A pickup for a musical instrument includes a first assembly, a housing, and a magnet. The first assembly comprises a base plate, a pole that extends from the base plate, and a coil of wire wrapped around the pole. A first lead wire extends from a first coil end and a second lead wire extends from a second coil end. The housing is user attachable to, and detachable from, the top of the first assembly, independently of any electrical connections made to electronics of the musical instrument. Moreover, the housing attaches to and detaches from the first assembly such that when attached, the pole of the first assembly is in magnetic cooperation with the magnet. Also, the housing is removable, thus allowing the magnet to be changed out to another magnet without removing strings or other hardware of the musical instrument.