Pickups are a pretty simple thing when you break them down to their core elements which are, application, magnet type, wire gauge and type, and desired outcome.
In reality there are many variables to be considered as well as an understanding that those elements will directly impact each other. It’s our job as the builder to interpret what your needs are, and through that conversation we find the balance in those key elements to deliver a product that will only benefit you as a musician.
At the end of the day, a new pickup will not make you a better player, but it should be a constant that you can rely upon and feel comfortable with.
A good pickup is good tone, and good tone should inspire you to play and more importantly, write music.
At Corrigan Pickups we wind with a variety of magnet wires, we use many of the standard types such as Poly, Heavy Formvar and Plain Enamel. Through the use of the the three most common gauges; 42,43 and 44AWG, we can dial in the exact wind count to achieve the DC resistance and more importantly the Inductance required for the pickup.
Magnet type is just as important as wind count and bobbin size, changing the material and grade of Magnet we can dictate many attributes of the pickup’s performance. We have the standard types that many are familiar with such AlNiCo II and V, but we’re big fans of ceramic based pickups. Sometimes they get a bad rap, and we’ d love to share with you why they’re so great.
All of our pickups also have the option of being wax potted or not. 99% of musicians will always request it, however we would encourage you to try pickups that aren’t. We will also default to wax potting unless it’s requested not to.
You may have noticed that we do not offer a huge variety of models, we have some main stays that will always stay in production and change over time as we grow and learn. But we encourage custom builds, we’re more interested in finding out what YOU need out of a pickup. If you like the sound of one of our stock models, by all means go for it, but we’d love to hear what you have to say and what you need out of your pickup.