What is a hum cancelling single coil pickup?

Hum cancelling single coil pickups are pickups which retain the sound and look of single coil pickups but remove the associated hum of a 'true' single coil pickup.

What is the most popular bridge position replacement humbucker of all time?

The most popular bridge position humbucker is unquestionably the Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB. There is a good reason for this: for any style requiring any amount of overdrive, the Seymour Duncan JB sounds simply exceptional.

What is all the fuss about 'PAF' pickups? What even are they?

PAF pickups refer to late-fifties and early sixties humbuckers designed by Seth Lover and made by Gibson. PAF stands for Patent Applied For (it was later granted but habits persist and so the name remains). They are seen as some of the sweetest sounding pickups ever made. Tone is a subjective thing of course. Not everyone loves a PAF sound but in truth, most guitar players agree to the inherent quality of a vintage PAF sound. As such, many companies seek to emulate it, not least Gibson themselves. A good PAF sound has lots of bite and sustain with what we call note bloom where a picked note behaves in a certain way that is very pleasing to the ear. PAF pickups are known for having low levels of copper coil windings, as opposed to modern high output pickups which have significantly more output (volume.gain, it's the same thing in this context) due to the much higher number of coil windings. There is more to it, but the root of it is a sweet, sustaining pickup that sings and crunches with equal levels of authority. Actual PAF pickups cost more than cars these days so we recommend going for modern recreations, Check out the Gibson 57 Classic, the DiMarzio DP223F PAF, The Bare Knuckle Stormy Monday set and the Seymour Duncan Joe Bonamassa set & '59 set.

Can I still play Hard Rock and heavier stuff with PAF-style pickups?

Yes. Kirk Hammett plays Metallica songs on tour using Peter Green's priceless '59 Les Paul Standard. The pickups in that guitar are the very definition of PAF pickups. He sounds monstrously heavy therefore yes you can!

What's the difference between active and passive pickups?

Active pickups use a power source (usually a 9v PP3 battery) in conjunction with special circuits and controls to provide specifically different tonal characteristics. Regular pickups are known as 'passive' pickups as they don't need additional power.

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LR Baggs Anthem Microphone/Under Saddle Pick Up System

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Fender Custom Shop 51 Nocaster Telecaster Pickups

LR Baggs M1 Active Soundhole Pickup

DiMarzio DP384BK The Chopper T Bridge Pickup

Seymour Duncan TB-14 Custom 5 Trembucker Bridge Black

LR Baggs HIFI Pickup

Fishman Rare Earth Single Coil

LR Baggs M1 Soundhole Pickup

Seymour Duncan SSL-5 Custom Staggered for Strat

Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails For Stratocaster Neck Pickup Parchment Cover

Seymour Duncan Pro Active Jazz Bass Pickup Set

Fishman Rare Earth Blend

Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Set Zebra

Seymour Duncan APH-2S Slash Alnico II Pro Set R.Zebra

Fishman Fluence Classic Humbucker Open Core White Set of 2

Roland GK-3 Pickup

Seymour Duncan 7 String Sentient Neck PMT Black

Gibson P-90 Dogear

Seymour Duncan SH-2n Jazz Model Black Neck

Fender Custom Shop Texas Special Stratocaster Pickups

Fishman Matrix Infinity VT / Narrow

Seymour Duncan SA-3HC Hum Cancelling Woody Acoustic Soundhole Pickup Black

LR Baggs Anthem SL SS Microphone/Under Saddle Split Pickup System

Seymour Duncan SMB-4D 4 String Music Man Ceramic Bass Humbucker Pickup

Fender Tex Mex Telecaster Pickup Set

Seymour Duncan Hot Rails Strat SHR-1B Bridge Black

Fender Tex Mex Stratocaster Pickups

BOSS GK-5 Digital Guitar Synth Guitar Pick-Up

DiMarzio DP172C Twang King Tele Neck Chrome Single Coil Pickup

Seymour Duncan SSL52-1B Five-Two Stratocaster Custom Bridge Singlecoil

Seymour Duncan SLSD-1N Lil Screamin Demon White

Seymour Duncan Antiquities Stringmaster Lap Steel Neck

Seymour Duncan SH-1N & B Vintage Blues Humbucker Set Zebra

Seymour Duncan SHR-1B Hot Rails Stratocaster Cream Bridge Humbucker

Seymour Duncan SP90-3N Custom P90 Soapbar Black

Taylor ES-GO Magnetic Pickup for GS Mini Guitar

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