britishgeetah
New member
I read in may descriptions and stuff about having a good sharp attack but, can someone clear up for me, what is attack, and what does it sound like?
Can someone explain to me what 'attack' in a pickup is?
- Thread starter britishgeetah
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Lewguitar
Guest
Re: Can someone explain to me what 'attack' in a pickup is?
To me it's when the pick hits the strings. And depending on your technique it can be smooth or sharp...depending how hard you hit the strings, the angle of the pick, what your intention is, whether you want to sting the note or pinch a harmonic or carress the string for a softer tone, etc. Lew
To me it's when the pick hits the strings. And depending on your technique it can be smooth or sharp...depending how hard you hit the strings, the angle of the pick, what your intention is, whether you want to sting the note or pinch a harmonic or carress the string for a softer tone, etc. Lew
krankguitarist
Krankitupologist
Re: Can someone explain to me what 'attack' in a pickup is?
little hard to explain...but to me its how "forceful" it sounds when you first pick a note.
little hard to explain...but to me its how "forceful" it sounds when you first pick a note.
walkdmc
New member
Re: Can someone explain to me what 'attack' in a pickup is?
attack is just the way you pick (or attack the strings with the pick). you can have a soft attack, loud attack, aggressive attack etc. i think that having a "good" attack is just anything that sounds good and works for you.
attack is just the way you pick (or attack the strings with the pick). you can have a soft attack, loud attack, aggressive attack etc. i think that having a "good" attack is just anything that sounds good and works for you.
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
Re: Can someone explain to me what 'attack' in a pickup is?
For me attack has to do with the sound of the pick hitting the string, you can change angle, method of picking or force and the pickup translates it. Far too many pickups don't translate picking nuances very well. The tradeoff with singles versus humbuckers is nuance versus sustain.
With single coils you have a wide variety of tones based upon picking style. That's why so many single coil players are always messing with the volume and tone controls. They are looking for the sweet spots where they can accentuate their attack. They go with low output pickups because they can vary their sound based upon how they pick. If their not good pickers their sound is choppy and forced.
Humbuckers sound smooth but they aren't as sensitive. Most humbucker players don’t use the volume or tone much. They don’t mess with it because the controls aren’t as sensitive. But humbuckers have good sustain and they sound big. A humbucker fills more sonic space than a single coil
I would like a humbucker pickup that has a very sensitive response to how you pick and the harder you hit it the more distortion you have, but yet cleans up as you back off. What frustrates me is how so many humbucker pickups are smoothed out and focused on sustain. I want a pickup that distorts hard when picked hard and with that comes spastic harmonics. I want a humbucker that screams when abused. Forget about sustain I want massive response based upon palm muting.
Snowdog
For me attack has to do with the sound of the pick hitting the string, you can change angle, method of picking or force and the pickup translates it. Far too many pickups don't translate picking nuances very well. The tradeoff with singles versus humbuckers is nuance versus sustain.
With single coils you have a wide variety of tones based upon picking style. That's why so many single coil players are always messing with the volume and tone controls. They are looking for the sweet spots where they can accentuate their attack. They go with low output pickups because they can vary their sound based upon how they pick. If their not good pickers their sound is choppy and forced.
Humbuckers sound smooth but they aren't as sensitive. Most humbucker players don’t use the volume or tone much. They don’t mess with it because the controls aren’t as sensitive. But humbuckers have good sustain and they sound big. A humbucker fills more sonic space than a single coil
I would like a humbucker pickup that has a very sensitive response to how you pick and the harder you hit it the more distortion you have, but yet cleans up as you back off. What frustrates me is how so many humbucker pickups are smoothed out and focused on sustain. I want a pickup that distorts hard when picked hard and with that comes spastic harmonics. I want a humbucker that screams when abused. Forget about sustain I want massive response based upon palm muting.
Snowdog
Oblivion DC
New member
Re: Can someone explain to me what 'attack' in a pickup is?
Heheheh - the kids having a hard time with 'attack' and you throw 'sledge hammer', 'resonance and velocity' and 'big time grunt/thump/knock factor' at him.
