Guitar Pickup Symbol
Definition: The Guitar Pickup symbol represents an electromagnetic transducer, used in electric guitar and bass circuits, that converts string vibration into an electrical signal by means of a coil wound around one or more permanent magnets, with a Hot output terminal and a GND (ground/shield) terminal, as defined in audio electronics conventions.
Also known as: guitar pickup, single-coil pickup, humbucker pickup, pickup coil, magnetic pickup, electromagnetic transducer, pickup winding.
What the Guitar Pickup symbol means
The Guitar Pickup symbol denotes an electromagnetic induction transducer mounted beneath the strings of an electric guitar or bass. The vibrating metal strings disturb the magnetic field of the pickup's permanent magnet, inducing a small alternating voltage in the surrounding coil winding. This voltage is the audio signal that travels to the guitar's volume and tone controls and then to an amplifier.
In guitar wiring diagrams this symbol appears as the signal source, connected via its Hot terminal to potentiometers, switches, and output jacks. The GND terminal connects to the guitar's common ground (bridge ground, shielding). The pickup symbol signals that an AC audio signal source (millivolt-level, high-impedance) is present at that point in the circuit.
How to identify the Guitar Pickup symbol
The Guitar Pickup symbol is drawn as a rectangle representing the pickup body, sometimes with coil-winding lines inside (zig-zag or spiral pattern) to indicate the wire coil, and small circles or rectangles at the bottom representing the magnets (pole pieces). Two terminals emerge from the symbol: Hot (the signal-carrying wire, typically white, red, or yellow depending on manufacturer wiring colour code) and GND (the shield/ground, typically black or bare wire). Humbuckers may show two coil rectangles side by side. The label 'PU' or the pickup position (neck, middle, bridge) may annotate the symbol.
Function in a circuit
A Guitar Pickup operates on the principle of electromagnetic induction. Permanent magnets (Alnico or ceramic) magnetise the steel guitar strings above the pickup. When a string vibrates, it creates a fluctuating magnetic field that induces an alternating current in the surrounding coil winding. The output voltage is typically 100 mV to 1 V AC at 1–10 kHz signal frequencies, with coil impedance typically 5–15 kΩ (single-coil) or 8–20 kΩ (humbucker). A humbucker uses two coils wound in opposite directions with reversed magnet polarity to cancel hum while summing the string signal.
Standards: IEC vs ANSI
| IEC 60617 | No dedicated IEC 60617 symbol exists for a guitar pickup. In IEC schematic notation it would be represented as an inductive transducer (coil symbol) with a magnetic source annotation. General coil/inductor conventions from IEC 60617-04 apply to the winding representation. |
|---|---|
| ANSI/IEEE 315 | ANSI/IEEE 315-1975 does not define a specific guitar pickup symbol. Audio electronics diagrams use a de facto industry convention: a rectangle labelled with the pickup type and position, with Hot and GND terminals. Guitar wiring diagrams follow manufacturer conventions (Gibson, Fender, Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio) rather than IEC or ANSI standards. |
| Key difference | There is no IEC vs ANSI standardised symbol for guitar pickups. Both conventions use informal rectangular block representations with coil detail. Guitar wiring diagrams are a specialised sub-discipline of audio electronics with their own well-established but non-standardised graphical conventions. |
Terminals / pins
| Pin | Name |
|---|---|
| hot | Hot |
| gnd | GND |
Typical values
Output voltage: 100 mV – 1 V AC (signal level); coil DC resistance: 5–20 kΩ; coil inductance: 1.5–10 H; resonant frequency: 1–10 kHz; typical output impedance: 5–15 kΩ (single-coil), 8–20 kΩ (humbucker); magnet types: Alnico 2, Alnico 5, ceramic (ferrite).
Where the Guitar Pickup symbol is used
- Electric guitar wiring diagrams: single-coil or humbucker pickups wired to volume pots, tone pots, pickup selector switches, and output jacks
- Bass guitar electronics: precision bass and jazz bass pickup diagrams with series or parallel wiring configurations
- Pedal steel and lap steel guitar circuits: similar electromagnetic pickups wired to volume and tone controls
- Active pickup circuits: pickups wired to onboard preamp boards (EMG, Fishman active systems) requiring battery supply
- Guitar retrofit and modification diagrams: coil-tap wiring, phase reversal, and series/parallel switching diagrams for humbuckers
- Audio transducer reference circuits: used as examples of high-impedance, millivolt-level AC signal sources in audio electronics textbooks
Example
In a standard Stratocaster wiring diagram, three single-coil Guitar Pickups (neck, middle, bridge positions) each have their Hot terminals connected to a 5-way selector switch. The switch routes the selected pickup(s) Hot signal to a 250 kΩ volume potentiometer and then to a 0.022 µF tone capacitor network, ending at the output jack tip terminal. All GND terminals connect to the guitar's common ground plane (back of volume pot chassis and bridge ground wire).
