Do pickups 'bed' in?

Reaper of Doom

Reaper of Doom

New member
As in speakers break in after so many hours or a brand new guitar doesn't feel so stiff once you've played it alot and the wood matures. I was wondering because I guess the magnet ages over time. Not sure if that sounds like a strange question but interested in peoples opinions.
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

Everything ages with time, of course, and a lot happens during that process, even to pickups. Whether or not these minute changes translate into any sonic change over time is dependent on many factors.

Some here have suggested that even a new pickup has to "settle" into a guitar for a while before you get the "real" tone from it, but there's no real proof either way. The proof, I suppose, is in the ear of the player.

We're also at the point now where many players are seeking out the 20-30 year old Duncans because they have aged and some find them to be "smoother" or "more refined", but even the differences there can be hit and miss. All in all, you're not likely to find that your 5-year old JB sounds noticeably different than your brand new, freshly installed JB, but give it 30 years and the change might be more noticeable. Either way, the difference won't be as drastic as a well broken in speaker or a 40-year old Spanish classical guitar.
 
Last edited:
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

masta' c said:
Some here have suggested that even a new pickup has to "settle" into a guitar for a while before you get the "real" tone from it, but there's no real proof either way. The proof, I suppose, is in the ear of the player.
Click to expand...

In my mind its always been the persons ears that have "bed" in after a change.
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

LReese said:
How about all involved elements bed in after a change?
Click to expand...

Possible but ive always gone with ears. Years ago I was recording a demo with a band and i swapped pups just before we started on the first day I dug the sound then on the 2nd it just started not sounding right to me and I wasnt liking it. But when listening to the tracks later neither me nor anyone else could hear a difference between the first days and the 2nd days. So i just chalked it up that my ears were tired. It would be hard to quantify that there is anything that like has to actually settle in with a pickup but I guess its possible.
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

It's the ears.
Listen to a song that has the guitars and drums coming out of different speakers. Listen to it for a while and get used to it. Then after that, switch the wires for your left and right speaker while keeping them in the same position. (Ie the guitar now comes out the right instead of the left)
It sounds weird but it's the same song
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

Some years ago I bought a pair of used Duncan Distortions that were pulled from the neck and bridge positions of the same guitar ('84 Rhoads). Neither pickup was marked 'b' or 'n', just the old DDL sticker on the bottom. Both pickups had the same screw/slug coil layout; one was not "neck screws" like you find with "neck" pickups now.

Both metered identically.

When I received them, the seller had marked in the wrapping which one came from which position (not to mention the length of the leads was a dead giveaway).

No matter which guitar I put the "neck" DD in the bridge of, it did not sound as good as the "bridge" DD.

Given the facts involved:
1. Metered identically
2. same model, by same winder
3. same age
4. lead length variance was not enough to be a factor

I saw no logical reason these were not, in fact, the same pickup, and should therefore have been interchangeable.
Ergo, I had no preconceived notions like "this is a neck pickup in the bridge, so it will sound different".

However, it did sound different.

It's long been my belief that if a pickup goes through a reasonable/measurable climate change such as the heat of stage lights or other performance (not your climate-controlled bedroom), for a given amount of time, and is subjected to player sweat or other warm liquid factors (half-drunk guitarist drool, spilled beer, etc) of some acidic nature, this affects the wax, and the vibrating of the copper windings - however minute - wears a new position in the wax, and then the wax cools/sets/hardens with the wire in that new spot, thus altering the tonal qualities, but not the field strength or DC resistance. This is amplified by the type of music being played through them, or at least the strength of the string's oscillation and thus how powerful the signal passing through the coils in the conversion to electrical current. So, you play Jazz for 20 years and your pickups will push easily when used for Metal. You play Metal for 20 years and your pickups will have to be slammed to get them to push hard enough.
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

Speakers I can definitely understand due to paper cones loosening up after a bit of flexing. That one definitely makes sense.

Pickups... Not so much.
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

A magnetic p'up, being an electromagnetic trasducer, produces a "tone footprint" as a result of the interaction of the elements that create the magnetic circuit.

This varies depending on the type of p'up (single coil, humbucking) and the alloys that make every component.

The one subject to the most evident audible change is the humbucking p'up, due to its inherent complex structure, depending on many factors, being one of them called Permeability. This is the capacity of the materials of stabily conduct magnetism through'em, deflecting it to a certain element in a certain way.

