NAMM 2013: Railhammer Pickups launches Chisel Neck model

NAMM 2013: The Chisel Neck model pickup is designed for hard rock and metal players. A high-output ceramic magnet, 42-gauge wire, and reduced winding are used to produce exceptional clarity for a neck pickup. The tone is aggressive and thick but stays clear when played hard or while playing chords. Riffs are loud and distinct, even with heavy distortion or low tunings.

The patent-pending Railhammers are designed by award-winning guitar industry veteran Joe Naylor. Railhammers feature rails under the wound strings for tight lows, and poles under the plain strings for fat highs. This allows players to dial in a tight percussive tone on the wound strings without the plain strings sounding thin or sterile. The result is clarity that rivals an active pickup, but with the harmonic content and organic tone of a passive design.

Touch sensitivity, sustain, and harmonic content are also enhanced by the extremely efficient magnetic structure, and the elimination of any moving parts. The strong magnetic field also prevents any dead spots when bending strings.

Other features include: universal spacing, six screw German silver baseplate, four-conductor wiring (for custom wiring such as coil split, phase, series/parallel, etc.) and height tapered rails which contribute to consistent volume from string to string.

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.