
To expose or not to expose your humbuckers, and a little history behind the question.
I was recently asked why Hamer used cream- and zebra-colored humbuckers in many guitars. Because I’d taken the answer for granted for so long, I actually had to stop and think about it. The short answer is because we thought it looked cool. But that statement begs some backstory now that so much time has passed that the aesthetic history of guitars is, well, history. And the question coincides with another subject I’m also asked about: the significance or purpose of covered versus exposed coils.
Early electrics used pickups with a single coil, which were susceptible to interference from electrical fields generated by lighting, appliances, and even the guitar’s amplifier. To alleviate this bothersome buzzing, Seth Lover designed a double-coil hum-cancelling pickup in 1955 while employed at Gibson. Known colloquially as the “humbucker,” these pickups first appeared on Gibson 6-strings in 1957. For the first decade of their existence, these pickups were seen as shiny nickel- or gold-plated rectangular boxes with six slotted-fillister screw heads poking through the face. The internal coils and magnet were encased entirely by metal in order to shield the signal from RF (radio frequency) interference.
Back in the day, pickups were viewed as somewhat proprietary to each guitar maker and there weren’t aftermarket replacements. Most guitarists regarded pickups as a permanent part of the guitar, and not something to mess with.
Fast-forward to January 1965, when the Hollies’ guitarist Tony Hicks appeared on British television playing a cherry red Gibson ES-335 with the humbuckers’ pickup bobbins exposed to the world. Hicks’ instrument had previously been seen with its original gold covers, so it was my assumption they were removed after purchase. “Yes, I took the pickup covers off,” Hicks confirmed. “I left them off because I thought they looked better and they didn’t sound any different.”
Hicks’ countryman and fellow guitar-slinger Jeff Beck certainly took notice of this emerging trend. When Beck strolled onto the stage at Chicago’s Kinetic Playground with the Jeff Beck Group in 1968 and launched into their first number, I pushed my way forward to get a better look. Beck was playing a late-’50s Les Paul Standard that appeared to be fitted with four single-coil pickups. On closer examination, it turned out that the hot-rodding Beck-Ola had removed the nickel covers from his 9-year-old axe to reveal the guts within. Did he imagine some improvement was gained? It was hard to argue with the sound he was getting. I of course had to go home and take the covers off the humbuckers on my guitar too. Wouldn’t you? Before long, more rock guitarists like Marc Bolan, Robin Trower, and Alvin Lee were sporting the exposed-coil look.
Guitarists and techs who dared to pull apart the older PAF pickups found that the coil bobbins were mostly black, but sometimes they were cream colored. Combinations of cream/black or “double cream” occurred because—as the myth goes—the company that manufactured the parts for Gibson had run out of the black-plastic molding material, so Gibson used cream-colored material for a short while. After all, the coils were hidden, and no one would ever see them—or so it was assumed. It was completely random and didn’t change the sound, but the cream-bobbin pickups became coveted items because of rarity and fashion.
Still, the guitar-manufacturing industry—especially Gibson—was oddly oblivious to all of this. A short time after the Beck sighting when I was employed as a warranty technician at the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, I mentioned that it would be a cool idea for Gibson to consider removing the covers on their pickups. “Bad idea,” I was told. “They could be damaged.”
Fashion aside, what does really happen when humbucker covers are removed? One ramification is that it allows the entire pickup to be raised (by the thickness of the cover) closer to the strings. This proximity results in increased output and a change in tonality as well.
Another aspect is the way the metal cover actually disrupts the magnetic field of the pickup. “One thing it does,” shares noted pickup builder Jason Lollar, “is smooth the attack out slightly. It gives a slight effect I’d call ‘grind’ to the tone, and it knocks off a little presence.” Additionally, Lollar finds that a cover can produce a variety of results depending on the material used and its thickness. This is borne out when studying the effects of eddy currents—small whirlpools of magnetism created in metal by fluctuating currents in a nearby coil. It’s part of the reason the Telecaster sounds the way it does, as the bridge pickup is surrounded by metal.
