Both humbucking and single-coil pickups have been used extensively on many classic rock recordings. Whichever one you choose is simply a matter of personal preference.

If you prefer a Slash or Jimmy Page type tone then you should opt for a Gibson Les Paul style guitar with humbuckers at he neck and bridge. Ritchie Blackmore and Jimi Hendrix aficionados will inevitably prefer single-coil pickups.

Interestingly, Eddie Van Halen fitted a humbucking pickup to his Strat-style 'Frankenstein' guitar to get a tone somewhere in between.

FX pedals

Using both an overdrive and a distortion pedal gives flexibility between different tones and gain settings. The phaser at this slow setting gives a sound reminiscent of early Van Halen, though you could turn up the rate for a more Jimmy Page-style sound.

The chorus effect can give a more '80s rock flavour and appears on most rock guitarists’ pedalboards. Delay is also essential for '80s rock sounds. Our setting is around 300 miliseconds, but tweak it until it pleases your ear.

These settings are all based on a fairly clean amp. If you want to use the amp’s distortion channel, try hooking the delay and chorus pedals into the effects loop - some players prefer it.

Listen: Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love