That's just mean!!! :laugh2:
idsnowdog said:
Heheheh - the kids having a hard time with 'attack' and you throw 'sledge hammer', 'resonance and velocity' and 'big time grunt/thump/knock factor' at him.
That's just mean!!! :laugh2:
dani
Active member
Re: Can someone explain to me what 'attack' in a pickup is?
aside from those already mentioned, attack of a pickup can also mean the tracking of a pickup.
lets take the custom and custom custom for example. due to the ceramic mag, the custom is pretty aggressive and tight. when you chug a note, it is well defined and focused. the cc has a softer feel overall and notes seemed to bloom.
i would say the custom has a faster tracking response and thus a faster/heavier/well defined attack than the cc. to put it in perspective, its how fast or slow the note would hit full volume in response to the way you hit the string before it starts sustaining.
correct me if i am wrong but i think that's about it.
aside from those already mentioned, attack of a pickup can also mean the tracking of a pickup.
lets take the custom and custom custom for example. due to the ceramic mag, the custom is pretty aggressive and tight. when you chug a note, it is well defined and focused. the cc has a softer feel overall and notes seemed to bloom.
i would say the custom has a faster tracking response and thus a faster/heavier/well defined attack than the cc. to put it in perspective, its how fast or slow the note would hit full volume in response to the way you hit the string before it starts sustaining.
correct me if i am wrong but i think that's about it.
some_dude
Raging BB Gunologist
Re: Can someone explain to me what 'attack' in a pickup is?
That's more or less my definition.
A pickup with a percussive, sharp, or fast attack accentuates the pick attack and hits at full force right away
A pickup with a smooth, rounded, or slow attack masks some of the pick attack.
The extreme form of the first way is like getting hit with a sledgehammer.
The extreme form of the second way is like a flower blossoming to full bloom.
dani said:
That's more or less my definition.
A pickup with a percussive, sharp, or fast attack accentuates the pick attack and hits at full force right away
A pickup with a smooth, rounded, or slow attack masks some of the pick attack.
The extreme form of the first way is like getting hit with a sledgehammer.
The extreme form of the second way is like a flower blossoming to full bloom.
fab.regnaut
New member
Re: Can someone explain to me what 'attack' in a pickup is?
Attack of a pickup is related to its ability to track fast and to reproduce the nuances of picking .
Compare 59 and Jazz neck : the 59 have more gain and bass , Jazz have less gain more treebles and less bass . So 59 is slow tracking but Jazz is fast ; more gain = less treebles and percusion , more bass = slower tracking cos treebles travel faster than basses .
Compare Distortion and Screaming Demon : first have way more gain so the picking is less dynamic , it is like you play with a compression pedal . Demon is a very dynamic p-u , percussive , fast tracking .
If you have a level in your gear , with dynamic p-u when you hit hard the string the level jumps , as with gainy p-u the level is stable .
Attack of a pickup is related to its ability to track fast and to reproduce the nuances of picking .
Compare 59 and Jazz neck : the 59 have more gain and bass , Jazz have less gain more treebles and less bass . So 59 is slow tracking but Jazz is fast ; more gain = less treebles and percusion , more bass = slower tracking cos treebles travel faster than basses .
Compare Distortion and Screaming Demon : first have way more gain so the picking is less dynamic , it is like you play with a compression pedal . Demon is a very dynamic p-u , percussive , fast tracking .
If you have a level in your gear , with dynamic p-u when you hit hard the string the level jumps , as with gainy p-u the level is stable .
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
Re: Can someone explain to me what 'attack' in a pickup is?
I had a demon and I thought it was gutless. The only pickup that really sounds like what I described was a Carvin M22SD pickup I had for years. Overall the tone wasn't stellar kind of harsh but it really grunted and screamed when hit hard. It was a very dynamic pickup.
Snowdog
I had a demon and I thought it was gutless. The only pickup that really sounds like what I described was a Carvin M22SD pickup I had for years. Overall the tone wasn't stellar kind of harsh but it really grunted and screamed when hit hard. It was a very dynamic pickup.
Snowdog
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