A blemished pickup is one that has cosmetic flaws in a plated metal part, like scratches, pits, dings, solder runs, or scuffs. In sound and function, the pickup performs perfectly, just like a regular TV Jones pickup.

The main reason is reduced cost. If the guitar you’re installing it in has been well loved and has a few nicks and dings, it’ll fit right it. And if you’re into creating relic’d parts, a blemished pickup gives you a more affordable starting point.

In some cases, you’ll have to inspect closely to see the blemish once the pickup is installed. If you play with a pick, you’re bound to put some minor scratches in a pickup’s plated parts over time anyway.

Yes. You can exchange it for a regular pickup model or another blemished model (depending on availability). Visit our exchange policy page for details.

Yes—all blemished pickups come with the same warranty as our regular pickups.

To bring a great value to our customers.

In manufacturing our premium-grade products, we take great care to deliver the most perfect appearance possible. That means that the cover, screws, and other plated metal parts that can be seen after installation need to be free of visible scratches and blemishes. In this process, we reject covers and screws that don’t meet our standards. Since we’re extremely picky, we’ve ended up with quite a few rejects over the years.

Instead of just ditching all of them—or going through a costly re-plating process—we’ve decided to use covers and screws with blemishes and use them to build some new pickups. And because they’re not cosmetically perfect, we’re able to offer them to you at significantly reduced prices.