Pickups Buyer's Guide

Often hear your favourite guitar players raving about their EMG's, Seymour Duncan's or DiMarzio's? Wonder why they rate them so highly? Well the pickup is the part of the guitar that.. wait for it.. picks up the string vibration!

So why do different pickups give different sounds? Well, there are two main types of pickup, Passive and Active. This is actually an incorrect labelling of the pickups, much in the same way tremolo is actually volume but used to describe a variation in pitch.

Passive Pickups require no power source, and are the most common type of pickup. Active pickups usually require the help of a 9v battery to help push the signal along. This is where the labelling is wrong as an 'Active' Pickup requires power meaning it is normally passive, and a 'Passive' Pickup requres none, making it active, But hey, lets not get too caught up in a name!

There are many different pickups within each type, and it is all about what kind of sound you are after. The big pickup manufacturers have sound bytes on their websites to help you decide what pickup choice is best for you.