Suhr Guitar Pickups Info
Single Coils
FL (Fletcher-Landau)Top
FL Single Coils

The new flagship of our highly-touted single-coil pickup line, the FL incorporates the best qualities of various vintage pickups in a single design. Designed by John Suhr in conjunction with input from LA studio legend Mike Landau and blues great Kirk Fletcher of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the FL sounds big and full while retaining the detailed high-end sparkle and the big tight lows of the best vintage pickups. It should be noted that not all vintage pickups are created equal. Some just sound better than others and we focused on the best from Mike’s extensive vintage collection. Whether you’re playing blistering fat leads or sparkling rhythm sounds, the FL will cover all the bases and then some – inspiring you to new heights with the ultimate in single-coil tone. The FL is available in two versions – the slightly hotter Standard and the more vintage-flavored Classic.

The FL pickups are calibrated for each position, including for the middle position with reverse winding and reverse polarity.

DC Resistance for FL Standard: 6.9K ohms for bridge pickup, 6.4K ohms for neck and middle pickups

DC Resistance for FL Classic: 6.5K ohms for bridge pickup, 6.0K ohms for neck and middle pickups

V60 and V60 LP Top
Single Coils

The V60 and V60LP pickups faithfully recreate the classic single-coil sounds of the 60's. These pickups also use the same magnets that were used in the pickups made during this era. What you get are clear bell-like highs, warm and punchy mids, and big yet firm lows that are the hallmark of great vintage pickups, which aren't as common as one might be led to believe. John Suhr examined a variety of vintage pickups and found that some sound much better than others and took apart the great ones to find out why, measuring the gauss of the magnets to counting the number of turns of the coil wires. The V60LP replicates the handwound pattern of some early-60's single-coil pickups and impart sweeter and rounder highs.

The V60 and V60LP pickups are calibrated for each position, including for the middle position with reverse winding and reverse polarity.

DC Resistance: 7.2K ohms for bridge, 6.3K ohms for neck and middle pickups

V54 Top
Single Coils

The V54 pickups are designed to faithfully replicate the classic single-coil sounds of the 50's. Slightly brighter than the V60's, the V54's are the pickups for those who want the sparkling glassy sound associated with vintage instruments from this golden era of American music. Whether used on its own or in combination with humbucking pickups, the V54's can cover a wide variety of musical styles that require classic single-coil sounds.

The V54 pickups are calibrated for each position, including for the middle position with reverse winding and reverse polarity.

DC Resistance: 7.1K ohms for bridge, 6.0K ohms for neck and middle pickups

Classic T Top
Single Coils

Our Classic T pickups are the result of John Suhr's extensive research into what made the pickups of T-style instruments so special and renowned for their unmistakable sonic quality heard on pop and rock music records of the past half-century. Our Classic T Bridge pickup retains the twang and the bite of the best vintage T-style pickups while doing away with piercing or harsh highs that are common in pickups of this type. Our Chrome Neck T pickup adds clarity and warmth to round out the perfect set of pickups for our Classic T and similar guitars.

Classic T Bridge pickup DC Resistance: 8.1K ohms Chrome Neck T DC Resistance: 7.3K ohms

S90 Top
Single Coils

Raunchy and loud yet warm and clear, our S90 pickups are faithful recreations of this classic pickup design from the 50's. Ideal for blues, blues-rock, classic rock and jazz, the S90 pickups have the power and richness of humbuckers coupled with the clarity and sparkle of classic single-coil pickups. Premium components and John Suhr's extensive know-how and experience in pickup technology assure that you get the very best pickup of this type the world has to offer. Our S90 pickups are available in either black or cream bobbins.

DC Resistance: 8.1K ohms for bridge pickup, 7.1K ohms for neck pickup

Humbuckers
Doug Aldrich Bridge & Neck Top
Humbuckers

The result of collaboration between John Suhr and rock guitarist extraordinaire Doug Aldrich, the Aldrich humbuckers are the ultimate high-output pickups for aggressive rock style of playing. The Aldrich bridge humbucker is now our highest output pickup but it oozes tone across its sound spectrum. It is big sounding yet focused and punchy in the mids and tight in the lows. You will never hear this pickup get flubby and undefined in the highest gain settings. The high-mids will cut through like the sharpest knife but the treble will be sweet and never grating on the ears. From chunky low-string metal riffing to screaming string bends in the high register, the Aldrich bridge humbucker covers them all while retaining the dynamics of your picking attack.

