Guitarists in the early 1950s had a big problem on their hands: the annoying hum of single-coil pickups. When Gibson engineer Seth Lover introduced a way to cancel that noise, a new era of guitar tone was born. Instead of a single coil, Lover used two, wound in opposite directions and wired out of phase. Seventy years later, the humbucker is still being refined and reimagined. PG contributor Tom Butwin sets out to demystify the humbucker pickup and how modern designers and builders have evolved the design, construction, and circuitry.
Parsons Street Humbucker Pickups
Straight-up raw vintage tone! Closely modeled after outstanding original P.A.F.s, these humbuckers capture the tone that changed music forever.
Parsons Street Overwound Humbucker Pickups
Get more power to overdrive your amp with these overwound versions of our Parsons Street Humbuckers. It's a P.A.F. with a stronger punch!
50th Anniversary Limited-edition JB/Jazz Humbucker Set
Experience the true origin of the hot-rodded humbucker with the 50th Anniversary Limited Edition JB / Jazz Set. Built with historically accurate parts including butyrate bobbins and rough-cast magnets, this set faithfully replicates the earliest production models. Presented in retro silver packaging and limited to 2026 production only, this is a collectible piece of tone history.
Monolith Humbuckers
The concept for our Monolith Humbucker set was to explore a higher-output pickup set intentionally designed for guitarists who play both modern and extreme styles of music. High-output humbuckers often suffer from either a boxy voicing or a harsh and brittle top end that can be fatiguing. We voiced a set of pickups with the right balance of a strong, thicker midrange and smooth top end for clarity and articulation.
MAGFRAG HUMBUCKER
Traditional pickups often shape the voice of a guitar before the signal ever reaches the rest of the rig.
MagFRAG was designed with a different goal: remain open, balanced, and dynamically responsive, allowing the guitar, pedals, and amplifier to do more of the talking.
The result is a foundation that feels immediate under the fingers and integrates naturally with vintage amplifiers, modern designs, pedals, modelers, and recording workflows.
MagFRAG isn’t a “flavor pickup line.” It’s a pickup system created to reveal the instrument and respond to the player.
The MagFRAG lineup is organized into two families, each focused on a different role in the signal chain.
Hyper Vintage
Our cleanest-sounding humbucker with an open and percussive tone, chimey highs and relaxed mids. And, thanks to the Railhammer design, our neck humbuckers don’t go all mushy when you dig in hard—even with chords. Great for blues, classic rock, old-school metal, punk, and more traditional tones. It does everything a classic PAF does, but better.
MortalCoil Pickup
MortalCoil delivers three precision-engineered voices: a tight, aggressive modern metal MC1 voice with fast, controlled attack, authentic JB and Jazz-inspired passive tones, and a clear, articulate single-coil. Built with optimized-resistance coils and advanced audio op-amps for exceptional response and efficiency, MortalCoil is a powerful, versatile active upgrade.
ZW Set
Known the world over as one of the greatest guitar players ever, Zakk Wylde relies on his EMG 81/85 signature humbucker set for his aggressive tone and sustain.
*This classic setup comes complete with long shaft volume and tone controls for installation*. Short Shaft versions are also available, please check your instrument before making your wiring kit selection. Make sure to check the instructions for pickup measurements before purchasing to compare your existing pickups with EMG models.
Fluence Modern Humbucker 6-String Pickups
Fluence Modern pickups are the most versatile humbuckers ever created, enhancing your favorite guitar with three selectable voices
including the ideal single-coil sound.
Seymourized Mini Humbucker
Period correct from the construction to the sound, the Vintage Mini Humbucker delivers the classic Vintage Firebird tone that has all of the sparkle of a single coil with the tight low end of a full-sized humbucker.
Antiquity II™ Firebird
This vintage mini humbucker pickup is gritty and punchy in the bridge position, while the neck model strikes a musical balance between the clarity of a single-coil and the low-end tightness of a full-sized humbucker.
