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 Antiquity Humbucker Set Nickel

£479.00 £519.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Firebird Humbucker Set Gold

£509.00 £549.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Jazzmaster Pickup Set

£339.00 £365.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan APS-2 Alnico Pro Flat Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup

£129.00 £137.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

Seymour Duncan STK-S4N Classic Stack Plus Stratocaster Single Coil Neck White

£159.00 £167.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Blackened Black Winter 6 String Humbucker Set

£319.00 £335.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan TB-6 Duncan Distortion Humbucker Trembucker White

£149.00

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd Humbucker Neck

£229.00 £246.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd Humbucker Set

(2)

£459.00 £493.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd Texas Hot for Stratocaster Single Coil Set

£449.00 £503.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Retrospec'd Surfer Stratocaster Neck Single Coil

£159.00 £167.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Retrospec'd Jazzmaster Jam Bridge Single Coil

£159.00 £167.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Retrospec'd Jazzmaster Jam Neck Single Coil

£159.00 £167.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

£129.00 £199.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

£189.00 £199.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Bridge Humbucker Zebra

£189.00 £199.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

Seymour Duncan TS-2B Triple Shot For Les Paul Bridge Black

£65.00

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

Seymour Duncan TB-16 '59/Custom Hybrid Bridge Humbucker Trembucker White

£159.00 £167.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

Seymour Duncan STK-S6B Custom Stack Plus Stratocaster Bridge Single Coil Parchment

£159.00 £167.95

Get it Wednesday, Mar 18

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Retrospec'd Surfer Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Set

£469.00 £503.95

Stores Nationwide

Shipping Worldwide

Free Next Day Delivery

Sell your Guitar

Expert Advice

Guitar Pickups

Filter

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbucker Set Nickel

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Firebird Humbucker Set Gold

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Jazzmaster Pickup Set

Seymour Duncan APS-2 Alnico Pro Flat Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup

Seymour Duncan STK-S4N Classic Stack Plus Stratocaster Single Coil Neck White

Seymour Duncan Blackened Black Winter 6 String Humbucker Set

Seymour Duncan TB-6 Duncan Distortion Humbucker Trembucker White

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd Humbucker Neck

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd Humbucker Set

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd Texas Hot for Stratocaster Single Coil Set

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Retrospec'd Surfer Stratocaster Neck Single Coil

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Retrospec'd Jazzmaster Jam Bridge Single Coil

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Retrospec'd Jazzmaster Jam Neck Single Coil

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd P90 Dog Ear Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Neck Humbucker Gold Cover

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Neck Humbucker Nickel Cover

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Neck Humbucker Reverse Zebra

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Neck Humbucker Zebra

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Neck Humbucker Black

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Bridge Humbucker Gold Cover

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Bridge Humbucker Nickel Cover

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Bridge Humbucker Reverse Zebra

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Bridge Humbucker Zebra

Seymour Duncan TS-2B Triple Shot For Les Paul Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan TB-16 '59/Custom Hybrid Bridge Humbucker Trembucker White

Seymour Duncan STK-S6B Custom Stack Plus Stratocaster Bridge Single Coil Parchment

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Retrospec'd Surfer Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Set

Seymour Duncan Billy Gibbons Big Red Devil Middle Pickup Cream

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Neck Black

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Neck Cream

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Neck Parchment

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Neck White

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup RWRP Middle Black

Seymour Duncan Scooped Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup RWRP Middle Cream

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup RWRP Middle Parchment

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup RWRP Middle White

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Bridge Cream

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Bridge Parchment

Seymour Duncan Scooped for Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup Bridge White

Keep up with our latest offers, news & events