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PICKUPS

Custom Shop

RJ Custom Shop pickups are expertly hand-wound using specially formulated techniques

developed by RJ Guitars since 1988. Each pickup features the finest magnets and wire from the USA,

produced to RJ Guitars' specifications and results in an ultra-wide and clear tonal response.

 

​Our Pickups Sing.

Alpha Coils

Heavy Cream humbucker

Supervintage Single Coil & Humbucker

RJ ALPHA COILS

RJ Alpha Coils pack a punch while faithfully reproducing your favorite vintage tones. These pickups combine our expert hand-winding processes with magnets from the USA to produce a lush tone of deep, controlled bass, precise and articulate midrange, and a bright, shimmering high-end.

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RJ Alpha Coils – S-Style Neck

 

Vintage Clarity, Live-Ready Power.


Crafted to preserve the crystalline highs and scooped mids of a '60s Strat, the Alpha Coil Strat Neck pickup is designed for clarity at stage volume. Using Alnico magnets and custom winding, it resists midrange congestion—even at higher output levels. It’s the sound RJ always wanted live but couldn’t get from stock pickups.

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  • Alnico magnets

  • Hand-guided, Scatter wound

  • Calibrated for live performance output

  • Designed to avoid mid boost despite added windings

RJ Alpha Coils – S-Style Middle

 

Balanced, Lively, and Hum-Cancelling Ready.


Voiced to complement our Strat neck and bridge pickups, the Alpha Middle Coil delivers vintage balance with slightly scooped mids and tight lows. Perfect for that in-between quack or standalone sparkle.

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  • Alnico magnets

  • Reverse-wound, reverse-polarity (RWRP) for hum-cancelling in 2 and 4 positions

  • Hand-guided, Scatter wound

  • Clear mids and articulate attack

  • Ideal for funk, blues, or clean rhythm

RJ Alpha Coils – S-Style Bridge

 

Cut Through the Mix—Without Compromise.


The Strat-style Alpha Bridge Coil is slightly overwound for extra punch but carefully voiced to retain the unmistakable Strat twang. Think Texas blues bite, with better control and less harshness

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  • Alnico magnets

  • Hand-guided, Scatter wound

  • Hand-voiced for treble presence and balance

  • No "ice pick" highs, no honky mids

  • Full response when pushed without losing dynamics

RJ Alpha Coils – T-Style Neck

 

Vintage Bell Tone. Modern Headroom.


This Tele-style neck pickup retains the round, vocal-like tone of classic Telecasters—clean and jazzy, but responsive to gain. Balanced for articulation, warmth, and detail.

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  • Alnico magnets

  • Hand-guided, Scatter wound

RJ Alpha Coils – T-Style Bridge

 

The Bite, Without the Bark. 


All the signature Tele snap, but with more usable sustain and a touch of mid scoop for a smoother presence. You can play chicken-pickin’ licks or throw it into fuzz—this pickup won’t break or whine.

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  • Alnico magnets

  • Hand-guided, Scatter wound

Where Our Story Begins:
In the Heart of a Pickup

Before RJ Guitars became a pioneering Philippine guitar brand, RJ Jacinto was on a quest for tone.

 

Known as the pioneering Rock n Roll icon and Mr. Guitarman of the Philippines, RJ Jacinto has been playing electric guitar since 1957.  His Bistro RJ is known as the Home of Rock n Roll (and the longest lasting music lounge where he has entertained live for almost 40 years).


In the 1980s, on stage at RJ Bistro, RJ would switch between his Stratocaster and Les Paul—drawn to the Strat’s crisp articulation but frustrated by its lack of punch and presence in a live mix. In the studio, it shimmered with clarity. On stage, it lacked the cut and attack to stand out.

RJ believed the problem wasn’t the amp. It was the pickup.

He teamed up with Filipino luthier Rudy Discipulo, and together, they began opening and dissecting Gibson and Fender pickups and trying different magnets and windings of Strat-style pickups. They discovered that increasing output by overwinding the coil—common practice for "hot" single coils—boosted volume, however what bothered RJ was that it distorted the tonal balance. The extra windings pushed the midrange too far, robbing the pickup of its signature 1960s brightness and turning it into something closer to a humbucker.

RJ and Rudy’s mission: design a single coil with increased output and sustain, without sacrificing the tonal purity of a vintage Strat. The result was a revelation—and it laid the foundation for what would become the RJ Supervintage 5-Guitars-in-1 system and eventually, RJ Guitars.
 

Their most ambitious milestone came with the RJ Supervintage 5-Guitars-in-1 system, designed to capture the essence of five iconic guitar voices: the Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Gibson Les Paul, and ES-335. The true challenge wasn’t just installing a coil-split, like most do—but refining a humbucker that, when split, could convincingly mimic a vintage Strat single coil. Most guitars fail at this because the inactive coil in a split humbucker still leaks signal, altering the tone of the active coil and dulling the clarity.

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After decades of experimentation and refinement, RJ cracked the code. The result is our proprietary TrueSplit  technology—a breakthrough that eliminates tonal compromise during coil-splitting, delivering an authentic single-coil sound from a split humbucker. It’s one of the few—if not the only—pickup designs on the market that truly nails this transformation.


Today, the RJ Custom Shop Pickups continue that legacy. Handmade in the Philippines. Refined by decades of live performance. These pickups sing.

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