JULIAN, CA — Sheptone proudly introduces the Wanker humbucker, in celebration of all guitarists known to crank—or wank—their way to sonic bliss. With a humbucker that can handle the heat, players are finally free to enjoy themselves, wanking their way to self-expression without blowing up their tone or alienating their bandmates.
Built specifically for strat-style shred sleds, the Wanker was developed for players who like to push boundaries with higher output. Popularized in the 1980s, these pickups were overly wound just to provide higher output, but that approach came at a high cost in tone. Meanwhile, Sheptone is a manufacturer that has earned its reputation for pickups that capture the best qualities of the best-sounding Patent Applied For (PAF) pickups of the 1950s and 1960s. With the launch of the Wanker, they have achieved the best of both worlds—a tightly wound, high-output humbucker for the strat-style guitar that doesn’t sacrifice tone.
The Wanker starts with 53 mm spacing to accommodate Floyd Rose-style bridges, F-spacing fixed bridges, and short feet. It has four-conductor wiring and Alnico 5 magnets. As with other Sheptone humbuckers, resistance will vary, as the winding process goes strictly by the number of turns, but it tends to be around 10.5. This gives the Wanker plenty of power to drive the signal chain, but not so much that it begins to suck the tone out of it.
The Wanker’s short feet are better suited for the sleeker, low-profile guitar designs that today’s players are seeking and guitar builders are making. Wooden spacers stay true to the original pursuit of tone, and the German silver base plate is ideal for tonal neutrality.
The Wanker will be available in a variety of bobbin color configurations of white, cream, and black, or with German silver covers plated in either nickel or gold. Pricing starts at $129.00.
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