GoldenVulture
Braindeadologist
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
That's called Economy picking , isn't it ?
That's called Economy picking , isn't it ?
Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
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darthphineas
New member
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
Post #28
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Falloffthebonetone
New member
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
I meant a picture not a name. RAWFUL.
Falloffthebonetone
New member
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
Here is a vid demonstrating a middle humbucker'��s usefulness in a strat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7W2tE36IE0
Here is a vid demonstrating a middle humbucker'��s usefulness in a strat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7W2tE36IE0
Zhangliqun
Questionologist
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
Blueman, I'm here for ya baby, riding to the rescue! I agree that a full size humbucker in the middle just doesn't work and I'll go so far as proclaiming that those who think it does should be sentenced to slide down a 50-foot razor into a vat of alcohol before they start to breed.
I learned this the hard way having a Lucille routed for a middle humbucker. It sounded like a middle pickup all right -- like a Strat middle pu with the tone turned down to minus-2 and the bass cranked up. The two rows of poles (slugs and screws) straddle (and thus miss) the piece of the string that they should see for righteous quack and which a rod mag single coil naturally zeroes in on. I ended up putting a minihumbucker in the middle and it sounded MUCH better. Its coils and magnetic field are much narrower and thus focus much more tightly on the Quack Zone of the strings. A rod magnet single is still the best but a mini will still get it done.
One day I will be able to snag a 3-pickup LP Custom but I will yank the middle bucker and wind a Rod 90 for the middle position with a Phat Cat-style gold cover and the quack will indeed sound the way the Good Lord meant it to be.
One key point Blueman made that got ignored by the booers and catcallers -- showing pictures of someone with a 3-bucker guitar is not the same as saying they got great sounds out of that middle pu. I don't recall any Frampton or Ace or Townsend or Pagey sounds that involved the middle pu. I'm not saying they NEVER used the middle, only that a #2 or #3 or #4 position tone isn't at all what they are known for.
Maybe I should put a finer point on this and say that if what you want is the killer cluck and quack of the #2 and #4 Strat positions, then I don't care what anyone says, a full size bucker in the middle just isn't for you. But if you like to use the middle pu alone for some beefy leads (and I don't), then go for it.
Blueman, I'm here for ya baby, riding to the rescue! I agree that a full size humbucker in the middle just doesn't work and I'll go so far as proclaiming that those who think it does should be sentenced to slide down a 50-foot razor into a vat of alcohol before they start to breed.
I learned this the hard way having a Lucille routed for a middle humbucker. It sounded like a middle pickup all right -- like a Strat middle pu with the tone turned down to minus-2 and the bass cranked up. The two rows of poles (slugs and screws) straddle (and thus miss) the piece of the string that they should see for righteous quack and which a rod mag single coil naturally zeroes in on. I ended up putting a minihumbucker in the middle and it sounded MUCH better. Its coils and magnetic field are much narrower and thus focus much more tightly on the Quack Zone of the strings. A rod magnet single is still the best but a mini will still get it done.
One day I will be able to snag a 3-pickup LP Custom but I will yank the middle bucker and wind a Rod 90 for the middle position with a Phat Cat-style gold cover and the quack will indeed sound the way the Good Lord meant it to be.
One key point Blueman made that got ignored by the booers and catcallers -- showing pictures of someone with a 3-bucker guitar is not the same as saying they got great sounds out of that middle pu. I don't recall any Frampton or Ace or Townsend or Pagey sounds that involved the middle pu. I'm not saying they NEVER used the middle, only that a #2 or #3 or #4 position tone isn't at all what they are known for.
Maybe I should put a finer point on this and say that if what you want is the killer cluck and quack of the #2 and #4 Strat positions, then I don't care what anyone says, a full size bucker in the middle just isn't for you. But if you like to use the middle pu alone for some beefy leads (and I don't), then go for it.
Zhangliqun
Questionologist
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
Securb I'll bite. Only for a brief moment in that video does the guy use the middle pu at all, he's on the bridge 90% of the time. But even though the middle is a Fralin Unbucker (which means it has a HUGE mismatch between the coils -- 1.5k or more) to mitigate the murk a bit, it still sounded congested and stuffy, not the least bit quacky.
It might have helped your case if he cut back a little on the gain so we could really hear the pickups, but as it was, each pickup sounded like a beehive, the middle like a beehive with mud and the neck with still more mud.
Anyway, try again.
Securb I'll bite. Only for a brief moment in that video does the guy use the middle pu at all, he's on the bridge 90% of the time. But even though the middle is a Fralin Unbucker (which means it has a HUGE mismatch between the coils -- 1.5k or more) to mitigate the murk a bit, it still sounded congested and stuffy, not the least bit quacky.
