Roundup of Electric Guitars with a Single Pickup
Humbucker at the bridge position
Electric guitars with single humbucker, sometimes referred to as single pickup guitars, usually have one humbucker or - less commonly - a single coil pickup at the bridge position. In this roundup we're listing some of the best single pickup guitars on the market.
This is a curation of single pickup guitars that have one humbucker (or a single coil in some cases) at the bridge position.
For whatever reason you're searching for a single pickup guitar, this is absolutely the best place to find one. Not only do we come up with an original curated list, but often times the community of Guitar Chalk readers is active and intentional about helping us keep them updated.
Because certainly there are some guitars with a single pickup that we've missed or overlooked.
If you know of any single pickup guitars that we've overlooked, feel free to drop a line in the comments section below.
We'll see you there.
Otherwise, continue on for our list of guitars with one pickup.
24 Electric Guitars with a Single Pickup
GUitars | Title | Rated | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Jackson Pro Series Signature Brandon Ellis Kelly | n/a | |
 | Epiphone Jared James Nichols Gold Glory Les Paul Custom | n/a | |
 | EVH Striped Series (yellow and black) | n/a | |
 | Kramer Snake Sabo Baretta Outfit | n/a | |
 | Fender Brad Paisley Road Worn Esquire | n/a | |
| Fender Noventa Telecaster Fiesta Red | n/a | |
 | ESP LTD EC-Black Metal | n/a | |
 | Line 6 Shuriken Variax SR250 | n/a | |
 | Fender 70th Anniversary Esquire | n/a | |
 | Squier Classic Vibe '60s Custom Esquire | n/a | |
 | Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Junior Single Cut Reissue | n/a | |
 | Gretsch Professional G6131-MY | n/a | |
 | Kramer Baretta Vintage | n/a | |
 | ESP LTD F Black Metal Electric Guitar | n/a | |
 | ESP LTD EX Black Metal | n/a | |
 | ESP LTD Phoenix Black Metal | n/a | |
 | ESP LTD Mike Schleibaum MSV-1 | n/a | |
 | ESP LTD EC-FR Black Metal | n/a | |
 | Gibson SG Junior | n/a | |
 | ESP LTD M-1 Custom '87 FR | n/a | |
 | Caparison Guitars TAT Special FX Metal Machine Adam Dutkiewicz Signature | n/a | |
 | ESP LTD M-7BHT Arctic Metal | n/a | |
 | ESP LTD M-HT Black Metal | n/a | |
 | Ibanez Meshuggah Signature M80M | n/a |
Why go with a single pickup guitar?
What are the benefits of going with a single pickup guitar?
People like them because they're simpler, and because they only produce one sound - often from a customized humbucker - that doesn't have to be tinkered with.
In other words, if you find "your sound" that you use all the time, and you can get it with one pickup, why not use a guitar with one pickup?
Or if you find yourself always using the pickup in the bridge position, why not just have that one pickup all the time?
Which single pickup guitars are the best?
The metrics we would use to measure guitar quality overall are the same we would use when looking at guitars with a single pickup.
Typically, we like to recommend brands:
- Epiphone
- Fender
- ESP LTD
- Gretsch
These are four of our favorites in this space, given their popularity without regard to the number of pickups.
Of the guitar's we've listed, the Fender Brad Paisley Telecaster and the Gibson SG Junior are two of our personal favorites.
What Fender guitar has one pickup?
Within the Fender brand, the Brad Paisley signature and the Noventa both have one bridge pickup. They are also both Telecasters.
The Squire Classic Vibe Esquire Telecaster ships with one pickup as well.
It's possible we could have missed a few, perhaps old Fender guitars with one pickup.
If so, let us know in the comments section.
Are more pickups on a guitar better?
Is it better to have more pickups on an electric guitar?
Personally, I never liked the one pickup setup. But that doesn't meant it can't work and be preferable for other people.
Additional pickups give you flexibility, but if that flexibility isn't useful to you, it doesn't really matter.
I'd say more pickups on a guitar is "better" from the stand point that it gives you more tools and tones to work with, but it's not a right/wrong question and requires context of the guitar player in question.
Is there a guitar with one single coil pickup?
What about guitars with one single coil pickup? Aside from the Telecasters we already mentioned, we did not notice any kind of Strat style guitar with a single coil pickup at the bridge position.
The closest would probably be the Gibsons and the Epiphone signature model that have a P-90-style pickup at the bridge.
Otherwise it's all humbuckers and Tele pickups.
Conclusion
Like we pointed out earlier, if you know of any single pickup guitars that haven't been included in this list, feel free to drop them in the comments section below.
You can also put questions about the guitars in the list already.
We'll be happy to answer and help out as much as possible.
See you there.
Related Articles
Written by Bobby on Guitars and Roundups
Written by Bobby on Guitars and Roundups
I’m going thru a minimalist phase and was on the prowl for an inexpensive “diamond-in-the-rough.” And I found it: The Samick SS50 with a single HB in the bridge position. Strat copy configuration with 6-on-a-side tuners, 25.5″ scale, double cut body, bolt-on maple neck with RW fingerboard, vintage-style trem. Unless you’re dive-bombing, it stays in tune. I cannot get over how nicely done the neck is or how live the generic pickup is. Neck is wide and flat, frets are expertly finished and the pup screams! Only flaw was the single-knurled knob. There was no range to the sweep. It kicked-in at about 8 and went straight to 10. Solved that problem by installing a Fender 500k pot. Roll off the volume and you get some clean sparkle. Wide open and it’s full-on crush. I’m actually going to gig with this thing in a few weeks!
Hey Ed. That sounds awesome. Thanks for sharing!
I’m kind of stoked to hear that a new Fender 500k pot solved that problem. I’ve been bangin’ on about replacing cheap pots for a long time. I feel vindicated. 😆
Ha! I hear ya, Bobby!
This was my first venture into a pot upgrade and it was amazing to hear how the instrument came alive with an inexpensive replacement part.
I’m the proud owner of a few brand name guitars and, generally speaking, they are better than their off-brand knockoffs. That said, they’re just guitars.
As long as it has structural integrity, it’s possible to take an instrument that lacks great curb appeal and turn it into a beast with a relatively inexpensive tweak or two.
Yep – I absolutely agree. I think you can do a lot of upgrades and make a lot of improvements before you need to completely replace an instrument, if at all.