Last Fall, I picked up a Black Magic bridge position humbucker (review). I’ve been so blown away with the other neck pickups I’ve tried from Mojotone (i.e., Level Head, PW Hornet, humbucker-size P-90) that I knew the Black Magic neck humbucker couldn’t be overlooked.
As with the bridge model, the Black Magic has a double row of screw slugs. If you like to tweak your pole heights, you are definitely in luck! The designers at Mojotone mate up an Alnico 5 magnet down the middle with a ceramic magnet on the outside with 43 AWG wire. As with several of their humbucker models, they offer the option of black, nickel or gold pole pieces. This one was hooked up in the same 2-hum guitar I’ve been using for all the Mojotone pickups, with a 3-way mini-toggle for series/split/parallel for each position.
For this application, I paired it up with the Mojotone Black Magic bridge to also allow for an idea of how they interact as a set.
The guys at Mojotone continue to knock it out of the park! The Black Magic neck is expressive and articulate. It’s a powerful neck pickup that is also overflowing with a musical voice that makes it much more versatile than many other options for neck humbuckers. It is excellent for the liquid fluidity of heavy blues to the punishing presence of metal to the exacting precision of staccato phrasing. While not quite as offset as the bridge model, the asymmetrical coils of the neck position opens up the frequencies enough to allow a nice open character.
Clean amp tones work very well with the Black Magic neck pickup. Plenty of push in series mode, a classic glassy chime in split mode and a polite tonality in parallel mode that’s excellent for strumming and jazzy lines.
Paired up with the Black Magic bridge, they are well-balanced with each other and work to each other’s strengths. I discovered a nice vibe in the middle toggle position with both pickups in parallel, which resulted in a very nice late-70s/early-80s rock character.
NECK position
series – 9.43k
split N – 5.13k
split S – 4.30k
parallel – 2.36k
and for quick reference….
BRIDGE positionGuitar Gear Review: Mojotone “Black Magic” NECK Position Humbucker Pickup
series – 15.22k
split N – 6.91k
split S – 8.32k
parallel – 3.78k
Being a bit of a pickup junkie, I find myself consistently blown away with Mojotone pickups. They offer a custom/boutique-level product and experience, made in the USA, at very reasonable rates. I hope they keep on putting out more models!
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Darth Phineas is a long time music industry insider who provides his readers with unbiased reviews on musical instrument and guitar gear. You can read more of his reviews and check out industry news on his Facebook community Darth Phineas, Twitter or his website is darthphineas.com
