Strat/Tele Pickup Engineering Question

[Guitar Toad]

Instead of a metal base plate...what if a strat bridge pickup had a metal cover/ dome under the base plate... or a box. If the base plate had a sides/walls that extended up towards the bottom of the pickguard. Of course, in this case the base plate would have to be able to travel freely within the walls of the pickup base box.

However it's done..how would the sound of the pickup be altered if there was more ferrous metal surrounding the pickup rather than just under it? Would that add more beef than just a base plate?

My understanding is that the metal base plate reflects the magnetic field or keeps the pickups magnetic field focused around the pickup windings (That's the understanding I get from the description of the base plate on the Torres Eng site). If the pickup had more metal around it, would that lend more focus to the pickups magnetic field?

Does anyone know the answer to this question? Will it sound better or worse?
Maybe I'll have to try this and report back.

 

[flank]

Re: Strat/Tele Pickup Engineering Question

i think your going to have to try and find out

but now that you got me thinking on this.....one of the reasons a tele sounds its certain way, is that the bridge pickup is actually in contact with the bridge itself....... maybe if someway you can get some kind of small sheet of metal that would make contact with the bridge and bend down into the cavity and come into contact with the bridge pickup?...it might give a stronger signal of the string vibration maybe....idk, im just thinking outloud

 

[jeremy]

Re: Strat/Tele Pickup Engineering Question

no idea

the metal will probably focus the magnatism leading to a tighter thicker tone??

 

[Artie]

Re: Strat/Tele Pickup Engineering Question

Metal, placed anywhere within the magnetic field of a pickup, does several things. As you pointed out, it will redirect the magnetic field. Whether thats good or bad would have to be tried by trial and error. But it also affects the inductance of the pickup, thus, its resonant point, and it conducts electricity. Voltage will be induced upon it and current will flow through it, even though no work is being done. So it adds overall to the electrical "load" that the pickup "sees".

I imagine this would tend to dampen the highs a bit. Again, whether or not this would beneficial would depend on how you like its sound afterwards.

 

[StrangeDay]

Re: Strat/Tele Pickup Engineering Question

The same CC pick-up I had in a Strat was put into the bridge of my Tele, and it sounded entirely different. That metal plate gives it that twang chracteristic. It's like the CC still has the same tone when it rings out, but when you actually pluck the string, you get a slight "clank" "twang" "chang" whatever you want to call it.
So it does make sense that the metal plays THE major role in the Tele's tone.

 

[danglybanger]

Re: Strat/Tele Pickup Engineering Question

ugghh... if only I remembered gauss' law... enclosed charges in conducting shells... goddamn it, I got a B- in that class, guess I should have tried harder.

slade