I am probably in the minority here, but....

[whiteop]

Area 58's in my Strat for the Hendrix and SRV tones...

[17 Tubes]

Neck pup is awesome for lead work. So smooth and fluid. Leads up high= neck pups. Leads low-Bridge...often switching right in the middle of a passage.


Surprisingly for some that don't play clean a lot, I use the bridge pup for most cleans, especially with effects. Jazz/some blues use neck pup.

[grumphh]

Logic fail. No one has said they want their guitars with ONLY neck pickups. Most people have said they can't imagine having a guitar WITHOUT a neck pickup. The fact that the vast majority of guitars are made with neck pickups backs that up. No exaggeration involved.

True

Still, the OP is not alone in thinking that the neck pu is not necessary on an electric guitar - and that is why i brought in that the manufacturers have figued that out and used the available single pu guitars as an example.

[hotbaconsauce]

GO AHEAD PLAY SWEET CHILD OF MINE ON THE BRIDGE PICKUP.

[Sandvich]

Bridge pickups are pretty honky.

I generally prefer the leads of the neck pickup, Rhythm of the bridge pickup. I know this is a bad idea since the neck has Less Midz or whatever but it just sounds better to me.

[la0tsu]

True Still, the OP is not alone in thinking that the neck pu is not necessary on an electric guitar - and that is why i brought in that the manufacturers have figued that out and used the available single pu guitars as an example.

Also true. I guess I don't find it surprising that single pickup guitars are mostly bridge only. Seems like mostly metal/butt rock players. In the end, it's all about what works for each player.

[flump]

I play a style similar to Einziger of Incubus, and the cleans from my neck pickup sound 100% better than from the bridge.

[nodachi]

 

 

Fixed.

[hotbaconsauce]

 

Fixed.

 

 

THANK YOU SIR

[Say Ocean]

Allan Holdsworth doesn't need a neck pickup. Nuff said.

Allan Holdsworth is amazing, but not many guitarists can relate his playing with their own

[JonVengeance]

Has anyone mentioned Van Halen yet? I mean he's the most obvious example of the need for only a bridge pickup.

[Sandvich]

Doesn't Tom Morello mostly only use neck pickups. Josh Homme too I think. Though some stuff sounds more "right" to me on the bridge pickup for QOTSA stuff, no neck pickup I've played has that clearness and middyness.

[breakingstring]

I, too, hate the sound of bridge pickup cleans. Yuck.

With drive, though, bridge all the way.

Well, except for some leads.

[Rich]

IMO Nothing better for blues than a single coil in the neck position.

IMO, a singlecoil in the neck position is good for a whole lot of stuff.

When I was 15 years old, the bridge pickup was the best thing ever. Later when I grew up,.....23 years later, a neck pickup and a good boost pedal cover a shedload of ground for me. I also mainly play strats.

[thenakedarab]

LP Neck PU + Treble Booster + Overdriven Amp = Huge Crunch Heaven

 

That is all.

[bluesymetal]

I still prefer the bridge for cleans, but I do find myself going to the neck a lot for leads, especially smoother sounding ones.

[Rich]

You fellas need a tele.

[Electrikon]

I don't understand the love or need for neck pickups, even for clean tones and lead work. For leads or clean playing I still much prefer my bridge pickups. The neck pickup always sounds so plinky and uninspiring, whereas the bridge pickups has a more vibrant, clear ring to it. Anyone else feel this way?

 

That's because you play Metal, and Metal has nothing in common with dynamic emotion. It only has anger, cynicism and an occasional pretty.

 

Blues, melancholy, passion, sincerety, and lack of gnome voices are what's required to understand the neck pup.

 

You bridge pup's have a statement to make. But us Neck pup's can espress a wider range of teh emotionics.

[Sandvich]

You fellas need a tele.

I dunno, Tele bridge pickup can sound kind of awful clean except for strummed chords. At least mine sort of does, I probably need to swap it out.

It's too honky, and it always sounds like it's slightly distorted; it has the characteristics of something that's lightly overdriven through a vox amp but all the time. Without actually being overdriven a bit, it sounds kind of not very full, like you're playing it plugged out.

[Valtiel]

Neck pup is awesome for lead work. So smooth and fluid. Leads up high= neck pups. Leads low-Bridge...often switching right in the middle of a passage. Surprisingly for some that don't play clean a lot, I use the bridge pup for most cleans, especially with effects. Jazz/some blues use neck pup.

 

 

Thats the classic Steve Morse philosophy.