Can you please tell me why...

[Ambugaton]

Most guitarists ONLY use their bridge pick up? I just don't understand.

[gardo]

Drive and Distortion

I rarely use the bridge pickup alone prefering a more mellow sound.

[t_e_l_e]

when playing in a band, bass covers a lot of ground, so to cut through with your guitar you need more treble -> bridge pickup

 

on its own alone it might not sound so good, but in band context it often sounds better

 

t gets more complicated if you have a second guitarist or someone playing on keys, as tone wise you are all stepping on the toes of each other

[catscurlyear]

Most guitarists ONLY use their bridge pick up? I just don't understand.

 

it always begins to sound a bit one dimensional using just one pickup . i prefer listening guitarists who like to mix it up a bit .

[Virgman]

'cause Eddie did it.

 

[gardo]

Robin Dosen't

[billybilly]

In a band setting, it cuts through better. There are other reasons but that's a big one.

[catscurlyear]

'cause Eddie did it.

 

 

+1

[catscurlyear]

Robin Dosen't

 

he just uses is middle pick up alot

[Ambugaton]

I understand the band setting reasoning. Problem is I play in a 5 piece with two guitarists. I play mostly rhythm but will play some leads as well. I prefer to use the neck or both pickups for most of my parts unless I am doing some lead. Problem is the other guitarist is on his bridge 90% of the time with an already harsh high end amp setup (fender deville with a high treble mix) so there is almost no way for me to cut through unless I crank up the mids to an uncomfortable level or use my bridge pickup with a high high end as well... but to me... I can't stand that harsh - eye/ear shuttering sound. I like a more balanced sound. So I am trying to find out the best way to approach this. I feel if I keep my tone a little more smooth it will balance out our band a lot more but I will need to find a way to cut through the mix without overloading the low - low mids.

[1001gear]

Bridge usually sounds best once the clipping sets in. The neck is just about the opposite, rangy and musical when clean but prone to overly thick muddy sound as the drive goes up. Of course none of that is set in stone but the workarounds require a high level of technique, versatile and often expensive gear, and infinite patience. 12 yr old Johnny Bornslinger is probably going to discover that the rhythm pickup sounds good for rhythm and the lead pickup sounds good for lead and stick with that.

[Chordite]

Ego I guess

The ability to cut through that pesky foliage to the front of the band

 

Personally I use Bridge least, a lot of 2 and 4 and neck

(except on the HSS but that's got a different balance anyway)

[billybilly]

Sounds to me your problem is more about communication and personalities.

[mnewb1]

on my strat, I almost always use the neck pickup...gives me a bigger, deeper tone

[wankdeplank]

I understand the band setting reasoning. Problem is I play in a 5 piece with two guitarists. I play mostly rhythm but will play some leads as well. I prefer to use the neck or both pickups for most of my parts unless I am doing some lead. Problem is the other guitarist is on his bridge 90% of the time with an already harsh high end amp setup (fender deville with a high treble mix) so there is almost no way for me to cut through unless I crank up the mids to an uncomfortable level or use my bridge pickup with a high high end as well... but to me... I can't stand that harsh - eye/ear shuttering sound. I like a more balanced sound. So I am trying to find out the best way to approach this. I feel if I keep my tone a little more smooth it will balance out our band a lot more but I will need to find a way to cut through the mix without overloading the low - low mids.

 

Billy wrote: Sounds to me your problem is more about communication and personalities

 

^That's exactly right. Unless one guitarist is playing rhythm on an acoustic or playing slide, with guitar players it's often two's company three's a crowd. Actually, I've met many a guitar player that won't even share the stage with one more guitar player. In your case, I think you and the band maybe need to make some decisions.

[onelife]

That being said, check out this dialogue (and example) from HCPP...

 

 

My short, nasty and brutish take...

 

https://app.box.com/s/nhnk1ubn83gp252e6w9z

 

 

Nice!

 

You really seem to like that neck pickup on your strat.

 

 

As far as I am concerned, it is pretty much the ONLY pickup on my Strat

 

link to thread

[DeepEnd]

Personally, I don't. I have no delusions about being anything other than a rhythm guitarist. Lately I've been using bridge+middle. I prefer a more mellow sound than I can get from any one pickup alone, at least with a SSS setup. I'm trying to get used to that combination because praise band has a song coming up next month that calls for a classic Fender sound and I can simply flip the selector from bridge+middle to bridge and back. I do wonder if a single pickup guitar might be simpler somehow. I'm pretty sure Paul Simon has a Strat that just has a middle pickup.

[gardo]

Paul Simon has a Strat that just has a middle pickup.

 

[DeepEnd]

^ Yeah, that's it. From what I've read, his guitar tech cobbled it together for him to try with the intention of making a "nice" one if he liked it. He liked it so much he kept the cobbled one, as evidenced by the missing pickguard, wire hanging out, and backward jack.

[Vince Marrone]

I usually use the neck pickups on both my ES-345 and my old Strat. I also keep my volume knob below 4 for a nice mellow jazz sound. Even when I use the bridge pickup I always back off the tone knob to taste. I hate screechy guitars. Sometimes for rock the bridge pickup is preferred, but I really like the neck and bridge pickup together for a full sound when I need to cut through.

[billybilly]

lol, Paul's outa control with that strat!

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

I feel the premise of the original enquiry was not entirely correct

[humbuckerstrat]

It's the only pickup position that sounds any good with the multi-effects on a high-gain setting i use. The neck and the middle (especially the neck position) sounds too bassy and muffled.

 

Maybe if I had a really good amp, I would explore other pickup positions, but with the cheap multi-effects I use, the bridge sounds best.

[Burgess]

Because their amp is insufficient,

[Steve2112]

I think you don't know what "most guitarists" use.You can;t just go by what your other guitar player does. But that neither here nor there.

 

It's like saying "why do all guitarists uses stacks".

 

Well they don;t. Randy got his Ozzy gig most likely by bringing a Champ. Everyone else lugging in a 1/2, full or more stack. Ozzy sees the skinny little guy playing a tiny Champ and practically gives him the job without playing.

 

 

You talk about "rythm and lead", actually that is a misnomer/assumption.....I actually use the neck pickup more for leads than rhythm. But you can't dictate to other guitars players what they can and can;t do. If you like the band...I recommend ear plugs. Volume and shrillness cut. If you really don't dig the band and just using this as an excuse...time to cut out and find a new thing.