Bridge pickup

1. What is a bridge pickup?
2. Why do some guitars only have a bridge pickup?

What is a bridge pickup?

The Bridge Pickup Sound

The bridge pickups pick up the signal from the string vibration closer to the bridge, making the tone “tighter” and “punchier.” The bridge position produces that “spanky” tone when played with no distortion, kind of what you would get if you played very close to the bridge on an acoustic guitar.

Why do some guitars only have a bridge pickup?

Metal guitars tend to have a single humbucker in the bridge, because it has a very bright sound and you can take off a great deal of the "muddy" high end by adjusting the tone pot. They're just meant for people who don't need a neck pick-up - there's no point in it being there if you won't use it.