Key facts
- The Guitar Pickup symbol represents an electromagnetic induction transducer with two terminals: Hot (signal output) and GND (shield/ground), and no external power supply is required for passive pickups.
- Guitar pickups generate a millivolt-level AC audio signal (100 mV – 1 V) through electromagnetic induction as steel strings vibrate over the magnetic pole pieces.
- Single-coil pickups have one winding (typically 6,000–9,000 turns) and are susceptible to 50/60 Hz hum; humbuckers use two opposing coils to cancel hum inductively.
- Pickup coil DC resistance typically ranges from 5–20 kΩ; higher resistance generally produces higher output but reduced high-frequency response due to the coil's LR characteristics.
- There is no IEC 60617 or ANSI/IEEE 315 standardised symbol for a guitar pickup; wiring diagrams follow manufacturer conventions from Gibson, Fender, Seymour Duncan, and DiMarzio.
- Alnico magnets (Alnico 2, Alnico 5) produce a warmer tone; ceramic (ferrite) magnets produce a brighter, higher-output signal due to stronger magnetic field strength.
- Coil-tap wiring allows a humbucker to be switched to single-coil mode by bypassing one of the two coil windings, and requires a push-pull pot or mini-toggle switch in the wiring diagram.
- The GND terminal of a guitar pickup connects to the guitar's shield ground, which runs to the back of the volume pot and to the bridge through a dedicated ground wire to prevent hum pickup.
Diagrams that use this symbol
- guitar wiring diagrams
- humbucker wiring diagram
- electric guitar diagram
- guitar pickup wiring diagram
- pickup wiring diagrams
- 5 way switch wiring diagram
- electric guitar wiring diagram
- 5 way switch wiring
Frequently asked questions
What does the guitar pickup symbol mean in a wiring diagram?
The Guitar Pickup symbol in a wiring diagram represents an electromagnetic transducer that is the audio signal source for the guitar circuit. It shows where the pickup's Hot (signal) and GND (ground/shield) wires connect into the rest of the wiring, including volume and tone pots, selector switches, and the output jack.
What does the guitar pickup symbol look like?
The Guitar Pickup symbol is drawn as a rectangle (representing the pickup body) with coil-winding detail inside (zig-zag lines or spiral) and small rectangles or circles at the bottom for the magnets (pole pieces). Two terminals are labelled Hot (signal output) and GND (ground/shield). Humbuckers show two adjacent coil rectangles. The label 'PU' or the position name (neck, middle, bridge) often annotates the symbol.
What are the terminals on a guitar pickup?
A guitar pickup has two terminals: Hot (also called the signal wire — carries the audio voltage output) and GND (the ground or shield wire — connects to the common ground of the guitar circuit, including the shielded cable shield). Humbuckers with 4-conductor wiring add two additional coil-tap wires and a bare ground, but the fundamental two-terminal model (Hot and GND) applies to passive single-coil and standard 2-conductor pickups.
What is the difference between a single-coil and humbucker pickup in a wiring diagram?
A single-coil pickup symbol shows one coil rectangle with Hot and GND terminals. A humbucker symbol shows two adjacent coil rectangles (the two series-connected opposing windings) with the same Hot and GND output terminals. In 4-conductor humbucker wiring, the schematic shows four wires (start/finish of each coil) plus a bare ground, enabling coil-tap, phase-reversal, and series/parallel configurations.
What standard governs guitar pickup wiring symbols?
There is no IEC 60617 or ANSI/IEEE 315 standard symbol for guitar pickups. Guitar wiring diagrams follow de facto industry conventions established by major pickup manufacturers — Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Gibson, and Fender each publish their own wiring colour codes and schematic conventions. The winding and terminal notation differs by manufacturer.
What is the typical output impedance and voltage of a guitar pickup?
A passive guitar pickup produces a signal voltage of approximately 100 mV to 1 V AC at audio frequencies (100 Hz – 10 kHz), with a source impedance of 5–20 kΩ (single-coil) or 8–20 kΩ (humbucker). Guitar amplifier input stages are designed with input impedances of 500 kΩ to 1 MΩ to minimise loading of the high-impedance pickup signal.
Why does a humbucker cancel hum compared to a single-coil pickup?
A humbucker places two coils side by side with opposite winding directions and reversed magnet polarity. Electromagnetic hum from mains interference (50/60 Hz) induces equal voltages in both coils, which cancel when the coils are connected in series (out-of-phase for hum, in-phase for signal). The string signal is additive because the reversed magnets make the string-induced voltages add together, giving both hum rejection and higher output than a single coil.
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