It’s important to keep in mind pickups alone won’t determine your guitar’s sound. Everything from the amplifier, to effect pedals, to the actual make/model of the guitar itself can have an impact on your tone, but it all starts with the pickup. If possible, you’ll probably want to test out a brand or type of pickup first, but here are some important elements to keep in mind before making your purchase.
Define Your Tone
Pickups primarily determine the tone of a guitar’s signal, equalizing the amount of highs, lows, and mids which are sent out. There are pickups designed to pump out the highs and filter out less bass; these are typically referred to as being “bright.” Pickups that favor more mid or bass-heavy tones are typically referred to as “punchier” or “warmer”.
There is no textbook definition of a desirable tone since different styles and genres call for varying sounds. For instance, if you’re looking to play heavy metal or rock favoring low-note riffs, a pickup pushing a more bass-driven tone is preferable. However, playing higher leads or country fingerpicking can be enhanced by a brighter pickup.
Guitar Pickup Types</h3>
Single Coil
The single coil pickup dates back to the 1920s, making it the oldest type of guitar pickup. Most Fender Stratocasters have single coil pickups which produce a clear and brighter tone. While popular in all kinds of music, they are mostly employed in rock and blues but again, it’s important to remember there are no rules when it comes to creating music. As a result, single coil guitars can be found in almost every musical genre.
These pickups are often found on guitars utilizing three different single coils. This allows guitarists to combine the sounds of these three devices using a switch so their tone can incorporate the neck, bridge, and middle pickups to shape their sound. Though single coil pickups at one point could pick up an undesired buzzing sound when run at a high volume, technological advances have largely corrected this issue.
Humbucker
One solution created early on to solve the humming issue with single coil pickups was the humbucker. The humbucker pickup cancels out the undesired noise by combining two single coil pickups positioned side-by-side with one another, with opposing coils and polarity. When run together, the hum is minimized while the actual sound output of the guitar’s signal is doubled.
The humbucker sound can definitely produce a fuller sound with more body which makes it a desirable tool for heavier music or a wall-of-sound thickness that’s perfect for metal and heavy rock. It’s also worth noting many companies are able to accommodate their products to produce a variety of sounds; in other words, there are humbuckers which behave like single coil pickups, and vice versa.
Passive Pickups
Another factor to consider is whether you want a passive or active pickup. Passive pickups directly capture the signal from the guitar’s string through the wood. This provides what’s generally agreed to be a more organic and dynamic sound.
Many guitarists prefer passive pickups because the ability to tweak their tone is right at their fingertips, so even tiny adjustments to the volume or tone knob can make a world of a difference in sound. However, because of the hypersensitivity of this method, passive pickups are also more susceptible to feedback and (paradoxically) a sometimes-diminished amount of sustain.
Active Pickups
Active pickups rely on a separate battery stored on the body of the guitar. This allows for a higher output and a more even frequency. In most cases, it doesn’t matter what type of guitar you use with an active pickup as the sound will generally remain uncompromised. The higher output and reliability makes it an ideal choice for metal players who are looking for over-driven, accurate stability in their tone.
Still, many critics of the active pickup claim that same reliability is also the cause of a sterile and homogenous tone. The active pickup also requires players to replace the battery when power gets low which isn’t ideal for live performances.