Railhammer now offers their popular Hyper Vintage humbucker pickup in chrome plated finish.
In response to customer demand, the Hyper Vintage humbucker can now match the chrome hardware of your guitar.
Conventional pickup manufacturers know that pickup covers can alter the output tone of a guitar. In Railhammer’s case, they need to take special precaution because their pickups use a unique configuration of having both rails and traditional poles.
To address this concern, Railhammer chose to build the cover using a material that has minimal effect on the sound. They ended up using chrome plated German silver, also known as nickel silver, which they have tested to have the least amount of effect on the tone of the Hyper Vintage pickup.
Hyper Vintage pickups are designed for players that want the traditional PAF style sound, while having improved clarity, string to string balance and output. The humbucker uses Alnico 5 magnets and 42 gauge wire to produce what Railhammer describes as a “tone that is warm, open and lightly compressed with chimey highs.”
The name Vintage gives a hint of the pickup’s vintage voicing, as designed by Joe Naylor. They are ideal for classic rock and punk, old school metal, blues and even for getting that “brown” sound. The bridge model is wound to 8.5K while the neck one is at 7.5K, this configuration results in a more balanced sound when combining the pickups or when switching between them.
The patent pending Railhammer is unique from under pickups because it has thin rails that capture the three wound strings, while having three large poles meant to capture the other three strings. This unique combination produces a improved tonality, and it enhances the clarity of the fatter wound strings without thinning the plain strings.
Another advantage of Railhammer’s design is that it prevents dead spots when bending strings, both on the rail and pole sides. Users have commented that the pickup improved the overall clarity and balance of their instrument.
The Railhammer Hyper Vintage pickup is currently retailing for $89.
Related Articles:
Railhammer Billy Corgan Signature Pickup
Railhammer Bob Balch Signature Pickups
DiMarzio John Petrucci Signature Illuminator Pickups