It might have helped your case if he cut back a little on the gain so we could really hear the pickups, but as it was, each pickup sounded like a beehive, the middle like a beehive with mud and the neck with still more mud.
Anyway, try again.
Falloffthebonetone
New member
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
2. The point of the pics was to show that a 3hb set up won't impede your playing skills, as plenty of artists have sucessfully played them. They can be lowered out of the way quite easily.
3. Loads of recordings have used that middle hb. It's especially awesome for blues and slide as mentioned in the video and has been used effectively by all the people mentioned including Ry Cooder, Andrew Fairweather Low, and Wayne Kramer himself.
4. On a strat, the between position quack would be retained, it was when I got to play a WK strat.
1. Going in a strat with neck and bridge singles, not a hollow body with 3 buckers.
2. The point of the pics was to show that a 3hb set up won't impede your playing skills, as plenty of artists have sucessfully played them. They can be lowered out of the way quite easily.
3. Loads of recordings have used that middle hb. It's especially awesome for blues and slide as mentioned in the video and has been used effectively by all the people mentioned including Ry Cooder, Andrew Fairweather Low, and Wayne Kramer himself.
4. On a strat, the between position quack would be retained, it was when I got to play a WK strat.
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King IzzO)))
Ultimate Kitten Puncher
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
I'm planning to put a Fast Track 2 in the middle on my RG560 project for an alternative from the bridge pickup for rhythm sounds and an alternative to the neck pickup lead sounds. No care for the notch quack, although I have two other guitars capable of it.
I think this will suit me better personally. I guess we'll find out.
I'm planning to put a Fast Track 2 in the middle on my RG560 project for an alternative from the bridge pickup for rhythm sounds and an alternative to the neck pickup lead sounds. No care for the notch quack, although I have two other guitars capable of it.
I think this will suit me better personally. I guess we'll find out.
ItsaBass
New member
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
Those pix of people playing three pickup guitars prove nothing. And three pickup Gibsons have never been popular, for a variety of reasons. That doesn't mean you can't do it, or there is no reason for doing it. You just have to like it more than you dislike it. Some people do. Some people don't. End of story.
Those pix of people playing three pickup guitars prove nothing. And three pickup Gibsons have never been popular, for a variety of reasons. That doesn't mean you can't do it, or there is no reason for doing it. You just have to like it more than you dislike it. Some people do. Some people don't. End of story.
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King IzzO)))
Ultimate Kitten Puncher
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
Ruh-Roh Rahggy
Ruh-Roh Rahggy
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
You keep talking about "quacky" like it is the end game for all tone. I personally don't like a "quacky" pickup I have never been a big Strat guy. A lot of players love that "beehive" tone, Jack White being one of them, I personally love it myself. The big thing you don't get is the smile on the guy's face, he loves the guitar and the tone. He exclaimed "I love this guitar" that is what it is all about, his preference. I know we should all bow down to what you think our guitars and setups should sound like "in your opinion". Like I said I am not a fan of "quack" so forgive me if I pass on your immense knowledge of gear.
You keep talking about "quacky" like it is the end game for all tone. I personally don't like a "quacky" pickup I have never been a big Strat guy. A lot of players love that "beehive" tone, Jack White being one of them, I personally love it myself. The big thing you don't get is the smile on the guy's face, he loves the guitar and the tone. He exclaimed "I love this guitar" that is what it is all about, his preference. I know we should all bow down to what you think our guitars and setups should sound like "in your opinion". Like I said I am not a fan of "quack" so forgive me if I pass on your immense knowledge of gear.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
Because that's almost the only place guys have HHH experience. Not a lot of Strats come from the factory as HHH. The issues of middle HB's in Gibsons is going to be an awful like the issues a Strat will have with them.
Because that's almost the only place guys have HHH experience. Not a lot of Strats come from the factory as HHH. The issues of middle HB's in Gibsons is going to be an awful like the issues a Strat will have with them.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
I have a very light touch with my right hand, and still hit a middle HB (as many guys do) because the tip of the pick has to go below the string to pluck it, as least when you're playing single notes. When a PU is sitting an 1/8" below the strings, bingo, that's why a pick hits it! You could drop the PU lower, but it'll be even weaker-sounding than it was. If all you're doing is playing chords, it may not be as much of an issue. When most guys play an HHH, they have to reposition their right hand to pick in the small space in between PU's. One of the reasons HHH's haven't caught on.