If you prefer the look or sound of covered pickups, it’s important for the cover to be fitted snugly on the bobbins. It’s interesting that the trend of removing covers from humbuckers in the 1960s paralleled the rise of amplifier wattage and volume. Players may have found that coverless coils mitigated uncontrollable squealing encountered on loud stages. According to Lollar, “If the cover is not seated correctly and soldered on, it will likely shriek like crazy in a nonmusical way from microphonic vibration if you get near your amp.”
So the answer to the original question is that not too long after the “bad idea” conversation at Gibson—when we were starting Hamer Guitars—we just naturally used that look on our instruments. We figured if it was cool enough for those British dudes, it was good enough for us, and Hamer became one of the first guitar companies to feature exposed-coil humbuckers. Of course, that look eventually became so ubiquitous, that I later decided to go retro-retro and put the covers back on our guitars! Everything old is new again, and again.
PG contributor Tom Butwin demos 7 direct boxes — active and passive — showing off sound samples, features, and real-world advice. Options from Radial, Telefunken, Hosa, Grace Design, and Palmer offer solutions for any input, setting, and budget.
Grace Design m303 Active Truly Isolated Direct Box
The Grace Design m303 is an active, fully isolated DI box, delivering gorgeous audio performance for the stage and studio. Our advanced power supply design provides unbeatable headroom and dynamic range, while the premium Lundahl transformer delivers amazing low-end clarity and high frequency detail. True elegance, built to last.
Rupert Neve Designs RNDI-M Active Transformer Direct Interface
Compact design, giant tone. The RNDI-M brings the stunning tone & clarity of its award-winning counterparts to an even more compact and pedalboard-friendly format, with the exact same custom Rupert Neve Designs transformers and discrete FET input stage as the best-selling RNDI, RNDI-S and RNDI-8.
Telefunken TDA-1 1-channel Active Instrument Direct Box
The TDA-1 phantom powered direct box uses high-quality components and classic circuitry for rich, natural sound. With discrete Class-A FET, a European-made transformer, and a rugged metal enclosure, it delivers low distortion and a broad frequency response. Assembled and tested in Connecticut, USA, for reliable performance and superior sound.
Hosa SideKick Active Direct Box
The Hosa SideKick DIB-445 Active DI delivers clear, strong signals for live and studio use. Ideal for guitars, basses, and keyboards, it minimizes interference over long runs. Features include a pad switch, ground lift, and polarity flip. With a flat frequency response and low noise, it ensures pristine audio.
Radial JDI Jensen-equipped 1-channel Passive Instrument Direct Box
The Radial JDI preserves your instrument’s natural tone with absolute clarity and zero distortion. Its Jensen transformer delivers warm, vintage sound, while its passive design eliminates hum and buzz. With a ruler-flat response (10Hz–40kHz) and no phase shift, the JDI ensures pristine sound in any setup.
Radial J48 1-channel Active 48v Direct Box
The Radial J48 delivers exceptional clarity and dynamic range, making it the go-to active DI for professionals. Its 48V phantom-powered design ensures clean, powerful signal handling without distortion. With high headroom, low noise, and innovative power optimization, the J48 captures your instrument’s true tone—perfect for studio and stage.
Palmer River Series - Ilm
The Palmer ilm, an upgraded version of the legendary Palmer The Junction, delivers studio-quality, consistent guitar tones anywhere. This passive DI box features three analog speaker simulations, ensuring authentic sound reproduction. Its advanced filter switching mimics real guitar speaker behavior, making it perfect for stage, home, or studio recording sessions.
Learn more from these brands!
PRS Guitars launches the CE 22 Limited Edition, featuring a 22-fret, 25” scale length, mahogany body, maple top, and vintage-inspired 58/15 LT pickups. With only 1,000 made, this model offers classic PRS aesthetics and a blend of warmth and bolt-on articulation for vintage-inspired tone and modern versatility.
