Pickup distances along the action?

[ThreeChordWonder]

Is there an "ideal" distance between pickups, bridge and nut?

For example, should the bridge pickup be 1/x of the scale length, the neck pickup 1/y?

Thanks.

[GuitarStv]

Neck pickups seem to sound best where the 24th fret would sit on a neck, right under the harmonic. I think that there's a little more wiggle room with bridge pickups.

[ThreeChordWonder]

^ If the 12th is half the scale length, I'm guessing the 24th would be at 1/4 one way / 3/4 the other, i.e. half the half?

It makes sense that they would be at points corresponding to the vibration moges and wavelengths.

[Bogner]

No set rules because of the many variables. Unfortunately, the only way I have found that works with all the variables is time and small incremental adjustments.

[ThreeChordWonder]

Well the wavelengths vary according to which fret you're pressing at, so I guess they can only be set for the open string modes.

[GuitarDoc]

If the pups can be placed right under the nodes of the strings vibrations, you'll get the "best" tone. So as GuitarStv said, the neck pup should be where the 24th fret would be (half way between the 12th fret and the bridge saddles). If you have a middle pup, it should be half way between the 24th fret and the bridge saddles.

[GuitarDoc]

It's really only approximate not precise, however, because different strings vibrate differently (that's one reason a guitar needs to have each string independently intonated).

[eclecticsynergy]

Yah, as mentioned above, once you fret any note, a pickup located according to the harmonic nodes will no longer be under its node.

However the 1/4 length (24th fret) location is an accepted standard.
On 24 fret guitars, the neck pickup has to be a bit closer to the bridge resulting in a brighter, slightly thinner tone.
Some players prefer the neck tone of 22- and 21-fret guitars over 24-fretters because of that.

Though there isn't a standard so universal for bridge pickup location, placement is equally critical there.
Perhaps even more so because of the brightness of the signal in bridge position.

Forty years ago I moved the bridge humbucker on one of my Floydcasters about 1/4 inch further away from the bridge.
I was amazed at how much difference just a few millimeters made in the sound.
Warmer, fuller, smoother, and possibly a tad more output too, I think.
It really transformed the voice of the pickup.

Poor quality pic but you can see the small gap alongside the bridge pickup:

[GuitarDoc]

Yah, as mentioned above, once you fret any note, a pickup located according to the harmonic nodes will no longer be under its node.

However the 1/4 length (24th fret) location is an accepted standard.
On 24 fret guitars, the neck pickup has to be a bit closer to the bridge resulting in a brighter, slightly thinner tone.
Some players prefer the neck tone of 22- and 21-fret guitars over 24-fretters because of that.

Agree

Though there isn't a standard so universal for bridge pickup location, placement is equally critical there.
Perhaps even more so because of the brightness of the signal in bridge position.

Agree, in fact IMO the bridge pup placement is the most critical of any of the pups.
Mathematically, the nodes would be at 1.6" or 0.8" from the bridge. It looks like the screw poles of your pup used to be about 1.2" from the bridge (between the nodes) and you moved the pup to be about 1.5" from the bridge (almost directly beneath the node). That should result in a much bigger tone...and in fact, as you found, your experiment confirmed the better tone and output.

Forty years ago I moved the bridge humbucker on one of my Floydcasters about 1/4 inch further away from the bridge.
I was amazed at how much difference just a few millimeters made in the sound.
Warmer, fuller, smoother, and possibly a tad more output too, I think.
It really transformed the voice of the pickup.

Thanks for this post. It was really informative and confirmed what my math has been telling me.

Certainly there are a lot of variables, and in reality you can't expect exactness in the results. But if you can keep the pups close to the approximate mathematical location of the nodes, you can expect an improvement on tone (of course "improvement" is subjective).

[GuitarStv]

Agree, in fact IMO the bridge pup placement is the most critical of any of the pups.

I think pickup placement is probably most critical for the pickup that you use the most. :P I tend to spent the majority of my time on the neck pickup, bridge is runner up. I find myself very picky about the neck pickup position.

[Mincer]

I think pickup placement is probably most critical for the pickup that you use the most. :P I tend to spent the majority of my time on the neck pickup, bridge is runner up. I find myself very picky about the neck pickup position.

Me as well.

[eclecticsynergy]

Two of my 24-fretters have PRS T&B humbuckers which are bright & snappy - giving a more Fendery neck tone by nature.
Another has RioGrande's very fat-sounding Texas/BBQ set, so on that the positioning actually brings it more in line with Gibson neck tone.
And the fourth is an HSS - on this one I definitely notice a significant difference from the magic Strat neck tone.
I actually went to fatpole singles there for a little more body.

Totally makes sense that differences in pickup location are more crucial on the pickup one uses most.
I live mostly on the bridge myself and only rarely use the neck for anything except leads.