oma-with-cookies

Served with love!

With our cookies we would like to offer you the best shopping experience possible with everything that goes with it. This includes, for example, suitable offers, personalized ads and remembering preferences. If this is okay with you, simply agree to the use of cookies for preferences, statistics and marketing by clicking on "Alright!" (show all).
You can withdraw your consent at anytime via the cookie settings (here)
Imprint · Privacy Policy
To the page content
Guitars and Basses

Pickups

Electric Guitar Pickups
Electric Guitar Pickups
Bass Pickups
Bass Pickups
Acoustic Guitar Pickups
Acoustic Guitar Pickups
Miscellaneous Pickups
Miscellaneous Pickups
All products from this category
Skip this section
Skip this section
Skip this section
Skip this section
Skip this section
Skip this section

A buyer's guide to pickups for electric guitar, bass, and acoustic guitar

The term pickup refers to the component of a stringed instrument that captures (or "picks up") the vibrations produced by the strings or wood and converts them into electrical signals. A pickup is always required when playing a guitar or bass through an electric guitar amp, a bass amp, or an acoustic guitar amp. Fortunately, all electric guitars and electric basses come equipped with one or more pickups and many acoustic guitars, classical guitars, and ukuleles are also sold with a built-in pickup system. A wide range of systems is available from Thomann for acoustic guitars without pickups, which sometimes do not require professional retrofitting. Furthermore, players looking to change or enhance the sound of their electric guitar or electric bass may opt to replace the pickups. As it can be difficult to predict how a pickup will sound, Thomann also offers a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee on pickup purchases for electric guitars, basses, and acoustic guitars, to ensure a risk-free and stress-free shopping experience.

Thomann's online guide to electric guitar pickups provides detailed answers to all questions related to purchasing a pickup, and our knowledgeable Thomann Guitar Department is also on hand to offer advice and support at gitarre@thomann.de or by phone at +49 (0)9546-9223-20.

Our comprehensive buyer's guide explains which pickups suit which instruments and describes their key differences.

Single coil pickup, inside view

What types of pickups are there?

Magnetic pickups

Electric guitars and electric basses almost always use magnetic pickups, which consist of a magnet and a coil. These pickups capture string vibrations and convert them into electric voltage. A pickup with just one coil is known as a single coil, while a pickup with two coils is known as a humbucker. Although technically a single coil pickup, the P-90 has a category of its own due to its shape. Pickups in electric guitars and electric basses are screw-mounted to the guitar's body and connected to the electronics (switches, potentiometers, and jack) via a wiring harness. The pickups can be easily replaced, especially as their dimensions are largely standardised. Magnetic pickups are also available for steel-string acoustic instruments such as acoustic guitars but are not compatible with classical guitars and ukuleles, which use nylon strings.

Piezo

Piezo pickups, consisting of a ceramic strip and typically installed in the bridge, convert mechanical pressure differences and structure-borne sound into electric voltage and work with all acoustic string instruments. Many acoustic guitars, classical guitars, and ukuleles are already fitted with piezo pickups, which usually require active (battery-powered) preamps. These preamps, located in the side or soundhole of the guitar, often feature sound control and tuning facilities. Retrofitting these pickup systems typically requires specialist expertise.

Transducers

A transducer or contact pickup works like a piezo pickup but is more straightforward to retrofit. Typically comprising a self-adhesive contact surface and a jack, transducers can be applied anywhere on the instrument's surface. Also suitable for ukuleles, banjos, and mandolins, transducers are ideal for beginners exploring the world of acoustic sound capture and often do not require batteries.

Pickups for electric guitars

Electric guitar pickups are divided into three categories: humbuckers, single coil pickups, and P-90 pickups. Below is a brief overview of their main characteristics:

Single coils

  • One coil
  • Clear, bright sound
  • Traditionally installed in T-style (e.g. Fender Telecaster) and ST-style (e.g. Fender Stratocaster) guitars
  • Ideal for Pop, Funk, Blues, and clean or overdriven Rock sounds
  • Prone to noise interference

Humbucker

  • Two coils
  • Warm, powerful sound
  • Ideal for clean Jazz sounds and heavily distorted Hard Rock or Metal sounds
  • Traditionally installed in single cut guitars (e.g. Gibson Les Paul), double cut guitars (e.g. Gibson SG), and heavy guitars
  • Less prone to noise interference

P-90

  • One coil
  • Powerful single coil in a larger housing
  • Dynamic sound, between a single coil and humbucker
  • Traditionally installed in guitars like the Gibson Les Paul Junior

In addition to this broad classification, there are many subcategories of pickups for electric guitars, including humbuckers in single coil format, active pickups, and pickups for seven and eight-string guitars.

