Sheptone’s Red Headed Step Child Finds Friend in Brian Kahanek

Printer-friendly versionPDF version

Sheptone Endorses Guitarist Brian Kahanek and creates new guitar pickup during latest recording process

Port Orchard, WA – Sheptone is teaming up with guitarist, Brian Kahanek to unveil a new bridge pickup called the “Red Headed Step Child.” The new model delivers a slightly hotter signal than traditional PAF humbuckers and was created out of necessity during the recording process of Brian’s latest recording, One True Thing.
The Red Headed Step Child uses rough finished Alnico 5 (degaussed) magnet with 57-58 spec 42 PE wire, a 12% overwind (~8.8K DCR), pole spacing is a standard 49.2 mm. The pickup is available in zebra black and white finish, reverse zebra or double black. Optional, aged covers are also available.
“I’ve been using Shep’s pickups for a while now. So when I went into the studio to do my latest recording, I wanted to try something new that could deliver that little extra push, without sacrificing any clarity or response in a bridge PAF format. That brought on the idea that is now 'The Red Headed Step Child'. The feedback One True Thing is getting is really amazing and I feel we came up with something really toneful and unique." - Brian Kahanek

To give insight as to what drives Shepherd’s pursuit, he states “My philosophy on pickups is simple...pickups should be transparent and allow the primary tones of the wood to come through. It is a wooden instrument after all. If you really listen to those classic riffs and tones that we all know, you can hear the wood and that is the key. While some secondary tone is inherent to each pickup’s design, the job of the pickup is to respond to the players' touch (dynamics), enhance the natural harmonics and overtones that accompany each note, and transfer this "voice" to the rest of the signal chain.”

For more information, please visit www.sheptone.com

MSRP $125.00 USD for the Red Headed Step Child each or can be substituted in the bridge position on any standard set.

About Sheptone
A little over seven years ago, Jeff Shepherd found himself in a local band and this is where the quest for tone began. An on-and-off recreational guitar player since the age of 12, the guitars he was playing live just didn’t sound the way he wanted. He purchased a set of 1958 Gibson PAF’s for a ridiculous $4000 to put in his EC-1000 and the difference was incredible. Being the type that likes to tinker and take things apart to see how they work (much to his parents dismay as a child), he began to experiment with winding his own pickups and comparing them to my 1958 originals, back and forth, adjust and re-adjust for over a year until he finally was able to duplicate THAT tone. Since then he has been fortunate enough to extensively analyze over 100 of those old humbuckers, developing a consistent modern recipe as a reasonably priced substitute for over-priced vintage pickups. With a lot of work and some luck along the way, his original curiosity exploded into a full time business, now shipping to every guitar playing country in the world based on word-of-mouth alone. Sheptone has since developed several lines of pickups including Strat, Tele, P90, Bass, and others based on the same principles and procedures. www.sheptone.com

About Brian Kahanek
Born in Ohio, raised in Texas and now a resident of California, Brian Kahanek is the real guitar hero. In addition to pursuits in a solo vein, Brian has recorded guitars and mixed for some of music's top artists including Tim McGraw, Multi-platinum Latin Group RBD (Rebels), Virgin recording artist, Betzi, Walt Disney Pictures and Warner Bros Pictures. Brian is also a sought-after recording engineer with film and video game credits that include Pixar's Finding Nemo and The Incredibles and Peter Jackson's King Kong. www.briankahanek.com