top of page

Interview with Daniel Zoschke of Zeus Pickups

Writer's picture: Barış ŞahinBarış Şahin

Zeus Pickups

Hello Buddy. Can you tell us about the founding story of Zeus Pickups and the inspiration behind starting the company?

As a kid, I spent a lot of time with my grandpa, helping him repair stuff around the house, taking apart old radios and household appliances, so I became really interested in how things work. Later in school, one of my best friends got me into playing guitar. I played acoustic guitar only for a few years, but since I was listening to a lot of heavy blues and rock music at the time, an electric guitar was what I really wanted. When I was about 16, I was finally allowed to get one. So I bought a used Harley Benton hollowbody from a friend, and even though it might not have been the best guitar, this really opened the door for me. I got a small solid-state amp and a bunch of pedals and started riffing away. It always fascinated me how many possibilities there are with electric guitars. With an acoustic, you are basically “stuck” with one sound, whereas you can bend the sound of an electric to your liking. I spent many hours on guitar forums and went down a lot of the guitar tone rabbit holes. That's when I began modding my guitar. I replaced the pots, put in different capacitors, and installed a bone nut. Those things improved the sound overall, but I was still not really blown away by it, especially the neck pickup, which was muddy as hell. So I decided to start at the source and get a new set of pickups. I got a set of Seymour Duncan Hot Rodded Humbucker set, installed it, and it was an absolute game-changer! Finally, I had a clear-sounding neck pickup and a bridge pickup with a whole lot more punch. This was really eye-opening, and it made me wonder: why do they sound so different? Before that, I wasn’t really thinking about what pickups were or how they worked, but then I became obsessed. I started researching how they were built. What is DC Resistance? What is Inductance? What is Capacitance and why does it matter? It really fascinated me how you can take the same ingredients and build two completely different-sounding pickups with them. Shortly thereafter, I built my first pickup winder and started building my own pickups. I built a few pickups for friends and helped them with modding their guitars as a hobby. Later on, I realized: this is really fun, this is what makes me happy, I want to do this for a living! That’s when I decided to become a pickup builder.


Is Zeus Pickups a one-man band or full orchestra?


We are a two-piece!

This is me: I am Daniel and I build the pickups! I print the bobbins, wind the coils, and put them together.

Daniel of Zeus Pickups
Daniel the Winder

And this is Justus, he is our IT genius. He built the whole website from scratch and he did all of our tone demos so far.

Justus of Zeus Paickups
Justus, the web guy :)

What sets Zeus Pickups apart from other pickup manufacturers in the industry?

We want to give our customers all the options to fully customize their pickups to their needs. You can go on our website and create a pickup that is truly your own. You decide how it looks, how much output it has, you choose if you want wax potting and which type of magnet we put in there. We guide you through the whole process, but in the end, you have complete creative freedom. You want a P.A.F. style Humbucker with ceramic magnets? Let's go!


A couple of months ago, you changed the name of the brand from Kelini to Zeus Pickups? Why was that?

We didn’t think a whole lot about our name when we started the company, and we didn’t want to waste time thinking about the perfect name. We figured the name was the least important thing about it, and Kelini was a bit of an insider joke, so we went with it as a kind of placeholder. When things started to take shape, it did not really resonate as much anymore. It is hard to memorize and hard to spell, so it’s probably hard to find us on the internet. We put a lot of work into the company, and we were looking for something more serious. Since we wanted to keep the lightning as our logo, we thought about names that were lightning-related. That's when we came up with Zeus Pickups. It has a nice ring to it and it sounds powerful. There isn’t a lot of meaning behind it besides that.


As far as I can see, you have untraditional service for pickup presenting on your website. There are no fancy model names, but you have pickup classes & types, spiderweb style specs, you both give inductance and Q-Factor values and custom pickup generators.

Yes! We were trying to keep it simple. There are a lot of pickups with cool names, but it gets confusing fast. It is important to us that our customers understand what they are buying and how it differs from other pickups. The Spidernet was a great suggestion from a friend. They make it very easy to compare the sets. At this point, we only have them to compare our pickup presets, but we are working on a spiderweb for the configurator that reacts to your individual choices, like different magnet or wire types or things like wax potting and magnet strength.

spiderweb design of pickups

Do you measure or estimate the Q-Factor and the capacitance, btw? Do you also have bode plots and resonance frequencies of your pickups?

I use an LCR Meter to measure the DC Resistance, Inductance, Q-Factor, and Capacitance. From those measurements, I calculate the resonant peak. It has the ability to measure the capacitance at 100kHz and the inductance at 1kHz, so our measurements should be fairly accurate. That said, we are currently working on a testing rig with a driver coil to do frequency sweeps. That way, we can make sure our measurements are accurate and provide bode plots for all our models!


Do you have some kind of expertise in making pickups? You know, some guys are known in the market for a specific product, like Fralin is famous for their Strat pickups commonly, Ron Ellis or Fred Stuart are known for their Tele pickups, Throbaks are for PAF clones, etc.

