Another important aspect of electric guitar playing is learning how to make the most of the different sounds available from the various pickup settings. These will vary from one guitar to the next, as some have three single coil pickups (shown below), others have two double coil humbucking pickups (often called humbuckers – also shown below) while others have various combinations of these two basic types. Single coil pickups originally came from Fender guitars like the Stratocaster. They have a bright, crisp and sometimes cutting quality. Humbuckers came from Gibson guitars like the Les Paul. They have a fatter more beefy sound. Today there are many companies making variations on these basic pickup types. Each one has it’s own sound and everyone has their own preference. Many professional guitarists use more than one guitar, each with different pickups, to give them different sounds for different songs, especially when recording.
The following example demonstrates the sound of the two basic types of pickups. The first time through the example is played on a guitar with single coil pickups; the second time it is played on a guitar with double coil humbuckers. Listen to the CD to hear the different tonal qualities.