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

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Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Humbucker Set Black

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Wilkinson WHSB High Output Single Coil Pickup Bridge

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Wilkinson WMC301BCR Mini Double Coil Pickup Chrome Bridge

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Wilkinson WMC301BGD Mini Double Coil Pickup Gold Bridge

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Wilkinson WVCBGD Classic PAF Style Pickup Gold Bridge

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Wilkinson WVCNB Wilkinson Classic PAF Style Humbucker Pickup Nickel Bridge

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Wilkinson WVCNCR Classic PAF Style Humbucker Pickup Chrome Neck

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Wilkinson WVHZB Zebra Double Coil Pickup Bridge

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Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Bridge Nickel

Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Bridge Reverse Zebra

Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Bridge Reverse Zebra - 7 String

Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Bridge White - 7 String

Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Bridge Zebra

Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Bridge Zebra - 7 String

Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Humbucker Set Black

Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Set Black 7 String Humbucker Pickup

Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Trembucker Black

Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Trembucker White

Seymour Duncan Jeff Loomis Noumenon Trembucker Zebra

Seymour Duncan Five-Two Strat SSL52-1S Singlecoil Set Black

Seymour Duncan Five-Two Strat SSL52-1S - Set White

Seymour Duncan Billy Gibbons Signature Hades Gates Humbucker Set Eliminator Red

Seymour Duncan Jazzmaster Silencer Hot Set - Parchment

Seymour Duncan Jazzmaster Silencer Vintage Set - Parchment

Seymour Duncan Black Winter Rails 7 String Black Neck

Seymour Duncan Black Winter Rails 7 String Black Bridge

Seymour Duncan Black Winter Rails 7 String Black Set

Seymour Duncan Black Winter Rails Black Neck

Seymour Duncan Black Winter Rails Black Set

Suhr Thornbucker Neck Raw Nickel

Wilkinson W90B Ceramic P90 Style Pickup Bridge

Wilkinson W90M Ceramic P90 Style Pickup Middle

Wilkinson W90N Ceramic P90 Style Pickup Neck

Wilkinson W90SKB Ceramic P90 Style Pickup Stacked Bridge

Wilkinson W90SKN Ceramic P90 Style Pickup Stacked Neck

Wilkinson WC90B Dog Ear P90 Style Pickup Bridge Nickel

Wilkinson WC90N Dog Ear P90 Style Pickup Neck Nickel

Wilkinson WHSB High Output Single Coil Pickup Bridge

Wilkinson WHSN High Output Single Coil Pickup Neck

Wilkinson WJDTB Single Coil Jerry Donahue Pickup Bridge

Wilkinson WMC301BCR Mini Double Coil Pickup Chrome Bridge

Wilkinson WMC301BGD Mini Double Coil Pickup Gold Bridge

Wilkinson WMC301NCR Mini Double Coil Pickup Chrome Neck

Wilkinson WMC301NGD Mini Double Coil Pickup Gold Neck

Wilkinson WVCBGD Classic PAF Style Pickup Gold Bridge

Wilkinson WVCNB Wilkinson Classic PAF Style Humbucker Pickup Nickel Bridge

Wilkinson WVCNCR Classic PAF Style Humbucker Pickup Chrome Neck

Wilkinson WVHZB Zebra Double Coil Pickup Bridge

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