Everything I know, I know from them! Thanks to YouTube, Lindy Fralin taught me how to wire a Strat, the guys from Throbak taught me about P.A.F. pickups, and Fred Stuart taught me about charging pickup magnets and scatter winding. These are the OGs, they are the Beatles. We cannot compete with them, and we don’t want to. If you want a perfect carbon copy of a P.A.F., you should go to Throbak, and Julian Lage will probably stick with Fred Stuart too. We are the next generation, we are Oasis. We try to take what we have learned from them and make it our own thing.

Zeus Pickups

My top resources for all the highly technical stuff are Helmut Lemme and Manfred Zollner. Sadly, both of them are from Germany, so there is a bit of a language barrier(PS:They are both a great opportunity for you). However, I try to summarize what I have learned from them, simplify it, and put it out on our blog section, so if you are interested in learning about pickups, go check it out!


You have many models, as I can see on your webpage. Can you please introduce your most memorable own pickup models to my readers from all around the globe?

I’d say the Custom Humbucker is our most memorable! It is basically an open-frame humbucker with a nickel silver baseplate and an open frame. Everything else, you can customize. You can choose custom covers in different colors. Our output options are inspired by the great classics of humbucker history. We have:

• Super Clean (6k) = Filtertron range

• Clean (7K) = underwound P.A.F. range

• Vintage (7.5K) = P.A.F. range

• Modern (8K) = Burstbucker range, Jimmy Page sound

• Spicy (12K) = Screamin’ Demon range

• Hot (14K) = Super Distortion Range

• Reaper (16K) = SH-4 Range

You can choose between AlNiCo 2, 3, 4, 5, or Ceramic Magnets, Matched vs. unmatched coils, wax potted vs. no pot, and between 2- or 4-conductor cables. In the near future, we want to add even more specific options like different winding styles, 7-string options, or triple Ceramic magnets.


You have unique bobbin designs and I see you are using 3D printing tech very efficiently. Moreover, they are looking very cool.

THANK YOU! :)


What considerations should guitarists keep in mind when selecting Zeus pickups for their instruments?

Our products are made with the utmost care and attention to detail. I pour my heart into every one of them! The greatest thing about making pickups is when you make a pickup for someone and they play it, and you can hear that they start to play differently. If there is one thing you should keep in mind, then it’s this: The pickup you choose will influence your playstyle!


Can you describe the design process of your own?

I like to think about pickup building like cooking. Everyone uses basically the same ingredients, but there are countless ways to put those together to create a meal. There are certain tried-and-true recipes that just work, but you can always put your own touch on it. Add a little more salt, use red onions instead of white ones. That’s what I like so much about it, and that's how I go about designing my pickups. I try to start from a known recipe and put my own twist on it. Of course, there is a lot of testing involved as well; not every recipe is a hit. That's why I document as much as possible when I create a new recipe: wire tension, winding pattern, magnet strength, all those details matter. Once you have a feeling for how those things affect the sound of a pickup, you can start to take a more intuitive approach to it. Learn how the rules work before you start breaking them, you know?

Zeus Pickups

Can you share any interesting anecdotes or stories from the development process of a specific pickup model of your own?

I have a fun story from when I was just starting out making pickups. A friend asked me to build him a set of Humbucker-sized P90s. At the time, I was still making my bobbins from wood. When I finished the set, I installed them in my guitar to test them, and I didn’t get a signal at all. I was really puzzled because the coils gave me a normal reading when I measured them before. So I took them out and measured them again. Still, a normal reading around 8KOhm. I was starting to get desperate and spent the next few hours researching on the web. Took me way too long to realize the pole screws I used were made from brass. Brass screws look cool, but brass cannot be magnetized, so the pickup could not magnetize the strings. No wonder I didn’t get a signal. That's when I realized how much I still had to learn.


How do you ensure the quality of your pickups, and what makes them unique in terms of sound and performance?

The most important thing for me is don’t cut corners! We are a small pickup boutique, so this is where we can really differentiate ourselves from big manufacturers. We can take the extra minute to make sure we get the details right and test every pickup before it leaves our workshop!

Bobbins of Zeus Pickups

Can you mention a bit about your “raw materials”? Can you source proper materials with quality for baseplates, coil wire, magnets, etc.?

Ideally, we want to produce as much in-house as possible, so we 3D-print our own bobbins, spacers, and some of our covers. Most of the other materials we source from European sources. Our go-to shops are TLC Guitar Goods and Nebula Belgium. Our magnets are from Cermag Magnets Ltd., and our wire from Brocott UK. So far, I am really happy with the quality and consistency that these shops provide. We are looking to produce our own baseplates as well, and that’s really the next step. I can’t wait to have custom-made baseplates with our logo on them!

magnets of pickups

What do you think about wax potting? Do you personally like it?

I feel better when I wax pot a pickup. It makes the coil a lot more durable and better suited for stage use. However, we offer a no-pot option as well for guitarists who like the percussive characteristic of an unpotted pickup or people who like to play with the feedback of their amp. From my testing, the wax potting adds around 20-30pF per coil in capacitance, so it does pull down the resonant peak a little. This results in a smoother high end, but the choice is up to the player!


