Installation
Follow the guides below to make sure you get it right the first time.
Pickup Installation Guide
& Owner’s Manual
Pickup Dimensional
Drawing
Pickup Polarity
Diagram
FAQ
With a pickup this revolutionary, you’re sure to have questions. No worries, we’ve got answers right here.
No, they are not backwards. The rails produce a tight percussive tone, the poles a fat thick tone. If you reversed it, the wound strings would sound mushy and the plain strings would sound extra thin. Bending and note drop-out are not an issue, as there’s no drop-out anywhere on the pickup, even on the pole side, due to the powerful/wide magnetic field. See question #12.
Yes, they sound fantastic clean… very full, clear and with a nice chimey treble. It’s our belief that a great pickup should sound amazing clean or dirty. Each model has a different level of clean available: the lower the output the more clean headroom the pickup will have.
They will fit any guitar that has standard size humbuckers.
We use German silver (aka nickel silver) covers, which have a minimal effect on the sound. The older uncovered models are slightly brighter and have slightly less mids than the covered models.
Sorry, but we do not offer separate covers. We prefer to have them factory installed to ensure that the installation and wax potting process are done correctly to our standards.
Humbuckers: yes, these are 4 conductor wiring with independent ground. You can do all the wiring tricks like coil split, phase, and series/parallel.
Humcutters: no, these can NOT be split, because then the pickup would only sense 3 strings. However, they can be wired for phase, and series/parallel.
No, because there are hundreds of diagrams for hundreds of different guitars. We suggest a Google search for “guitar wiring” or “insert guitar name here wiring.”
Yes, all our pickup models will work in either right- or left-handed guitars.
No, the sound is cohesive and musical. They still sound like humbuckers, but with more clarity on the lows, a more balanced EQ, and more responsive feel.
No, nothing noticeable. The magnetic structure is very efficient, due to the large diameter poles, and the rails having a large surface area coupled to the magnet. So the magnetic field is strong and wide, resulting in no significant volume drop out anywhere on the pickup.
You don’t need it. Railhammers have universal spacing that works with just about any guitar in any position, thanks to the oversize poles and long rails.
It’s not a problem, it will not affect the sound at all. The magnetic field is very strong and wide, so there is no dead area anywhere on the pickup.
Neither is better or worse, just different. We choose one or the other depending on what we’re trying to get out of a particular design. The type of magnet alone won’t tell you what a pickup sounds like. The product description will.
Railhammer is an American company based in Ohio, and the pickups are designed in the USA. Our pickups are made by a South Korean winder to proprietary specs, who we selected for their ability to build consistent, high-quality, custom-designed pickups.
One reason is that they cost way more to build. The bobbins, rails, poles, and baseplates are all custom spec. non-standard parts requiring expensive custom tooling. Another reason is that the design is patented, and patents aren’t cheap! And we put a hell of a lot of research & design into these pickups, and that’s why Railhammers offer performance as good or better than any pickups made anywhere, USA or otherwise… that alone makes them worth every penny.
Award-winning designer and guitar industry veteran Joe Naylor (Reverend Guitars, Naylor Amps, All-Tone Speakers, StringDog Products, Armor Gold Cables).
Sorry, we don’t give out any additional technical information other than what is already on our website, as much of it is confidential.
Sorry, we do not sell any separate components or any other guitar parts.
Sorry, we do not offer any custom, special order or modified products at all. We only offer what is shown on the website.
Warranty & Resources
Two-year warranty—Two years against defective materials and/or workmanship only.
Warranty does not cover misuse, abuse, or wear/degradation from standard use.
Warranty does not cover any damage to instrument for any reason.
We will repair or replace product at our discretion.
Warranty Service
Please contact us before shipping.
Ship product to address below.
Include copy of receipt, return address, email, and description of problem.
Railhammer Pickups
3132 Wilford, Suite A
Toledo, Ohio 43617 USA
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