High-Output Guitar Pickups

Tube amp distortion and saturation is truly a thing of sonic beauty, but when the stock pickups in your guitar don't quite hit the amp hard enough without the aid of pedals, aftermarket high-output guitar pickups can help push your sound over the top. Initially popularized in the 1970s when guitar amps didn't have nearly as much input gain on tap, superstar players like Jimmy Page and Ace Frehley turned to the DiMarzio Super Distortion pickup to get more drive and sustain from guitar to amp. If you've got an older Marshall or Orange amp without a master volume control and are chasing the super-fat sounds of the mid-'70s, or if you don't like how distortion pedals change the sound of your amp, this handpicked collection of new, used and vintage high-output pickups from DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, EMG and more will get you where you want to be in a hurry.