The guitar is a midrange instrument....

[papersoul]

....and for that reason, maybe many of us should look at pickups with less of an exaggerated midrange. After all, mids on top of mids on top of mids can equal a tubby mess. I think this is why a lot of guys like the C-5. It really allows the guitar to do what it was meant to do....have its natural mids shine through without a mid dense pickup coloring the tone. I have been thinking this way a lot lately realizing you can dial up all the mids you want with a decent amp and decent guitar so maybe it isn't good to rely so heavily on the pickup to provide the mids to cut the mix.....

just some thoughts....

 

[Rainmaker]

Re: The guitar is a midrange instrument....

Wow that is a very interesting point.

I'd love to hear more thoughts on this.

 

[ranalli]

Re: The guitar is a midrange instrument....

The guitar is a midrange instrument but you need a pickup to bring that mid-range across. Put a scooped pickup in there and all you're doing is cutting the mid-range out...not letting it shine through.

A pickup is no more than an EQ of sorts....this is why it's silly when people say "X pickup really lets the guitar shine through....."

Unless the pickup is flatly EQ'd this really wouldn't be the case.

 

[ErikH]

Re: The guitar is a midrange instrument....

ranalli is right. Without a pickup to bring that mid-range out, it won't cut through. This is why I love the CC and JB. Each has their own mid-range spike but each one cuts through the mix beautifully, especially the CC. I've never had a problem with my guitars loaded with them not being able to cut through.

 

[papersoul]

Re: The guitar is a midrange instrument....

Good point guys! Maybe that is why the Rio Grande BBQ/Texas is still my favorite set for any guitar. It responds best for my style and my guitars.

 

[J.LaGrassa]

Re: The guitar is a midrange instrument....

Rich I agree with your initial post, Personally I think too much mids thins your tone out probably why I never liked the JB in my McCarty. I dont find the C5 scooped either it sounds perfect in my McCarty big Fat tone with a nice bottom end! I get plenty of mids from my pedals and amp.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The guitar is a midrange instrument....

I think it just depends on what you want to hear. I love my guitars with a bridge 59B which has plenty of mids but not the exagerated mids of the Custom Custom I use in my Hamer Monoco. It's all good. I'm sure I'd love a 59B in my Monoco too even though it would sound quite differant from the CC I have in it now.

Lew

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: The guitar is a midrange instrument....

It's not about pushing all the mids in the spectrum, it's about which set of midrange frequencies you want to push (or subtract).

For example, I love the CC in my all maple Carvin, which has lots of highs and almost no low mids, so it balances very well. In my LP, I use a Pearly Gates, which has a good amount of sparkle and high mids, without having a ton of lows and low mids (which my Lester has in spades).

 

[papersoul]

Re: The guitar is a midrange instrument....

I know peaople always talk about mids are where the guitar cuts....so I guess you would want a more scooped pickup to allow the guitar's mids to come through......something like the JB can sound tubby in a big mahogany guitar....even a PRS. But, the C-5 seems to sit better and I bet the Custom as well.

 

[ParameterMan]

Re: The guitar is a midrange instrument....

A pickup is no more than an EQ of sorts....this is why it's silly when people say "X pickup really lets the guitar shine through....."

Unless the pickup is flatly EQ'd this really wouldn't be the case.

Why I like active pickups. To my ear they have flat clean response with great dynamic range that lets me hear the unplugged acoustic sound of the guitar. Less low mid warmth or bloom, more true bass. Less upper mid cut or snarl, more true treble. (also I get to use the entire volume pot's range)

It slightly aggrivates me when people say "EMG's(or other) have a fake, flat sound, no bass, nothing like my guitar" and then I find out they have a floyd-equipped plywood body hair-o-caster with drooling alien stickers all over it and I think, have they ever played it unplugged? That's probably what that guitar actually sounds like.