Re: who here just loves their single bridge pickup guitars?
I love me a good high gain strat neck pickup tone and a good fat neck humbucker sound, but when it comes down to the bizness of just rockin' out, nothing's quite like a single bridge pickup guitar. Whether it's an esquire, a junior or a single humbucker strat, nothing quite has the attitude and look of a single bridge pickup beast.
nk
Who here's with me! And if so, let's see your single bridge pickup axe!
Attitude and looks are one thing. Having no wood removed from around the neck pocket and minimal string pull and a bare bones single volume circuit are another. These factors alone won't make a guitar "ultimately superior" (can you hear the sustain?) but when everything adds up, the result is often extremely rewarding.
Everybody in the business has a reason to love single pickup guitars.
The guitar builder doesn't have to be concerned about such issues between pickups like the tonal and output balance, or the phase cancellation (especially on 24 fret HH shredders), weakening the neck joint, or turning some of that really nice chunk of wood into chips and dust. He (or she, 'cause girls build guitars, too! :fing2
spends a little less time routing cavities, drilling, shielding, wiring, cutting pickguards or assembling and disassembling. There's few if any compromises to be made, so the focus is on building the thing right and to the point.
The player is thrilled with a guitar that is responsive to the touch, and rings so true and clear it is hard to put down, so they play the damn plank rather than fiddle with them knobs and switches. No middle pickup means you can dig deep into the strings. The clean and purposeful look give the instrument a defined identity which attracts a lot of attention, whether it is an Esquire, a Cabronita, a Junior, a Melody Maker, a San Dimas strat or star, a floyded superstrat, a pointy Rich or Jackson, an M8M, muttznmongrelz's Horizon V, a Stingray bass or even a hollow body jazz box, where the pickup would be next to the neck, obviously. And guitar players like being noticed, don't they?
The tweaker/tinkerer type that flips pickups like hot potatoes has an easy deal, because either the pickup is a good match for the plank of wood or it isn't. No rw/rp, hum cancellation, quack, active/passive mix, switch pinout or tone/level/polarity mismatch issues to worry about. When shopping for upgrades, unless the guitar isn't worth upgrading at all, there is no excuse to skimp on the pickup. When there is few parts, you will likely opt for the higher quality ones and potentially end up with a guitar that's as good as it can be. A single Zephyr makes half or one third the damage a set does, and what's a better place to put one in, than a high quality, bare bones, no-compromise, low string pull instrument that's designed for maximum response and capturing the sheer essence of the electric guitar.
The pickup winder enjoys a little more interest in the high end custom shop pickups, and just plain having all of their products somewhat more available to the player due to the demand curve.
Everybody needs a single pickup guitar. They are endless fun and boost playing skill & sex appeal.
Here's a couple of pics for you:
- very rare, and I don't think they were listed in the catalogues. Saw one on eBay once.
