ABOUT
SD PICKUPS
Dave Stephens of Stephens Design Pickups is rapidly becoming known on the scene as a maker of some amazingly toneful
handbuilt pickups. His reputation was built over a 4 year period in the
Portland, Oregon blues scene, making pickups for the city's best known
guitar slingers. Jason Lollar helped Dave grasp the fundamentals via email
when Dave religiously went through every page of his book and built his
initial crude winders. iIs work is finding its way into the hands of some
well known players now like Jake E Lee (Ozzy Osbourne), Nick Curran (Nick Curran Band and the Fabulous Thunderbirds), Michael Mozart (Oppera), Steve Rhian (Darryl Dodd Band), David Torn, and others.
What sets Dave's work apart from others is that all his pickups aren't
based on traditional vintage "recipes," he winds each pickup
with different types of wire, using various winding techniques, potting
methods, magnets, and other design parameters until the pickup is "just
right." "One of his goals in designing a pickup is to make a
tube amp sing without necesserily having to use a gain pedal. There is
a fine balance between having a pickup that is wound too low, yielding
ice-pick shrieking tone, and winding too hot and getting dark nasal sounding
mud. I believe that he has found the perfect middle "sweet spot"
that makes you want to play all nite." And that sweet spot often
bears no resemblance to vintage specs or other's work. All his pickups
are tested at jams and by working musicians, including some celebrity
players. "The guys who make their living playing guitar can hear
little nuances and differences in tone that most of us can't even describe. Dave describes himself
as a hardcore nite owl, obsessed with pickup makng and tone. One of the
local blues heroes, Stu Kenzel of Kenzel & Hyde, calls him the "pickup
scientist" and Dave is always bringing new prototypes for the professionals
to try out at their gigs. Vintage Guitar Magazine is publishing a Builder's
Profile on Dave in the January issue, shipping to subscribers in November.
Read some reviews
from AllThingsGuitar.com:
