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How to Tell the Difference Between a Humbucker & Single Coil Pickups

Pickups are so named because they "pick up" the oscillations made by guitar strings and convert them to electronic impulses used to generate sound through an amplification system. Pickups come in various forms like magnetic, piezoelectric and resonance styles. Single-coil and humbucker pickups are magnetic pickups and must be used with steel strings. These pickups consist of a magnet wrapped in a coil of wire. One coiled magnet is known as a single-coil pickup. Two coiled magnets placed side-by-side are called a humbucker pickup because the reverse polarity created by humbuckers reduces or "bucks" the hum associated with single coils.

Instructions

    • 1

      Locate the pickups underneath the strings in the area where the guitar is strummed.

    • 2

      Look for a single-coil pickup by searching for a slightly raised, oblong object set on the body of the guitar and running perpendicular underneath all six strings. Note that there may be more than one single-coil pickup. If so they will spaced a few inches apart.

    • 3

      Look for covered humbucker pickups by searching for a rectangular, slightly raised metal cover attached to the top of the guitar body underneath the strings. There may be more than one such cover.

    • 4

      Look for uncovered humbucker pickups by searching for a pair of single-coil pickups placed directly adjacent to each other. There may be more than one such pair.

    • 5

      Listen to the sound each kind of pickup makes to identify them, noting that humbucker pickups offer more output and warmth, and less overall interference, while single-coil pickups have a brighter, more attacking sound and are susceptible to interference from surrounding electronics.

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