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=== Pickups ===
''Pickups'' are typically bars bar-like objects that reside between the bridge and the neck, spanning across all the strings; however, they technically refer to anything that converts the string resonance into electricity. Typical pickups are magnetic transducers - either ''single-coil'' or ''humbuckers''. Humbuckers are usually wider than single-coils because they use two coils. One is reverse wound, which makes any interference being picked up cancel out. Humbuckers are also typically wired in serial, which gives them greater output but also greater impedance, which makes them a bit more nasal-sounding. Single coils are associated with shimmering clean tones while humbuckers are a staple of heavily distorted tones.
Additionally, there are piezo pickups that detect vibration without using magnetism, useful to get an acoustic-like sound. And there are hexaphonic pickups that analyze each string and are typically used to convert the strings' motion into MIDI data. These are typically built into or reside very close to the bridge.
=== Pickup-Selector Switch ===