Moderators davie Posted April 12, 2022 Moderators Share Posted April 12, 2022 Hey guys, Just curious on what's your favorite pickup type and position to use. (eg. neck tele, etc.) and any particular reason why? When I was younger I had a thing for strat single coils, but nowadays the only thing I really use is a bridge humbucker in my strats, which I use for both rhythm and lead/riff styles. Probably due to a change in taste, from clean sounds to a more overdriven sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humbuckerstrat Posted April 13, 2022 Members Share Posted April 13, 2022 (edited) Humbucker in the bridge position. I started off playing “clean” too, but now I’m all about distortion. Edited April 13, 2022 by humbuckerstrat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators davie Posted April 13, 2022 Author Moderators Share Posted April 13, 2022 1 hour ago, humbuckerstrat said: Humbucker in the bridge position. I started off playing “clean” too, but now I’m all about distortion. Nice. Matches your username perfectly! 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humbuckerstrat Posted April 13, 2022 Members Share Posted April 13, 2022 34 minutes ago, davie said: Nice. Matches your username perfectly! 😁 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Emory Posted April 13, 2022 Members Share Posted April 13, 2022 TV Jones classic filtertrons. Exquisite delicious tone magic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted April 13, 2022 Members Share Posted April 13, 2022 My favorite is a Telecaster neck pickup, which is why I will probably never own an Esquire. I’m not really a jazzer but I like that tone . I have Fender vintage noiseless in one of my Teles. The neck is very nice sounding, unfortunately the bridge is lame but I keep them just for that neck PU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted April 13, 2022 Members Share Posted April 13, 2022 Les Paul neck humbucker. Listen to early King Crimson, and you'll understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators davie Posted April 14, 2022 Author Moderators Share Posted April 14, 2022 23 hours ago, Emory said: TV Jones classic filtertrons. Exquisite delicious tone magic Nice. Never had a chance to play those. What kinda guitar do you use them in? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators davie Posted April 14, 2022 Author Moderators Share Posted April 14, 2022 13 hours ago, gardo said: My favorite is a Telecaster neck pickup, which is why I will probably never own an Esquire. I’m not really a jazzer but I like that tone . I have Fender vintage noiseless in one of my Teles. The neck is very nice sounding, unfortunately the bridge is lame but I keep them just for that neck PU Cool. I actually used to own a tele that had the Fender vintage noiseless as well. The neck pup was nice, but apparently the bridge pup doesn't have the same bite as a traditional tele bridge pickup. iirc, I liked the middle position a lot too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators davie Posted April 14, 2022 Author Moderators Share Posted April 14, 2022 11 hours ago, badpenguin said: Les Paul neck humbucker. Listen to early King Crimson, and you'll understand. Definitely a classic setup. I'll check them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted April 14, 2022 Members Share Posted April 14, 2022 2 minutes ago, davie said: Cool. I actually used to own a tele that had the Fender vintage noiseless as well. The neck pup was nice, but apparently the bridge pup doesn't have the same bite as a traditional tele bridge pickup. iirc, I liked the middle position a lot too. Yes, the middle is nice , too bad about the bridge. I tried swapping in a standard single coil bridge but it did not pair well with the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Emory Posted April 14, 2022 Members Share Posted April 14, 2022 10 hours ago, davie said: Nice. Never had a chance to play those. What kinda guitar do you use them in? They came stock in a Cort (yes, Cort...) Sunset 1. Cort's take on the discontinued Gretsch spectrasonic (more or less same, but much better looking imo. A brilliant guitar, nothing to upgrade (well, maybe pots, but I never checked that). Tonepros roller bridge, Bigsby, semi hollow, tusq nut, yada yada. Looks great, love it, sound somewhere twixt a Gretsch and a Ric. I hunted all over for this, found it at NW Guitars (NW England? Didn't know). I live in Thailand & tried to visit US once a year... called them up, paid for it unplayed (also for only $599). That guitar in demo is my guitar. I checked serial numbers in a different video, Ha! They do pop up on Reverb sometimes... