A pickup, but not for guitarists.
A magnetic pickup in a walnut block for hands-on sound design with everyday objects.
I feel like a crazy mad scientist. I love it!
The build quality is superb!
It’s so simple, that’s why it’s so brilliant.
See what it's all about
Steal the thunder
The Tabletop Humbucker is a pickup, but not for guitarists. It borrows the simple magic of an electric guitar pickup and places it on your desk, where metallic and other objects can rejoice in sonic carfunkulation.
Making sounds
Try different objects you have lying around the house. A fidget spinner can become a bass drone of doom and a scraped piece of metal can become a screeching alien.
Plug it in
The Tabletop Humbucker is completely passive. No batteries, no power supply.
Just plug it into your audio interface or other equipment and start exploring. Oh, and it loves pedals and effects!
Accessories included
-Metal washer
-wood soundboard
-Grey felt
Place the metal washer on the wood soundboard or grey felt scratch protection - voilà you've got a pseudo contact microphone!
Ground wire
Hold the ground wire in your hand to reduce hum and noise.
What's in a name?
Happy Dinosaur was chosen as a reminder that musical discovery is a playful thing. As kids, we were all scientists and explorers.
Who?
Here's me, Tobias. I'm the maker of the Tabletop Humbucker. Happy Dinosaur is my small one-person company in Sweden.
Evolution
The Tabletop Humbucker was developed through trial and experimentation. A key feature is the silicone suspension that greatly reduce handling noise.
All hands on deck
The Tabletop Humbucker is made for hands-on exploration — for sound designers, musicians, Foley artists, synth people, pedal people, and anyone who likes finding strange sounds in ordinary things.
Metal objects can be played directly over the pickup. Materials like wood, paper, plastic, and ceramics can also be captured using the included metal washer and wood soundboard.
Red Means Recording.
Red Means Recording took the Happy Dinosaur Tabletop Humbucker to extraordinary creative places in this video.
Nice words from curious people.
It’s incredibly inspiring — it gets me deep into the creative zone every time.