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

Seymour Duncan SH-16 59 Custom Hybrid Zebra

£159.00 £167.95

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Seymour Duncan SH-8N Invader Humbucker Reverse Zebra

£109.00 £167.95

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Seymour Duncan SH-6B Duncan Distortion 7 String Passive Bridge Humbucker Black

£159.00 £167.95

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Seymour Duncan SH-6B Duncan Distortion Bridge Humbucker Black

£119.00 £152.95

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Seymour Duncan SH-11 Custom Custom Nickel

£149.00 £198.95

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Seymour Duncan PA-TB1B Original Parallel Axis

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£179.00

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Seymour Duncan SH-8B Invader Humbucker Reverse Zebra

£159.00 £167.95

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Seymour Duncan SM-2N Custom Mini Humbucker

£179.00

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Seymour Duncan SH-PG1N Pearly Gates Neck Humbucker Reverse Zebra

£179.00

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Seymour Duncan Antiquity JB/Jazz Set Zebra

£399.00 £519.95

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£109.00

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DiMarzio DP389BK Tone Zone T Telecaster Bridge

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Seymour Duncan SH-16 59 Custom Hybrid Zebra

Seymour Duncan SH-8N Invader Humbucker Reverse Zebra

Seymour Duncan SH-6B Duncan Distortion 7 String Passive Bridge Humbucker Black

Seymour Duncan SH-6B Duncan Distortion Bridge Humbucker Black

Seymour Duncan SH-11 Custom Custom Nickel

Seymour Duncan PA-TB1B Original Parallel Axis

Seymour Duncan SH-8B Invader Humbucker Reverse Zebra

Seymour Duncan SM-2N Custom Mini Humbucker

Seymour Duncan SH-PG1N Pearly Gates Neck Humbucker Reverse Zebra

Seymour Duncan Antiquity JB/Jazz Set Zebra

Seymour Duncan Antiquity for Telecaster Bridge Singlecoil

Seymour Duncan Antiquity for Telecaster Bridge SInglecoil with Raised D and G

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Duo-Sonic Neck Pickup

Seymour Duncan SH-3 Stag Mag Humbucker Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan SH-1B 59 Humbucker Reverse Zebra 4C

Seymour Duncan SM-1B Vintage Mini Humbucker Nickel

Seymour Duncan SH-55B Seth Lover Model Gold 4C

Seymour Duncan SH-2N Jazz Humbucker Zebra

DiMarzio DP159FPK Evolution Bridge F Shaped Pink

DiMarzio DP189W Tone Zone Strat White

DiMarzio DP100BC Super Distortion Black/Cream Bridge Humbucker

DiMarzio DP103BC PAF 36th Anniversary Black/Cream

DiMarzio ISCV2BK Evolution Black

DiMarzio DP158FGN Evolution Neck F Shaped Green

DiMarzio DP100CR Super Distortion F-Spaced Cream

DiMarzio DP415W Area 58 Singlecoil White

DiMarzio DP223FBC PAF 36th Anniversary F Spaced Bridge Humbucker Black/Cream

DiMarzio DP217W HS4 Single Coil White

DiMarzio DP220FBK D Activator F Spaced Bridge Humbucker Black

DiMarzio DP223BK PAF 36th Anniversary Bridge Humbucker Black

DiMarzio DP389BK Tone Zone T Telecaster Bridge

DiMarzio DP159FBK Evolution Bridge F Spaced Humbucker Black

DiMarzio DP110BK FS-1 Singlecoil Black

DiMarzio DP100BR Super Distortion Bridge Humbucker Black/Red

DiMarzio DP180GN+NF Air Norton S Pickup Green (No Flange) Humbucker Pickup

DiMarzio DP228FBG Crunch Lab Bridge Humbucker F-Spaced Black/Green

DiMarzio DP288FSN UtoPIA Middle Singlecoil F-Spaced Satin Nickel Engraved

DiMarzio New'Tron Neck Pickup Standard Spaced Gold Cover Black Insert Humbucker Pickup

DiMarzio New'Tron Neck Pickup Standard Spaced Gold Cover Cream Insert Humbucker Pickup

DiMarzio New'Tron Neck Pickup Standard Spaced Nickel Cover Black Insert Humbucker Pickup

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