A guitar pickup is one of the essential components of a guitar next to guitar strings, and it is a critical factor in sound and frequency production for electric guitars. So, we have decided to feature this basic guide to explore and learn more about electric guitar pickups.
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What Is An Electric Guitar Pickup?
A guitar pickup is a type of magnet that detects and senses vibrations. As to electric guitars, it is considered as the heart of the instrument.
Pickups are a type of mechanism that converts vibrations into electricity. Electric guitar pickups have coils, black bobbins, enameled wires, and six magnetic bars. The six magnetic bars help to pick up sounds and vibrations from the guitar strings.
Types Of Pickup Magnets
The type of magnet utilized in an electric guitar pickup makes a huge difference in its sound. Below are the most common magnets usually used in pickups, and getting to know each will allow you to figure out which is the best one for your guitar.
Alnico II
This type of magnet used in electric guitar pickups is associated with the PAF humbucker. Today, it is still utilized in many different pickups as its tone is relatively clear and soft.
Its tone is also usually characterized as sweet, slightly resembling the more brittle treble frequencies. Besides, it has the ability to sound mellifluous and very musical with a clean tone. Electric guitar pickups that integrate Alnico II are your best option if you run a hotter and more distorted tone. It gives a beautiful note separation for complex chords.
Alnico III
Since Alnico III has no cobalt, it is considered the weakest of its kind. It has the lowest performance in terms of magnetic pull, meaning it has a weak influence on the guitar strings.
But because of this, Alnico III is a popular option for neck pickups. This magnet is more confident in its tone than Alnico II, even though both have a similar softness.
Alnico V
If you opt for an electric guitar pickup that sounds edgier and hotter than those with Alnico II and III, choose a pickup that utilizes the Alnico V magnet. This magnet allows the guitar pickup to sound better on more aggressive tones and when more ‘unity’ is needed in your chords.
When using a pickup with an Alnico V, chording through heavy distortion might lead to notes knitting together more tightly. You may also notice that midrange is a little warmer, making it ideal for lead guitars.
Alnico VIII
The Alnico VIII might be the least likely you will encounter in electric guitar pickups. However, many guitar players consider it an excellent magnet, an undiscovered gem.
This electric guitar pickup magnet will provide you the power similar to a ceramic magnet. The only one difference is that it has the harmonics and warmth of an Alnico V. So, it is considered an excellent solution to preserve the woodiness of your guitar tone while having the option to hit your amp with a lot of output.
Ceramic
This magnet is typically more modern but with more cut, tighter low end, and higher output than Alnico magnets. Usually, you can expect a guitar with a ceramic magnet to sound powerful, with a more bold midrange, particularly in the upper mids.
Older ceramic pickups sound pinched and flat. Thanks to the development of newer ceramic magnets, the tone of electric guitars utilizing this type of magnet now sounds better than before.
Things To Examine When Choosing An Electric Guitar Pickup
Guitar pickups are made of materials and designs that affect the sound and performance of an electric guitar. If you ever thought of changing your electric guitar pickups, here are some things to consider to help you find the ideal pickup for your electric guitar:
Know What Type Of Pickup Is Best For Your Electric Guitar
Guitar pickups come in different sizes, kinds, and shapes. There are two common types of electric guitar pickups: single coils and humbuckers.
However, there are more kinds of electric guitar pickups in the market. Here is a brief explanation and comparison among electric guitar pickups.
1. Single Coil Pickups
Single coil pickups are among the most common electric guitar pickups, typically called the Fender or Strat-style guitar pickups. Single coil pickups are well-known pickups with magnets wrapped in single-coil wires, and it has the basic setup of an electric guitar pickup which gives a clear and distinct signal that captures tones and sounds.
On the other hand, a single-coil pickup has its downside. It is a bit sensitive to electrical interferences that create buzzes or noises when the electric guitars are used with loud volumes.
2. Gold Foil Pickups
This type of electric guitar pickup is known for its appearance. It is one of the guitar pickups with striking vibes. From the name itself, the guitar pickup is covered with a gold foil under its metal casing. The screws above the coils are the ones that allow sensing the vibrations of the guitar strings. These screws help to pick up louder and bigger sounds and tones. Gold foil pickups are also noted for their smooth and very clear high-end sounds and tone.
3, Humbucker Pickups
It is made up of two coils with an inverted division that cancels out irrelevant noises. The importance of having two coils together in the Humbucker guitar pickups is to produce warm and bigger sounds and tones.
This type of electric guitar pickup is used to negate the loud humming that comes from the single-coil pickups to get more tone and have more volume output. Humbucker pickups are also well-known for their coil-tapping that gives clearer and cleaner single-coil sounds.
