Guitar Pickups: Giving Your Fretboard a Voice.
Whether you’re playing rock, jazz, or metal, if you’re playing electric guitar, you need guitar pickups to give your fretboard a voice. Every guitar pickup serves the same basic purpose, but there are also significant differences between them. Selecting the right pickup for your purposes can be a daunting task. Let’s take a look at the different types of pickups available, as well as how to choose the one that’s right for your sound.
The two main types of guitar pickups are single-coil and humbucking. Both are incredibly popular and have unique sounds. A single-coil pickup uses a single magnet to create a dynamic sound that’s straight out of the 1950s. Humbucking pickups, on the other hand, offer a beefier, more assertive tone with less noise.
One way to determine which type of pickup is right for you is to consider the music you’re playing. Single-coil pickups are often used for vintage rock, blues, and jazz styles, while humbuckers are usually preferred for hard rock and heavy metal styles.
In addition to type, another trait to consider when choosing a guitar pickup is active vs. passive. Passive pickups produce a more authentic signal and don’t require any external power source. Active pickups require an internal battery and produce a high-output signal with more dynamic distortion.
Finally, you should also consider your amp. Each pickup produces a certain level of output. If you’re playing through a high-gain amp, you’ll need a pickup with a higher output than one playing through a low-gain amp.
Guitar pickups are an integral part of any electric guitar setup. You should take the time to find the right pickup that fits your playing style and amplifies your sound. With the right pickup, you can take your fretboard from merely heard to truly heard.