5 Best Jazz Pickups for Electric Guitar

Seymour Duncan specializes in quality guitar pickups and pedals. If you need a reliable jazz pickup, this brand will have several options for you, so you might want to start here.

Like all the other pickups listed, the SH-2 is a humbucker pickup. The difference between single-coil pickups and humbuckers to note here is that they tend to “darken” the tone of your guitar and thus are ideal for jazz players. (Learn more about the differences in the Buyer’s Guide below.)

Even though this is a jazz pickup, it’s great for other genres, particularly heavy metal and rock styles. If you like playing quick runs up and down the neck, this is a great option for you.

Most often, the SH-2 is placed in the neck position on your guitar. The SH-2 jazz guitar pickup comes in Black, Zebra, and Reverse Zebra styles to match any guitar style you have.

This Seymour Duncan Nickel SH-2 pickup is nearly identical to its Black & Zebra-colored siblings but is covered with a nickel plate. That gives this pickup an extremely distinctive look; instead of seeing the pickup and magnets exposed, this pickup will look sleek on your guitar.

Many humbuckers are uncovered, leaving the double-coil mechanism visible under your strings. On the other hand, covered humbuckers are shielded with a metal plate, often made of nickel, gold, or silver.

Some jazz players prefer covered pickups because it shields you from some interference that may make you sound fuzzy. However, other players don’t like the tonal qualities that come with the covering.

Ultimately, it comes down to the individual’s preference.  If you find that you’re facing a buzzing sound frequently, look into a covered pickup. The SH-2 covered humbucker is a great option.

From Paul Reed Smith Guitars, this vintage-style humbucker has all the best qualities of a classic pickup without being too buzzy or faulty.

This jazz guitar pickup is meant to imitate 1957-era humbuckers but was produced in 2008, which leads to the PRS 57/08’s name. They’re wound by hand with a wire that’s been manufactured from the same machine that was used in the 1950s. Many humbuckers are meant to mimic a vintage sound, but the 57/08 comes the closest to a vintage pickup.

The 57/08 is a little more expensive than some of the other pickups listed, so this is for people looking for a high-end pickup. It’s available in Bass and Treble styles, so you can use it on either the bridge or neck of your guitar.

The Seymour Duncan SH-8b Invader is a powerful pickup that’s designed to carry deep, heavy tones. It’s ideal for players who tend to play on the bottom three strings of their guitar or linger on notes instead of playing quick runs.

With three ceramic magnets and tightly wound coils, this pickup has an exceptionally wide magnetic field, taking all the sound from your instrument and pushing it through to the amp.

This humbucker is great for jazz players, but it’s also ideal for hard rock guitarists. Punk, thrash, and metal players will love how the SH-8b Invader pumps up the gain and allows for aggressive playing.

The DiMarzio DP100 is one of the earliest pickup offerings from DiMarzio and is a favorite among jazz guitarists. It’s described as an ultra-high-output pickup, so you’ll get an especially punchy sound when playing out of a tube amp.

High-output pickups send more of your sound through to the amp, usually due to some extra windings in your coil. That makes the DP100 one of the best jazz guitar pickups out there.

Again, this is a humbucker-style pickup, so you’ll get solid, meaty sounds all over the neck, whether you’re playing a chord or a quick run. It’s generally placed in the bridge position but also offers an interesting sound on the neck.