Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

Nordstrand Audio Introduces PolyVox Multicoil Pickups

Nordstrand Audio's new PolyVox multi-coil pickups are designed to offer the ultimate expression of Carey Nordstrand's lifelong search for the most inspiring and musically evocative bass tone.

PolyVox pickups include asymmetrical angled coils with a proprietary Alnico magnet load and supporting ceramic bars that achieve real-world output in a totally passive design. At long last, discriminating bass players can enjoy the multitudinous benefits of a fully passive multi-coil pickup system that’s ready to drop into any 4, 5, or 6-string bass that fits our standard soapbar shape.

Isolating each string’s transducer alters the resonance of each pickup, resulting in a flatter, more “transparent” frequency response in comparison to conventional pickup designs. The focus, integrity, and texture of every note transcends even the best conventional pickup designs.

Multicoil, hum-cancelling bass pickups
Available as single neck, single bridge, or as a set
Angled poles
Built with Alnico and ceramic magnets
Laser cut, fiber bobbins
Potted in a paraffin-beeswax mix to contain any unruly frequency that may attempt to desecrate your desired tone.• Standard spacing is 19mm ctc at the bridge
Street price, starting at $192 for a single pickup.

For more information, please visit nordstrandaudio.com.

From Your Site Articles

Cosmodio Gravity Well Review

The two-in-one “sonic refractor” takes tremolo and wavefolding to radical new depths.

Pros: Huge range of usable sounds. Delicious distortion tones. Broadens your conception of what guitar can be.

Build quirks will turn some users off.

$279

Cosmodio Gravity Well
cosmod.io

4.5

Know what a wavefolder does to your guitar signal? If you don’t, that’s okay. I didn’t either until I started messing around with the all-analog Cosmodio Instruments Gravity Well. It’s a dual-effect pedal with a tremolo and wavefolder, the latter more widely used in synthesis that , at a certain threshold, shifts or inverts the direction the wave is traveling—in essence, folding it upon itself. Used together here, they make up what Cosmodio calls a sonic refractor.

Can Guitarists Hear a Nitro Finish?

The author in the spray booth.

Does the type of finish on an electric guitar—whether nitro, poly, or oil and wax—really affect its tone?

There’s an allure to the sound and feel of a great electric guitar. Many of us believe those instruments have something special that speaks not just to the ear but to the soul, where every note, every nuance feels personal. As much as we obsess over the pickups, wood, and hardware, there’s a subtler, more controversial character at play: the role of the finish. It’s the shimmering outer skin of the guitar, which some think exists solely for protection and aesthetics, and others insist has a role influencing the voice of the instrument. Builders pontificate about how their choice of finishing material may enhance tone by allowing the guitar to “breathe,” or resonate unfettered. They throw around terms like plasticizers, solids percentages, and “thin skin” to lend support to their claims. Are these people tripping? Say what you will, but I believe there is another truth behind the smoke.

Jeff Kollman Rig Rundown

Nordstrand Audio Introduces PolyVox Multicoil Pickups

Squier Affinity Starcaster Deluxe and Telecaster Thinline Review

Joe Bonamassa, James Hetfield, Nels Cline and More! Their Favorite Pickups

Kemper Amps and Zilla Cabs Announce Collaboration

Cosmodio Gravity Well Review

The two-in-one “sonic refractor” takes tremolo and wavefolding to radical new depths.

Two Plus One

Splatterhouse Audio

The Verdict

Can Guitarists Hear a Nitro Finish?

Does the type of finish on an electric guitar—whether nitro, poly, or oil and wax—really affect its tone?

Crazy Tube Circuits Announces the Heatseeker

Creed Announces Summer of '99 Tour for 2025

Tour Dates