Homewrecker Pickups
We partner with Homewrecker Pickups, a manufacturer of hand-made pickups in Los Angeles.
McSwain's Custom Humbuckers feature the SlowBurn and Valentina models from Homewrecker's Custom platforms, exemplifying McSwain's signature excellence in craftsmanship. Each set is meticulously handcrafted in California by Joshua Hernandez, catering to the nuances of the players themselves. The pickups are precision-engineered to balance vintage and modern tones, utilizing custom-selected alloys and new old stock (NOS) Plain Enamel wire.
The SlowBurn Bridge pickup, with an output range of 9.3-9.8k, offers exceptional adaptability. Its unique character can be altered with a simple magnet swap while consistently providing unmatched clarity, sophistication, and definition. Its design embodies a Modern Classic, boasting versatility that can cleanly transition from high-gain settings due to its innovative frequency trap design, which allows for near-clean roll-off. The pickup is also compatible with coil tapping from the Slug side and can harmoniously interact with boosters ranging from soft clipping to germanium boosts.
The Valentina model is our crowning Neck Pickup, perfectly balanced with offset coils. It registers at 7.3-7.4k and features Alnico 4 magnets, with an alternative Alnico 2 option for a different tonal character. This pickup harmonizes masculine and feminine tones and avoids the "boomy" nature of many vintage pickups, providing a refined balance. When coil cut, it defaults to the Screw side, reminiscent of a lower-wound P-90.
The McSwain-90 set stands out for its uniqueness. The bridge pickup is wound with NOS 43awg Plain Enamel to 11.5k, while the Neck pickup adopts the Valentina-90 framework but adds a twist by using NOS 42awg Plain Enamel wire with Alnico 4 magnets, enriched with choice carbon content alloys. This balance ensures full frequency flexibility across different custom guitars, showcasing the distinctive qualities of the magnet grades and the remarkable capacity to roll down without needing treble bleed units.