4. Mini Humbucker Pickups
It is a smaller version of the Humbucker pickups. It produces a brighter and clearer sound that senses the shorter measurement of the string. The sound it makes is warmer and rounded in tone quality.
5. P90 Pickups
It is also a single-coil pickup that provides more output than the other single-coil pickups like the Fender style and Strat Style. It tends to break at louder volumes. P90 pickups are known to be the most versatile pickups that produce fatter sounds compared to other standard single-coil pickups.
6. Jazzmaster Pickup
It is often compared to a P90 Pickups. The Jazzmaster pickup has magnets on its pole pieces, while the P90 pickup has magnets underneath the coils. This type of electric guitar pickup is used to play indie, rock, and jazz music. Jazzmaster Pickup is compared to a pancake because of its features that produce a flatter and wider tone.
7. Triple Bucker Pickups
This type of electric guitar pickup creates modern and high output pickups by adding another one coil with lesser noise than the standard or typical Humbucker pickups.
8. Jaguar Pickups
This pickup type is mounted directly to the body, where the pickups are screwed to the pickguard. Jaguar pickups are usually compared to Strat Style pickups. However, Jaguar pickups have metal “teeth” that help to remove irrelevant sounds or hum from the single coils. This kind of pickup has its snappier tone and sounds that have something to do with the tension of the guitar strings.
9. Toaster Pickups
It is a type of electric guitar pickup that has single and double coil pickups. This model of electric guitar pickups is known for its treble-forward sounds and clear tones.
10. Z Coil Pickups
This type of electric guitar pickup is almost the same as the standard single-coil pickup. However, these pickups are divided into a Z shape that helps produce noise-canceling characteristics without compromising the quality and clarity of the sound.
11. Filter-Tron Pickups
It has a retro look, which many guitarists love, especially with its ability for rock music.
12. Dual Coil
This type of electric guitar pickup is not a common pickup compared to other types. It has a significantly warmer tone than other single-coil pickups.
Determine External Tonal Influences
Your electric guitar’s tone will be affected not only by the pickup it has but also the amps and pedals it comes with. Some subtle factors, on the other hand, also exist on the guitar that you might overlook, such as:
- Woods – For brighter ones, choose between ash, maple, and alder. Meanwhile, rosewood and mahogany are the darker options you can have.
- Volume Knob – When looking for warmer volume knobs, choose 250k pots while 500k pots are brighter.
- Strings – Steel or nickel-plated steel are brighter, while pure nickel is darker.
- Neck Style – For brighter, choose bolted necks that also have less sustain. Meanwhile, set-in necks provide more sustain and are warmer.
Identify If Pickups Are Active Or Passive
These two types of pickups differ in the number of coils in the electric guitar pickups. But, among the two, passive pickups are the most common type as most people refer to active pickups simply as ‘pickup’ when not comparing it to an active pickup.
Compared to passive pickup, an active pickup is much weaker. However, the pickup itself amplifies its signal, usually through an internal 9V battery.
Among the advantages of a weaker pickup is that the output is typically more powerful and has greater tonal consistency, sustain, and signal strength regardless of chain/cable length. You can find active pickups in single coil and humbucker versions that are both very quiet.
Generally, passive and active pickups are very difficult to mount in the same guitar. For this reason, you can find an electric guitar that installs either passive or active pickup but not both types.
Active Guitar Pickups
Guitar pickups under this category work through a battery, and they are utilized to improve the sound produced by the guitar before the sound leaves the guitar.
Active guitar pickups are very low noise, full, crisp, sustaining, hi-fi, and sometimes squished or compressed when it comes to their sound. Since it provides extra power, it will still sound good no matter how long the cable is.
Guitar players who usually play in environments with noise and interference are ideal to use active guitar pickups. It also works great when you utilize a very long cable and want your electric guitar to produce very distorted or very clean sounds.
Passive Guitar Pickups
Passive guitar pickups have sound-shaping handled by parts that do not need additional power. They sound natural, organic, smooth, and vintage.
Also, this type of guitar pickups sound more muffled and darker when you utilize long cables. If you are a player who wants a more organic and natural sound, something that is less processed with a lot of dynamics, a passive guitar pickup is for you. It is also excellent for those who want a pickup that is responsive to different playing styles.
Some Final Words
One way to upgrade your electric guitar is to buy a good guitar pickup aside from installing high-quality strings. Getting the right guitar pickups for your electric guitar can make a big difference for your instrument, so make sure to consider the tips mentioned earlier in this guide.
Each type of electric guitar pickup has differences from others in how they work and perform. A good set of guitar pickups can provide a beautiful makeover to your electric guitar and enhance its clarity of tone and sounds.
