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

DiMarzio Ultra Jazz Bass Singlecoil Pair DP149BK

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£169.00

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DiMarzio DP123BK Model J Black

£169.00

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Fishman Replacement Matrix Acoustic Pickup - Wide Format ACC-MAT-NPU

£79.00 £146.00

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Fishman Matrix Infinity Mic Blend / Narrow

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£229.00 £321.00

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Seymour Duncan Antiquity Precision Bass with Raised A

£199.00 £244.95

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Seymour Duncan SCPB-1 Vintage Precision Bass Single Coil Pickup

£129.00 £137.95

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£69.00 £189.00

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Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan SJ5-3B 5-String Quarter Pound Jazz Bass

£149.00

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Seymour Duncan SJB-3S Quarter Pound Jazz Bass Pickup Set 4 String

£269.00

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DiMarzio Satchur8 Bridge Humbucker Pickup Black

£109.00

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£159.00 £167.95

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Seymour Duncan Dimebag SH-13 Set - Black Humbucker

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£349.00

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Seymour Duncan Dimebag SH-13 Set - Black/Zebra Humbucker

£349.00

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Seymour Duncan TS-2S Triple Shot for Les Paul Set Black

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£99.00 £106.95

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Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan SH-6B Duncan Distortion Humbucker Bridge Gold

£189.00 £199.95

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Seymour Duncan Black Winter Bridge Humbucker Pickup Black 1611102-91B

£159.00 £167.95

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Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Nickel Set

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£399.00 £429.95

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Seymour Duncan Antiquity Jazzmaster Bridge Pickup

£169.00 £182.95

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DiMarzio Ultra Jazz Bass Singlecoil Pair DP149BK

DiMarzio DP123BK Model J Black

Fishman Replacement Matrix Acoustic Pickup - Wide Format ACC-MAT-NPU

Fishman Matrix Infinity Mic Blend / Narrow

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Precision Bass with Raised A

Seymour Duncan SCPB-1 Vintage Precision Bass Single Coil Pickup

Seymour Duncan STC-3M4 Music Man Active Preamp 4 Knob

Seymour Duncan SSB-4S 4 String Phase II Passive

Seymour Duncan SSB-5B 5 String Phase II Passive

Seymour Duncan ASB-BO-4 Blackouts 4 String

Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan SJ5-3B 5-String Quarter Pound Jazz Bass

Seymour Duncan SJB-3S Quarter Pound Jazz Bass Pickup Set 4 String

DiMarzio Satchur8 Bridge Humbucker Pickup Black

DiMarzio Mo Joe F Spaced Humbucker Black

DiMarzio DP282FBK Dreamcatcher Humbucker Bridge F Spaced Black

DiMarzio DP425BK Satch Track Black

DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary Cream DP223CR

DiMarzio DP161FBK Steves Special Bridge Humbucker F Spaced Black

DiMarzio The Chopper Pickup Black

DiMarzio DP228FBK Crunch Lab F Spaced Black

DiMarzio DP159FGN Evolution Bridge F Shaped Green

DiMarzio DP100FBC Super Distortion Humbucker F Spaced Black/Cream

DiMarzio DP100CR Super Distortion

DiMarzio DP103CR 36th Anniversary Humbucker Cream

DiMarzio DP100FBK Super Distortion F-Spaced

DiMarzio DP227BK LiquiFire

DiMarzio DP184W The Chopper Pick-up

DiMarzio DP193BK Air Norton Black Humbucker

Seymour Duncan SLS-1 Lipstick Tube for Stratocaster Neck Single Coil

Seymour Duncan Lipstick Tube Strat SLS-1 RW/RP Middle Single Coil

Seymour Duncan SP90-3B Custom P90 Soapbar Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan STK-T2B Hot Stack For Telecaster Bridge Humbucker

Seymour Duncan SH-16 '59/Custom Hybrid Humbucker White

Seymour Duncan Dimebag SH-13 Set - Black Humbucker

Seymour Duncan Dimebag SH-13 Set - Black/Zebra Humbucker

Seymour Duncan TS-2S Triple Shot for Les Paul Set Black

Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan SH-6B Duncan Distortion Humbucker Bridge Gold

Seymour Duncan Black Winter Bridge Humbucker Pickup Black 1611102-91B

Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Nickel Set

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Jazzmaster Bridge Pickup

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