Are there any pickup models from different brands that you wish you had designed? If so, which ones are they?

I wish I came up with the Sustainiac. I have never played one myself, but that's such a cool idea! Probably the most innovative design of the last 20 years, together with the Lace Alumitones.


Are there any particular artists or music genres that inspire your pickup designs? It seems you really have a wide product palette.

There is a broad range of music I listen to, and it definitely inspires my models, but I wouldn’t say that I have one specific artist in mind when I create a pickup. I try to make versatile and musical pickups. I really don’t like the signature model idea; I think it’s a bit misleading. If I make a Tele set, I want you to be able to make all kinds of music with it. You should be able to sound like Johnny Greenwood, Joe Strummer, or Alt-J without swapping your pickups once.

Justus and Daniel of Zeus Pickups

What has been the most challenging/hardest project or product development phase for Zeus Pickups, and how did you overcome it?

I don’t think we’ve overcome it yet. Our biggest challenge is getting our name out there. At this point, we are one of the many small boutique pickup builders out there, trying to make a name for ourselves. You can break your back making the best pickups in the world, but if no one gives them a try, it doesn’t matter.


How do you stay innovative in a market that is both traditional and competitive?

This might sound funny, but I’m not sure how much room there is for innovation with guitar pickups. I would compare it to bicycles. They’re pretty good at doing their job already, so there’s not a whole lot to innovate. Essentially, they pick up a range of frequencies that your guitar produces, and there’s no way for us to invent new frequencies. As pickup makers, we can only manipulate that range and shift it to emphasize certain frequencies to achieve different tones. As you said, the guitar market is pretty traditional, so I’m not sure that musicians even want us to be too innovative. Our main focus is clear communication about what our pickups do, what they will sound like, and what they are best suited for. I think that is the field where there’s the most room for improvement in the market.

Zeus Pickups

From your perspective, how is the guitar pickup industry evolving, and where do you see it heading in the next few years?

I think we are moving away from the whole vintage ideology. The new generation of musicians doesn’t care about antique wire from the 60s and maple spacers. They want a reliable, good-sounding pickup, and that’s probably a good thing. I am probably going to get crucified on the forums for this, but you don’t need butyrate bobbins to make a humbucker sound like a P.A.F.


Are there any emerging technologies or trends that you believe will significantly impact the pickup market?

I am really curious how 3D printing technology will evolve over the next 10 years. The classic FDM and SLA printers have already changed the game for small pickup manufacturers. They offer the freedom to create completely new models and print all the tools you could wish for. But I don’t think we’ve seen the last of it yet. I’m especially excited about 3D printing metal parts, and I think we could even see completely 3D printed electronic circuits and pickup coils in the future.

Zeus Pickups

What does the future hold for Zeus Pickups? Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you're excited to share?

Our plan for the next year is to further hone in on the configurator. We will add more options and more detailed explanations to offer total creative freedom for guitarists from all kinds of genres. Furthermore, we want to produce more high-quality sound demos so that you can judge our pickups with your own ears and don’t have to rely on our descriptions alone.


Another thing we are actively working on is long-form educational content for YouTube. I am not really satisfied with the short-form video format that Instagram offers. It definitely has its place, but I think YouTube is much more suitable for explaining something in detail, so if you are interested in that, you will soon find us there :)


Do you have a good connection with other pickup makers?

Yes! I have met a lot of cool people online over the last two years. I became especially good friends with Kevin from Axysmagnetics! I think I commented on one of his reels, and he instantly sent me a message. I think we were chatting for a few hours, and we instantly had a great connection. It is really cool to have someone to exchange your knowledge with and to have a laugh. He is a great guy and a big inspiration for me! I would love to see you interviewing him! :)

(PS: Of course i'm following his socials and what he is doing. I hope to make an interview with him as well)

Single coils of Zeus Pickups

You live in Leipzig, Germany. When it comes to Germany, although I am a big fan of Westphalia, Leipzig is one of the cities I really like and definitely want to visit. After all, Leipzig is the birthplace of Richard Wagner and the place where Bach, Mendelssohn Bartholdy, the Schumanns, and Mahler worked. But my question is this: Is there anything that living in Leipzig has contributed to Zeus Pickups?

Yes! Living in Leipzig has had a big influence on Zeus Pickups. It is probably the reason Zeus Pickups exists at all. Leipzig has a vibrant music scene, we have the Thomasschule, which has a heavy focus on music, and the university as well. Music is deeply engrained in the city, and we have lots of small venues where you can go to hear live music, and the parks are filled with musicians as well. A lot of my friends from school played instruments, so I came into contact with many different genres of music very early on.


If you are ever planning to visit, let me know! I’d love to show you the city!


It’s all from me. If you have parting words for all readers, now it’s the time, Buddy :) I raise my Weissbier to Germany to the Zeus Pickups Team :)

Thank you for this opportunity! It’s an honor to be featured on this blog! I hope you had a good time reading this interview!




Please feel free to subscribe my blog & follow my socials. So that you can support me;


Guitar pickup reviews

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


Sign-Up to Our Newsletter

Thanks for submitting!

bottom of page