FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This FAQ section is intended to answer some of the most common questions, but, at any point, if you prefer to discuss this with a human instead of a list of questions that may not be relevant, contact us!
Q. Are Legendary Pickups truly made in Scotland? A. Absolutely! Not only are they made in Scotland, they are made near some of the most historical parts of the country!
Q. Does that really make a difference to the sound? A. Not in the slightest; it sounds cool though, doesn't it? It is however in the DNA of every pickup made and the same passion and pride that the Scots have of their country is applicable to the pickups that leave the workshop.
Q. What is a "hand-wound" pickup and why does it matter? A. The term "Hand wound" (sometimes referred to as scatter-wound) can be a little bit misleading. Pickups are spun on a machine at a certain RPM and the varying copper wire is guided by hand onto the pickups instead of being guided by a machine. This human touch produces inconsistencies in the layering of the wire and can enhance the capabilities of a pickups sounds when factored in to its design. Generally speaking, hand-wound pickups tend to have an extra element of "life" to them. This extra life presents itself as more open top end and enhanced resonant peak (where the pickup is most efficient, ie loudest).
Q. Is hand-wound better than machine-wound? A. No! Wait... Yes? Maybe! Maybe not... There is a lot of negativity towards machine wound pickups but this is absolutely unfounded. Some of the best pickups from history have been wound on machines for the better part of 50 years. Depending on the result you wish to achieve, both are perfectly acceptable when making pickups. At Legendary, the result hand winding achieves is perfectly suited to what the brand is trying to represent.
Q. How long do orders take? A. Build times are quoted at 25-30 days. If an order can be completed before this time, it will be.
Q. What are my payment options? A. Legendary Pickups supports payments from most major card providers via the shop, PayPal and finance through Klarna. Apple Pay is currently supported for users of Apple devices.
Q. What options are available for my order? A. Each pickup shop page will confirm what customisation options are available.
Q. Why are there 52mm and 50mm bridge options at checkout? A. 52mm and 50mm refer to the distance between the two outer pole pieces on a pickup. This is the distance between the low E to high e on your guitar as it crossed the pickup. Typically 52mm is suited to guitars with modern bridges, locking and Fender style tremolos, but this can vary based on the hardware of your specific guitar. If in doubt, measure the distance between both E strings at the bridge to get a close approximation.
Q. Do you keep any items in stock? A. Because pickups have a degree of customisation available, most are made to order. There are often stock available to purchase for immediate dispatch. Please see the current available stock at the bottom of the shop page here - https://www.legendarypickups.co.uk/shop
Q. If worldwide shipping is an option, why is my country is not available at checkout? A. If this is the case, please get in touch to get the shipping option enabled. Legendary is a small company and hasn't yet shipped to all corners of the earth. It is more than likely possible to ship to you and is merely due to no orders having previously been sent to your country to calculate shipping. Congrats on being the first!
Q. Will I have to pay import and VAT / Tax if ordering outside of the UK? A. More than likely, yes. Due to the changes since Brexit, all orders are now classed as exports and will carry the appropriate tax charges in your country where applicable. Please note prices are excluding VAT.
Q. How do I go about placing a custom order? A. Please get in touch via email or social media to discuss your requirements.
Q. WHAT IS "DC RESISTANCE"? A.“DC resistance" is the inherent static opposition to current flow of the conductor - in this case the pickup’s coil. This occurs when applying a certain amount of DC current to the material’s circuit. Resistance, in this instance, is calculated according to ‘Ohm's law’ and represented by the unit ohm (Ω). DC resistance, in the context of guitar pickups is used as a very general indicator of a pickup's power but is extremely misleading when trying to compare any two or more pickups. Generally, the higher the DC reading, the more power a pickup has - at the expense of high end clarity. The result of this expense manifests as a ‘darker’ tone when compared to a lower DC resistance. This comes with a significant caveat; Not all DC resistance readings can be compared. Guitar pickups use different thickness (gauges) of wire. This has a significant impact on the sound a pickup produces and, crucially - the DC resistance of a pickup. An 8kΩ pickup wound with a thicker wire will output and sound drastically different to an 8kΩ pickup wound with thinner wire. Please do not make the mistake of thinking all pickups are equal and let your hands and ears be the judge of what is suitable for you and for the instrument.
Q. WHY ARE DC RESTANCES NOT QUOTED? A. Not all DC resistance readings can be accurately compared as no two pickups are made equal. It's very easy to analyse a pickup design specification on paper and come to a conclusion based on limited knowledge of the pickups design. To simplify this, our pickups will no longer show DC resistance, and instead will be described by output range for a much more user friendly specification.