Guitar Pickups

Passive and Active Pickups for Stringed Instruments

Good guitar pickups enhance your musical magic. The pickup is what takes the string vibrations and turns them into electrical signals that your amplifier can use. Different pickups also convert and decode the frequencies in different ways, which can alter the tone of an amplified instrument so it sounds the way you want it to.

Strings and Beyond carries an array of simple and professional guitar pickups for your acoustic or electric guitar — or even your mandolin, ukulele or viola. We make it easy to upgrade your instrument with a new guitar pickup or add one to an instrument that didn’t come with a pickup.

Active or Passive Pickups

You’ll need to decide between an active pickup vs. a passive pickup when buying one for your instrument. Passive pickups are sensitive to string vibrations, giving your music a broader range. Many folk and unplugged performers prefer a passive acoustic guitar pickup for this reason. The signal from a passive guitar pickup is not as strong, thus requiring a powerful amplifier to be heard in large performance spaces.

Active guitar pickups provide a cleaner sound with less feedback through the amp and have a strong signal, giving you more versatility in what amp you select. These pickups also can handle higher distortion levels and will improve the tone of a lower-quality guitar. However, they tend to be more expensive than passive pickups, and they also require a battery or other electrical source to operate — you don’t want that going dead mid-show.

The Best Guitar Pickup Brands

Our team can help you select the best acoustic guitar pickup for your needs. Fishman Electronics has been a leader in guitar pickups for more than 25 years and provides acoustic pickups and preamps for several top guitar makers. Strings and Beyond carries top-quality Fishman products, including active and passive sound hole guitar pickups, under saddle pickups and the Classic Series M-100 Mandolin pickup. Whether you play brass, steel or nylon strings, we have the right pickup to amplify your guitar.

In addition, at Strings and Beyond, you'll find LR Braggs mandolin pickups, Fender electric guitar pickups, Realist SoundClip violin pickups and a range of other options for steel strings, classical guitar and more. In-stock pickups ship the same business day — and for free on U.S. orders over $35.

Passive and Active Pickups for Stringed Instruments

Good guitar pickups enhance your musical magic. The pickup is what takes the string vibrations and turns them into electrical signals that your amplifier can use. Different pickups also convert and decode the frequencies in different ways, which can alter the tone of an amplified instrument so it sounds the way you want it to.

Strings and Beyond carries an array of simple and professional guitar pickups for your acoustic or electric guitar — or even your mandolin, ukulele or viola. We make it easy to upgrade your instrument with a new guitar pickup or add one to an instrument that didn’t come with a pickup.

Active or Passive Pickups

You’ll need to decide between an active pickup vs. a passive pickup when buying one for your instrument. Passive pickups are sensitive to string vibrations, giving your music a broader range. Many folk and unplugged performers prefer a passive acoustic guitar pickup for this reason. The signal from a passive guitar pickup is not as strong, thus requiring a powerful amplifier to be heard in large performance spaces.

Active guitar pickups provide a cleaner sound with less feedback through the amp and have a strong signal, giving you more versatility in what amp you select. These pickups also can handle higher distortion levels and will improve the tone of a lower-quality guitar. However, they tend to be more expensive than passive pickups, and they also require a battery or other electrical source to operate — you don’t want that going dead mid-show.

The Best Guitar Pickup Brands

Our team can help you select the best acoustic guitar pickup for your needs. Fishman Electronics has been a leader in guitar pickups for more than 25 years and provides acoustic pickups and preamps for several top guitar makers. Strings and Beyond carries top-quality Fishman products, including active and passive sound hole guitar pickups, under saddle pickups and the Classic Series M-100 Mandolin pickup. Whether you play brass, steel or nylon strings, we have the right pickup to amplify your guitar.

In addition, at Strings and Beyond, you'll find LR Braggs mandolin pickups, Fender electric guitar pickups, Realist SoundClip violin pickups and a range of other options for steel strings, classical guitar and more. In-stock pickups ship the same business day — and for free on U.S. orders over $35.