10 Best Coil Pickups
for December 2023

The Fender Tex-Mex Telecaster single-coil pickups are a terrific choice for anyone who wants traditional Telecaster tone, but wants it with more output. These pickups have a focused, punchy sound, with bright, clear highs and a pronounced bottom end. They sound great with all kinds of music, from blues to rock to country. The pickups are voiced to be bright and earthy, and they respond really well to overdrive. They sound even better with Fender's Deluxe Active EQ, which boosts the midrange and bass and cuts the highs a bit, shifting the pickup's tone toward a more traditional Telecaster sound.

The Metallor Single Coil Pickups for Strat Style Guitars are an excellent choice for players who want a tone that more closely resembles the sound and feel of a 50's-era Strat, but also want to take advantage of the additional output that machine-wound pickups offer. These pickups have a fat, warm tone that is perfect for blues, rock, hard rock, and classic rock. Like all Metallor pickups, these babies are wax potted, to reduce unwanted noise, and all coils are calibrated with the magnetic field to produce double the output inductance of regular single coils. Like all Metallor pickups, these have an adjustable pole piece, so you can adjust the tone of each pickup to your heart's content. The pickups are reverse wound, and opposed magnetic polarity, so you won't hear any hum canceling in switch positions 2 and 4. The pickups are easy to install, and have a 5 mm mounting hole, so any guitar with a 5 mm mounting hole will fit these pickups. The string spacing is 2.75 mm, which is the same spacing as the standard Strat bridge. These pickups are brand new, and backed by a 3 year warranty.

The DiMarzio ISCV2 Evolution Single Coil Pickup is a very versatile pickup, offering great sound in both bridge and neck positions. The Evolution humbucker sounds great in the bridge position, and the middle single-coil works well in the neck position, too. The humbucker sounds full and warm. The middle single-coil has a bright, clean tone, and the bridge humbucker sounds flat and punchy, with excellent sustain. The pickups are also east to install, with a self-adhesive backing. The pickups are a little on the loud side, so use ear protection if you plan to use both the Evolution humbucker and the middle single-coil. The ISCV2 Evolution Single Coil Pickup is very reasonably priced and performs well across the board.

The Wilkinson High Output Ceramic Strat Single Coil Pickups Set were our top pick for conventional Strat-style electric guitars, and they deliver more power and tone than cheaper sets. The pickups are potted in wax, so they maintain their tone longer than bare wire pickups, and they sound great on rock and metal. The set features three pickups: a high-output, hum-cancelling middle pickup (with reverse wound coils for hum cancellation), a hum-cancelling neck pickup, and a high-output bridge pickup. The bridge pickup is reverse wound, so it's hum-cancelling, and the middle pickup is reverse wound/reverse polarity, so it delivers a hum-cancelling feature. The pickups are wired in a conventional Strat style, so they're compatible with most Strat-style electric guitars. The set also includes 18 string spacing (for Strat style guitars) 12-42mm mounting plate, and 3-conductor cable. The Wilkinson High Output Ceramic Strat Single Coil Pickups Set also come with a 3-year warranty.

The Wilkinson M Series High Output Alnico 5 Strat Single Coil Pickups Set for Stratocaster Electric Guitar are one of the best-sounding single coils we've tested, and that high praise comes with some caveats. The M Series pickups are noisy, and they produce less output than higher-output pickups, so you'll need to compensate for that. But their tonal characteristics are stellar. These pickups deliver rich, well rounded tone throughout their entire range, and they don't sound harsh or brittle. They're a bit boomy, but in a good way, and they sound great when played clean or overdriven. The M Series pickups have a warm tone, so they work well with a wide range of guitars. They sound best with Fender American-style guitars, but they'll work well with other guitars as well. These pickups are easy to install, and they look great on Fender American-style guitars.

This set of Alnico V single coil pickups for Strat-style guitar are one of the best we've heard. The sound quality is clean and clear, and the playability is great. The set is very sensitive to touch and dynamics, and you can bend notes without fretting out. The Alnico V magnets are very strong, so they hold up well against heavy strumming. The pickup coils are wound with high-quality, 42AWG copper wire, and there's very little negative feedback. The set comes with push-pull tone controls, so you can switch between single-coil and humbucker sounds. The pickup set also has three-position switch for coil splitting. The pickups are wired to a standard 4-conductor guitar cable, so you can use them with any guitar with a 4-conductor output.