When in a HB you change the magnet, the result is a different magnetic circuit is created, which it'll take a certain amount of time to create a new, stable field, taking the longest time the weakest magnet type.

IME, it goes from a couple of days flat for a strong mag like an A8, and a week to ten days for an A3 mag to "settle".

So, yes. It does exist such a thing, and it's very real.

HTH,
 
Last edited:
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

LtKojak said:
A magnetic p'up, being an electromagnetic trasducer, produces a "tone footprint" as a result of the interaction of the elements that create the magnetic circuit.

This varies depending on the type of p'up (single coil, humbucking) and the alloys that make every component.

The one subject to the most evident audible change is the humbucking p'up, due to its inherent complex structure, depending on many factors, being one of them called Permeability. This is the capacity of the materials of stabily conduct magnetism through'em, deflecting it to a certain element in a certain way.

When in a HB you change the magnet, the result is a different magnetic circuit is created, which it'll take a certain amount of time to create a new, stable field, taking the longest time the weakest magnet type.

IME, it goes from a couple of days flat for a strong mag like an A8, and a week to ten days for an A3 mag to "settle".

So, yes. It does exist such a thing, and it's very real.

HTH,
Click to expand...

This seems like its probably more an effect of swapping a magnet not putting a whole new pickup in. If i swap the mag then let the pickup sit for a couple weeks then install the pickup there should be no bed in this case right? Does it take the same amount of time to establish the magnetic field in a new pickup? I dont think ive ever gotten a pickup that was hot off the winder its always sat for some time on a dealer shelf somewhere.
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

I don't believe anything settles in a matter of days in a pickup. You either have a fully charged, factory fresh pickup that sounds just like a 1 year old pickup or something that's been effected.
The only time you'll experience a drastic change is when the magnet is way old....like 30 years, a heavier potting, a different magnet, or some other variable like string gauge change.

It's almost silly to think there's any tonal difference in "settling in."
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

IMO, nothing you'd hear on a day-by-day basis. Over years, physical wear and tear can move a pickup away from original specs on an electronic level. For instance, the wax ages, bobbins warp and/or shrink, metals oxidize, coil insulation gets crusty, etc. All of that stuff could conceivably alter tone by changing the amount of current that flows, and the exact manner in which it is induced. Whether audible or not, who knows? As for magnets degaussing over time, I'm not sure whether or not that happens to any measurable and/or practical degree.

But the main thing that makes me think "aging" for "vintage tone" is absolutely foolish is the fact that the "classic" '50's, '60's, and even '70's electric guitar tones that so many people seem to chase were all made using equipment that was anywhere from brand new to only 20 years old at most. Those tones sounded great because they were played great, arranged great, and engineered great, not because the equipment used had some fugitive vintage mojo in it.
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

The reason why I asked was because I've just received a custom wound humbucker from a guy who is based not far from me and I dropped it in my mahogany Charvel that is SO picky about pickups. It's had everything in it. I've actually spent more money on pickups than what a decent new guitar would cost! Right away this custom bucker sounded slammin but it was producing these weird harmonic overtones that I just wasn't used to hearing. It wasn't bad or anything, it was just different. After a few days of being in the rehearsal studio with it it seemed to 'settle' in. Now was it that my ears got used to the custom nature handwound side of it or my hands could manipulate it in a way where my technique came through more along with my own tone or was it just in my head?
Anyway, what I do know is it sounds awesome and after over 4 years of constant tweaking and being really anal I've found something that just works perfect.
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

p_081040003_1.jpg


I guess the answer is yes - pickups can be bedded in. J/K
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

ItsaBass said:
But the main thing that makes me think "aging" for "vintage tone" is absolutely foolish is the fact that the "classic" '50's, '60's, and even '70's electric guitar tones that so many people seem to chase were all made using equipment that was anywhere from brand new to only 20 years old at most. Those tones sounded great because they were played great, arranged great, and engineered great, not because the equipment used had some fugitive vintage mojo in it.
Click to expand...

As a corollary, I think it's because those pickups, guitars, and amps already had whatever gear mojo they needed to do their part. For some reason, they didn't have to wait until the vintage explosion of the 1980's to become good enough for the recordings they were used on 20-30 years before.

And by the way: This. Because I'd never heard it called that before.

BedIn252852529.jpg
 
Re: Do pickups 'bed' in?

It's more likely that a sound gets bedded into my ears than a pickup gets bedded into my guitar.

Or my pick or the strings get bedded into my fingers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top