Mr Glyn’s Pickups
I caught up with Glyn of Mr Glyn’s Pickups to trace the path from guitar-repair bench to boutique-pickup maker, and to learn what makes his New Zealand–born designs so special.
At the moment, I am trying to shine a spotlight on some great local and local-ish builders and designers and I have come across some great stuff. If there are any builders or companies that you would like us to feature, drop me a comment below or a message on Instagram.
What’s the story behind Mr Glyn’s Pickups?
“I’ve been winding pickups since 1997 as part of my work as a guitar repairer, and I’ve always loved it,” Glyn begins.
In 2012 he began designing and testing prototypes that would become Mr Glyn’s Pickups, but it wasn’t until COVID paused his repair work in 2020 that he could go “all-in” on pickups. “If I was to hang a sign on the door, it’d say ‘Established 2020’ though, really, it’s been decades in the making.”
What sets your pickups apart—especially that Kiwi spirit?
“Every design is road-tested in real guitars, through amps and pedals, recorded and then gigged, either by me or a pro. You learn more playing next to a drummer than any bench test can tell you!” Glyn taps his inspiration in the wild remoteness of Muriwai Beach, NZ, and even names his Strat-style pickups after native birds.
He isn’t too worried about the time that it takes to get pickups right (sometimes years), because he wants to be using the designs for the rest of his life, so being satisfied with the final product is of the utmost importance.
His collaboration with Māori-metal band Alien Weaponry yielded the Tūmatauenga humbucker: “Swapping pickups on their kitchen table, bouncing ideas back and forth—it was magic.” Be sure to check out Mr Glyn’s website to see the Tumatauenga in action, as well as all of the other pickups in his range.
Your biggest win (or challenge) and advice for someone starting out?
Glyn states that the majority of his pickups are selling overseas, but this has been a long road. “I’ve had to upskill in SEO and social media—now I genuinely enjoy it, because without online visibility, people can’t find you”
Last year I got an enquiry out of the blue for Humbucker-sized P90s from someone. They were in a two guitar band and the other guitarist had the Strat sounds covered. He turned out to be David Ryan Harris from John Mayer’s band. He found me only because I’d been working my SEO hard.
His big tip? Treat your website and socials like part of your product, not an afterthought.
Music tastes—your foundational bands?
“Malcolm Young got me hooked: raw, no-frills tone. I still gig in a covers band with zero effects just pickups and strings. It’s about feel as much as sound: dynamics, compression, response to the player.”
Where can players find you and your demos?
Mr Glyn posts daily on Instagram and a few times a week on Facebook. The website is great and hosts demos and short videos explaining each pickup’s design philosophy, “players love knowing the ‘why’ behind a pickup.”
Dream rig or can’t-live-without gear?
“I was doing 800 repair jobs a year, so I’ve learned to adapt to any guitar. But for gigs I usually grab my Flying V loaded with a Cloud Nine bridge and a Black Sand neck pickup (Mr Glyn’s own designs) and there’s a series/parallel switch so I can dial in a single-coil vibe if I need it.”
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