the yesterday effects pickup simulator is completely passive, no power required, and fits into a small 1590a enclosure. this circuit takes a low impedance signal and transforms it into a high impedance signal which resembles that of a passive guitar pickup. the knob adjusts the resistance of the "pickup," allowing for more approximate replication. the toggle switch offers the option of single coil inductance or humbucker inductance.

pickup simulator can be used to combat low level impedance found at the output of buffered effects. a good number of pedals require high level impedance at their input. buffered outs placed before these high impedance hungry pedals, like a fuzz, tend to make the fuzz sound thin and incorrect. this pedal transforms a low impedance signal, found at the output of a buffered effect, into a high impedance signal; essentially fooling the fuzz into thinking it's seeing signal straight from your guitar. the same principle can be applied to those who use active pickups or wireless units. pickup simulator can assist with running synths into certain pedals, and it can also be used as a re-amper.