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Buying a New Electric Guitar

In our previous buying tip, we talked about getting in touch with your musical taste. Now that you know the kind of sound that you're looking for, we'll get into the wonderful world of electric guitar pickups!

What is a pickup?

The pickup is what makes the guitar electric (see guitar anatomy). A magnetic pickup is a coil of wire wrapped around a magnet(s). The vibration of the guitar string pushes and pulls the magnetic field through a stationary coil (definition by Fralin Pickups). This induces a signal which is then amplified.

The Single-Coil Pickup

The single-coil pickup was the first magnetic pickup to be invented. It is one magnetic that is wrapped with a coil of wire. There are quite a few styles of single-coil pickups:

1. Soapbar (P-90)- used on vintage Gibson guitars. These pickups sound great, but have low output (the electronic signal from the pickup). This low output means that the amplifier will have to be turned up louder to get to a reasonable volume. Also, if you're looking for a heavy distorted sound, this pickup wouldn't cut the mustard.
   
   
2. Lipstick Tube (Danelectro-style) - This is a very interesting looking and sounding pickup. Yes, it does look like a lipstick tube! Check out some more pictures and info - click here. These pickups are also found on Jerry Jones' guitars which are designed similarly to Danelectro guitars.
   
   
3. Fender Strat-type Single Coil - On the original Fender Stratocasters from the 1950's through the 1960's, these pickups sounded amazing. There was only one problem...60-cycle hum! They were very noisy. In the 1980's, Fender came out with a solution...The Lace Sensor Pickup. This retained the glassy, bell-like tone of the vintage Strat pickups while canceling the noise! I have a Stratocaster with Gold Lace Sensors and I love them!
   
   
4. Fender Telecaster-Style Single Coil - The original "Tele" pickups or Broadcaster (early form of the Telecaster) pickups were also very noisy, but they did sound amazing. Check for the Vintage Noiseless Tele pickup on the new Fender Telecasters.

There are other types of single-coil pickups, but the types listed here are the most popular. Click on "next" to view humbucking pickup information...

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