Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

[Chistopher]

I'm thinking for my next Strat build, I'll make it extra unorthodox. I was thinking of having a traditional Stratocaster, except for two major changes. The bridge pickup will be a Tele pickup, and there will be a Tele neck pickup slightly closer to the bridge than the traditional strat neck pickup.

First off I wanted to know if any one has any experience with this and if y'all could offer me some pointers on how to test out pickup location without carving up 50 pickguards. I was thinking about putting it about 1/2" closer to the bridge than the neck pickup.

And one last question. I was also wondering if y'allhad any recommendations for the Tele neck pickup. None of my Tele have the traditional neck pickups.

Edit: I know the bridge is gonna be a SD BG-1400 in parallel but I'm still in the air about the rest.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

Well, apart from the fact that 4 pickups will make the locations most likely sort themselves out space wise due to limitations of available real-estate....consider what having an extra pickup is going to do tonally - what are you hoping to get out of an extra one???
Just screw the pickups into the body to test- I'm assuming you'll have a swimming pool rout.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

yeah i did a 2s 2h guitar years ago and i wont bother again. i do have a shs guitar still that i like very much.

 

[vinnie1971]

Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

Teisco did loads of 4 pickup models. The tones of the middle 2 pickups I bet will be similar.
Like when you split humbuckers on an HH guitar to the inside coils and select both inside coils, it sounds like a cross between positions 2 and 4 on a regular SSS strat.

If you do this, use the Teisco pickup selection method, use on off switches so you can make any pickup selection/combination. May by use 3 way mini toggles to set off, on in series, on in parallel like Brian May's red special.

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[Chistopher]

Re: Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

Thanks for the advice. What I was considering was having a standard strat switch, master volume and tone, and then having a switch to turn on the Tele neck. Another thing I was considering was a blower switch that would activate the BG-1400 in series and bypass every other control except volume.

That way I would get all the standard strat tones (or similar, taking into account the Tele bridge), a Tele neck to throw in to the mix whenever I want to, and I would have a switch to go from clean strat to dirty humbucker in a single movement.

I have played some of the four pickup Teisco's y'all have been mentioning, and I like the tones that can be had, it's just the wiring is darn near impossible to switch on the fly. If you wanted to go from pickups 1 and 2 to pickups 3 and 4, you have to hit 4 switches. With this you can shut off all the fancy switching positions and have a simple Strat wiring if you want to.

Any ideas on pickups? I'd prefer noiseless if possible. I was thinking of going with my standard STK-S7 neck and S4 middle, but I don't know how that would interact with the BG-1400. I might also considering switching the S7 for another S4.

 

[vinnie1971]

Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

I don't have enough experience but I'd be tempted to get 4 mini humbuckers in there then map out what pickup selections you want and put them on a 6 way rotary switch in combination with the 5 way.


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[Chris Pile]

Re: Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

It can be done (and I've done it), but the results are not worth the effort. Also, the more pickups you install, the more likely to have problems with string pull from the magnets, and phasing problems - especially if you use pickups from different manufacturers. Finally, having all 4 pickups on at once does some crazy stuff with impedance. Your amp might dig it, but it might not. Sometimes less is more.....

 

[Mincer]

Re: Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

Well, Steve Morse did fine, but his switching is very unique to him.
His old Tele had 5 pickups (one drove his synth):


His original Signature model cleans that up:


As I said, his switching is convoluted (easy for him), but I do appreciate a signature model that is actually unique and not something like a regular Fender in a different color.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

It can be done (and I've done it), but the results are not worth the effort. Also, the more pickups you install, the more likely to have problems with string pull from the magnets, and phasing problems - especially if you use pickups from different manufacturers. Finally, having all 4 pickups on at once does some crazy stuff with impedance. Your amp might dig it, but it might not. Sometimes less is more.....

I wouldn't think that a single Tele neck pickup would make too drastic an effect on string pull. And given I'm gonna use all SD pickups, there probably won't be any phase issues. But I did not think about the impedance issues, what problems would that pose?

 

[Aceman]

Re: Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

No - because Blueman said even three are unusable. So it is thus true and recorded that we must not use them....

(Glances at three humbucker cadillac and smiles....)

 

[HotHead]

Re: Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

The only 4-pickup guitar I've ever played was a DiPinto Galaxie. Strange, 50's future sci-fi-looking thing. It definitely had a cool asthetic, but I can't say that the extra pickup was really useful in any way. Although, it had individual asthetically-pleasing switches for each pickup, which I thought was cool.

I always thought about making a Strat with another single coil under the original bridge pickup for maximum treble. I've always wanted to hear what a pickup that's as close to the bridge as possible sounds like.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

I have a guitar with 5 pickups, since the late 80s. It's like an HSS, with an in-between N/M pickup, and a triple coil style mounting ring for the bridge. Neck-to-bridge in the following order:

G&L MFD single coil
Fender 57/62 (the old/better version)
Duncan Classic Stack
Chandler Hot Rails type (was a Duncan HR at some point)
Duncan Full Shred J, first or second year made

There are some amazing combinations there that you just can't get otherwise. It's a very useful guitar. Not weird for the sake of weird.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Has anyone here ventured into the realm of more than 3 pickups?

To me, string pull from Fender style pickups (where the polepieces are the magnets) is a legitimate concern.

I would not want four. I have a Strat with two pickups (no middle pickup) and beyond a doubt, the bass strings play more in tune when fretted higher up the neck, than they do on my three pickup Strats.

The added string pull and subsequent "out of tune-ness" from four Strat style pickups would absolutely be noticeable to a sensitive musician.

Steve Morse might use four pickups, but two are humbucker pickups with the magnets under the coils and so with less string pull than you'd get from a Fender style single coil.

If having your bass strings warble and sound out of tune when playing up high on the neck isn't an issue for you than go for it.

But I couldn't live with it.