How to Choose Electric Guitar Pickups

Guitar pickups are the magnetic devices that tell the amplifier what the guitar is doing, and they come in hundreds of varieties, varying widely in function, appearance, quality and price. Changing pickups is a major modification that will drastically alter the character of a guitar, both in sight and in sound. But there are a few guiding principles that can help make the decision easy.

Things You'll Need

• Amplifier
• Selection of guitars fitted with specific pickups (i.e. at a guitar store)

Instructions

Single-coils and Humbuckers

1. Know the basics. There are two main styles of electric guitar pickups--single-coil and humbucker. Single-coil pickups are most commonly seen in Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars. They are known for a thin, clear sound popular in blues and popular rock.
   Single-coil pickups have a way of creating a hum in the amplifier. This is most common in Stratocaster-style guitars or others with a five-way selector switch. The hum is strongest when the pickup selector switch is all the way down (bridge pickup only) right in the middle (middle pickup only) or all the way back (neck pickup only).
   This humming compelled the invention of the humbucker--basically, two single-coil pickups stacked on top of each other. They are the double cheeseburger of the guitar world and produce thicker, punchier tones with far less hum or none at all. Humbuckers are seen in all kinds of guitars but are most closely associated with the Gibson Les Paul. (Les Pauls, by the way, generally have a three-way selector switch--down means just the bridge pickup is working, in the middle is a mix of the two, and all the way back means just the bridge pickup is working.)

2. Consider your tastes. A good way to decide whether you want a single-coil or humbucker is to consider the heaviness of the music you want to play. Country rock or blues players may prefer single-coils, while nearly all metal music is played on guitars with humbuckers. In general, the heavier the music, the greater the need for the humbucker. This is not, however, a hard-and-fast rule; many great jazz and rockabilly players use humbuckers for the thickness of the sound.

3. Consider your guitar. Whichever pickup style you choose, you need to make sure it fits in your guitar. If you play, for example, a Fender Stratocaster with a single-coil pickup built into the bridge, switching to a conventional humbucker will require further modification, such as changing the pick guard and ensuring that the pickup will sit properly in the body of the guitar.
   A good alternative is the stacked humbucker, which is a humbucker squeezed down into the size of a single-coil.

Narrowing the Field

1. Pick your tone. Think about the guitar sounds you like and the players who make them. Find out which pickups they commonly use (many guitar players or fan sites post this information on the Internet). If you can't find out that information exactly, a trip to your local guitar pro may help. Explain the sound you are trying to get, and ask which pickups will bring you closest to that sound. Many manufacturers now make signature-series pickups for those wishing to emulate the sounds of a famous guitarist.

2. Try it out. When you have a few models in mind, check to see how they sound. If possible, try them out in the place where you play most often (this works best when you can borrow a guitar from a friend who has the pickups you want to try). Play through your own amp to get an accurate sense of what your guitar will sound like with the new pickups.
   If you can't try the pickups out in your home or practice space, the next best option is to head to a guitar store, find a guitar with the pickups you want to try and play that guitar through the amp most similar to yours. This is less accurate but still should give you a reasonable idea of what to expect.

3. Consider the price. Figure out how much you are willing to spend and whether it would be worth it to wait and simply buy a better guitar with your desired pickups already installed; it makes little sense to spend $500 in pickups trying to make a poorly constructed guitar sound better.

Tips & Warnings

• There are a few other things to take into consideration, including appearance. Humbuckers come in two main styles--open and shielded. If you choose a pickup with a shield, make sure it matches the rest of your hardware (if you find that important). It might look odd to put a gold-plated pickup in a guitar with all-silver hardware.

Resources

• Musician's Friend online selection of pickups