RanchManSandy
New member
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maybe tele tone doesn't need the bridge baseplate after all
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Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
Yeah, when a guitar player is born they are given a divine guitar rulebook, and it never says anywhere about the bridge pickup surround effecting tone at all in there. It does however say that black guard teles sound better than white guard teles.
RanchManSandy
New member
see, this makes sense to me, since we're talking about something that is part of the construction of the pickup itself
RanchManSandy
New member
okay, my guy, not sure what your point is. I posted the vid on this webzone specifically since I've seen "eddy currents" come up vis a vis tele bridges here before. The plate being part of the magic of a tele bridge pickup is longstanding folklore
eclecticsynergy
New member
Does a base plate make a difference? Yes.
Can a Tele bridge be made that doesn't need one to sound great? Also yes.
Can a Tele bridge be made that doesn't need one to sound great? Also yes.
freefrog
Well-known member
What has the most noticeable effect on tone in this case is the baseplate UNDER the coil.
A peripherical baseplate generates eddy currents but in a smaller proportion than something directly associated to the coil, logically.
That being said, which "bridge baseplate" are we talking about? Materials? Dimensions?
Below is a link towards a topic about all that. Experimental data in my own archives match what it explains - which can't be reduced to the univocal idea that bridge baseplates "make a difference" or not in tone: clearly, it depends on the composition of the bridge and on its thickness.
https://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/8499/telecaster-bridge-plate-testing-brass
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beaubrummels
Well-known member
Seems like no one watched the video and are all talking about the pickup baseplate. The comparison was about the bridge plate, not the pickup baseplate.
I believe the bridge plate (not the pickup baseplate) is too far from the top of the coils to have a major affect on tone (though it is there), but IME it does have an effect on noise/shielding. Doing clean sounds or western chicken pickin might not expose those differences, however.
I believe the bridge plate (not the pickup baseplate) is too far from the top of the coils to have a major affect on tone (though it is there), but IME it does have an effect on noise/shielding. Doing clean sounds or western chicken pickin might not expose those differences, however.
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freefrog
Well-known member
The topic mentioned in my previous post evokes a "whooping 4.7dB" loss @ resonant frequency with a brass bridge plate and a drop of 3.2dB with another bridge plate while the resonant frequency rises "of almost 300Hz, both of which make for audible differences" (sic).
Once again, it's a question of material and thickness, making Foucault currents perceptible or not...
Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
Also every video like this has to include the disclaimer that youtube videos are no basis for substantiable testing. I've watched youtube videos where I couldn't tell a Tele from a Les Paul bridge
Aceman
I am your doctor of love!
Shhhhhh - we don't like hearing that. Might make you think that a Bonamassa pickup in a Squire sounds the same as a Broadcaster or something crazy like that....
RanchManSandy
New member
freefrog
Well-known member
... and I've not wrote nor suggested that you had said otherwise.
Regarding the bridge plate in the video, we can suppose it's a thin one not made of brass... ;-)
Finally and to put my previous posts + experimental testimonial in perspective, here is another link about eddy currents:
http://www.billlawrence.com/Pages/Pickupology/External Interference.htm
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Both plates used in the video are steel, so seems like extraneous information that doesn't answer the question. The question was whether having a plate or not makes a difference, not whether brass is different than another metal. The conversation you linked to concluded "The plots shows that all of the base plates cause only a slight reduction in resonance" verses no plate at all, excluding brass, which is not part of the question here.
freefrog
Well-known member
If the question was "whether having a plate or not makes a difference", the answer is that it depends on the materials and thickness of the brige plate involved, as mentioned in my previous posts.
The conclusion of the topic that I've evoked in this context is in line with the habits of the contributor quoted, who uses to think and claim that things make "no difference" when it comes to guitar pickups. That said, his experimental results don't necessarily justify this conclusion: with objective numbers like 4.7dB and 3.2dB, they rather seem to confirm what Bill Lawrence had previously explained online and that my own experimental data illustrate as well.
That being said in a friendly and respectful way, since my contributions above were meant to share and help, as usual. But maybe I've not found the right words and tone to convey this intention...
Admittedly I didn't read all of the posts and someone may have already mentioned this, but...
I definitely hear a high frequency ring to the tone with the full-size bridge. all of the rest of the tone is due to the pup and isn't affected by the bridge plate.
So, imo, you may not need the tele bridge, but for me if I want a complete Tele tone I'm going to use everything available to get me there, including the full-size bridge. Gotta have that extra bit of ring/sizzle/twang!
I definitely hear a high frequency ring to the tone with the full-size bridge. all of the rest of the tone is due to the pup and isn't affected by the bridge plate.
So, imo, you may not need the tele bridge, but for me if I want a complete Tele tone I'm going to use everything available to get me there, including the full-size bridge. Gotta have that extra bit of ring/sizzle/twang!