Velluto in Motion: When a Les Paul Speaks in Its True Voice
- elian shitrit
- 16 hours ago
- 3 min read
Featuring Daniel Alfasi playing an Epiphone Les Paul equipped with Vergatto Velluto humbuckers
There is something timeless about a Les Paul.
From the moment Gibson introduced Seth Lover’s humbucker in the mid 1950s, the electric guitar changed forever. Players suddenly had access to a tone that was fuller, quieter, and more expressive than anything that came before. The hum was gone. The noise disappeared. What remained was pure signal, rich and alive.
Those early humbuckers, later known as PAFs, were never designed to be aggressive. They were designed to be musical.
They captured not only the note, but the emotion behind it.
That philosophy lives on in Velluto.
The Original Humbucker Was Never About Power
The first humbuckers were created to solve a problem. Single coils sounded beautiful, but they introduced unwanted noise. Seth Lover’s solution was elegant. Two coils, wired together in opposite polarity, canceled the hum while preserving the signal.
But something unexpected happened.
The humbucker did more than eliminate noise. It introduced a new tonal dimension.
The sound became thicker, smoother, and more three dimensional. Notes carried more weight. Sustain felt more natural. The guitar stopped sounding like a device and started sounding like a voice.
Players like Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, and Duane Allman built entire musical identities around this sound.
They were not chasing output. They were chasing expression.
A Modern Les Paul, a Timeless Idea
In the video above, Daniel Alfasi plays an Epiphone Les Paul equipped with Vergatto Velluto humbuckers.
What you hear is not just amplification. It is translation.
Every subtle change in touch. Every variation in pick attack. Every moment of hesitation or intention passes through the pickup unchanged.
This is where Velluto lives.
Not in sheer power, but in honesty.
Built for Players Who Listen Between the Notes
Velluto was designed around a simple principle. A pickup should never stand between the player and the sound.
Hand wound using 42 AWG PE wire and a carefully controlled winding pattern, the coil remains open enough to preserve clarity while providing the harmonic richness that defines a true humbucker.
The bridge pickup, using an Alnico V magnet and measuring 9.4KΩ, provides definition and presence without becoming harsh. Notes remain tight and articulate, with just enough push to bring out natural sustain.
The neck pickup, built around an Alnico II magnet and measuring 8KΩ, delivers warmth and fluidity. The attack is softer. The response feels elastic. Notes bloom naturally and decay with grace.
Together, they create a balanced system that responds to the player rather than overpowering them.
Gentle Compression, Natural Sustain
One of the defining characteristics of Velluto is its gentle compression.
Not the artificial compression of modern high output pickups, but the natural compression that emerges from the interaction between magnet strength, coil structure, and string vibration.
This allows notes to sustain without losing clarity.
Chords remain open. Single notes remain expressive.
The pickup does not force the sound. It allows it to unfold.
A Voice That Belongs to the Player
Many modern pickups are designed to impose a character onto the instrument. They shape the sound aggressively, pushing it toward a predefined result.
Velluto does the opposite.
It reveals what is already there.
The wood of the guitar. The weight of the strings. The nuance of the player’s hands.
This is why the same pickup can sound completely different in different guitars and in different hands.
It is not controlling the instrument. It is listening to it.
The Les Paul as It Was Meant to Be Heard
The Les Paul has always been more than a guitar. It is a platform for expression.
Its dense body, set neck construction, and natural sustain create the perfect foundation for a pickup that values nuance over force.
With Velluto, the instrument retains its identity.
The low end remains warm and grounded. The midrange carries emotional weight. The high end fades gently, never sharp, never brittle.
It feels familiar, yet alive in a new way.
The Continuation of a Tradition
Every Velluto pickup is wound slowly, tested by ear, and built with intention.
Not to replicate the past, but to continue its spirit.
The goal is not to create the loudest pickup.
The goal is to create one that disappears, leaving only the connection between player and instrument.
When Daniel plays, what you hear is not the pickup.
You hear the truth of the guitar.
And that is exactly the point.
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