Re: 2 Pickups distance create phase
Pretend that the string only vibrates vertically. If the string is moving
up over one pickup and down over the other, and the pickups are
connected in phase (or are doubly out of phase as in a humbucker) then
the string motion is out of phase with respect to the two pickups (up,
and down). This string movement will therefor be attenuated.
Similarly, When the string is moving in the same direction over the two
pickups, that motion will be summed.
So, an easy example of an attenuated pitch with both pickups on.
Choose a point directly between two pickups. Measure the distance to
the bridge. Reflct that distance from the midpoint in the other direction.
Assuming you have reached the fingerboard, then we have just shown
that the first overtone of this pitch will be attenuated.
If you didn't reach the fingerboard, add the original measured length
again. Assuming you have now reached the fingerboard, you are
demonstrating that the second overtone of this pitch is attenuated.
etc.
Theoretically, there is a comb filter effect happenning here, where a
certain range of frequencys is attenuated in certain picup combinations
and that range repeats at pich doublings across the freuency spectrm.
However, since strings actually vibrate in a complex manner, with all
overtone components, you never truly cancel any pitch. Also, vibration
strength is not uniform across the string. Near the bridge, the amplitude
of the low overtones has been comromised. The high overtones didn't
have such a high amplitude to begin with, so sampling the string there
(bridge pickup) is much brighter (lower overtone attenuated because the
string can't move as far).
Fun fact comparing strat and 3 HB Gibson. Strat pickups lie between the
coils of the humbucker. Therefor, for quack tones, using the adjacent
coils on the neck and middle HB SHOULD provide closest strat sounds. (On
the Dimarzio website they recommend inner coils of HB with SC on HSH
style guitar for this reason. Back to the 3 pup Gibson, we ALSO get the
same relationship if we take the coils that are non-adjacent. Going
back to the first paragraph, what we are doiing is playing with that
midpoint between the pickups.