born. The science and formula is very similar. The main difference is the poles. The original prototypes were tested and are owned by Andy VonWinge.

The Aurora's

So, what happens when someone loves your Nightingales then requests pickups that light? Well, that is exactly what happened after Andy VonWinge got the Nightingale Prototypes. So, I began experimenting on creating a lighted pickup that did not sacrifice tone or performance for effects. So, few weeks later the Aurora prototypes were born especially for Andy.

The Sonora Set

What happens when you combine the Superstition with the Nightingale? You get the Sonora set. This particular set were created especially for Sam Morrison and named his "Silver Bullets". He liked em so much he requested a gold set for his Les Paul Custom. These feature a more "traditional" PAF "appearance" while maintaining the Superstition/Nightingale Magic.