Black Heaven®

I’ve used Lundgren pickups in two different projects. In one build I used the Hot Heaven and Heaven 57, and in my latest build I went with the Black Heaven. The projects — and the pickups — were quite different, but I was very happy with both the build quality and the tonal character. The Black Heaven especially delivers a clear, articulate tone that handles distortion with impressive power and definition.

I met Lundgren pickups through my somewhat experimental Gretsch G5260T baritone mod project. It started with changing the range, following Loathe guitarist Erik Bickerstaffe’s low-gauge approach: 105 on top.

With this bass-guitar hybrid range, I wanted punchy, driving grooves and rhythmic patterns, but still with clarity. I use fuzz and distortion sometimes, but the main sound is rather clean: controlled chaos, especially in the dynamics. As an improviser, I am usually drawn to time-based effects, so exploring fine dynamics in this way is quite new for me. I wanted rumble, but also enough response to play with it in different improvised ensemble settings.

After changing the strings and tuning, I went on quite a journey with pickup designs. I’m not a fan of active pickups, and many high-output pickups feel too sterile to me. Eventually, I ended up with a Lundgren M6 in the bridge and a Black Heaven in the neck. Johan Lundgren was very engaged in this not-so-conventional exploration and guided me nicely. That already feels priceless in a music industry dominated by massive corporations.

I added push-pull switches, wiring the M6 for coil splitting and the Black Heaven for series/parallel switching. This created a very nice and contrasting sound palette. Compared to the drier, “safer” clarity of the M6, the Black Heaven in parallel gives a punchy yet mellow, slightly darker, fatter tone, with some lovely “bacteria.” As Johan also said, it gives something like a Tom Petty sound but on steroids.

In practice, it made me want to play the guitar more and more like a percussion instrument with beautiful transients and impulses, which was exactly what I wanted. After several gigs and sessions, I can say that Lundgren pickups give you a lot of control over your low end, and what you do with that is totally up to you.

This has so far been one of the best modification decisions I have ever made.

These pickups are fantastic! I have played active pickups for 19 years when playing metal. However, i have missed dynamics, articulation and nuances in my tone. These pickups solved that problem. I'm putting these in all my guitars for metal. With that said, these pickups are versetile and will do lots more than just metal. 10/10 pickups

The Lundgren Black Heaven set is, without a doubt, one of the best investments any serious guitarist can make. The combination of the neck’s organic Alnico warmth with the bridge’s ceramic power and definition offers an unprecedented sonic palette. The build quality is exceptional, delivering a level of clarity that allows every single note to shine, even under extreme distortion. What impresses me most is its sheer versatility: it possesses the dynamic sensitivity required for vintage rock and the surgical punch demanded by modern metal. Furthermore, its performance in coil-tap mode is brilliant, providing crisp, glass-like cleans. This is a pickup set that doesn’t just improve your tone—it redefines what your instrument is capable of. Truly masterful!

I have purchased 2 sets of pickups. Both are amazing, tight low end with great string clarity and a lot of meat to the sound. Johan was very communicative with recommendations and kindly accommodated a build request. Buy some pickups from a great company