Pickups

By this I mean the kind that go in electric guitars, not pickup trucks.   I’m also ignoring bass guitar pickups and acoustic pickups.

Anyone who has ever strummed an electric guitar when it wasn’t plugged in knows you need an amplifier to make noise.  Anyone who has ever played a Stratocaster AND a Les Paul can probably tell the difference between a single coil and a double coil pickup.

Single Coils.   These were the first and featured on Fender Telecasters (2) and Stratocasters (3).  Gibson’s P90 and Soapbar pickups are also single coils.  They have a very bright and twangy sound – as a baseline.  But Jimmy Page reminds you that Led Zeppelin I, including “Dazed and Confused” and “How Many More Times” was recorded on his Telecaster, not the Les Paul he acquired by the time LZ II came around.   Even so, even with a Marshall 1x12” tube amp, I still didn’t like the single coil in my ’62 Vintage Stratocaster, and traded the guitar in for a Fat Strat with a humbucker in the bridge position.

Double Coils.  Most famously done by Gibson and its “PAF” “humbuckers” from 1957 onward.  The Firebird pickup is a variation of the “mini-humbucker” later released on the late 60s Les Paul Deluxes.  Double coils have a noticeably chunkier, meatier sound, even when clean.

Active vs. Passive.  Most pickups are passive, but some – EMGs are the most popular – use a 9 volt battery to supercharge them to active status.  I’ve found the EMG81s in my Gibson Explorer to be warm and thick sounding, even more so than most humbuckers.   EMGs have gotten much more popular in recent years, probably due to James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett (Metallica) installing them in all their guitars, including their signature models from ESP and Gibson. 

Ceramic vs. AlNiCo.  Here’s where it starts getting esoteric.   Recently I joined the Gibson Firebird group on Facebook, and the issue came up that Gibson currently equips its Firebirds with ceramic magnet pickups, whereas the original 1960s models had Alnico magnets in the pickups.  There’s a Johnny Winter signature Firebird pickup which has Alnico magnets.  As you can imagine, the purists scoff at ceramics, while the rest of us wonder, “what’s the difference?”  I watched a Youtube video someone posted of a Firebird being played, before and after, re: a swap to Alnico magnets.  Verdict?  To my ears, a VERY small difference, barely noticeable.   

Bottom line, if the word “ALNICO” makes you hard or wet, by all means indulge yourself.  Eric Johnson claims he can tell the difference in sound in pedals depending on what brand of 9 volt battery you put in.  Is he right?  Who knows.  Do what you want.

So what’s in my guitars?

Gibson SG Standard (ebony, small pickguard).  Stock Gibson humbuckers.   I had Iommi models in my prior SG ’62, but to be honest I never heard much of a difference.

Gibson Explorer (ebony).  EMG81s.

Gibson Les Paul (Black Cherry Pearl).  Stock Gibson humbucker in the neck position, but bridge switched out to a Gibson 500T (black & crème zebra coils).   This is the hottest pickup Gibson makes, and it blazes through the Marshalls.  Gibson used to put this in the Les Paul Classic, which is how I found about it, but not anymore.  Fortunately it’s still available as an aftermarket pickup.

Gibson Firebird (2013 reissue)(ebony).  Stock Firebird pickups, ceramic model.  I’m not sold on the Alnicos.

Fender Stratocaster (Fat Strat).  This has a S-S-H format (humbucker in the bridge position).  I replaced the Fender humbucker with a DiMarzio Tone Zone zebra coil (black & white).  I also replaced the tuners (vintage) with locking tuners – just insert the string, turn the knob, and it locks – and a V-Runner Tremelo, which ups the sustain a bit.