🙌 Wow! We've sold out!
A pickup, but not for guitars.
- Turn metal into music.
- Bring objects to life — even plastic or wood.
- Just plug in and play.
See Tabletop Humbucker in action
How does it work?
Capture the Unmagnetic
The Tabletop Humbucker doesn’t just pick up strings and metal. Thanks to the included laser-engraved wooden soundboard (made from resonant basswood ply) and magnetic activator (yeah, it’s just a washer — but it works), you can capture sound from everyday objects — paper, plastic, wood, and more.
Here’s how it works: place the soundboard and washer on top of the pickup. When a non-magnetic object touches, scrapes, or taps the surface, its vibrations move the magnetic activator, subtly disturbing the magnetic field — and suddenly, the pickup can hear it.
It’s a clever trick that turns the Tabletop Humbucker into an alternative surface mic — offering a unique way to explore texture, material, and movement through sound.
Silicone Suspension
Guitar pickups can sometimes pick up unwanted sounds — like tapping, bumping, or cable movement — known as handling noise or microphonics. This happens when internal components vibrate and turn those physical movements into audible noise. Traditional pickups are often wax-potted to reduce this, filling the coil with wax to keep things stable.
But wax only goes so far.
Happy Dinosaur’s silicone suspension system takes it much further — dramatically reducing mechanical vibrations and isolating the pickup from external rumble. The result? A cleaner, quieter signal and a pickup that’s truly studio-ready.
Ground Wire
The ground wire that comes with your Tabletop Humbucker is your secret weapon against unwanted noise. It helps eliminate interference from nearby electronics — the hums and buzzes that can creep into your signal.
Just like on an electric guitar — where touching the strings helps reduce noise — this wire connects your body to ground, effectively turning you into the shielding. Simply hold the wire or attach it to your skin. Some users tape the wire to their arm… or stomach. Happy dinosaurs don’t judge.
Meet the maker
Hi! I’m Tobias Karlsson, the creator of Happy Dinosaur.
I was one of those kids who couldn’t resist disassembling things just to see how they worked.
The Tabletop Humbucker was born out of a wish to return to a more physical way of exploring sound and music.
As humans, we see and touch, feel and react — but a computer mouse or touch screen robs us of those primal sensations.
With the Tabletop Humbucker, I hope to help others rediscover the child-like joy of manipulating sound with their own hands. It's fun!