You may be wondering what the best electric guitar pickups are. This is subjective, and you may have to do some trial-and-error before you find pickups that work for you.
The type of guitar that you use and your individual playing style will influence your choice of pickups for your instrument. This electric pickup guide will help you pick out a decent set if you’re not sure what to get.
Quick Look: Best Electric Guitar Pickups
★ #1 Best Electric Guitar Pickup Overall: Fender Shawbucker ★
- Best Cheap Electric Guitar Pickup: Dimarzio DP184 Chopper
- Best Electric Guitar Pickup Under $500: EMG Super 77
- Best Electric Guitar Pickup Under $100: EMG SA Single Coil
- Best Rock Electric Guitar Pickup: Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz
- Best Heavy Metal Electric Guitar Pickup: EMG JH James Hetfield
I’ve selected a wide range of pickups, and some of them I’ve used in the past. I find these all to be excellent choices with great tones that you’re going to enjoy.
What Is an Electric Guitar Pickup?
An electric guitar pickup is a device that amplifies the sound of your electric instrument. You won’t get enough sound out of it for anyone to hear without pickups installed.
The quality of the sound that you get out of your electric guitar depends on the type of pickups that you have. A good set of pickups can make a world of difference in how good your instrument sounds.
Types of Electric Guitar Pickups
There are two main types of electric guitar pickups that you need to be aware of. All electric guitars feature these types of pickups. Sometimes they have only one type of pickup, or they could have a combination.
The type of pickup all depends upon the make and model of your instrument. You could also put your own pickups in your guitar if you have the skills to do so.
Single Coil Pickups
Single coil pickups are the type of pickup you’ll find in a Stratocaster style guitar. These have a warm and pleasant tone. They’re good for playing light distortion, and they excel when you play them clean.
This pickup is often used for light rock, country, and blues guitar. There’s a wide range of different single coil pickups that you can get for your electric guitar.
Humbucking Pickups
At the other end of the spectrum is the humbucking pickup. These are designed for blues, hard rock, metal, and similar styles of music. They sound best when played with distortion.
This is the typical type of pickup that you’ll find in a Gibson style guitar. There’s a wide range of humbucking pickups that you’ll find on the market.
Combination
On some instruments, you may have a combination of both humbucking and single coil pickups. This gives you the advantage of being able to play a wide range of music.
For example, I have a Fender HSS Stratocaster. This guitar uses one humbucking pickup and two single coil pickups, so I get a wide range of sounds out of it.
Things to Consider When Choosing an Electric Guitar Pickup
There are a few factors that you must consider before you buy the best electric guitar pickup for your instrument.
Here are a few points to keep in mind before you buy.
Guitar Style
You should have a good idea of the sound that you’re looking for. If you want to play blues guitar, you might want to go with a single-coil pickup.
If you’re more of a metal player, you probably want to get some humbucking pickups. You may also want to get a combination of pickups if you decide on a custom guitar.
Output Level
The output level of your pickups is also important. Pickups with a high output level are more suited for distorted sounds. A pickup with a lower level is suited to mellower sounds.
Price
A good set of guitar pickups will cost you a couple hundred dollars. You don’t want to buy pickups that cost less than this because you won’t get the sound you want.
10 Best Electric Guitar Pickups
Here are the top 10 best electric guitar pickups that you can get for your instrument. These are my own personal selections. You may have different pickups that you like. I find that these are all great pickups to own.
1. Fender Pure Vintage 65
- Type: Single coil
- Number: 3 x single coil
- Active/passive: Passive
- Magnet material: Alnico
- Best for: Strat-style guitars and vintage sounds
Fender Pure Vintage 65 single coil pickups are a great option for a Strat-style guitar. They use Alnico magnets and have an excellent tone. You’ll get rich and warm sounds out of these pickups.
✅ Classic 65 Strat tones
✅ Dynamic response
✅ 3 pickups in the set
✅ Less microphonic issues
❌ Expensive
❌ Not ideal for modern tones
Why I Recommend It
If you’re looking for vintage Strat tones, you’ll get them with the Fender Pure Vintage 65 single-coil pickups. They have an excellent tone for anyone looking to recreate classic Fender sounds from the past.
