Heartland Pickups - "Thick and creamy tones with a modern clarity."

Photos provided by: Heartland Pickups

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR | GEAR SPECIALIST | GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE TAMPA, FL U.S.A

Edward Schooley

Founded in 2021. GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE of Tampa, FL Guitar Thrills Magazine of Tampa, FL U.S.A. The GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE is excited to bring you some of the music industries finest talent. Including the world of entertainment. Our focus includes the long term goals and aspirations of artists of all sorts. We are an unbiased reporting platform. You are getting insight into the world of music. No, we are not your fathers website for music news. We have grown into our own, and rely upon decades of music experience and knowledge. Guitar Thrills Magazine is a hard act to follow.

For nearly forty years I’ve been crazy about Rock ’n ’Roll and guitars, particularly their tones. And finding that tone is what led me into pickup winding. After spending decades in the electrical field, it felt only natural to use my knowledge and understanding of electromagnetism and apply it to creating custom pickups.

Heartland Pickups is a privately owned business located in Indiana, USA. They are a one-man shop specializing in hand crafted and custom wound electric guitar pickups. Each pickup is made by me, built to order, scatter or machine wound and fabricated in my workshop.

If you are looking for something unique made specifically for you and your guitar to your requirements, get in touch with Heartland Pickups and they will achieve that tone… After all, you “Choose The Way You Sound” …

GET TO THE "HEART" OF THE HURRIKAN

Excellent introduction into the “heart” of a review. With deep respect we look forward to writing this review of HURRIKAN pickups from Heartland.

The short answer is that the Hurrikan is a hybrid pickup uniquely wound with 42.5 and 43 AWG Poly wire and features a powerful Alnico 6. This pickup is designed to provide thick and creamy tones with a modern clarity. Ideal for the player who needs more punch and less of a mid-scoop without the aggressiveness of the Alnico 8. The quick spec was enough to grab my attention. So was the price point at $135.00. So, we have the ideal marketing message to convince your typical Gear head, that they need to replace what they are currently using. It isn’t that difficult of a task, as we are always swamping out pickups looking for that perfect tone.

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To be perfectly honest, I will always start out with a budget friendly guitar, especially if I haven’t used a specific mod in the past. My “go to” in this case is the budget friendly Squier Strat. It was also time to replace the pick guard, so adding the pickups provided an opportunity to switch out the pick guard as well. I didn’t spare expense with my choice of Amps. I just got in a Marshall DSL 40. I was extremely eager to focus on the sound quality that the Heartland pickups are know for. Would I be impressed?

 The HURRIKAN pick-ups didn’t disappoint, and the sound quality was creamy without running hot. This is what you would expect with the Alnico alloys. Which produce a smooth, warm and highly musical tone. It was a far cry from the ceramic pickups I was previously using. They were generally harsher, more brittle sound with sharper peaks than their alnico predecessors.

You will find that the Alnico 6 contained within the walls of the HURRIKAN is aggressive. They are a good choice for bridge pickups, over which there is usually a smaller amount of string vibration. With that said, a Heartland Pickups are a winning combination with almost any electric guitar. Do yourself a favor and avoid heartache. Avoid purchasing pickups on the cheap. You will get what you pay for. Been there and regretted it. There is no replacement for high quality pickups.

Opening the box was a process that can either make or break the purchasing experience. The box and packaging must be close to flawless. If not, I will consider a returning the item. The packaging reflects the brand or manufacturer. The packaging tells me that other elements of my purchase are of high quality as well. I kid you not. It is all about the details, and Heartland Pickups met my expectations on the packaging as well.

I feel strongly about the pickups that they have created to the point of becoming a customer. Heartland will be a valuable resource for Guitar Thrills Magazine, and they will for you as well. Think nothing less, than only the best. Think Heartland pickups.

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