Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Does screwing a pickup into a guitar body allow for more vibration than a pickup floating in a pickguard?

I always thought so but isn't most of the vibration through the tailpeice? How much vibration really goes through the pickup?

[JaySwear]

Re: Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

EVH loves his wood mounted pickups for the same sort of reason i believe. i've had a few guitars with wood mounted pickups and i can't say i've ever heard a difference. i think whatever tonal properties you gain from wood mounting the thing you could get just as easily by raising or lowering it a fraction of an inch, or using stiffer springs between the pickup and pickup ring or pickguard, or whatever else.

i do think wood mounting the pickups look much better on some rear routed guitars, but i don't think i'd bother on a top routed unless you're leaving the pickguard off

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

I don't know, I don't think you could hear it but I just was wondering...

any more input on the subject>?

[idsnowdog]

Re: Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

You do get some of the bodies resonance by mounting directly to the body. The only thing I don't like about it is if you change pickups a couple of times and the wood is soft the holes can become stripped.

[marvelous_seven]

Re: Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

Your avatar always look stunning,idsnowdog,I wonder where you get those pics from.
As for OP,I think the only con of direct mounting style is you can't raise or lower the pickup easily.
Just my 2 cents here

[El Dunco]

Re: Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

Your avatar always look stunning,idsnowdog,I wonder where you get those pics from.
As for OP,I think the only con of direct mounting style is you can't raise or lower the pickup easily.
Just my 2 cents here

That's why you predetermine the height you want it and put it on shims. It is a hassle to change though.

[JaySwear]

Re: Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

DEFINITELY a big hassle! i sit there for 10 or 15 minutes playing with pickup height after a change. put them in a spot, play for a minute or two and see what i think, move them again, etc. the 3 guitars that i've had with wood mounted pickups all had great balance where they were mounted. guess i was lucky! never tried to change their heights.

[idsnowdog]

Re: Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

Threaded inserts make the job of adjusting height easier because you can use machine screws. However if the screws are too long on the body is thin the screws can go all the way through.

[John_L]

Re: Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

It does make some difference although not as much as some claim. If you have a humbucker in a cradle the pickup can vibrate independently of the body and this vibration can cancel out some of the high harmonics. This is something that Gibson not only knew about but wanted to happen as high harmonics cause feedback and the whole point of humbucker pickups was reduce feedback in archtop guitars. The cradle design also ended up on the Les Paul when it gained the new pickups. Direct mounting means the pickup vibrates with the body and then you get the whole range of overtones and high harmonics. EVH is a great example of this as he uses these and the more traditional humbucker sounds.
Jeff Back uses much stiffer springs (from Chevy throttle releases) for the same effect and Levinson used a complex rear mounting system.

[black sunshine]

Re: Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

i like the direct mount,it isn't a night and day diffrence,but it does have a little kick to it.
as far as lowering or raising goes it's not a problem at all,the same as the pu rings,just put foam underneath the pu, done deal.

oh,and as far as screws go,if it's a strat type shape the size is 4x1....on my warlock it's 4x1/2....just check how deep the wood is before you screw,cause you could go through the bottom of the guitar....which would mean your screwed...lol

[NecroPolo]

Re: Screwing a pickup directly into a guitar body?

There is just some minor difference, as far as my experimenting goes it's 95% about aesthetics, some guitars look good without P-up rings and that's it.

P-up <-> strings distance puts more on the scales.