I like the sound of the 65 Strat pickups. These are great for most rock and blues sounds. They’re built to vintage specifications, so you’ll get that vintage tone that you want when you install these pickups.
2. Seymour Duncan APH-2 Pro Slash
- Type: Humbucking
- Number: 2 x humbucking
- Active/passive: Passive
- Magnet material: Alnico II
- Best for: Rock guitar players
For those looking to create hard rock sounds similar to Slash from Guns N’ Roses, the Seymour Duncan APH-2Pro Slash humbuckers are the way to go. These have an excellent tone for most hard rock.
✅ Great rock tones
✅ Two pickups
✅ Alnico magnets
✅ Moderate output
❌ Expensive
❌ Could use more output
Why I Recommend It
I like the Pro Slash humbuckers from Seymour Duncan. They’re great rock-stye pickups and suitable for most situations unless you’re playing heavier metal styles. They have decent output and a superior tone.
This set comes with some nice accessories such as guitar picks and a tuner, so you’ll save money. These pickups will improve the tone of any guitar that uses humbucking pickups and are well worth the investment.
3. EMG JH James Hetfield Humbuckers
- Type: Humbucking
- Number: 2 x humbucking
- Active/passive: Active
- Magnet material: Alnico
- Best for: Classic metal guitar players
For those that like the tones of James Hetfield from Metallica, the EMG JH Humbuckers are a solid set to buy. These have a high output, which is perfect for many hard rock and classic metal styles.
✅ High output
✅ Solid tone
✅ Easy installation
✅ Two pickups
❌ High cost
❌ Not ideal for some styles
Why I Recommend It
I like these pickups because they have an active tone with the clarity of passive pickups. They feature solderless install, so they’re relatively simple to put in your guitar. They have a nice low end for chunky metal riffs.
These are patterned after pickups that James Hetfield used for 30 years, so you can recreate many Metallica-style tones with them in your own guitar. These are the perfect set for the metal and rock fan.
4. Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz Pickups
- Type: Humbucker
- Number: 2 x humbucker
- Active/passive: Passive
- Magnet material: Alnico V
- Best for: Those that want versatile pickups
If you like high output pickups, you’ll love the JB and Jazz Pickup set from Seymour Duncan. These pickups cover most guitar styles well, and they produce amazing tones that you’ll love.
✅ 2 pickup set
✅ Great for many styles
✅ Matched pickups
✅ Alnico V magnets
❌ A little expensive
❌ Not ideal for some tones
Why I Recommend It
This pickup set provides you with two superior pickups. The JB is more for rock-style sounds, while the jazz can cover almost any style. They have the tone that you want out of humbucking pickups.
This is a classic pickup combination created by Seymour Duncan and is well worth the price tag. These are great choices for your electric guitar. They’ll provide you with almost limitless humbucking sounds.
5. DiMarzio DP184 Chopper
- Type: Humbucker
- Number: 1 x humbucker
- Active/passive: Passive
- Magnet material: Ceramic
- Best for: Strat-style guitars
The DiMarzio DP184 Chopper is an excellent pickup if you have a Strat-style guitar and you don’t like the regular single coils that it comes with. These pickups have extra output, which is perfect for harder rock styles.
✅ Solid output
✅ Works for all positions
✅ Good low end
✅ Better than regular single coil
❌ Expensive for one pickup
❌ Not suitable for some styles
Why I Recommend It
Single-coil pickups are usually not that great for playing rock music. The DiMarzio Chopper Pickup is an excellent pickup to put in your Strat guitar. It looks like a regular single-coil pickup but has the sound of a humbucker.
This means you don’t have to change the routing on your electric guitar. You can simply replace your original single-coil pickup with his humbucker and have an excellent tone. It’s a great choice for any rock guitar player.
