Active pickups
We have Metallica to thank for metal’s progression from the soaring melodies of New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) to the thrashier, darker and more intense sound in the ’80s and ’90s, and a large part of that comes down to James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett’s preference for active pickups.
Pickups like the EMG 81 and 85 combo, the Seymour Duncan Blackouts, or the Bare Knuckle Ragnaroks are loads of fun to use. Their sizzling power comes from an internal preamplifier powered by a 9-volt battery, which increases the output exceeding that of passive pickups. You can’t go without mentioning Fishman, who offer a range of voicings all from the same Fluence pickup.
Active pickups also produce less noise than passive pickups, which allow you to load up on even more gain from your amp. You can dial in a very tight Metallica/Megadeth type of tone, or push them hard for crushing tones like those of Korn and Slipknot during the ’90s and early ’00s. Active pickups went a little out of fashion after than, and they’ve made something of a comeback in the current metal scene with bands like Spiritbox and Sleep Token using them in tandem with 7- and 8-string guitars.
Best used for…
- Massive amounts of output
- Tight thrash chugging
- Thunderous modern tone
Active Guitar Pickups
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Hot single-coil pickups and P90s
You could argue that if Gibson hadn’t made soapbar P90 pickups, metal would never have sounded quite the same. Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi was a huge fan of the design in his SG, which spearheaded the raspy sound of their early albums. P90s sit somewhere in between classic single-coils and humbuckers on the tonal spectrum: they’re still quite dynamic but they’ve got more of a drive to them.
Other metal forerunners like Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore used stock Fender Stratocaster single-coil pickups, while Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin wielded a Telecaster for some time before the switch to the Gibson Les Paul. Obviously, this is going to get you the modern tone many players gravitate towards now, but you’ll still get some unique sounds by mixing up what you use. For example, Liverpudlian band Loathe have brought something completely new to the metal table by wielding single-coil-equipped baritone guitars. You’ll still need to use a high-gain amp and possibly overdrive or distortion guitar pedals, and plenty of post-EQ tinkering to make this work.
Best used for…
- Old school aggression
- Experimenting with new heavy sounds
- Excellent versatility
Single Coil Guitar Pickups
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Modern passive humbuckers
For a long time, an active pickup-equipped guitar was the go-to for metal player. From ’80s thrash and shred through to ’00s death metal and nu metal, the vast majority of guitarists favoured the sheer power of the active pickup. That began to change with a more a number of mainstream acts like Muse, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Gojira and Deftones pursuing a more mid-focused, dynamic sound, which you get from passive pickups.
Around the middle of the 2000s the progressive metal movement many would know to be ‘djent’ came to the fore. This demanding form of music pioneered most prominently by Meshuggah and later Periphery, Animals as Leaders and Tesseract required a superior dynamic response. One that could handle the most crystalline of cleans and the most devastating of distorted tones, while retaining as much clarity in big chords as possible.
UK manufacturer Bare Knuckle seem to have captured the imagination of this crowd, especially with the Juggernaut, Aftermath and Black Hawk humbuckers. These pickups are designed to provide the transparency and output of an active with the character and dynamic control of a passive pickup. DiMarzio‘s Crunch Lab and Titan have also proven extremely popular, with their hot magnets tamed with clarity and a couple of extra strings in mind. Add Seymour Duncan to the list too, with their Distortion, Sentient and Pegasus models a popular stock choice in metal guitars. To answer one frequently asked question: yes, you absolutely can use passive pickups to play metal!
Best used for…
- Mid-focused attack
- Clarity in complex chords
- Versatility with clean and crunchy tones
Humbucker Guitar Pickups
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FAQs
Who uses active pickups in metal?
Loads of metal guitarists use active pickups, but some of the most popular are James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth and Kerry King of Slayer, the old school thrash scene; Mick Thomson of Slipknot, Matty Heafy of Trivium, Parkway Drive, and Devin Townsend all used active pickups during the ’90s and ’00s; and Periphery’s Misha Mansoor, Mark Holcomb and Jake Bowen, Animals as Leaders frontman Tosin Abasi and Mark Okubo of Veil of Maya have all experimented with them in the prog metal scene.
Who uses passive pickups in metal?
If you’re looking for a thrashier, old school tone, then Iron Maiden and Anthrax proved you can do it with passive pickups. Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell used them and got a super hot tone, mainly by using a solid state amplifier. John Petrucci of Dream Theater and Daron Malakian of System of a Down also used passives during the ’90s. More recently, guitarists like Fredrik Thordendal and Marten Hagstrom from Meshuggah, The trio from Periphery, Bill Kelliher and Brent Hinds of Mastodon, Joe Duplantier of Gojira, Lee Malia of Bring Me The Horizon, and Joakim Karlsson of Bad Omens plus many more have opted for passive pickups.
What’s the difference between active and passive pickups?
Passive pickups detect frequencies through vibrations in the strings. This is achieved by wrapping copper wire around either alnico or ceramic magnets. Active pickups share the same fundamental wire-wrapped magnet design, but because there are far few wrappings, they require a battery-powered preamp to boost the low output. This means the pickups are naturally very quiet but the battery increases the output to the crushing levels we like for metal. Find out more in our dedicated blog on the topic.
Are active pickups versatile?
Active pickups, although you can get a decent clean sound out of them, are some of the least versatile pickups going. If you want output for rock and metal then they are outstanding and one of the quickest ways to get a great high-gain tone. But if you really love mixing up your tones then you’re better off with passive pickups.
What are the best guitars for metal?
You’ll find a lot of the pickups mentioned in this article in guitars made by Jackson, ESP, Ibanez, Gibson, Schecter, Strandberg, PRS and Music Man. All of these brands make guitar suited to both old school and modern metal styles, so have a browse and pick out your favourite!
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