Pickups for dummies question

Browns Town · Post by **Browns Town** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:23 pm

In a double set up just like this, should the distance between the strings on both units be equal? AND, about how far from the strings should they be?

dan · Post by **dan** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:26 pm

it depends on what sound you are looking for, i prefer to have my bridge pickup raised, and the neck pickup level with the guard. they dont have to be the same or in any particular distance from the strings.

Pfl?yd · Post by **Pfl?yd** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 11:47 pm

Generally the bridge pickup is higher to compensate for the strings being higher near the bridge. But that's only if you want the output between the two pickups to be equal. A basic rule is that the closer the pickup is to the strings, the "louder" it is.

So if you want one pickup to be louder than the other either raise the one or lower the other.

Browns Town · Post by **Browns Town** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 12:19 am

PflÃ¶yd wrote:Generally the bridge pickup is higher to compensate for the strings being higher near the bridge. But that's only if you want the output between the two pickups to be equal. A basic rule is that the closer the pickup is to the strings, the "louder" it is.

So if you want one pickup to be louder than the other either raise the one or lower the other.

Pfloyd, (and thanks Dan) bear with me brother, but I never took lessons and I don't know anyone real well that plays. So I'm on my own here. What is the purpose of the two pickups? Why not just one? Are they identical (usually)? Why have I seen some setups where one is diagonal while the other horizontal? For the type of shit I wanna fuck around with (Pantera/Sabbath, etc.) what is the best setup with what I have as far as distance to strings? (dual parallel humbucker)

http://www.cd-leo.com/yahoo/guitar/_ele ... 04_big.jpg

Not lefty though.

WarPig · Post by **WarPig** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 12:27 am

for a warmer sound i find moving the bridge pickup closer to the strings helps.. then for a more tinny sound and to get that high end stuff, simply move the neck pickup down... and.. just fiddle about with them, you can find your own tone.

Aeon · Post by **Aeon** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 12:51 am

Browns Town wrote:
PflÃ¶yd wrote:Generally the bridge pickup is higher to compensate for the strings being higher near the bridge. But that's only if you want the output between the two pickups to be equal. A basic rule is that the closer the pickup is to the strings, the "louder" it is.

So if you want one pickup to be louder than the other either raise the one or lower the other.
Pfloyd, (and thanks Dan) bear with me brother, but I never took lessons and I don't know anyone real well that plays. So I'm on my own here. What is the purpose of the two pickups? Why not just one? Are they identical (usually)? Why have I seen some setups where one is diagonal while the other horizontal? For the type of shit I wanna fuck around with (Pantera/Sabbath, etc.) what is the best setup with what I have as far as distance to strings? (dual parallel humbucker)

http://www.cd-leo.com/yahoo/guitar/_ele ... 04_big.jpg

Not lefty though.

For metal in general, youll want the bridge pickup closer to the strings. The purpose of two pickups simply is so you can get a wide array of different tones by just switching the pickup selector. I can't really describe why some people do the diagonal pickup things, cus it makes sense in my mind I just can't describe it with words, haha. Also, when doing rhythm playing put the selector on the bridge pickup, and when doing leads you'll generally want to use the neck pickup.
PS - That guitar is as ugly as sin.

Browns Town · Post by **Browns Town** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 2:05 am

Aeon wrote:
Browns Town wrote:
PflÃ¶yd wrote:Generally the bridge pickup is higher to compensate for the strings being higher near the bridge. But that's only if you want the output between the two pickups to be equal. A basic rule is that the closer the pickup is to the strings, the "louder" it is.

So if you want one pickup to be louder than the other either raise the one or lower the other.
Pfloyd, (and thanks Dan) bear with me brother, but I never took lessons and I don't know anyone real well that plays. So I'm on my own here. What is the purpose of the two pickups? Why not just one? Are they identical (usually)? Why have I seen some setups where one is diagonal while the other horizontal? For the type of shit I wanna fuck around with (Pantera/Sabbath, etc.) what is the best setup with what I have as far as distance to strings? (dual parallel humbucker)

http://www.cd-leo.com/yahoo/guitar/_ele ... 04_big.jpg

Not lefty though.
For metal in general, youll want the bridge pickup closer to the strings. The purpose of two pickups simply is so you can get a wide array of different tones by just switching the pickup selector. I can't really describe why some people do the diagonal pickup things, cus it makes sense in my mind I just can't describe it with words, haha. Also, when doing rhythm playing put the selector on the bridge pickup, and when doing leads you'll generally want to use the neck pickup.
PS - That guitar is as ugly as sin.

Me and the guitar ain't entering a fashion contest. If we did, we'd win though anyway.

Thanks for the advice. All of you.

Aeon · Post by **Aeon** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 3:24 am

The string poking you in the face.

Pfl?yd · Post by **Pfl?yd** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 9:49 am

Browns Town wrote:
Pfloyd, (and thanks Dan) bear with me brother, but I never took lessons and I don't know anyone real well that plays. So I'm on my own here. What is the purpose of the two pickups? Why not just one? Are they identical (usually)? Why have I seen some setups where one is diagonal while the other horizontal? For the type of shit I wanna fuck around with (Pantera/Sabbath, etc.) what is the best setup with what I have as far as distance to strings? (dual parallel humbucker)

http://www.cd-leo.com/yahoo/guitar/_ele ... 04_big.jpg

Not lefty though.

the other guys more or less nailed the question. For an aural example, pick the strings close to the bridge and then pick the same exact chord further away. Notice how the further from the bridge you pick the more "bass" in the tone. Well, that's kind of how pick-ups read the strings. The bridge pickup will have less "bass" but more note definition with distortion and the neck pickup will have more "bass" in the tone, but will sound muddier with lots of distortion when playing chords (though single note leads will pop out more).

Those slanted pick-ups you have seen try to compensate for both "undesireable" qualities. If you notice, generally, the slant favors the lower strings closer to the bridge and the higher strings closer to the neck. Mainly this is because most guitarists want more definition on the lower strings and less brittle tones on the higher strings. But it *all* comes down to preference at the end of the day.

I think these other guy's advice will work for you. Raise the bridge pickup a little so you get some more output for your foundation-crushing chords and leave the neck-up as it is since single-note lead stuff (or clean guitar passages) stick out more in volume anyway.

Pfl?yd · Post by **Pfl?yd** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 9:50 am

Aeon wrote:The string poking you in the face.

No, he has it between his teeth like a flamenco dancer!

hippy · Post by **hippy** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:05 pm

theres two pickups because near the neck of the guitar the strings sound warmer and by the bridge the strings sound heavy or less bassy and more defined!

Dawdy · Post by **Dawdy** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 12:28 am

i have my neck pickup pretty low because i kept scraping it with my pick

Wrona · Post by **Wrona** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 9:14 am

Nice Down sticker bill.