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.

Guitar Pickups | guitarguitar

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Seymour Duncan SH-PG1N Pearly Gates Humbucker Gold Cover

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£159.00 £214.95

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£139.00 £149.00

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£249.00 £304.95

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Seymour Duncan SCR-1N Cool Rails for Stratocaster Neck Humbucker Black

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Seymour Duncan 59 Vintage Blues Matched Humbucker Set

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Seymour Duncan SP90-2N Hot Soapbar P90 Neck Black Cover

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Seymour Duncan SH-8b Invader Humbucker Bridge Black

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Seymour Duncan APH-1N Alnico II Pro Neck Humbucker Black

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Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59 2 Conductor Nickel Covered Neck Humbucker

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Seymour Duncan SH-6N Duncan Distortion Neck Humbucker Zebra

£129.00 £152.95

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Seymour Duncan 7 String Invader Bridge Black

£149.00 £182.95

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Seymour Duncan SM-3N Seymourized Mini Humbucker Neck Nickel

£149.00 £182.95

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DiMarzio DP209CR P90 Super Distortion Humbucker Cream

Seymour Duncan SA-3XL HC Woody XL Acoustic Guitar Soundhole Pickup Maple

Fishman Neo-Buster Humbucking Soundhole Pickup and Feedback Buster

DiMarzio DP130BK Acoustic

DiMarzio DP234 The Black Angel Acoustic Pickup

Seymour Duncan SPH90-1N Phat Cat Neck P90 Pickup Nickel Cover

Seymour Duncan SPH90-1B Phat Cat Bridge P90 Pickup Nickel Cover

Seymour Duncan STK-T3B Vintage Stack For Telecaster Bridge Humbucker

Seymour Duncan STK-S10B Yngwie Malmsteen White

Seymour Duncan SCR-1B Cool Rails Stratocaster Black Hum Cancelling

Seymour Duncan STK-S4M Stack Plus Stratocaster Black

Seymour Duncan Pa-Stk1N Parallel Axis Stack

Seymour Duncan '59 Custom Hybrid Humbucker TB-16 Trembucker Bridge Reverse Zebra

Seymour Duncan Jason Becker Perpetual Burn Humbucker Pickup Trembucker Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan Jimi Hendix Signature Loaded Pickguard Voodoo Route

Seymour Duncan STL-1B Vintage Broadcaster for Telecaster Bridge Single Coil Black

Seymour Duncan APH-1B Alnico II Pro Bridge Humbucker Nickel

Seymour Duncan TB-PG1B Pearly Gates Trembucker Bridge Nickel

Seymour Duncan SH-PG1N Pearly Gates Humbucker Gold Cover

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Bridge Humbucker Nickel

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II for Firebird Bridge Pickup

Seymour Duncan SH-1N 59 Neck Humbucker Gold 4 Conductor

Seymour Duncan SH-2N Jazz Neck Humbucker Nickel

Seymour Duncan PATB-2 Distortion Parallel Axis Bridge Trembucker Humbucker

Seymour Duncan SH-6 Duncan Distortion Mayhem Set

Seymour Duncan SCR-1N Cool Rails for Stratocaster Neck Humbucker Black

Seymour Duncan 59 Vintage Blues Matched Humbucker Set

Seymour Duncan SP90-2N Hot Soapbar P90 Neck Black Cover

Seymour Duncan SH-8b Invader Humbucker Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan APH-1N Alnico II Pro Neck Humbucker Black

Seymour Duncan SL59-1B Little`59 Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan SH-1N 59 Neck Humbucker Black

Seymour Duncan Antiquity II for Firebird Neck Pickup

Seymour Duncan Antiquity P90 Soapbar Neck Cream Pickup

Seymour Duncan Antiquity P90 Soapbar Bridge Cream Pickup

Seymour Duncan Antiquity P90 Dog Ear Neck Pickup Black

Seymour Duncan SH-1 '59 2 Conductor Nickel Covered Neck Humbucker

Seymour Duncan SH-6N Duncan Distortion Neck Humbucker Zebra

Seymour Duncan 7 String Invader Bridge Black

Seymour Duncan SM-3N Seymourized Mini Humbucker Neck Nickel

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