The Aldrich neck humbucker is the perfect complement to the Aldrich bridge pickup. The Aldrich neck pickup has been carefully calibrated for the neck position and to also match the output of the Aldrich bridge pickup. This is our highest output neck humbucker pickup but it never gets muddy or undefined. The Aldrich neck humbucker retains the clear string-to-string balance with warmth in the mids, tight and clear lows, and sweet singing highs. Whether it’s chunky crunch rhythm sounds, sweet bluesy leads or fluid high-gain lead sounds you need from a neck humbucker, the Aldrich delivers in spades and then some.

DC Resistance: 17.5K ohms for the bridge position, 9K ohms for the neck position, 4-conductor wire

SSH+ and DSH+ Bridge Top
Humbuckers

Our DSH+ and SSH+ pickups are our popular standard high-output pickups. Choose the DSH+ with its double row of screws for a smoother sound and the SSH+ with a single row of screws and single row of slugs for a brighter and cutting sound. From warm and clear clean sounds to classic rock to high-energy jazz-rock fusion to 80's metal/shred to modern high-gain sounds, both the DSH+ and SSH+ cover a broad musical base with musicality, punchy authority, and tone. Using highest grade hand-selected Alnico magnets and premium components, these pickups complement the characteristics of the woods in your guitar.

The SSH+ and DSH+ pickups are available in black, white, and zebra (black and cream) bobbins. The SSH+ pickups are also available in chrome or gold covers.

DC Resistance: 17K ohms, 4-conductor wire

SSH and DSH Bridge Top
Humbuckers

Our DSH and SSH pickups are our most popular humbucking pickups, providing a nice balance between strong output with pronounced mids that will push the front end of a tube amp and sweet open-sounding vintage-style tonality. Whether you need the bridge humbucker to kick your amp into overdrive or provide smooth and clear tones that will cut through the mix, the DSH and SSH pickups give you the sound that will get you heard with startling detail. Only the highest grade components in these pickups assure you that the quality of your playing and of your guitar's acoustic character will faithfully be sent to your amp.

The SSH and DSH pickups are available in black, white, and zebra (black and cream) bobbins. The SSH pickups are also available in chrome or gold covers.

DC Resistance: 13K ohms, 4-conductor wire

SSV+ and DSV+ Bridge Top
Humbuckers

The DSV+ and SSV+ pickups in our humbucking pickups family are like great vintage humbuckers with an attitude. Providing the best attributes of the highly sought-after vintage PAF-style pickups with the extra kick needed to cut through a dense mix, the DSV+ and SSV+ pickups are superb for covering genres ranging from pop to blues to classic rock to jazz and high-energy fusion. Choose the double row of screws for a sweeter top end or the single screw version for more cut and midrange honk.

The SSV+ and DSV+ pickups are available in black, white, and zebra (black and cream) bobbins. The SSV+ pickups are also available in chrome or gold covers.

DC Resistance: 10K ohms, 4-conductor wire

SSV and DSV Bridge & Neck Top
Humbuckers

If you need authentic vintage humbucker sounds, there is no need to look any further than our DSV and SSV humbucking pickups. Used by top pros who need to duplicate the great classic sounds of a bygone era, the DSV and SSV pickups have a broad sonic aperture with very little compression artifacts that afflict typical high-output pickups. Go with the DSV for smoother highs or with the SSV for more honk and snarl. 30 years of research and development by John Suhr assure you the quality of experience and workmanship behind each one of our pickups.

The SSV and DSV pickups are available in black, white, and zebra (black and cream) bobbins. The SSV pickups are also available in chrome or gold covers.

