Guitar Pickups
Latest about Guitar Pickups
Used by everyone from Kurt Cobain to Ace Frehley, the DiMarzio Super Distortion pickup changed the sound of rock – and the future of electric guitar tone
By Chris Gill published
Larry DiMarzio’s Super Distortion not only presented players in the ’70s with a high-output option, it started a culture of players swapping out pickups in search of better tone
Types of guitar pickups explained: learn the difference between single coils, humbuckers, P-90s and active designs
By Chris Bird published
If the wood is the soul of the electric guitar, the pickups are the brains of the operation. We walk through the most common pickup styles and what they mean for electric guitar tone
Bare Knuckle Triptych review: the most versatile Stratocaster pickup set on the market?
By Dave Burrluck published
One of the most talked-about pickups of 2023, Rabea Massaad’s new signature set could be just what you need to cover all bases without losing those quintessential Strat sounds
Fishman’s game-changing Fluence Modern pickups just got even more versatile – with sounds “you’ve never heard in a humbucker before”
By Matt Owen published
As well as a slick new Open Core version of the celebrated Fluence Modern format, a whole new voice has been added to the roster
Active vs passive pickups: What’s the difference?
By Richard Blenkinsop published
Join us as we weight up the differences between active and passive pickups to see which is right for you
They’re loved by St. Vincent, Dan Auerbach and Ry Cooder – but what’s behind the Gold Foil pickup resurgence?
By Huw Price published
Relatively little is known about these popular pickups, but what we do know is that not all were created equal…
“In a funny way, the Super Distortion is the SM57 of the guitar pickup business. It’s got a s***-ton of hits”: Larry DiMarzio on the humbucker that changed the game
By Jamie Dickson published
In the early ’70s, Larry DiMarzio single-handedly kickstarted the entire aftermarket pickup industry with his hot-output Super Distortion. We met NYC’s king of tone to find out how he did it
Kramer’s Eruption humbucker aims to bottle Eddie Van Halen’s iconic ’80s guitar tone with the help of his former luthier Jim DeCola
By Matt Parker published
Get a humbucker befitting the 'brown sound' in Gibson’s latest pickup shop drop
Holy grail Greeny tone from any Les Paul? Gibson just made its Greenybucker pickups available as a standalone set for the first time
By Matt Owen published
Previously available only in Kirk Hammett's USA Greeny signature model, these $299 humbuckers were made in collaboration with the Metallica man, and in consultation with actual PAF specs
“All the tone of the classic P-90 pickup without the hum”: Is Seymour Duncan’s new Silencer range the perfect modern P-90 platform?
By Matt Owen published
The new hum-resistant P-90 launch is headlined by a signature single-coil for Jared James Nichols, which the blues-rock maestro calls his “dream pickup”
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