Hi all. My question is, are pickups designed to be put in a certain position? For example, if i were to buy some new pickups will they say that this pickup is for the neck slot or bridge slot etc, or could i get what ever pickup i want and have it installed in any position i want. Are all pickups able to be installed into any position? Does the sound of the pickup depend on which position i put it in? Do some pickups work better in other positions?
Are pickups assigned to specific positions in a 5 way switch?
- Thread starter danny458
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Dave Locher
New member
Re: Are pickups assigned to specific positions in a 5 way switch?
Danny,
You can put any pickup in any position, but a lot of times they are designed to be used in either the bridge or the neck position. Pickups that are designated as "neck pickups" are usually brighter sounding and often have a lower output than the same pickup in the "bridge" version.
However, most 1950s and 1960s guitars had the exact same pickup in every position, and some guitars STILL come that way. There are some new pickups that are labeled as "bridge" by the manufacturer but people like them in the neck position. I personally had a Schaller humbucker that had "Bridge" stamped into the base and it sounded GREAT in the neck position.
SOME pickups have the magnetic poles a little closer together in the neck version and a little farther apart in the bridge position, but it is rarely enough difference to matter.
So...since you asked about three positions and a five-way switch I assume you have a Stratocaster or Strat copy? You might want to ask for specific advice for each position based on how you'd like each pickup to sound compared to what you currently have. (I am not a Strat guy, but there are plenty of people here who are. There is even a thread about putting the exact same pickup into all three positions!) Personally, I like a fat, thick sounding pickup in the bridge position but not in the neck so I often change just the bridge pickup. It all comes down to what you want to change about the sound of your guitar.
Danny,
You can put any pickup in any position, but a lot of times they are designed to be used in either the bridge or the neck position. Pickups that are designated as "neck pickups" are usually brighter sounding and often have a lower output than the same pickup in the "bridge" version.
However, most 1950s and 1960s guitars had the exact same pickup in every position, and some guitars STILL come that way. There are some new pickups that are labeled as "bridge" by the manufacturer but people like them in the neck position. I personally had a Schaller humbucker that had "Bridge" stamped into the base and it sounded GREAT in the neck position.
SOME pickups have the magnetic poles a little closer together in the neck version and a little farther apart in the bridge position, but it is rarely enough difference to matter.
So...since you asked about three positions and a five-way switch I assume you have a Stratocaster or Strat copy? You might want to ask for specific advice for each position based on how you'd like each pickup to sound compared to what you currently have. (I am not a Strat guy, but there are plenty of people here who are. There is even a thread about putting the exact same pickup into all three positions!) Personally, I like a fat, thick sounding pickup in the bridge position but not in the neck so I often change just the bridge pickup. It all comes down to what you want to change about the sound of your guitar.
Re: Are pickups assigned to specific positions in a 5 way switch?
^This.
Designating a pickup as 'neck', 'bridge' or 'middle' is just a name. Any pickup will hear the strings in any position. In fact, traditional Fender's and Gibsons used the same pickup for any position, and to make things more confusing, many people have great results with a neck pickup in the bridge. Pickup position matters if you are going for hum-cancelling in positions 2 & 4 in a Strat, want a louder bridge pickup, or want a wider pickup (Trembucker) for the bridge positions so the poles line up with the strings (this is only on some guitars).
^This.
Designating a pickup as 'neck', 'bridge' or 'middle' is just a name. Any pickup will hear the strings in any position. In fact, traditional Fender's and Gibsons used the same pickup for any position, and to make things more confusing, many people have great results with a neck pickup in the bridge. Pickup position matters if you are going for hum-cancelling in positions 2 & 4 in a Strat, want a louder bridge pickup, or want a wider pickup (Trembucker) for the bridge positions so the poles line up with the strings (this is only on some guitars).
Re: Are pickups assigned to specific positions in a 5 way switch?
Thanks very much for your help Dave and Mincer, you are correct in assuming i have a stratocaster that currently has HSS configuration but i am looking to change it to SSS. I am looking at getting SSL-1 pickps and SSL-5 pickups. I have heard that the SSL-1's work best in the neck and middle and the SSL-5 in the bridge. Do you agree with that? is it also good to refer to the output of each pickup when looking at which position to put it in? Should i put a higher output pickup on the bridge? Also, what pickup is in the middle position if pickups are usually assigned to bridge and neck?
Thanks very much for your help Dave and Mincer, you are correct in assuming i have a stratocaster that currently has HSS configuration but i am looking to change it to SSS. I am looking at getting SSL-1 pickps and SSL-5 pickups. I have heard that the SSL-1's work best in the neck and middle and the SSL-5 in the bridge. Do you agree with that? is it also good to refer to the output of each pickup when looking at which position to put it in? Should i put a higher output pickup on the bridge? Also, what pickup is in the middle position if pickups are usually assigned to bridge and neck?