I have a very light touch with my right hand, and still hit a middle HB (as many guys do) because the tip of the pick has to go below the string to pluck it, as least when you're playing single notes. When a PU is sitting an 1/8" below the strings, bingo, that's why a pick hits it! You could drop the PU lower, but it'll be even weaker-sounding than it was. If all you're doing is playing chords, it may not be as much of an issue. When most guys play an HHH, they have to reposition their right hand to pick in the small space in between PU's. One of the reasons HHH's haven't caught on.
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the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
It's getting deep in here...
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It's getting deep in here...
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blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Any Drawbacks Using a Humbucker For Middle Pickup in a Strat?
ItsaBass and Aceman: Appartently Zhang is in the same category as I am; after all, what does he know about PU's, he just designs and winds them.
The nice thing about this forum is that it's a place where people can toss around ideas and opinions, in a casual and respectful manner. An international think tank. No one is ridiculed or humiliated for expressing a different opinion, things don't deteriorate into name calling and personal attacks. Just guys sharing ideas. Well, at least that's what Seymour intended. But there's always a few that lack the maturity and self-control to handle it. That fact is that if you're confident in your beliefs, you're not rattled when people disagree with you, and you certainly don't lash out at them. In the big picture, does it really matter what someone else thinks? Does it really impact your life? The world's full of people that think differently than you do. What's that about 'playing nice in Seymour's house'?
As far as clips go:
- I've learned about magnets, pots, swapping coils, etc, without ever watching/listening to anyone's clips. I took the ideas they talked about and ran with them. They didn't 'prove' anything to me. I really don't care what they do, or don't do musically. It's makes no difference to me if those guys were good players or not. I'm after ideas, people thinking out the box. I've tried what I thought had merit, and have passed them along in the same manner I learned them: without clips. If you can't pick it up from that, then have someone else make a clip for you. I'm gearing my posts to guys that learn like I do, and there have been a number of them over the years, in threads and PM's.
I have no earthly desire to hear any of you play. I don't care what gear you have and what you spent on it. That's not why I come here. There's more great music online than I can keep up with as it is. The last thing I'm going to do is race over to hear clips of someone I'm having a disagreement with. Not really relavant to the discussion. Besides, most of this forum is opinions and tastes, not facts. Some of the best players I know have no idea what PU's are in their guitars ('the stock ones"); they're not guys I can talk to about magnets, pots, and hybrid PU's. Way over their heads, even though they're much better players than I am. l talk basic gear with them. I come here to pick people's brains, to talk to innovators. No matter what anyone's said to me, I've never sunk to a personal level and tried to humiliate or insult anyone. I don't understand the mentality of people that feel the need to do that to others publicly. This isn't supposed to deteriorate into a free-for-all.
ItsaBass and Aceman: Appartently Zhang is in the same category as I am; after all, what does he know about PU's, he just designs and winds them.
The nice thing about this forum is that it's a place where people can toss around ideas and opinions, in a casual and respectful manner. An international think tank. No one is ridiculed or humiliated for expressing a different opinion, things don't deteriorate into name calling and personal attacks. Just guys sharing ideas. Well, at least that's what Seymour intended. But there's always a few that lack the maturity and self-control to handle it. That fact is that if you're confident in your beliefs, you're not rattled when people disagree with you, and you certainly don't lash out at them. In the big picture, does it really matter what someone else thinks? Does it really impact your life? The world's full of people that think differently than you do. What's that about 'playing nice in Seymour's house'?
As far as clips go:
- I've learned about magnets, pots, swapping coils, etc, without ever watching/listening to anyone's clips. I took the ideas they talked about and ran with them. They didn't 'prove' anything to me. I really don't care what they do, or don't do musically. It's makes no difference to me if those guys were good players or not. I'm after ideas, people thinking out the box. I've tried what I thought had merit, and have passed them along in the same manner I learned them: without clips. If you can't pick it up from that, then have someone else make a clip for you. I'm gearing my posts to guys that learn like I do, and there have been a number of them over the years, in threads and PM's.
I have no earthly desire to hear any of you play. I don't care what gear you have and what you spent on it. That's not why I come here. There's more great music online than I can keep up with as it is. The last thing I'm going to do is race over to hear clips of someone I'm having a disagreement with. Not really relavant to the discussion. Besides, most of this forum is opinions and tastes, not facts. Some of the best players I know have no idea what PU's are in their guitars ('the stock ones"); they're not guys I can talk to about magnets, pots, and hybrid PU's. Way over their heads, even though they're much better players than I am. l talk basic gear with them. I come here to pick people's brains, to talk to innovators. No matter what anyone's said to me, I've never sunk to a personal level and tried to humiliate or insult anyone. I don't understand the mentality of people that feel the need to do that to others publicly. This isn't supposed to deteriorate into a free-for-all.
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