Pickup Education

[Frankenamp]

Found this out there in the web:
http://sem-proceedings.com/25i/sem.org-IMAC-XXV-s35p02-Analysis-Electric-Guitar-Pickups.pdf

Your thoughts, input, general discussion...

There is also this one:
http://www.aqdi.com/cgi-bin/database.cgi

It's a bit tricky to work, and seems more oriented to selling cables (gotta do something to make a living).

Do the sound clips seem seem like your realm of experience?

[LHPcope]

There are some better technical papers out there on pickup construction and performance. 

http://courses.physics.illinois.edu/phys406/406emi_guitar_pickup_results.html

This is from UCIC which has a number of thesis papers of their students on the same subject.

[super&plexi]

when we had our used/vintage music shop in Huntington Beach Ca. just around the block from many companies (amp/guitar/parts), a guy used to come in from a very well recognized  pickup maker, to see what we had, and just hang on his lunch break.

 he sat down by a super reverb, plugged in to the low (2) input of rev/trem channel, and plinked around. I asked him if he preferred the lower input, and he replied that that was the same model of  amps that they, (the famous p.u.maker) auditioned p.u.s with, but was unaware there was a difference in inputs, "we just plug in to either input". further conversation led me to believe no one at their shop knew different.

Not trying to put them down, as much as just finding it so funny that a co. so well known, and having product in a famous guitar players axe, who is   known for 'woman tone', could possibly not hear/feel  the difference in inputs.

 And while i've not been a fan of their pickups, I freely admit that i have one in middle pos. of one of my Strats, and when in 2 & 4 position, mixed with other pickups, it consistently gets praise towards being one of the best sounding newer (MIJ 3bolt) Strats people have heard. I guess low powered opposites attract. only other change is no cap on mid pu, just tone on neck & bridge. maybe something there, if someone is interested.

 oh yeah , other pu"s are Jackson single from old days?, cloth wire, 5.8-9,or 6Ks neck, and Seymore little 59, series/split/parallel in bridge. middle is possibly low end model, not sure of AG markings.

so if you have time, try out those old 'crap' pu's. give em a chance, my buddies favorite strat pu came out of Mex strat, and he has Andersons, Tele Nashville's, great American guitars, but that one Mex pu. is special/or just works w/his setup. 

[G._Hoffman]

only other change is no cap on mid pu, just tone on neck & bridge. maybe something there, if someone is interested.

In positions 2&4, there is a cap, even if there isn't in position 3.  The pickups are parallel, so the tone control for the other pickups effect everything that is on.


Gabriel

[LHPcope]

For Strats I favor using a single tone control for all three pickups and utilizing the other tone control as a blend control to blend the bridge and neck pickups together.

[G._Hoffman]

For Strats I favor using a single tone control for all three pickups and utilizing the other tone control as a blend control to blend the bridge and neck pickups together.

I just use a push/pull pot to turn the neck pickup on, and leave the pot doing nothing.


Gabriel

[LHPcope]

The advantage(s) of utilizing the existing extra tone control is that one can vary the amount of the other pickup in the mix(90%/10%, 75%/25%, etc.) instead of being stuck with a straight 50%/50% mix, you are able to use it in either the neck or the bridge selector position (so if the pot is set for 75%/25% that means 75% bridge/ 25% neck with the selector in the bridge position and 75% neck/ 25% bridge with the selector in the neck position,) and it only cost some wire and solder.