Gus G announces his own pickup company, Blackfire Pickups

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From signature Jackson electric guitars to overdrive pedal collaborations, Gus G is no stranger to wielding gear with his name on it. However, the Firewind/Ozzy Osbourne guitarist has now taken his stake in the world of music equipment a step further with the announcement of his own pickup company, Blackfire Pickups.

The fruit of several years of testing and prototyping, the company's product line will initially launch with two pickup sets: Immortal and Proteus. These had previously been available exclusively with Gus G's latest signature Jackson guitars, but they can now be purchased separately for the first time.

High-output passive humbuckers with Alnico 5 magnets, the Immortals are, as Blackfire says, “a great pickup for rock and metal with powerful midrange boost that provides crunchy rhythm tones and screaming leads”.

The Proteus set is aimed chiefly at metal players, and consists of a pair of active humbuckers with high-output, low-noise preamps, which “give enough kick and distortion, with well-balanced EQ and rich harmonics that respond perfectly to picking attack and dynamics.”

"Creating my own pickups was a dream come true,” Gus G says. “This wasn't about making another signature piece of gear, but rather than creating something new from scratch based in my 20 year long experience touring and recording professionally. 

“Being on a constant search for the perfect tone, I wanted to make the pickup that will be suitable not only for myself, but for any rock and metal player that is looking for solid, uncompromising tone.”

The Immortal and Proteus pickup sets are available now for €175 (approx $215) and €199 (approx $245), respectively.

For more information, head to Blackfire Pickups.