PRS Guitars today announced the launch of the CE 22 Limited Edition. Only 1,000 will be made, marking the brief return of a 22-fret version of this bolt-on mainstay. The 22-fret, 25” scale length CE 22 Limited Edition combines a mahogany body and maple top with a bolt-on maple neck. The guitar is outfitted with PRS’s vintage-inspired 58/15 LT pickups, push/pull tone control, three-way toggle switch, and PRS locking tuners with wing buttons.
“This limited-edition, 22-fret model in our CE line offers classic PRS aesthetics and a voice that blends warmth with bolt-on articulation for vintage-inspired tone and modern versatility,” said PRS Guitars Director of Manufacturing, Paul Miles.
The original CE, with 24 frets, first appeared in stores in 1988 and offered players PRS design and quality with the added snap and response of traditional bolt-on guitars. It wasn’t until 1994 that a 22-fret version debuted, just a few months after the release of the Custom 22. Last in stores in 2008, this refreshed CE 22 Limited Edition marks the model’s return to the market.
With a unique combination of specs, the CE 22 Limited Edition is a different animal from the CE 24. These differences include the model of pickups, placement of pickups, and, of course, the number of frets. That is all while retaining the CE family’s combination of maple and mahogany, nitro finish, PRS Patented Tremolo and Phase III Locking Tuners.
The limited-edition model comes in Black Amber, Carroll Blue, Faded Blue Smokeburst, Faded Gray Black and McCarty Sunburst.
For more information, please visit prsguitars.com.
CE 22 Limited Edition | Demo | PRS Guitars - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Delicious, dynamic fuzz tones that touch on classic themes without aping them. Excellent quality. Super-cool and useful octave effect.
Can’t mix and match gain modes.
$349
Great Eastern FX Co. Focus Fuzz Deluxe
Adding octave, drive, and boost functions to an extraordinary fuzz yields a sum greater than its already extraordinary parts.
One should never feel petty for being a musical-instrument aesthete. You can make great music with ugly stuff, but you’re more likely to get in the mood for creation when your tools look cool. Great Eastern FX’s Focus Fuzz Deluxe, an evolution of their très élégantFocus Fuzz, is the sort of kit you might conspicuously keep around a studio space just because it looks classy and at home among design treasures likeRoland Space Echoes, Teletronix LA-2As, andblonde Fender piggyback amps. But beneath the FFD’s warmly glowing Hammerite enclosure dwells a multifaceted fuzz and drive that is, at turns, beastly, composed, and unique. Pretty, it turns out, is merely a bonus.
Forks in the Road
Though the Cambridge, U.K.-built FFD outwardly projects luxuriousness, it derives its “deluxe” status from the addition of boost, overdrive, and octave functions that extend an already complex sound palette. Unfortunately, a significant part of that fuzzy heart is a Soviet-era germanium transistor that is tricky to source and limited the original Focus Fuzz production to just 250 units. For now, the Focus Fuzz Deluxe will remain a rare bird. Great Eastern founder David Greaves estimates that he has enough for 400 FFDs this time out. Hopefully, the same dogged approach to transistor sourcing that yielded this batch will lead to a second release of this gem, and on his behalf we issue this plea: “Transistor hoarders, yield your troves to David Greaves!”
The good news is that the rare components did not go to waste on compromised craft. The FFD’s circuit is executed with precision on through-hole board, with the sizable Soviet transistor in question hovering conspicuously above the works like a cross between a derby hat and B-movie flying saucer. If the guts of the FFD fail to allay doubts that you’re getting what you paid for, the lovingly designed enclosure and robust pots and switches—not to mention the pedal’s considerable heft—should take care of whatever reticence remains.