6. EMG Active SA Single Coil Pickup
- Type: Single coil
- Number: 1 x single coil
- Active/passive: Active
- Magnet material: Alnico V
- Best for: Strat-style guitars
Regular Stratocaster style pickups sound nice, but they can be kind of limiting. The EMG Active SA Single Coil Pickup by EMG offers you more sounds out of your single coil pickup. You’ll be able to play more types of music with this pickup.
✅ Great bottom end
✅ Noiseless operation
✅ Perfect for many styles
✅ Easy to install
❌ Only one pickup
❌ Expensive
Why I Recommend It
EMG makes some nice pickups whether you’re using humbuckers or single coils. I like the single coil pickups for a Strat style guitar because they’re much better than some of the regular Strat pickups.
You’ll get good output with this pickup and a nice bottom, and so it’s perfect for playing chunky rhythms for rock guitar. This pickup is also relatively easy to install.
7. Fender Tex-Mex Single Coil
- Type: Single coil
- Number: 3 x single coil
- Active/passive: Passive
- Magnet material: Alnico V
- Best for: Strat-style guitars
If you’re not happy with the sound of your Strat-style pickups, grab a set of the Fender Tex-Mex Single Coils. You’ll get great Stratocaster sound from a low-cost set of pickups. This is a great option for those that don’t have a lot of money.
✅ Great Strat tone
✅ 3 pickups in set
✅ Low price
✅ Balanced output
❌ Not ideal for some styles
❌ Some had quality issues
Why I Recommend It
I’m impressed with the sound of the Fender Tex-Mex pickups. In fact, I have a set in one of my guitars. They have a decent tone, and you can get a lot of sounds out of them.
While they might not be the best choice for hard rock or heavy metal, they’re perfect for jazz, blues, country, and similar styles. These pickups will improve the sound of your Strat by a wide margin.
8. EMG Super 77 Retro Humbuckers
- Type: Humbucking
- Number: 2 x humbucking
- Active/passive: Active
- Magnet material: Ceramic
- Best for: Gibson style guitars
For a great set of humbucking pickups to improve the sound of your Gibson style guitar, try this set of the EMG super 77 retro humbuckers. These have an excellent tone and are ideal if you want to play vintage rock.
✅ Vintage sound
✅ Two in set
✅ Versatile
✅ Noise-free signal
❌ Expensive
❌ A bit muddy at higher gain settings
Why I Recommend It
I like the EMG super 77 retro pickup, which is ideal for many rock guitar styles. They may not be the best fit for heavy metal, but they do a great job when it comes to classic rock from the ’60s, ’70s, and beyond.
Dial your gain back to below ten, and it should sound a little bit better. They’re still ideal for blues, rock, country, and a lot of similar styles. They have a great tone to them, which you’re going to love.
9. Fender Shawbucker
- Type: Humbucking
- Number: 1 x humbucking
- Active/passive: Passive
- Magnet material: Alnico
- Best for: Strat or Gibson style guitars
The Fender Shawbucker is an excellent humbucking pickup. You can create a wide range of classic tones with his pickup, as well as modern tones. If you want to spice up the sound of your guitar, this is an excellent one to buy.
✅ Great tone
✅ Good price
✅ Easy to install
✅ Reduced noise
❌ It may not appeal to everyone
❌ Only one in the box
Why I Recommend It
I own a Fender HSS Stratocaster, and it comes with two single coils as well as the Fender Shawbucker. I find this to be an excellent pickup for many styles of music. I can play blues, rock, funk, and even some metal with this pickup.
It’s a nice versatile humbucker that can expand the playability of your guitar. I also like the fact that this pickup doesn’t cost a whole lot of money. I recommend it to anyone looking for a humbucking style sound.
10. EMG Kirk Hammett Bone Breaker
- Type: Humbucking
- Number: 2 x humbucking
- Active/passive: Passive
- Magnet material: Alnico/ceramic
- Best for: Strat or Gibson style guitars
For superior rock and heavy metal tones for your guitar, grab a set of EMG Kirk Hammett Bone Breaker humbuckers. These have an excellent tone for that type of music and are a great choice.
