What sort of pickups should I get?

The two most popular types are single coil and humbucker pickups. Single coil pickups are more 'twangy' and can be susceptible to noise, and often used in rock, blues, pop, country and funk. Humbucker pickups have a darker tone and are less susceptible to noise and often used in metal, rock, punk and blues. You can play any genre on any pickups!

What is a hum cancelling single coil pickup?

Hum cancelling single coil pickups are pickups which retain the sound and look of single coil pickups but remove the associated hum of a 'true' single coil pickup.

What is the most popular bridge position replacement humbucker of all time?

The most popular bridge position humbucker is unquestionably the Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB. There is a good reason for this: for any style requiring any amount of overdrive, the Seymour Duncan JB sounds simply exceptional.

What is all the fuss about 'PAF' pickups? What even are they?

PAF pickups refer to late-fifties and early sixties humbuckers designed by Seth Lover and made by Gibson. PAF stands for Patent Applied For (it was later granted but habits persist and so the name remains). They are seen as some of the sweetest sounding pickups ever made. Tone is a subjective thing of course. Not everyone loves a PAF sound but in truth, most guitar players agree to the inherent quality of a vintage PAF sound. As such, many companies seek to emulate it, not least Gibson themselves. A good PAF sound has lots of bite and sustain with what we call note bloom where a picked note behaves in a certain way that is very pleasing to the ear. PAF pickups are known for having low levels of copper coil windings, as opposed to modern high output pickups which have significantly more output (volume.gain, it's the same thing in this context) due to the much higher number of coil windings. There is more to it, but the root of it is a sweet, sustaining pickup that sings and crunches with equal levels of authority. Actual PAF pickups cost more than cars these days so we recommend going for modern recreations, Check out the Gibson 57 Classic, the DiMarzio DP223F PAF, The Bare Knuckle Stormy Monday set and the Seymour Duncan Joe Bonamassa set & '59 set.

Can I still play Hard Rock and heavier stuff with PAF-style pickups?

Yes. Kirk Hammett plays Metallica songs on tour using Peter Green's priceless '59 Les Paul Standard. The pickups in that guitar are the very definition of PAF pickups. He sounds monstrously heavy therefore yes you can!

What's the difference between active and passive pickups?

Active pickups use a power source (usually a 9v PP3 battery) in conjunction with special circuits and controls to provide specifically different tonal characteristics. Regular pickups are known as 'passive' pickups as they don't need additional power.

Guitar Pickups | guitarguitar

Ebow Plus

(21)

£105.00 £120.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

LR Baggs Anthem Microphone/Under Saddle Pick Up System

(21)

£349.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Fishman Neo-D Humbucker Acoustic Guitar Pickup

(6)

£69.00 £100.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Fishman Rare Earth Blend

(9)

£209.00 £319.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

FREE Delivery

In Stock

£89.00 £112.95

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Taylor ES-GO Magnetic Pickup for GS Mini Guitar

(10)

£89.99

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Fishman Matrix Infinity VT / Narrow

(8)

£159.00 £199.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker Zebra

(4)

£119.00 £152.95

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Seymour Duncan SJBJ-1B JB Jr Stratocaster Bridge Pickup Parchment

£119.00 £152.95

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Pro Active Jazz Bass Pickup Set

£349.00 £419.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails For Stratocaster Neck Pickup Parchment Cover

£119.00 £149.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Black Winter Trembucker Humbucker Bridge Black

£139.00 £176.95

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

LR Baggs M1 Active Soundhole Pickup

(2)

£249.00 £279.99

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

FREE Delivery

In Stock

LR Baggs ParaDI Acoustic Direct Box

(2)

£254.99

FREE Delivery

Awaiting Stock

LR Baggs Element Active System VTC Volume and Tone Control

(2)

£219.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Strat SHR-1B Bridge Black

(2)

£119.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Bridge Humbucker Nickel

£139.00 £182.95

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan ST59-1 Little '59 Lead for Tele

(2)

£129.00 £167.95

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

(4)

£169.00 £209.00

Stock Arriving Soon

Fender Pre-Wired Stratocaster Pickguard Tex-Mex SSS Parchment 11 Hole

(3)

£159.00 £169.00

Awaiting Stock

Gibson Custombucker (True Historic Nickel Cover) Humbucker Set

£519.00

FREE Delivery

Awaiting Stock

Seymour Duncan SLSD-1N Lil Screamin Demon White

£159.00 £179.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Seymour Duncan SH-1N & B Vintage Blues Humbucker Set Zebra

£245.00 £299.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Nazgul Bridge Humbucker Black

£139.00 £159.00

Get it Wednesday, Jun 10

In Stock

Stores Nationwide

Shipping Worldwide

Free Next Day Delivery

Sell your Guitar

Expert Advice

Guitar Pickups

Filter

Ebow Plus

LR Baggs Anthem Microphone/Under Saddle Pick Up System

Fishman Neo-D Humbucker Acoustic Guitar Pickup

Fishman Rare Earth Blend

Seymour Duncan Saturday Night Special Bridge Gold

Fishman Acoustic Matrix Pickup only Narrow Format

Seymour Duncan SSL-5 Custom Staggered for Strat

LR Baggs Strap Jack and Cable M1/Anthem

Fishman Rare Earth Humbucker Acoustic Guitar Pickup

Seymour Duncan SA-3 HC Woody Hum Cancelling

Taylor ES-GO Magnetic Pickup for GS Mini Guitar

Fishman Matrix Infinity VT / Narrow

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker Zebra

Seymour Duncan SJBJ-1B JB Jr Stratocaster Bridge Pickup Parchment

Seymour Duncan Pro Active Jazz Bass Pickup Set

Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails For Stratocaster Neck Pickup Parchment Cover

Seymour Duncan Black Winter Trembucker Humbucker Bridge Black

LR Baggs M1 Active Soundhole Pickup

LR Baggs ParaDI Acoustic Direct Box

LR Baggs Element Active System VTC Volume and Tone Control

Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Strat SHR-1B Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Bridge Humbucker Nickel

Seymour Duncan 7 String Sentient Neck PMT Black

Seymour Duncan APH-2S Slash Alnico II Pro Set R.Zebra

LR Baggs LYRIC Acoustic Tru-Mic Microphone with Pre Amp

BOSS GK-5 Digital Guitar Synth Guitar Pick-Up

LR Baggs Anthem SL SS Microphone/Under Saddle Split Pickup System

LR Baggs HIFI Pickup

Seymour Duncan ST59-1 Little '59 Lead for Tele

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Bridge Humbucker White

Seymour Duncan SH-2N Jazz Neck Humbucker Nickel

Seymour Duncan SA-3 SC Woody Single Coil

LR Baggs M80 Body Sensitive Active/Passive Soundhole Pick Up

DiMarzio DP100FBK Super Distortion F-Spaced

Fender Custom Shop 51 Nocaster Telecaster Pickups

Fender Pre-Wired Stratocaster Pickguard Tex-Mex SSS Parchment 11 Hole

Gibson Custombucker (True Historic Nickel Cover) Humbucker Set

Seymour Duncan SLSD-1N Lil Screamin Demon White

Seymour Duncan SH-1N & B Vintage Blues Humbucker Set Zebra

Seymour Duncan Nazgul Bridge Humbucker Black

Keep up with our latest offers, news & events