Members Ambugaton Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 Most guitarists ONLY use their bridge pick up? I just don't understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 Drive and Distortion I rarely use the bridge pickup alone prefering a more mellow sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 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 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 'cause Eddie did it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 Robin Dosen't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 In a band setting, it cuts through better. There are other reasons but that's a big one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 'cause Eddie did it. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 Robin Dosen't he just uses is middle pick up alot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ambugaton Posted November 10, 2014 Author Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordite Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 Sounds to me your problem is more about communication and personalities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mnewb1 Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 on my strat, I almost always use the neck pickup...gives me a bigger, deeper tone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted November 10, 2014 Members Share Posted November 10, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted November 11, 2014 Members Share Posted November 11, 2014 Paul Simon has a Strat that just has a middle pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted November 11, 2014 Members Share Posted November 11, 2014 ^ 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vince Marrone Posted November 12, 2014 Members Share Posted November 12, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted November 12, 2014 Members Share Posted November 12, 2014 lol, Paul's outa control with that strat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted November 12, 2014 Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2014 I feel the premise of the original enquiry was not entirely correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humbuckerstrat Posted November 12, 2014 Members Share Posted November 12, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted November 13, 2014 Members Share Posted November 13, 2014 Because their amp is insufficient, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steve2112 Posted November 13, 2014 Members Share Posted November 13, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.