Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

[StrangeDay]

I've heard people here mention that a pick-up will sound different when placed in a pickguard, as opposed to being mounted onto a ring on the body. Does this have more to do with the body shape, rather than the actual material surrounding the pick-up?

I mean, I know that a big metal tele humbucker bridge does affect the tone by giving it twang (I've experienced this first hand). But what if it were just a small regular mounting ring? Would metal or plastic make a difference? :?:

 

[theboatcandream]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

Interesting question... there are wooden pickup rings out there too, I've seen black korina ones on ebay. Common sense tells me that it would have to make some difference, but that difference might be so minor that it might as well not be there. I think that the closer you are to the bridge, the more difference it would make because of the frequencies you're dealing with, but common sense only goes so far. It might be an interesting thing to investigate.

 

[StrangeDay]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

Anyone else?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

Eddie Van Halen says yes! Pickups screwed directly to the body result in the tone he prefers. But you cannot adjust the ht. That's another thing I didn't like about my EVH/Axis guitar.

 

[BlueSnMettle]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

Eddie Van Halen says yes! Pickups screwed directly to the body result in the tone he prefers. But you cannot adjust the ht. That's another thing I didn't like about my EVH/Axis guitar.

Luigi,

You had yerself an EVH geetar! I knew you were a closet shredder!!! :laugh2: Sure, you claim to be a successful entrepreneur in the fine furniture and guitar accessory biz, but you're really back in the woodshed makin' your fingers bleed. How many Marshalls you got hiding in the closet....
Hmmmmm.......... :32: Hmmmmmm.......... :saeek:

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

Luigi,

You had yerself an EVH geetar! I knew you were a closet shredder!!! :laugh2: Sure, you claim to be a successful entrepreneur in the fine furniture and guitar accessory biz, but you're really back in the woodshed makin' your fingers bleed. How many Marshalls you got hiding in the closet....
Hmmmmm.......... :32: Hmmmmmm.......... :saeek:

:laugh2: :laugh2: :dance: :saeek:

 

[strat_master]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

lol oh my goodness lew! Don't betray us rythm players! I would assume so the rings would have some effect on the guitars sounds but not that much. ..but back to the main point...an EVH axis??!?!? What were you thinking??!?!?! Next thing im gonna hear is you own a BC rich axe..... and you play in drop c tuning haha

 

[StrangeDay]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

Lew rocks my face!! :headbang:



:18:

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

Luigi,

You had yerself an EVH geetar! I knew you were a closet shredder!!! :laugh2: Sure, you claim to be a successful entrepreneur in the fine furniture and guitar accessory biz, but you're really back in the woodshed makin' your fingers bleed. How many Marshalls you got hiding in the closet....
Hmmmmm.......... :32: Hmmmmmm.......... :saeek:

Just one. A nice old '70 50 watt head and bottem. I really liked the way my Ernie Ball Axis played, BTW, and it looked gorgeous! But I bought a single pickup MIJ Fender Strat for about $180. and put a 59 Trembucker in it and then compared the two guitars and the Strat just sounded so much better I sold the Axis without another thought. But I always thought they were kind of cool looking guitars. Nice birdseye maple neck too. My wife really liked it. Mine was a hardtail...no Floyd.

I guess I misunderstood the original question though. :smack: I doubt there's be much diff in the tone of a pickup mounted to a ring vs a pickguard. There would be a diff if the pickup werescrewed directly to the body like EVH used to do it though.

Lew

 

[Hellion]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

My belief is that anything you do to change the instrument will change the tone. It may not be a discernable difference, and not necessarily for the worse, but it will change it.

 

[Vincent]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

Apparently VH was very particular about how it was done. He wanted the pickup to sit 'inside' the guitar without the use of screws/springs. I believe the idea was that both the pickup and guitar would resonate 'as one' and produce 'better' sound...

 

[theodie]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

I think pickguards do sound differently than rings or direct mounting in my book. With pickguards, I always though the guitar had more of an acoustic/chambered sound to it.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Does a pickguard or mounting ring really affect tone?

I'm done with direct to wood guitars, just because it's a dumb design, IMO.
Tonally, a good idea, but for changing pickups, a bad idea.

There's definitely a difference. I'm starting to believe that singles sound best in pickguards, and humbuckers sound best on rings, which are nice and snug with no wobble. Singles that are mounted into the wood tend to be brighter than I like.