Buy Guitar Pickups - What to Look For When Selecting Replacement Pickups
You'd like to buy guitar pickups but you feel completely lost when you hear the terms single coil, humbucker, and magnetic transducers.
Don't worry, if you were to try and understand all of the intricacies of guitar pickups you'd have to be an electrical engineer.
I'm basically going to break down the basics, which should help you when you need to buy guitar pickups for your aging guitar or perhaps to replace the cheap ones that come in many of today's guitar starter sets.
What exactly is a pickup? Assuming the reader didn't attend MIT, a guitar pickup is basically a device that captures the vibrations of the short section of guitar string above it and converts it into an electrical signal that can then be sent to an internal preamp or an external amplifier via cable.
Most electronic guitars are outfitted with magnetic pickups which only work on instruments that use steel strings.
Here are some important tips to assist you when you're ready to buy guitar pickups.
The main things to consider before you buy guitar pickups is obviously the price, the number of pickups you'd like to replace, and the sound you're trying to achieve.
There are hundreds if not thousands of guitar pickups on the market and it's hard to guess how your guitar will sound without using the product first.
Therefore, I suggest replacing one pickup at a time and see what kind of versatility it provides in combination with the rest of the pickups in the configuration.
Pickups can range from thirty dollars up to several hundred.
Remember, when you're trying to achieve a certain sound you don't have to buy guitar pickups that break the bank.
Please do not spend a lot of money on guitar accessories if you own a cheap guitar.
You might not be able get your starter guitar to sound like your favorite guitarist because of several factors like the guitar body, the strings, or the amplifier that comes with a guitar starter kit.
Single Coil pickups vs.
Dual Coil Pickups (also know as a Humbucker pickup) Single coil pickups sound clear and bright.
Single coil pickups produce a unique sound that is extremely clean and metallic sounding.
Humbucker pickups, or dual coil pickups were invented out of the necessity to get rid of the constant hum produced by the older single coil pickups.
Most humbucking pickups have a heavy and warm tone.
Humbuckers usually have a higher gain and attack than single coil pickups.
Last, don't buy guitar pickups from a retailer that doesn't provide a full no questions asked refund.
It's all too easy to purchase a product to enhance your guitar only to be disappointed when it doesn't fit the instrument physically or aesthetically.
Sometimes the best way to discover that magical combination of strings, pickups, and amps, is through trial and error.
Again, I recommend browsing guitar forums to see what other guitarists are saying about a certain product before purchasing but keep in what they find appealing might differ from the sounds you're searching for.
Don't worry, if you were to try and understand all of the intricacies of guitar pickups you'd have to be an electrical engineer.
I'm basically going to break down the basics, which should help you when you need to buy guitar pickups for your aging guitar or perhaps to replace the cheap ones that come in many of today's guitar starter sets.
What exactly is a pickup? Assuming the reader didn't attend MIT, a guitar pickup is basically a device that captures the vibrations of the short section of guitar string above it and converts it into an electrical signal that can then be sent to an internal preamp or an external amplifier via cable.
Most electronic guitars are outfitted with magnetic pickups which only work on instruments that use steel strings.
Here are some important tips to assist you when you're ready to buy guitar pickups.
The main things to consider before you buy guitar pickups is obviously the price, the number of pickups you'd like to replace, and the sound you're trying to achieve.
There are hundreds if not thousands of guitar pickups on the market and it's hard to guess how your guitar will sound without using the product first.
Therefore, I suggest replacing one pickup at a time and see what kind of versatility it provides in combination with the rest of the pickups in the configuration.
Pickups can range from thirty dollars up to several hundred.
Remember, when you're trying to achieve a certain sound you don't have to buy guitar pickups that break the bank.
Please do not spend a lot of money on guitar accessories if you own a cheap guitar.
You might not be able get your starter guitar to sound like your favorite guitarist because of several factors like the guitar body, the strings, or the amplifier that comes with a guitar starter kit.
Single Coil pickups vs.
Dual Coil Pickups (also know as a Humbucker pickup) Single coil pickups sound clear and bright.
Single coil pickups produce a unique sound that is extremely clean and metallic sounding.
Humbucker pickups, or dual coil pickups were invented out of the necessity to get rid of the constant hum produced by the older single coil pickups.
Most humbucking pickups have a heavy and warm tone.
Humbuckers usually have a higher gain and attack than single coil pickups.
Last, don't buy guitar pickups from a retailer that doesn't provide a full no questions asked refund.
It's all too easy to purchase a product to enhance your guitar only to be disappointed when it doesn't fit the instrument physically or aesthetically.
Sometimes the best way to discover that magical combination of strings, pickups, and amps, is through trial and error.
Again, I recommend browsing guitar forums to see what other guitarists are saying about a certain product before purchasing but keep in what they find appealing might differ from the sounds you're searching for.
Source...