More detailed information can be found in the buyer's guide to pickups for electric guitars.

Pickups for acoustic guitars

Magnetic pickups, piezo pickups, transducers, or special microphones for acoustic guitars are recommended for amplifying acoustic instruments. Here is a brief overview:

Magnetic pickups

  • Warm sound
  • Easy to install (in the soundhole)
  • Minimal transmission of body noise
  • Not suitable for nylon strings

Piezo pickups

  • Bright sound
  • More difficult to install
  • Typically requires an active preamp (with battery)
  • Transmit solid-borne sound
  • Work with all acoustic string instruments

Transducers

  • Balanced sound pattern
  • Easy to install
  • Weak output level (without preamp)
  • Flexible placement
  • Work with all acoustic string instruments

Microphones for acoustic guitars

  • Euthentic sound reproduction
  • Ideal for recording
  • Typically not permanently installed
  • Prone to ambient noise and feedback

Many guitarists rely on a combination of different pickup systems, and some manufacturers offer ready-made combinations (such as microphone and piezo) in their products.

A detailed description of the characteristics and applications of these pickups can be found in the Buyer’s guide to pickups for acoustic guitars.

DiMarzio DP100 BK
DiMarzio DP100 BK humbucker

What pickups are available for electric basses?

J-bass/P-bass pickups

Bass pickups are also divided into single coils with one coil and humbuckers with two coils. In these applications, too, single coils deliver a clear, open tone, while humbuckers deliver a thick, powerful tone. J-basses (named after the Fender Jazz Bass) traditionally feature two single coils. P-basses (named after the Fender Precision Bass), on the other hand, use a split coil pickup – a humbucker consisting of two "half" coils, where the front coil covers the E and A strings and the rear coil covers the D and G strings. Many manufacturers combine these two pickup types to cover the broadest possible sound range. Active pickups are more common in electric basses than in electric guitars. These require a battery-powered preamp and are often combined with an extensive set of EQ controls.

Further information can be found in our Buyer’s guide to bass pickups.

Thomann’s online guide to bass pickups provides detailed answers to all questions related to purchasing a pickup, and our knowledgeable Thomann Guitar Department is also on hand to offer advice and support at gitarre@thomann.de or by phone at +49 (0)9546-9223-20.

When should I replace pickups?

Pickups should be replaced if they are defective or the sound no longer meets expectations. Pickups are typically very robust and have a long life expectancy, sometimes equalling the guitar's longevity. Although there is some debate over whether the quality of a magnetic pickup diminishes over years or decades, there is, by definition, no such thing as a "worn-out" pickup. Pickups can, however, become oversensitive to noise due to an internal defect, or fail completely, rendering a replacement necessary. Replacing a pickup can also optimise or modify an instrument's sound quality.

Can I replace pickups myself?

Anyone with technical skill and experience using a soldering iron can typically fit and remove magnetic pickups. Manufacturers such as Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, and EMG provide wiring schematics for this purpose on their websites. Classic circuits, like those in a Fender Telecaster or a Gibson Les Paul, tend to be reasonably straightforward. However, arrangements featuring multiple humbuckers and split functions using push/pull potentiometers or switches for parallel/series operation can be more complex. In such instances, expert advice may be required. As acoustic pickup replacement typically involves structural changes to the instrument, specialist intervention may also be necessary here.

How do I adjust my pickups?

Magnetic and piezo pickups usually have fixed positions and can only be adjusted via EQ controls. However, the distance from the strings is critical for magnetic pickups, with optimum heights ranging from 2.5 to 3.5mm, measured from the top of the pickup polepiece to the bottom of the strings. The height is adjusted using two screws around the edge of the pickup and affects both volume and sound, which can be tailored to suit personal preferences and a balanced sound pattern achieved with different pickup positions. The position can significantly affect transducer pickups and internal microphones. Once again, experimentation is recommended for achieving optimum placement, with a central position behind the bridge often making a good starting point for transducers.