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

Fishman Rare Earth Humbucker Acoustic Guitar Pickup

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Seymour Duncan SLSD-1N Lil Screamin Demon White

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Fender Pre-Wired Stratocaster Pickguard Custom Shop Texas Special SSS Parchment 11 Hole

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Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker Zebra

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Seymour Duncan SSL-5 Custom Staggered Stratocaster Set White

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Fishman PRO-BPK-LP1 Fluence Rechargeable Battery Pack - Les Paul

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Seymour Duncan STK-T1N Vintage Stack Rhythm Tele Pickup

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Seymour Duncan JB Humbucker TB-4 Trembucker Bridge White

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Seymour Duncan SL59-1B Little '59 Stratocaster Bridge Humbucker Cream

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Seymour Duncan SH-4/SH-2N Hot Rodded Humbucker Set Raw Nickel

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Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Surfer Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Set

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Seymour Duncan Antiquity Jazzmaster Singlecoil Pickup Set

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Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound For Telecaster Single Coil Set

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Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates for Telecaster Lead Black

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£159.00 £167.95

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Seymour Duncan APH-2S Slash Alnico II Pro Set Black

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Seymour Duncan SL59-1N Little '59 Stratocaster Black Hum Cancelling

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£99.00 £149.00

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Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Bridge Humbucker Gold

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LR Baggs Element Active System VTC Volume and Tone Control

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Fishman Rare Earth Humbucker Acoustic Guitar Pickup

Seymour Duncan SSL52-1B Five-Two Stratocaster Custom Bridge Singlecoil

Seymour Duncan SLSD-1N Lil Screamin Demon White

Seymour Duncan Antiquities Stringmaster Lap Steel Neck

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

Seymour Duncan SHR-1B Hot Rails Stratocaster Cream Bridge Humbucker

Seymour Duncan SP90-3N Custom P90 Soapbar Black

Seymour Duncan SL59-1B Little '59 Stratocaster White Hum Cancelling

Seymour Duncan ST59-1 Little '59 Lead for Tele

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Bridge Humbucker White

Seymour Duncan SH-5 Duncan Custom Bridge Humbucker Black

Seymour Duncan SA-3 SC Woody Single Coil

Seymour Duncan SPB-2 Hot Pickup for Precision Bass

LR Baggs M80 Body Sensitive Active/Passive Soundhole Pick Up

Fender Pre-Wired Stratocaster Pickguard Custom Shop Texas Special SSS Parchment 11 Hole

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker Zebra

Seymour Duncan SSL-5 Custom Staggered Stratocaster Set White

Fishman PRO-BPK-LP1 Fluence Rechargeable Battery Pack - Les Paul

Seymour Duncan STK-T1N Vintage Stack Rhythm Tele Pickup

Seymour Duncan JB Humbucker TB-4 Trembucker Bridge White

Seymour Duncan SL59-1B Little '59 Stratocaster Bridge Humbucker Cream

Seymour Duncan SH-4/SH-2N Hot Rodded Humbucker Set Raw Nickel

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Surfer Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Set

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Jazzmaster Singlecoil Pickup Set

Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound For Telecaster Single Coil Set

Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates for Telecaster Lead Black

Seymour Duncan SH-1N 59 Neck Humbucker White 4 Conductor

Seymour Duncan Nazgul and Sentient Set - Black

Seymour Duncan TB-10 Full Shred Trembucker Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan Alternative 8 Trembucker Bridge White

Seymour Duncan APH-2S Slash Alnico II Pro Set Black

Seymour Duncan SL59-1N Little '59 Stratocaster Black Hum Cancelling

Seymour Duncan JB Jr. Strat SJBJ-1N Neck Black Single Coil

Seymour Duncan SJBJ-1B Jeff Beck Jnr Stratocaster Bridge Humbucker Black

Gibson Custombucker (True Historic Nickel Cover) Humbucker

Seymour Duncan Everything Axe Loaded Pickguard (White)

Seymour Duncan SH-1N 59 Neck Humbucker Black 4-Conductor

Seymour Duncan SH-1N 59 Neck Humbucker White

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Bridge Humbucker Gold

LR Baggs Element Active System VTC Volume and Tone Control

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