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The heart of the electric guitar: Pickups - types & function
Foto by Isaac Weatherly (Pexels)
The pickups in a guitar are what gives it its characteristic sounds, they react to the vibration of the strings and send that information to whatever output is being used to amplify the sound. There are many different types of pickups that have their own characteristics to their sound. Today well look at, how pickups work, different types of pickups and using the pickup selector to get different sounds.
Table of contents
The endless search for a great tone on guitar is a long and windy road, it is both fulfilling and frustrating. Knowing your pickups, what you like about each of them and how to use them is the perfect start on that pathway. This post will give you an idea of what might be the best fit for you in your musical endeavours.
How do e-guitar pickups work?
Now, as mentioned there are a few different types of pickups that use a few different configurations but they generally all follow the same basic makeup and use the same principles, so we'll give a basic rundown of the stock standard pickup and maybe branch out a little from there. This does involve a little science so if you're not interested, I give you permission to skip this part.
The idea of a pickup is to turn mechanical energy (the vibration of the string) into electrical energy then into sound (the amplified sound you know and love). Pickups are made up of a magnet or magnets that are wound with a conductive wire.
You may remember from science class (or not) that when a magnet moves through or around a coil of conductive wire it creates a current in that wire, this is called electromagnetic induction. But all the components in a pickup are stationary so there is no current on their own. This is where the strings come in, the vibration of the strings disturbs the magnetic field that has the same effect as the magnet moving through it and creates a current in the coil. The intensity of this current is proportionate to the intensity of the movement in the strings. The harder you play the louder it is. That current is sent through to the amplifier and out the speaker.
So, there you go, without Michael Faraday playing around with magnets and wires we may not have seen some of the great guitar legends we know and love.
Different types of pickups
It's easy to get sucked into a certain type of pickup because you like the look of it, or your favourite player uses them, or your friend's uncle told you they were the best and all others are useless. There’s probably something to be said for a placebo effect too, if you like them and feel-good playing with them you may just enjoy the experience more. I think you should try if you can and rid yourself of these biases, do a little research and play with some different types and see what you enjoy about them.
You can generally get a good range of sounds with most types of pickups, but they individually have certain flavours and personalities that lend themselves to types of playing and styles of music, so we’ll go over a few here and see what we can decipher between the different types.
The single coil
Single coil pickups are one of the most common types often found in Stratocaster and telecaster type guitars. How it’s made is in the name, it is a single coil wrapped around the pole pieces (magnets), simple and easy. They're often described as bell-like and jangly but when you’re just starting on your tone journey words like these may not mean a whole lot to you. Single coils often give quite a clear sound which can lend themselves towards a cleaner tone with less distortion.
There can be a minor downfall in single coils, they often give off a humming sound even when nothing is played on the strings, this is because they are sensitive to external electromagnetic interference from thinks like TV’s, phones and even your own amp. Some people love this sound and feel it gives off a vintage guitar vibe. Most commonly these pickups are used for styles like blues, country, indie music but they are used and loved by many artists from all different genres.
Tip: I would always advise trying some out yourself at your local music store and see what sounds you get out of them.
Here is a recommendation for you. This pickup set for the electric guitar consists of two Fender Custom Shop 51 Nocaster single coils. A great choice for indie pop and indie rock guitars as a Tele or Stratocaster.
Humbuckers
These appropriately named pickups are called so because they ‘Buck’ the hum previously mentioned from the single coils. They do this by having two coils and two sets of magnets in the unit. One coil is wound in reverse and the magnets are in different directions. This creates an opposing hum to the original, but they cancel each other out, getting rid of all the excess noise and leaving your signal to be heard loud and clear.
Humbuckers are generally associated with rock and metal, they generally sound thicker, louder and just seem to have more of a presence to stand out and catch the attention of the listener. Great for adding distortion and really going for that gritty heavy grungy tone, humbuckers can be a hell of a lot of fun. When played with a clean tone they can be warm and smooth which has made them popular with a lot of jazz players, often in hollow or semi hollow guitars adding to that warmth and fullness.
If you prefer it a little louder and heavier, you can rely on the Seymour Duncan Trembucker. High output with aggressive highs that don't sound muddy. Ideal for alternative rock and classic rock.
P90 Pickups
P90s are a little less common than the traditional single coil or the humbucker but still hold a place for a mention amongst the greats. They are a similar size to the humbucker but are a single coil design with one coil and set of magnets. P90s have been around for a long, long time as one of the early pickups by Gibson though they were made more popular by the punk rock scene. Their design differs from the smaller common single coil though allowing for different tones. People often say they are versatile and work for most types of music if you use them correctly. This rings true as they are seen throughout many different genres by many different players, and it has served them well.
These are the 3 most common pickups people use. There are many others in different configurations, made with different materials, active pickups that use a power supply to modify and enhance the signal. It’s a deep rabbit hole that you can easily get lost in. Just get out there and try a few.
Tip: In this article you can find out which electric guitars and pedals are particularly suitable for indie rock bands?
If you're in the mood for sound tinkering, check out this old Gotoh P90 BK pickup in the P90 style.
The Pickup selector
Depending on your guitar it will likely have more than just one pickup, often two or three. They all sit on the body of the guitar underneath the strings but where they sit on the body is how they are referred to. The pickup that is closest to the neck is the ‘neck pickup’ and the one closer to the bridge is the ‘Bridge pickup’ and if there are 3 the one in between is called the ‘Middle pickup’, easy.
There is a selector on the guitar that lets you choose what pickup you want the sound to come from. You can choose between just using one or there is usually a middle position between two pickups that allows the signal from both pickups to be used. Switching between these different options can have a big effect on your tone and the feeling of your playing. This is because though the string still vibrates at the same frequency, the distance its moving will be greater towards the centre of the string creating different changes in the magnetic field, current and sound at the amplification end.
Pickups in different positions may also be wired a bit differently helping to enhance the change of sound between the positions. Generally, the pickup closer to the bridge gives a warmer, smoother, fuller sound often used for rhythm playing and the closer you get to the bridge there is more of a sharp, twangy, punchy sound, people switch to for a solo or a lead line in a song.
Conclusion on the subject of electric guitar pickups
There are no fixed rules in all of this and there is so much creative freedom. The right selection of the pickups, but also the exact control to match the song and the feeling of the sound is crucial. Once you start paying attention, you'll see how your favorite musicians have perfected this process for themselves. If you want to learn more about guitar-related topics yourself, take a look at my blog. If you are still looking for guitarists or musicians for your project, mukken.com's musician search is definitely the right place to go.
Originally published on March 7, 2023, updated on March 10, 2023
Main topic: Billie Eilish and the tragic
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