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 SP90-2B Hot Bridge P90 Soapbar Black

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Seymour Duncan STK-P1B P90 Stack Bridge Cream

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Seymour Duncan SHPR-1B P-Rails Bridge Black

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Seymour Duncan SH-PG1B Pearly Gates Bridge Humbucker Nickel Cover

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Seymour Duncan APH-1N Alnico II Pro Neck Humbucker Pickup Zebra

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Fishman TriplePlay Wireless Guitar Controller

£489.00

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Gibson Dirty Fingers SM Onyx Double Black 4-conductor Potted Ceramic 15k

£119.00

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Gibson 57 Classic Underwound Double Classic White Humbucker

£99.00

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Gibson 1959 Humbucker Collectors Series 3 Double Vintage White Aged Nickel Covers

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Schecter Super Rock Neck

£169.00

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Schecter San Andreas Neck

£185.00

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Schecter Pasadena Bridge Humbucker Black Metal (TRAD)

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Schecter Pasadena Plus Bridge ZEBRA(TRAD)

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Schecter Pasadena Plus Bridge ZEBRA(TREM)

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£159.00 £167.95

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Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Staggered Stratocaster Singlecoil APS-1

£109.00 £137.95

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Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Staggered Stratocaster APS-1 RW/RP Middle Single Coil Pickup White

£149.00

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Fender Custom Shop Fat 60's Stratocaster Single Coil Pickups

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Fender Joe Strummer Signature Telecaster Single Coil Pickup Set

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Fender Custom Shop Texas Special Telecaster Pickup Set

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Fishman Fluence Classic Neck Humbucker Open Core Black

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Seymour Duncan SP90-2B Hot Bridge P90 Soapbar Black

Seymour Duncan STK-P1B P90 Stack Bridge Cream

Seymour Duncan SHPR-1B P-Rails Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan SH-PG1B Pearly Gates Bridge Humbucker Nickel Cover

Seymour Duncan APH-1N Alnico II Pro Neck Humbucker Pickup Zebra

Fishman TriplePlay Wireless Guitar Controller

Gibson Dirty Fingers SM Onyx Double Black 4-conductor Potted Ceramic 15k

Gibson 57 Classic Underwound Double Classic White Humbucker

Gibson 1959 Humbucker Collectors Series 3 Double Vintage White Aged Nickel Covers

Schecter Super Rock Neck

Schecter San Andreas Neck

Schecter Pasadena Bridge Humbucker Black Metal (TRAD)

Schecter Pasadena Plus Bridge ZEBRA(TRAD)

Schecter Pasadena Plus Bridge ZEBRA(TREM)

Schecter Apocalypse-VI Bridge Humbucker CLR(TRAD)

Fishman Fluence Tosin Abasi 7-String Modern Humbucking Pickup Set

Fishman Fluence Keith Merrow 6-String Black

Seymour Duncan Custom Custom Bridge Humbucker SH-11 Black

Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Staggered Stratocaster Singlecoil APS-1

Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Staggered Stratocaster APS-1 RW/RP Middle Single Coil Pickup White

Fender Custom Shop Fat 60's Stratocaster Single Coil Pickups

Fender Joe Strummer Signature Telecaster Single Coil Pickup Set

Fender Custom Shop Texas Special Telecaster Pickup Set

Fender 70th Anniversary 54 Strat Pickup Set

Fishman Fluence Classic Humbucker Neck Black

Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker 7 String Set Brushed Nickel

Fishman Fluence Stephen Carpenter 7 String Humbucking Pick Up Set

Fishman Fluence Classic Bridge Humbucker Open Core Reverse Zebra

Fishman Fluence Classic Neck Humbucker Open Core Black

Fishman Fluence Classic Neck Humbucker Open Core White

Fishman Fluence Classic Humbucker 7-String Open Core Black Set

Fishman Fluence Classic Humbucker 7-String Open Core Zebra Set

Fishman Fluence Classic Humbucker 7-String Open Reverse Zebra Set

Fishman Fluence Classic Humbucker 7-String Open White Set

Fishman Fluence Classic Bridge Humbucker 7-String Open Core Black

Fishman Fluence Classic Bridge Humbucker 7-String Open Core Zebra

Fishman Fluence Classic Bridge Humbucker 7-String Open Core Reverse Zebra

Fishman Fluence Classic Bridge Humbucker 7-String Open Core White

Fishman Fluence Classic Neck Humbucker 7-String Open Core Black

Fishman Fluence Classic Neck Humbucker 7-String Open Core Zebra

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