The perfect pickup for you is the one that helps your guitar or bass sound exactly the way you want. Does your guitar sound massive in your bedroom, but puny onstage? Does your bass have enough presence to cut through heavy guitars? Do sustained notes dry up just when you wish they’d blossom into feedback? These are just a few examples of problems the right pickup can solve.

If you haven’t experimented with different pickups, you might not realize how dramatically the right pickup can improve the sound of an instrument. Even if you like the way your current pickups sound, it might be worthwhile to audition guitars or basses similar to yours, but outfitted with different pickups. If you find yourself experiencing “tone envy,” perhaps you should consider replacement pickups. This is especially true if you love the look and feel of your instrument, but wish it sounded better – or just different.