DC Resistance: 9K ohms for bridge position, 8K ohms for neck position, 4-conductor wire

Bass Pickups & Electronics
Classic J Vintage & Humphrey Bass Top
Bass Pickups

Designed for our highly-touted Classic J basses and other basses in its design class, our Classic J Vintage and Humphrey pickups provide articulation and warmth while retaining the woody acoustic quality of the instrument. The Classic J Vintage pickups are true to the authentic designs of the early 60's while our stacked Humphrey pickups are designed to be used with our active Classic J onboard 2-band bass preamp for the utmost in signal-to-noise ratio. From classic warm and growling to powerful and hi-fi modern, our Classic J Vintage and Humphrey pickups provide a wide palette of stunning bass sounds for your bass guitars.

DC Resistance: 8.6K ohms for Vintage bridge, 8.4K ohms for Vintage neck, 8.1K ohms for Humphrey bridge, 7.9K ohms for Humphrey neck.

Classic J Preamp for Bass Top
Bass Pickups

Years in the making and based on decades of experience and knowledge culled by John Suhr working with some of the top bassists in the industry, the Classic J Preamp for Bass is an active 2-band EQ (Treble and Bass) that dramatically increases the sonic range of our Classic J bass and other instruments of its type. Utilizing the very finest components hand-picked by John Suhr, the Classic J Preamp for Bass is perfect for seasoned bass players who need to cover a wide sonic palette of classic and modern bass sounds.

Backplate Silent Single Coil (BPSSC) System
BPSSC Top
BPSSC Pickups
BPSSC Pickups
Download BPSSC Review

Everyone loves the sound of the pure single-coil pickup, but the 60-cycle hum that it generates has been an annoyance that musicians have had to deal with for over 50 years or not deal with at all and use humbucker pickups or settle for tonal compromises like stacked single-coils, dummy coils, and active electronics. Those days are now over with the Suhr/Ilitch Electronics SSC System. Originally only available as a built-in system on our Classic guitars, the SSC is now available in a backplate that covers the tremolo spring cavity and that means you can now enjoy the benefits of this breakthrough technology on non-Suhr guitars with "pure" single-coil pickups.

The BPSSC System eliminates the noise while completely retaining the sonic character of pure single-coil pickups. The noise is gone but the sparkle, the chime, and the low-end response that you've come to love in single-coil pickups are all still there for you to enjoy and savor. The BPSSC System is easy to install and does not need any additional modifications to your guitar. Remove the current backplate on your guitar, solder the wires coming out of the BPSSC with the electronics on your guitar following the included instructions, screw the BPSSC on the back of your guitar and you're ready for great pure single-coil tone without the noise!

Finally, after over 50 years, you can get true single-coil sound without the noise. Many single-coil lovers had resigned to the fact that noise was a "necessary" artifact that couldn't be eliminated without compromising the tone. The BPSSC System proves that it is possible to get great single-coil sounds without the annoying hum – once and for all!

The BPSSC is optimized to work with single-coil pickups with the DC resistance ratings between 6K Ohms and 8K Ohms. The BPSSC requires the middle pickup to be the same polarity and the same direction winding as the bridge and neck pickups. Reverse-wound reverse-polarity middle pickup will not work with the BPSSC. Please click here to download the PDF instruction manual.

Download BPSSC Guitar One Review (1.5MB) pdf document

"Scott Henderson told me about the BPSSC while it was still being developed. In the meantime, I ended up sidelining one of my favourite strats because I wasn't able to record exposed passages without ruining the track with 60 cycle hum. I was very frustrated and considered selling the guitar. As soon as it was available, I ordered the BPSSC. I had no idea what to expect. After it was installed, I plugged in and was blown away by the difference. I didn't sell the guitar and the hum is no longer an issue. Meanwhile, the Tyler I had on order was ready and Jim kindly installed the BPSSC on it. Now, I have 2 AMAZING sounding quiet strats. Brilliant work guys!!! Oh yes I'm also using the V60LPs too." Kynch Pádraig O'Kaine, University of Miami

Click here for the demo of the SSC System by Scott Henderson.

 


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JS Technologies Inc. // 18650 Collier Ave Unit A // Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
Tel: 951-471-2334 (Tues-Friday 9-5) // Fax: 951-471-2557 // johnsuhr@suhrguitars.com