Guitar Pickups 101 - Here's Eveything You Need To know!

Here's a few things I wish I knew this before buying my first guitar, so hopefully it helps! Follow along as I look at some of the most common pickup layouts!
If you enjoyed this video, be sure to like and subscribe to the channel :)

AFFORDABLE STRAT LINKS (Affiliate)
SQUIER SSS:
SQUIER HSS:
SQUIER HH:
FENDER HSH:

DARRELL'S GUITARS & GEAR LIST!

T-SHIRT STORE:

TAB STORE:
Songs, Lesson Worksheets, and Guitar Techniques!

MY AMPS:

PATREON:
Become a Patron to be eligible for exclusive Gear Give-Aways and Lesson TABs!

ALBUM:
iTunes:

FAVORITE FRET-END FILE:

OTHER FAVOURITE GEAR:
*Links to gear in the video description may contain affiliate links

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

[DarrellBraunGuitar]

It can be very overwhelming trying to buy a guitar for the first time! Hopefully this pickup 101 guide will help new buyers and players narrow it down! Enjoy :)

[tejjensen]

Now, as a 70 year old, I bought a Squier Stratocaster. Have never had a guitar but am a big Hank Marvin fan, so most people here know what I want to try to play. Everybody says. You will never learn that before your last sigh !!! (at least 20 people) But i will then try.
I see many hours of your incredible knowledge Darrall. Thank you.

[thequantumvacuum]

The best guitar to buy is one of each.

[RCSmiths]

Hey man, different pickups do give different results. The possibilities are endless in this day and age of guitar!

[joshuamichael]

Darrell gets an automatic thumbs up from me just for being so happy. I couldn't imagine him in a bad mood, and quite frankly, I couldn't imagine myself in a bad mood if I had his job hahah.

[sdw-hvko]

Been playing guitar for 15 years and never knew any of this stuff LOL. I've always been intimidated by gear and tech but I know it's something I have to learn in order to improve my tone. This video is super awesome—concise, instructive, easy to understand. Great stuff!

[glenngardin]

I've got both a Les Paul and a Tele with splitable humbuckers and neither sound like true single coils. This is why people end up with half a dozen guitars! Thanks for another great video Darrell!

[PressuredSpeechBand]

This guy knows how to get information across without a bunch of filler. Can't wait to see the other videos!

[manuele.itriagom.]

I think a great option for someone that's only going to own one guitar is good humbuckers with coil splitting. It's not the same as single coil when split, but it gives so many options.

That's what I'm rocking right now and it's the best decision I've made since I own only one guitar.

[Hiro.the.God.]

Thank you Darrell. You don’t know how important your channel has been for me in my guitar learning journey. You answer all the noob questions and then some. Watching your channel is free, and that makes it an absolute steal.

[EpicCultureClash]

Found this channel by me buy and start practicing guitar guy is just a bundle of positive energy !!!

[chrisggoodwin]

Being primarily a bass player, I tend to gravitate towards humbuckers. I prefer the lows and mids in my tone, and my particular guitars shine clearly without getting overly muddy, even when driven. Since I play a 5 string bass, I actually just bought a 7 string guitar to get the low B without losing the high E or messing with alternate tunings. I've got a serious case of the G.A.S. lol

[Metalbass]

I prefer, strongly, especially for beginners, an H - S - H pickup layout. This gives you the crunching humbucker in the bridge position the warm, sweet, and full humbucker in the neck position, as well as a single coil in a great position to use by itself as a single coil or use in combination in phase and out of phase with either humbucker, each one having a different, but very useful, tone. In 3 pickup Gibson type pickup layouts a Humbucker - P90 - Humbucker set is very much my preference. Just as good of a collection of tones, if not even better.

[nsp]

Two things I would add to what Darrel explains in the video:

1) If you are a new player buying your first guitar, you may want to stay away from active pickups (Seymour Duncan Blackouts, EMGs, etc.). They are great for high gain styles, but not so adequate for everything else.

2) While I do agree with most if not all of Darrell's views in the video, you may want to prioritize a guitar that is comfortable to play (well set up, neck is not sticky, body shape lets your picking arm comfortably, etc.) over a guitar with a certain set of pickups.

If there is a certain tone that you want to achieve, you will be able to do so with most pickups (with active pickups being the exception, hence point 1 above) just by dialing your amp. So I would say guitar choice is a matter of ergonomics, and amp choice is a matter of tone.

[hazmansharuddin]

It took me quite some time to appreciate the humbucker on the bridge. I love the warmth of humbucker on neck. Now i love both.

[AbhisekChakravorty]

HSH has been my favourite pick up layout from a long long time,

[cjgrasser]

My first guitar when I was 8 years old was a Harmony Rocket, bought new in the 60's. I used it through college and after graduating I stopped playing until I was 59. The Rocket was too noisy to play with all the electronics around. The Humdebugger pedal did a pretty good job at noise reduction but I decided to get a Strat. I couldn't afford one when I was younger but now I could and my next guitar was a Fender VG Made in Mexico. I love that guitar for two reasons, It allows me to simulate the Tele sound and Humbucker sound. It also provides 12 string simulation and switchable alternate tunings, like Drop-D. The second reason is that it was only available for a year or two and Fender discontinued it. So I rekindled my interest at just the right time to pick this gem up. It is now worth 4 times what I paid for it. A couple years ago, as a birthday present my wife bought me an ESP with active humbucker pickups which were split coils. I like playing both. (She bought it based on the style of the body)

Darrell should expand this topic to include solid vs hollow bodies and passive vs active pickups. Thanks for the video.

[aaronsams]

Great stuff as always. My first (and only) electric guitar is an HSS Yamaha Pacifica. It was recommended to me by one of the guys at my local used guitar shop, and I haven't regretted it one bit.

[tredogzs]

I have NO idea how to play guitar or even own one... but I LOVE these videos! What is wrong with me!

[john_pryce]

I recently picked up a Fender ‘Blacktop’ Stratocaster, which has three humbuckers! It’s amazing !!