Back in the 1930s, the first ever pickup was loaded onto the first ever electric guitar and offered up to the masses - and from that moment, the world was forever changed. These days, guitar pickups come in a variety of sorts, sizes and setups, and since every pickup delivers its own distinct sound and level of output, there's always a perfect pickup for any playing style.
Electric Guitar Pickups: Humbuckers & Single-Coils
Pickups are an absolutely essential part of the make-up of any electric guitar. These little widgets are what enable the guitar to be amplified and come in two main forms: the single-coil or the humbucker. The single-coil has a single magnetic coil, while the humbucker has two - which is why humbuckers are also referred to as double-coil or dual-coil pickups. Single-coil pickups have a relatively low electrical impedance and this, combined with the smaller range of the magnetic coil, produces a really clean and pure sound. The downside of single-coil pickups is that, because they're so sensitive to magnetic interference, they usually add some light hum to the sound of a guitar. The classic sound of the single-coil pickup has been used to play anything from pop to blues, from funk to punk and new-wave. The humbucker came after the single-coil, and was designed to remove the hum that you tend to get with a single-coil pickup. Since they have two coils, humbuckers usually deliver more output as well, giving the guitar a more powerful sound and making it perfect for playing styles like hard rock and metal. No single-coil or humbucker pickup will sound exactly the same though, so it's worth doing a little research to figure out what will suit your style. If you want to know more, then take a look at our Guitar Pickup Buyer's Guide, and if you're looking for pickups for your bass, then you'll find them in our Bass Guitar Pickup department.
P90 Pickups
P90 pickups are a variant of single-coil pickups, and are often described as the middle-ground between a single-coil and a humbucker. While they do have a really similar setup to a single-coil, P90s have a unique sound that's all their own, which is exactly why they just fall into a different category of pickup. P90s sound more full than single-coils and are often preferred by guitarists that work with more distortion.
Changing, Fitting & Setting Up Pickups
To swap out the pickups of your guitar, you need to have the right tools and the right technical knowledge. Since there's wiring involved, it will need to soldered in the right place, so you really need to know what you're doing. Setting up your pickups is also a fiddly job, since the height of your pickups has a big influence over the sound of your guitar. If you need some help setting up, repairing, or upgrading your guitar, then it's always worth reading a few good blogs or guides and having a chat with your local luthier.
A guitar pickup is made up of either an alnico or ceramic magnet wound with isolated copper wire. When you play the strings of an electric guitar, the vibrations interrupt and change the magnetic field generated by the magnet, and these changes cause an alternating electrical current in the coil. It's this alternating current that's sent to your guitar amplifier and converted into sound.
An active electric guitar is a guitar mounted with a set of active pickups, which are usually powered by a battery that's slotted into an integrated battery compartment.
A humbucker does the same thing as any other pickup: translate the vibration of the guitar strings into an electrical signal that can then be amplified. Unlike a single-coil pickup, a humbucker features two rows of magnets that, magnetically speaking, are 'out of phase', which is why humbuckers have a less noisy or buzzy sound.
A single-coil is a type of pickup tha features a magnet wound with copper wire. The small core of single-coil pickups focusses on a small part of the string, which is why they're known for their clear and pure sound. Single-coils are often mounted on famous models like the Stratocaster and Telecaster, but some bass guitars also come fitted with single-coils.
You can go to your local luthier or guitar shop and get your pickups changed by an expert, but if you want to do it yourself, it's actually not that hard. Before you start taking anything apart though, it's wise to make sure that you have everything that you need, like a soldering iron and solder. For more help see our step-by-step guide to replacing pickups.
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