A typical magnetic pickup is a transducer (specifically a variable reluctance sensor) that consists of one or more
The … See more

The piezoelectric pickup contains a piezo crystal, which converts the vibrations directly to a changing voltage.
Many semi-acoustic and acoustic guitars, and some electric guitars and basses, have been fitted … See more

Some pickup products are installed and used similarly to piezoelectric pickups, but use different underlying technology, for instance electret or condenser microphone technology. See more

There are basically four principles used to convert sound into an alternating current, each with their pros and cons:
1. A microphone registers the vibrations of the air caused by the instrument. In general this techniq… See more

Hexaphonic pickups (also called divided pickups and polyphonic pickups) have a separate output for each string (Hexaphonic assumes six strings, as on a guitar). This allows for separate processing and amplifi… See more

Optical pickups are a fairly recent development that work by sensing the interruption of a light beam by a vibrating string. The light source is usually an LED, and the detector is a photodiode or phototransi… See more

Pickups can be either active or passive. Pickups, apart from optical types, are inherently passive transducers. "Passive" pickups are usually wire-wound around a magnet, and are the most common type used. The… See more