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 Pegasus/Sentient Set Black 7 String

£359.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Nazgul/Sentient Humbucker Pickup Set Black 7 String

£359.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan SH-18S Whole Lotta HB Set Black

£349.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

FREE Delivery

In Stock

£189.00 £199.95

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

£159.00 £167.95

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd For Telecaster Bridge Single Coil

(1)

£129.00 £182.95

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan STK-S10PGD Yngwie Malmsteen YJM Fury Loaded Single Coil Pickguard Black

£549.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan SSL-2 Vintage Flat Stratocaster Singlecoil Neck Pickup White

£119.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan TB-6 Duncan Distortion Trembucker Bridge Humbucker Zebra

£149.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

£179.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Bridge Humbucker Reverse Zebra

£149.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan SH-5 Duncan Custom Bridge Humbucker White

£149.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan SJAG-1N Vintage Jaguar Neck Singlecoil Black

£129.00 £137.95

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan SLS-1B Custom Stratocaster Lipstick Bridge Singlecoil

£159.00 £167.95

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Wes Hauch Jupiter Rail Bridge Humbucker

£209.00

£169.00 £182.95

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd Humbucker Bridge

£229.00 £246.95

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Trembucker Nickel Cover

(1)

£219.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

FREE Delivery

In Stock

Special Offer

Seymour Duncan TS-2S Triple Shot Set For Les Paul Set Cream

£69.00 £99.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan TS-1S Triple Shot Flat Set For Trembucker Cream

£99.00 £106.95

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Seymour Duncan TS-2N Triple Shot For Les Paul Neck Black

£65.00

Get it Wednesday, Dec 17

In Stock

Stores Nationwide

Free Next Day Delivery

Sell your Guitar

Expert Advice

Extended Exchange

Guitar Pickups

Filter

Seymour Duncan Pegasus/Sentient Set Black 7 String

Seymour Duncan Nazgul/Sentient Humbucker Pickup Set Black 7 String

Seymour Duncan SH-18S Whole Lotta HB Set Black

Seymour Duncan SM-1N Vintage Neck Mini Humbucker Nickel

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

Seymour Duncan SSL-4 Stratocaster Single Coil Calibrated Set

Seymour Duncan BG1400 Telecaster Lead Stack Bridge No Logo

Seymour Duncan High Voltage Bridge Humbucker Nickel Cover

Seymour Duncan Psyclone Humbucker Set Nickel

Seymour Duncan STK-S10N Yngwie Malmsteen Off White

Seymour Duncan STK-S4N Stack Plus Stratocaster Single Coil Neck Black

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II for Telecaster Single Coil Pickup Set

Seymour Duncan Dave Murray Loaded Pickguard Black

Seymour Duncan Dave Murray Loaded Pickguard White

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Telecaster Singlecoil Pickup Set

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd Stratocaster Texas Hot Single Coil

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd For Telecaster Bridge Single Coil

Seymour Duncan STK-S10PGD Yngwie Malmsteen YJM Fury Loaded Single Coil Pickguard Black

Seymour Duncan SSL-2 Vintage Flat Stratocaster Singlecoil Neck Pickup White

Seymour Duncan TB-6 Duncan Distortion Trembucker Bridge Humbucker Zebra

Seymour Duncan SSL-6 Custom Flat Stratocaster Singlecoil Pickup White

Seymour Duncan Hot Tele Set

Seymour Duncan Slash 2.0 Humbucker Set Black

Seymour Duncan Slash 2.0 Neck Zebra

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Bridge Humbucker Reverse Zebra

Seymour Duncan SH-5 Duncan Custom Bridge Humbucker White

Seymour Duncan SJAG-1N Vintage Jaguar Neck Singlecoil Black

Seymour Duncan SLS-1B Custom Stratocaster Lipstick Bridge Singlecoil

Seymour Duncan Wes Hauch Jupiter Rail Bridge Humbucker

Seymour Duncan Brad Paisley La Brea Telecaster Bridge Singlecoil

Seymour Duncan SSL-6 Custom Flat Stratocaster RWRP Middle Singlecoil Pickup White

Seymour Duncan Hot Jazzmaster SJM-2N Neck Singlecoil Black

Seymour Duncan Hot Stack Stratocaster Pickup STK-S2B Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Bridge Humbucker Black

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd for Telecaster Neck Single Coil

Seymour Duncan Antiquity Retrospec'd Humbucker Bridge

Seymour Duncan 78 Model Trembucker Nickel Cover

Seymour Duncan TS-2S Triple Shot Set For Les Paul Set Cream

Seymour Duncan TS-1S Triple Shot Flat Set For Trembucker Cream

Seymour Duncan TS-2N Triple Shot For Les Paul Neck Black

Keep up with our latest offers, news & events