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Liko
Member
Re: Are pickups assigned to specific positions in a 5 way switch?
In terms of form factor (shape, size and wire leads), yes, any pickup of a certain basic type (humbucker, Strat, P-90, Mini-hum etc) can go in any position. The notable exception is on traditional Teles; the Tele bridge pickup is not interchangeable with the Tele neck.
What differs between pickups intended for a particular position depends on the specific type of pickup. In most cases, bridge pickups get more windings than neck pickups for increased signal and more midrange. This is to compensate for this pickup's placement closer to the anchor points of the string at the bridge, where the fundamental vibration is reduced. On Strats, the middle pickup gets a number of windings somewhere in between the neck and bridge, and since the late '70s it's been common to make this pickup reverse-wound, reverse-polarity so that the "notch" positions (neck-mid and mid-bridge) are hum-cancelling.
So, ultimately, pickups are designed to be installed in a particular pickup slot, however there's nothing built into their form factor to enforce this; you can put pickups designed for the bridge position into the neck slot instead, if that produces the sound you want from that pickup position. Just be aware that you won't get the same sound from this pickup in the neck that you hear in demo clips where it's installed in the bridge.
As in the above, hotter pickups tend to be placed closer to the bridge, to improve the output of the guitar in this position by compensating for the reduced fundamental vibration closer to the bridge saddles. The net result is a cutting, trebly tone that usually distorts well and is commonly used for lead solos. But, there's nothing preventing you bucking the trend; you can buy 3 SSL-5 pickups and put one in each position of your Strat.
With Strats, there are four basic schools of thought: "Vintage", "Texas Hot", "Max Gain" and "anything goes". The traditional Strat wiring uses an equal progression of DC resistance in the pickups from neck to bridge, and most aftermarket pickup winders including Seymour Duncan make and sell matched sets along these lines (the SSL-1 and SSL-2 are made in such matched sets). Texas Hot is a fairly common term for adding a hotter overwound bridge pickup like the SSL-5 to an otherwise vintage set, giving you a thicker lead tone compared to the vintage Strat. The practice became common among Southern rockers in the 70s, who melded country-western twang with classic rock crunch and needed a guitar that could do both as well. Your current HSS "Fat Strat" configuration takes this same idea a step further, using a full-size Gibson humbucker in that position instead of a single-coil, giving you LP-like lead tones from the bridge position, but traditional Strat tones in other positions. "Max Gain" is found among your grunge and punk rockers of the 70s through the 90s, and ultimately produced the Super Strat common in metal genres. The concept is simple; high-output in every position to push the amp as hard as you can. The biggest problem, at least with single-coils, is noise, which was a contributing factor to the rise of the Les Paul in early heavy metal. With the development of the Strat-size humbucker and other hum-cancelling designs that fit the standard Strat form factor, this has made the design, with appropriate style tweaks, a viable instrument for hard rock styles.
"Anything goes" is exactly that. Given that you have three pickups in one guitar, many guitarists will hand-pick a pickup that they like for each position, not worrying as much about the combination positions. You might see a low-output lipstick pickup in the neck, a vintage overwound pickup in the middle and a Quarter-Pounder in the bridge, giving the player three very distinct tones in one guitar. Or you might see exactly the opposite. It's your instrument; experiment. You won't set the guitar on fire doing something unconventional with pickup selection (just be careful with the soldering iron; that can actually set the guitar on fire).
In terms of form factor (shape, size and wire leads), yes, any pickup of a certain basic type (humbucker, Strat, P-90, Mini-hum etc) can go in any position. The notable exception is on traditional Teles; the Tele bridge pickup is not interchangeable with the Tele neck.
What differs between pickups intended for a particular position depends on the specific type of pickup. In most cases, bridge pickups get more windings than neck pickups for increased signal and more midrange. This is to compensate for this pickup's placement closer to the anchor points of the string at the bridge, where the fundamental vibration is reduced. On Strats, the middle pickup gets a number of windings somewhere in between the neck and bridge, and since the late '70s it's been common to make this pickup reverse-wound, reverse-polarity so that the "notch" positions (neck-mid and mid-bridge) are hum-cancelling.
So, ultimately, pickups are designed to be installed in a particular pickup slot, however there's nothing built into their form factor to enforce this; you can put pickups designed for the bridge position into the neck slot instead, if that produces the sound you want from that pickup position. Just be aware that you won't get the same sound from this pickup in the neck that you hear in demo clips where it's installed in the bridge.
