How to select pickups

Pickups are microphones for your guitar strings.

More technically, Pickups are magnets wrapped in copper wire that register a disturbance in magnetic field caused by a vibrating metal guitar string. This disturbance is sent to your amp, and sound comes out of the speakers. Seems easy right? Well, there is a bit more to it.

It all starts with the Bobbin. The bobbin is what the ultra thin copper wire is wrapped around. This copper wire is wrapped around the bobbin thousands of times. The amount of wire, and the diameter of the wire play a significant role in the amount of resistance the pickup has. More on that later.

Once the bobbins are wrapped in copper wire, magnets are then installed. These magnets can be installed several ways to impact the volume and tone of the pickup. Most commonly the magnets are level with the top of the pickup, or maybe just slightly above. In the image above, the pickups have a row of adjustable magnets, that will allow you to dial in your sound to each individual string. The Magnets used in guitar pickups also play a role in the tone of the pickup. Common materials include Alnico and Ceramic.

Pickups are often dipped in hot paraffin wax after they have been built. This wax fills in the spaces in-between the bobbins, effectively lowering microphonic noise, and giving you are cleaner and clearer sound.

When comparing pickups, you will commonly see them listed noting the amount of resistance the pickup has. The pickups in the image above are Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Humbuckers. The stated resistance on these pickups is 8.3K for the bridge pickup, and 7.2K for the neck pickup. Why do we care? Generally speaking, the lower the resistance the softer, clearer, and more open the tone will be. Higher resistance pickups tend to drive the signal a bit harder with increased compression. One is not better than the other. They are just different. Higher resistance pickups are in the range of 12k - 18K. Single Coil pickups range from 3.5K - 8K.

You will notice that not all pickups look the same. Some have metal covers, some don't. Sometimes you can see half of the magnets, other times you can see all of the magnets. Active Pickups, like the ones offered by EMG or Fishman, typically have fully covered pickup showing no magnets at all. Does any of that matter? No not really. This is primarily esthetic. Often times aftermarket pickup manufacturers will have their best pickups available with many different finish options.