Choosing the Right Pickup

Caution Sign NOTE: It is hard for us to recommend a pickup over the phone. Several factors must be considered to find the appropriate pickup for your guitar.

Ask yourself the following three questions.

  • First Question Icon What do you want from the pickup?
  • Second Question Icon Is your guitar bright or dark sounding? Thin or full?
  • Third Question Icon Is your amplifier bright or dark sounding? Thin or full?

The guitar woods, the amp, string gauge and their height are all of equal importance to the final sound of the pickup. We can only tell you what our pickups will sound like in the average guitar...not what they will sound like in your particular combination.

Pickups of all kinds will be stronger but darker with more turns of wire. Fewer turns will result in a more open, cleaner, and brighter pickup.

5% Overwind = 5% More Power - 5% Highs Graph

* Note:
5% (+) Overwind = 5% More Power, 5% More Mids, but 5% Less Highs
5% ( - ) Underwind = 5% Less Power, 5% Less Mids, but 5% More Highs

We understand that this process is not fool proof. This is why we offer our Exchange Policy.

It is best to make an educated choice as to which pickup you need. Please read Guitars and Pickups, Reviews, and user comments from places like Harmony Central.

Make your best decision knowing that if you don't love the tone I will exchange them. Once you have heard our pickups in your guitar we have a useful frame of reference about your particular instrument, amplifier and taste. All of our pickup pages indicate the best seller of each model and what it would sound like in the average guitar. This may be a lot of reading but will be well worth the effort when you get the tone you were looking for.

» Read and learn more about guitar pickups here