Screw, hex and slug pole-pieces, what do they all mean?

[Hairmail]

Hello,

I was looking around pickups from different brands and I was just wandering how these different pole-pieces affected the tone. Most pickups like the JB,'59, and the custom 5 have the classic screw/slug configuration while others like the Full Shred and the Dimarzio Super Distortion and PAF Pro have two rows of hex pole-pieces. And then there's the Screamin' Demon which has one row of screws and one row of hex which I suppose is one of the reasons why it sounds quite different, or so I've heard.

How do these actually affect the tone?

 

[uOpt]

Re: Screw, hex and slug pole-pieces, what do they all mean?

The shape of the passive polepiece matters because it dictates the shape of the magnetic field.

The hex screws make the sound more "assertive", it reacts stronger to your playing. The PAF style combo of screws + slugs mellows out the sound. I find that I need the latter, the former is too much in-your-face for my taste.

 

[Hairmail]

Re: Screw, hex and slug pole-pieces, what do they all mean?

Are pickups that have double rows of the same pole-pieces for example two rows of screws or two rows of hex pole-pieces affected by orientation? Would a zebra super distortion have to be oriented in a specific way or the same pickup could be used in a normal zebra and reverse zebra?

 

[uOpt]

Re: Screw, hex and slug pole-pieces, what do they all mean?

Orientation?

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Screw, hex and slug pole-pieces, what do they all mean?

Orientation?

You know... homo... hetero...

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Screw, hex and slug pole-pieces, what do they all mean?

If your zebra pup has matching winds in the coils, and two rows of the same poles, it shouldn't matter whether you orient it as a zebra or reverse zebra.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Screw, hex and slug pole-pieces, what do they all mean?

Pickup upside down is pretty bad, though.