As in the above, hotter pickups tend to be placed closer to the bridge, to improve the output of the guitar in this position by compensating for the reduced fundamental vibration closer to the bridge saddles. The net result is a cutting, trebly tone that usually distorts well and is commonly used for lead solos. But, there's nothing preventing you bucking the trend; you can buy 3 SSL-5 pickups and put one in each position of your Strat.
With Strats, there are four basic schools of thought: "Vintage", "Texas Hot", "Max Gain" and "anything goes". The traditional Strat wiring uses an equal progression of DC resistance in the pickups from neck to bridge, and most aftermarket pickup winders including Seymour Duncan make and sell matched sets along these lines (the SSL-1 and SSL-2 are made in such matched sets). Texas Hot is a fairly common term for adding a hotter overwound bridge pickup like the SSL-5 to an otherwise vintage set, giving you a thicker lead tone compared to the vintage Strat. The practice became common among Southern rockers in the 70s, who melded country-western twang with classic rock crunch and needed a guitar that could do both as well. Your current HSS "Fat Strat" configuration takes this same idea a step further, using a full-size Gibson humbucker in that position instead of a single-coil, giving you LP-like lead tones from the bridge position, but traditional Strat tones in other positions. "Max Gain" is found among your grunge and punk rockers of the 70s through the 90s, and ultimately produced the Super Strat common in metal genres. The concept is simple; high-output in every position to push the amp as hard as you can. The biggest problem, at least with single-coils, is noise, which was a contributing factor to the rise of the Les Paul in early heavy metal. With the development of the Strat-size humbucker and other hum-cancelling designs that fit the standard Strat form factor, this has made the design, with appropriate style tweaks, a viable instrument for hard rock styles.
"Anything goes" is exactly that. Given that you have three pickups in one guitar, many guitarists will hand-pick a pickup that they like for each position, not worrying as much about the combination positions. You might see a low-output lipstick pickup in the neck, a vintage overwound pickup in the middle and a Quarter-Pounder in the bridge, giving the player three very distinct tones in one guitar. Or you might see exactly the opposite. It's your instrument; experiment. You won't set the guitar on fire doing something unconventional with pickup selection (just be careful with the soldering iron; that can actually set the guitar on fire).
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Re: Are pickups assigned to specific positions in a 5 way switch?
SSL-1 in the neck and middle and an SSL-5 in the bridge is a great combo. Lots of people who dig David Gilmour use that exact combo, but it is capable of a lot more. If I was going with all singles, this is what I would use (except flat versions: SSL-2 and SSL-6 as I have a flatter radius and use 009 gauge strings).
SSL-1 in the neck and middle and an SSL-5 in the bridge is a great combo. Lots of people who dig David Gilmour use that exact combo, but it is capable of a lot more. If I was going with all singles, this is what I would use (except flat versions: SSL-2 and SSL-6 as I have a flatter radius and use 009 gauge strings).
Jazz+
New member
Re: Are pickups assigned to specific positions in a 5 way switch?
If you put the same pickup in the neck position and the same pickup in the middle position, a Lil 59 for example, will they sound just the same? I cant judge how different. Yet, in the old days Fender would put the same pickup in all 3 positions right? How similar or different will they sound all the same?
If you put the same pickup in the neck position and the same pickup in the middle position, a Lil 59 for example, will they sound just the same? I cant judge how different. Yet, in the old days Fender would put the same pickup in all 3 positions right? How similar or different will they sound all the same?
Re: Are pickups assigned to specific positions in a 5 way switch?
Listen to any 50's to 70's strat or LP - they have essentially the same spec pickup fitted to all positions ......that will give you an idea on just how much difference the pickup position makes to the tone way better than a description.
Listen to any 50's to 70's strat or LP - they have essentially the same spec pickup fitted to all positions ......that will give you an idea on just how much difference the pickup position makes to the tone way better than a description.
Discharged
New member
Re: Are pickups assigned to specific positions in a 5 way switch?
/Peter
Every p'up's tone-footprint is a direct result of its placement under the strings along the scale, with the one closer to the neck sounds more "bassy" than the one closer to the bridge. Even picking the strings in different places will produce different tones. If you play either acoustic or classical guitar, that's something you learn from the very beginning. If you can't hear this, then there might be something wrong with your hearing.
If you can't tell if you're hearing a neck or a bridge p'up, well... this is the most common symptom of tone-deafness, so if i was you, I'll get my ears checked and ask the specialist about this condition. It can be conquered, but it requires your ear to be trained in a different way than "normal".
They still do.
I've already answered the question. Good luck!
/Peter
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