As a custom builder, we have almost no constraints on what you can choose for the electronics in your build. Whether you want to keep it simple or experiment with a crazy combination you’ve always dreamed of, we can handle it. If the number of choices feels too overwhelming, consider looking at our standard selections, or ask us for recommendations during the planning phase.

Pickups

We stock a small selection of inexpensive OEM pickups for both guitar and bass. We can get any name-brand pickup (Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, EMG, etc.) that is currently in production. Despite not being stocked, we do not consider normal name-brand pickups to be “special order” items that require an additional deposit, unless the specific pickup model is treated as a special order by the manufacturer themselves (e.g., items from SD’s custom shop).

We can support virtually any pickup configuration you can dream up – so long as it still physically fits on the body, of course. Don’t be afraid of going for some combination you’ve dreamed of having that isn’t typically available.

For guitars (and basses using mini humbuckers), if a pickguard is specified that covers a pickup mounting location, we will mount the pickup to the pickguard by default. Upon request, we can instead direct-mount the pickup to the body under the pickguard. Though this produces a cleaner look, it incurs a slight added fee, since the pickup height cannot be adjusted during setup with the pickguard in place.

For builds without pickguards (and positions not covered by a pickguard), guitar (and bass mini-humbucker) pickups will be mounted in rings by default. If you prefer your pickups to be direct-mounted to the body, please specify so during the planning phase.

Potentiometers & Switches

We stock a selection of Alpha and Bourns potentiometers for our builds, but also offer CTS pots. If you have a specific brand preference, just let us know. We normally use full-size pots, but in some configurations where space is limited, we may use mini pots. If not instructed otherwise, we will use 500K pots for humbucker setups and 250K pots for single-coils. Volume pots can be either linear or audio (log) taper – if no preference is expressed, we will default to linear. We recommend that tone pots are always audio (log), but can use linear taper pots if specifically requested.

We stock a selection of Alpha and Bourns push-pull pots as well, which can be used for switching things such as coil splits in addition to their normal volume or tone function. We can also special-order push-push pots for the same purpose. If you prefer to keep those operations separate, we stock a selection of mini toggle switches, with actuators in several sizes and shapes. Note, however, that some mini toggle variations are not available in colors other than chrome.

For switching in multi-pickup configurations, we stock Oak Grigsby blade switches (both 3-way and 5-way) and Switchcraft toggle switches (3-way). 4-way blade switches are also available, but we do not normally keep them on hand. For more complicated scenarios, we can special-order 5- or 6-way rotary switches, or complex switches such as the Free-Way and various “superswitch” models.

Jacks

We stock a variety of different 1/4″ jack and plate configurations. Note that not all options are available on all build types. For example, the various side-mounted jacks each require a certain minimum body thickness at the point of installation, which also includes accounting for the edge radius.

Miscellaneous

Our standard tone capacitors are of the PET film type, at either 0.022 µF or 0.047 µF, depending on pickup configuration. If you have a specific tone capacitor preference, in type or in value, please let us know and we will take care of it.

Though we do not normally stock any preamps, we can install any one you would like, whether that’s an inexpensive Artec SE model or the increasingly-popular Darkglass Tone Capsule.

Want to go really crazy with your switching and achieve combinations of effects without adding a ton of individual switches? We are familiar with microcontrollers, and would be happy to build out a custom electronic switching solution to give you the complicated combinations you want without the need for clumsy controls.