Hydra in Flight
Just as in the original Focus Fuzz, the fuzz section in the Deluxe deftly walks an ideal path between a germanium Fuzz Face’s weight and presence, a Tone Bender’s lacerating ferocity, and the focus of a Dallas Rangemaster. You don’t have to strain to hear that distillate of elements. But even if you can’t easily imagine that combination, what you will hear is a fuzz that brims with attitude without drowning in saturation. There’s lots of dynamic headroom, you’ll feel the touch responsiveness, and you’ll sense the extra air that makes way for individual string detail and chord overtones. It shines with many different types of guitars and amps, too. I was very surprised at the way it rounded off the sharp edges made by a Telecaster bridge pickup and AC15-style combo while adding mass and spunk. The same amp with a Gibson SG coaxed out the Tony Iommi-meets-Rangemaster side of the fuzz. In any combination, the fuzz control itself, which boosts gain while reducing bias voltage (both in very tasteful measure) enhances the vocabulary of the guitar/amp pairing. That range of color is made greater still by the fuzz’s sensitivity to guitar volume and tone attenuation and touch dynamics. Lively clean tones exist in many shades depending on your guitar volume, as do rich low-gain overdrive sounds.
The drive section is similarly dynamic, and also quite unique thanks to the always versatile focus control, which adds slight amounts of gain as well as high-mid presence. At advanced focus levels, the drive takes on a fuzzy edge with hints of Fender tweed breakup and more Black Sabbath/Rangemaster snarl. It’s delicious stuff with Fender single-coils and PAFs, and, just as with the fuzz, it’s easily rendered thick and clean with a reduction in guitar volume or picking intensity. The boost, meanwhile, often feels just as lively and responsive—just less filthy—lending sparkle and mass to otherwise thin and timid combo amp sounds.
Among this wealth of treats, the octave function is a star. It works with the fuzz, drive, or boost. But unlike a lot of octave-up effects, you needn’t approach it with caution. Though it adds plenty of the buzzing, fractured, and ringing overtones that make octave effects so wild and distinct, it doesn’t strip mine low end from the signal. The extra balance makes it feel more musical under the fingers and even makes many chords sound full and detailed—a trick few octave effects can manage. With the fuzz, the results are concise, burly, and articulate single notes that lend themselves to lyrical, melodic leads and power chords. In drive-plus-octave mode, there are many hues of exploding practice-amp trash to explore. The boost and the octave may be my favorite little gem among the FFD’s many jewels, though. Adding the octave to boosted signals with a generous heap of focus input yields funky, eccentric electric-sitar tones that pack a punch and are charged with character in their fleeting, flowering state.
The Verdict
It’s hard to imagine adding extra footswitches to the Focus Fuzz Deluxe without sacrificing its basic elegance and proportions, and without elevating its already considerable price. Certainly, there would be real utility in the ability to mix and match all three excellent gain modes. On the other hand, the output level differences between fuzz, drive, and boost are pretty uniform, meaning quick switches on the fly will shift texture and attitude dramatically without delivering an ear-frying 30 dB boost. And though it’s hard not be tantalized by sounds that might have been, from combining the fuzz and/or boost and drive circuits, the myriad tones that can be sourced by blending any one of them with the superbly executed octave effect and the varied, rangeful focus and output controls will keep any curious tone spelunker busy for ages. For most of them, I would venture, real treasure awaits.
Why is Tommy’s take on “Day Tripper” so hard? And what song would Adam Miller never play with him? Plus, we get Adam’s list of favorite Tommy Emmanuel records.
We call guitarist Adam Miller in the middle of the night in Newcastle, Australia, to find out what it’s like to play with Certified Guitar Player, Tommy Emmanuel. Miller tells us just how famous Tommy is in Australia, and what it was like hearing him play from a formative age. Eventually, Adam got to open for Emmanuel, and they’ve since shared the stage, so we get the firsthand scoop: Why is Tommy’s take on “Day Tripper” so hard? And what song would Miller never play with him? Plus, we get Adam’s list of favorite Tommy Emmanuel records.
Adam’s newly released trio album, Timing, is out now.
Plus, we’re talking about new recordings from Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton, as well as Brooklyn Mediterranean surf party band Habbina Habbina.