✅ Two pickup set
✅ Great for rock/metal
✅ Big tone
✅ Perfect for lead and rhythm
❌ Expensive
❌ Not ideal for some styles
Why I Recommend It
EMG makes a wide range of excellent pickups. The Kirk Hammett Bone Breaker humbuckers are the perfect option if you want to improve the tone of your guitar with a pair of excellent humbucking pickups.
These pickups have high gain for lead solos as well as lower tones for crunchy rhythms. You get the best of both worlds when you order this pickup set.
Best Electric Guitar Pickup Brands
There are several manufacturers of guitar pickups that you should be aware of. Here are some of the better brands that you should be buying.
Seymour Duncan
This is an American company that has been in the pickup production business since 1976. They make a wide range of both humbucking and single coil pickups for all of your guitars.
EMG
Since 1976 EMG has been making pickups. This company is a great choice if you’re looking for high output pickups for rock guitar or heavy metal.
Dimarzio
DiMarzio has been making pickups since 1975. They also make several other guitar accessories, but they’re best known for their excellent pickups.
Fender
Besides the factory pickups on your Fender electric guitar, Fender also offers a wide range of replacement pickups that can improve the sound of your instrument.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Here is a list of frequently asked questions that people ask about guitar pickups.
How Much Do Electric Guitar Pickups Cost?
Electric guitar pickups, on average, cost a couple hundred dollars. You can get a few sets under this price range, but typically you should expect to spend a couple hundred on your pickups.
What Are the Best Electric Guitar Pickups?
Here is a list of three of the best electric guitar pickups. Please keep in mind that this is my own personal selection. You’ll probably have pickups that you like depending upon the style that you play.
What Is the Best Pickup for Me?
The type of pickup that you buy really depends upon the style of music that you want to play. If you play rock or heavy metal, I recommend that you always use humbucking pickups because they’re better with distortion.
If you play more mellow styles such as blues, country, or light rock, you’re probably going to want to go with single coil pickups.
Sometimes it’s better to have a guitar set up for a particular style and then use another guitar with the right pickups for the other styles you want to play.
EMG Kirk Hammett Bonebreaker: Best for Metal
The EMG Kirk Hammett Bonebreaker set is the perfect choice for heavy metal and rock guitar styles. You’ll be able to recreate a wide range of heavy metal tones and hard rock sounds with these excellent humbucking pickups.
Fender Shawbucker: Best for Blues and Rock
I like the Fender Shawbucker as it’s a well-rounded humbucking pickup for most rock and blues styles. It has a decent sound, and it can really spice up the sound of a regular Stratocaster once it’s installed.
Fender Pure Vintage 65: Best for Vintage Stratocaster Tones
The Fender Pure Vintage 65 set of three single coil pickups will improve the sound of your Stratocaster if you choose to replace the regular single coils with these. They have a great sound and can recreate many tones from the past.
Where Are the Best Electric Guitar Pickups Made?
Most electric guitar pickups are made in the United States by major manufacturers such as DiMarzio, EMG, Seymour Duncan, and Fender.
Where to Buy Electric Guitar Pickups
Here are the major locations where you can buy electric guitar pickups. In general, it’s easier to buy pickups online because you’ll have a wide selection to choose from.
Amazon
Amazon is a great option for finding a set of pickups. They have low prices, excellent shipping, and customer service that you can rely on. I make a lot of purchases from Amazon since I like to read customer reviews.
Online Music Retailers
Sweetwater and Guitar Center are two places where you might want to purchase a set of pickups. They have a wide selection of pickups, great prices, and customer service that you can rely on.
Your Local Music Store
You can always visit your local music store to purchase your pickups. Please note that there probably won’t be a wide range of products at your local music store as they can’t stock everything you may want.
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In Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this best electric guitar pickups guide. There’s a wide range of different pickups on the market. These are just some of my personal favorite choices.
The type of pickup you buy will depend on what you want to play and your individual style. You may have to try a couple of sets of pickups until you find something that you like.
Please comment on this article, share it with your friends, and ask me any questions that you have about the guitar. I look forward to hearing from you. Now, go plug in your guitar and start rocking.