For the money, the Seymour Duncan STK-S2 Hot Single Coil Pickup Black Neck is one of the best pickups we've ever tested. The ceramic magnet in the single coil is more powerful than most, and it easily outperforms the magnets in the coils on most other brands. The pickup's output and dynamic range are impressive, too; it's clearly the best pickup in its price range. The pickup's tone is also more clear and articulate than any other pickup we tested. The STK-S2 pickup is very sensitive to string vibration, so it's a great choice for a guitarist who's looking for more tone-shaping options, such as more gain, less output, and different voicings. The pickup's single-coil design makes it ideal for both guitars with single coils and guitars with humbuckers, and it's compatible with both 9.5mm and 10mm mounting holes. The pickup is clear and articulate, with punchy bass and brilliant highs. The pickup has a solid sound that cuts through well, and punches well above its weight class. We also liked the pickup's price and performance. If you're looking for a pickup that offers more volume and punch than a typical single-coil pickup, but you don't want to spend a fortune, the Seymour Duncan STK-S2 Hot Single Coil Pickup Black Neck is a great choice.

The Seymour Duncan SSL1 Vintage Staggered Single Coil Pickup is an outstanding pickup for blues, classic rock and roots music. It offers not only high output, but also excellent harmonics. The SL-1 pickup has a very dynamic, full-bodied sound and responds very well to aggressive picking. Thanks to the staggered pole pieces, the pickup has a wide, balanced dynamic range and responds very well to dynamics. The pickup's tone is very tight and focused, making it suitable for both clean and overdriven sounds. The pickup has a wide dynamic range and responds very well to dynamics. The pickup's tone is very tight and focused, making it suitable for both clean and overdriven sounds. The pickup's tone is very versatile, and it responds very well to different kinds of amplifiers. The pickup has a smooth highs and mids, and has great low end response.

The Duncan SHR-1 Hot Rails is a revolutionary new pickup that capitalizes on the benefits of single-coil pickups and combines them with humbucker-style output. The hotter sounds you get from single coils are offset by the lower output humbucking effect you get from a bridge pickup. This setup gives you the best of both worlds: volume, tone, and responsiveness that match single-coil, with the humbucking output and string bend of a humbucker. The pickup is wired just like a normal humbucker, so you get the classic humbucker tone. The pickup has a wide, full sound with nice mids and highs. The pickup's tone is good with any type of guitar, and it sounds great with distortion and overdrive. The pickup's sound can sound a little muddy with clean chords, but it's very responsive to finger pressure, so it's easy to get buttery-smooth sounds with clean chords. The pickup's noise canceling effect is great for playing live, and the pickup has a very clear tone, so it's easy to pick out your notes even in noisy environments. The pickup has a flat frequency response, so it does sound a little "compressed" when it's maxed out, but that's to be expected with a pickup that's wired like a humbucker. The pickup's output is rated for 8 ohms, and it's compatible with most electric guitars, but some guitars, such as some Fenders, have Humbucker-style output circuits, and these guitars need a bridge pickup with 4- or 5-ohm impedance. The pickup's output is rated for 8 to 16 ohms, and it's compatible with most electric guitars, but some guitars, such as some Fenders, have Humbucker-style output circuits, and these guitars need a bridge pickup with 4- or 5-ohm impedance. The pickup's output is rated for 8 to 16 ohms, and it's compatible with most electric guitars, but some guitars, such as some Fenders, have Humbucker-style output circuits, and these guitars need a bridge pickup with 4- or 5-ohm impedance.

The Seymour Duncan SSL-3 Hot Strat Single Coil Pickup is designed for players looking for a little less output but more flexibility and tone, and it's one of the best choices among single coils. It has great clarity and crispness, and it responds well to high-gain amps. The pickup has an open-coil design, which helps it sustain well, and it's slightly louder than the Seymour Duncan SL-John Walden, another single coil pickup we used to review. The SSL-3 has a slightly warmer sound than the SL-John Walden, and the pickup's midrange is more responsive than Seymour Duncan's other single-coils. The SSL-3 doesn't have quite the same high end as the JB-1, but it's a nice compromise between clarity and warmth. The pickup is high quality, and it comes with Seymour Duncan's lifetime guarantee.