Side by side comparison of all major pickup types

[pgedney]

After testing a single coil, P-90, WideRange, Humbucker and Duncan Pearly gates in all three pickup positions I found the following:
I'm wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences with pickup types and locations.

You can hear the side by side comparison of Single Coil, P-90, Wide Range, Humbucker and Pearly Gates in bridge, middle and neck positions here ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j80eF85cIDM

MY THOUGHTS ...

* BRIDGE - the bridge position has MUCH less energy and more importantly much less BASS than the neck position - maybe 1/5th as much, making a humbucker is a natural fit for this position as we all know already however ..

- A P-90 sounds killer in the bridge position
- The fender wide range is under-rated, this pickup is very powerful with a velvety sound - great distortion!!

* MIDDLE POSITION - this position naturally sounds the most like an acoustic guitar of the three positions, In the past I never used it but after doing these tests I use it the most often.

- A humbucker is ideal for the middle position - it's too bad a Les Paul doesn't have a middle pickup.


* NECK POSITION - the neck position has SO much more LOW bass in the 100 hz range that I thought a Strat single coil is a natural fit for this position.

- Many people tend to put humbuckers and P-90s in the neck but I think that is like using a condensor mic to mic a guitar cabinet - a sure 57 is much better for this in the same way that a single coil is much better for the high signal strength of the neck position.

- I found the P-90 to have the most bass of all pickups tested, as such it sounds boomy in the neck position.

Finally in general I found very little difference in the Duncan 59 and Pearly gates, much less so for example than a P-90 and a Humbucker.

thoughts anyone?

[DavidRavenMoon]

Side by side comparison of all major pickup types

- Many people tend to put humbuckers and P-90s in the neck but I think that is like using a condensor mic to mic a guitar cabinet - a sure 57 is much better for this in the same way that a single coil is much better for the high signal strength of the neck position.

P-90s are single coils. So are Jazzmaster pickups. They just don’t sound like Strat or Tele pickups.

And P-90s with lower winds sound great at the neck.

thoughts anyone?

This is not a real guitar with real pickups on it. You would need to test pickups on the guitar you intend on using them on.

In my experience in building and repairing guitars (I’ve done countless pickup swaps in the past 40 years), a pickup that sounds killer on one guitar often sounds like crap on another.

Case in point; I removed a Duncan Jazz from the neck of a Strat type guitar with an alder body and Floyd Rose. It sounded fine on that.

Put it in a fixed bridge guitar, same scale length, but with a light weight basswood body. The pickup brought out all the wolf tones in that body. It was a boomy sounding mess. Had the same top end, but way too much upper bass.

So I wound a humbucker with a tighter low end (use thinner gauge wire, and some other tricks) and balanced it with an A2 magnet. Now it’s the perfect neck pickup tone. Not too much bass, but also not thin.

I’ve had other such experiences as well.

So I guarantee what you hear in that video will not match the real world. Plus listen to the crappy harsh distortion. If you only plan on playing through a RAT direct into the board, then you got it! Lol



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Silence Kid]

Re: Side by side comparison of all major pickup types

My thoughts (without listening to the video - but from experience) :

Bridge - Anything is acceptable depending on my goal. If I want to play sparkling twangy surf, a Single Coil is required. If I want to rock more, I use a fat humbucker. In practice a lot of humbuckers can sound honky and midrangy in the bridge position, so I tend to be more picky about *which* humbucker belongs in the bridge slot. I can also be more open in acceptance of a variety of bridge singles too (Lace Sensors, Jazzmaster pickups, or G&L MDFs being good compromises for me in the bridge position.) Again though- apples/oranges, both are needed for different purposes.

Middle - I have not ever used a guitar with a humbucker in this position. However if my guitar has a humbucker in the bridge, I do want a single in the middle position to get more twangy/clean tone (with the aim of replicating bridge single coil tone as close as is reasonable.) A single in the middle is also a requirement to gain 'in-between' tones in combination with either a split humbucker or another single, in either bridge or neck position- So I vote a single for the middle.

Neck - Agree with you: a neck single coil is one of the most beautiful sounds a guitar can make. And if I try to play with a neck humbucker, my ears get in a wrestling match with my hands; just not to my taste. That said, something like the Jazz isn't a bad neck humbucker- However in general I avoid humbuckers in the neck position. Single coil all the way.

[Aceman]

Re: Side by side comparison of all major pickup types

Les Paul's have middle pickups. At least they can be got this way.

[Demanic]

Re: Side by side comparison of all major pickup types

Any pickup, any position: Dial in with your ears, not your eyes. Tone knobs exist for a reason, both on the guitar and the amp. Don't be afraid to use the volume knob, on the guitar.
Don't be afraid to use the pregain on the amp.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

[Hardrock ThreeFives]

Re: Side by side comparison of all major pickup types

Thanks for this post. I'm a newbie builder and it helps a lot.

-jbb

"Eternity is very long, especially toward the end"
-Woody Allen

[Chistopher]

Re: Side by side comparison of all major pickup types

Read post 25 of this thread. Am I seriously the only one seeing this or is it not an issur?

[jeremy]

Re: Side by side comparison of all major pickup types

i removed some of those posts. if it persists, spammer will be gone

[Jazz+]

Re: Side by side comparison of all major pickup types

Mini - Humbuckers , Little 59 for example.

Sort of in-between a Humbucker and P90 type sound , good in all positions.

[Adieu]

Re: Side by side comparison of all major pickup types

The world needs more guitars routed HSS.... plenty of options to run those as Humbucker - DoubleRail/Stack - Single if desired