Silvertone/Rio Grande Lipstick Pickups

Nathan Daniels invented the original Lipstick pickup back around 1954. “Lipsticks” have always had a unique sound, clearly different from the more common single coil variety. With that wonderful scooped-midrange and bright trebly top end, they have carved out a distinctive sonic space in recordings and live on stage.

Silvertone guitars with Lipstick pickups proudly capture this vintage tone. But what if you prefer more output, with a tone more like a traditional sounding single coil pickup?  You know, one that keeps the Lipstick pickup look, and requires no modifications to your guitar? Well, we have the answer!

We collaborated with Rio Grande Pickups in Houston, Texas to design a new Lipstick pickup set that offers the guitarist a traditional single coil tone with a beefy midrange and higher output for lead playing and driving guitar pedals. Think of it as sounding somewhere between a 60’s strat® pickup and a P90. 

Hand made in Houston, Texas, this pickup features an Alnico 5 bar magnet with plain enamel 44AWG pure copper wire. The pickup set has a shielded 2 wire connection - this allows you to flip the phase of either pickup for noiseless operation when both pickups are used together.  The set is calibrated for the neck and bridge positions, ensuring even volume response for each pickup.

We offer two different versions of this pickup set. One for the original reissue Silvertone guitars from 2014 to 2024 and one that retrofits most vintage Silvertone guitars from the 50’s and 60’s.  This high-gain beauty sounds amazing when installed in the original Silvertone 1303 and the 1449 ‘Amp in Case’ models.
Super charge your guitar with these Silvertone/Rio Grande Lipstick pickups!