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted April 15, 2022 Moderators Share Posted April 15, 2022 favorite? None...because so much depends on what I'm playing [I'm pretty darned eclectic], and which guitar. For the past 7 years or so I have immersed myself into a thinline tele with 2 P90s...but I would not want a P90 on, say, my Danelectro 12 string...there, the lipstick p-up is nigh on perfect. I have enough guitars to know there is no one best pickup. The neck minihumbucker [Gibson] on my Epi AlleyKat is definitely special, but so are my '57 classics on my ES135, the DiMarzio SDS on my strat [bridge], the Fralin bridge p-up on my Tele copy...each serves a specific purpose...none is 'better' than the others in the final analysis. But this is why there are so many p-ups on the market. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators davie Posted April 16, 2022 Author Moderators Share Posted April 16, 2022 On 4/13/2022 at 11:48 PM, gardo said: Yes, the middle is nice , too bad about the bridge. I tried swapping in a standard single coil bridge but it did not pair well with the neck. Yeah. the noiseless-type pickups don't seem to combine well with standard pickups. My HSS strat has Fender SCN noiseless single-coil pickups in the neck and middle positions, and the bridge+middle position is the worst sounding position, I don't even use it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators davie Posted April 17, 2022 Author Moderators Share Posted April 17, 2022 On 4/15/2022 at 10:46 AM, daddymack said: favorite? None...because so much depends on what I'm playing [I'm pretty darned eclectic], and which guitar. For the past 7 years or so I have immersed myself into a thinline tele with 2 P90s...but I would not want a P90 on, say, my Danelectro 12 string...there, the lipstick p-up is nigh on perfect. I have enough guitars to know there is no one best pickup. The neck minihumbucker [Gibson] on my Epi AlleyKat is definitely special, but so are my '57 classics on my ES135, the DiMarzio SDS on my strat [bridge], the Fralin bridge p-up on my Tele copy...each serves a specific purpose...none is 'better' than the others in the final analysis. But this is why there are so many p-ups on the market. Good take. Eclectic taste will definitely yield a wide array of preferences, for sure. Personally, I'm more of a minimalist, it helps keep my OCD at bay.. lol. I really only have and use 2 electric guitars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peskypesky Posted April 24, 2022 Members Share Posted April 24, 2022 totally depends on the style of music 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted April 24, 2022 Members Share Posted April 24, 2022 7 hours ago, peskypesky said: totally depends on the style of music Haven’t seen you around hear in ages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted May 4, 2022 Members Share Posted May 4, 2022 Probably in-between burstbuckers on a Les Paul for clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted May 9, 2022 Members Share Posted May 9, 2022 Two go to toans. Neck, bright as possible with slight drive. Bridge, full on for crunch, way down for Dumbly singing. Tone from max ground to less, depending on clarity preference. Well, three ish but I'm a guitarer not a mathmetician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 10, 2022 Moderators Share Posted May 10, 2022 What's your favorite pickup type and position? the Open Jam Answer: Filipina women, and doggie style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted May 10, 2022 Members Share Posted May 10, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 6, 2022 Members Share Posted July 6, 2022 Back when I first started playing electric (late 60s) with experience and gear choice limitations You would dial in whatever sounded good. Typically pushing the limits to match the loudness of a live drummer. You’d be lucky to have a decent amp no less pedals that weren’t readily available. Today the gear limitations simply don’t exist like that. Not only do you have accessibility to decent quality low cost instruments but nearly endless pedals and amps. Anyone who can’t find a multiple variety of decent tones simply isn’t trying very hard or lacks the experience. playing live doing cover tunes in a band should force a player to seek out the best tones for the role you’re playing I know I spent countless hours helping others to dial up the right sound Dow whatever songs we played. You quickly learn everyone cannot dial up lead tones and expect to be heard when playing with other guitarists. Even in a trio with a single guitar you still have vocals to be considered. If a bridge pup selection doesn’t mask the vocals go for it. Typically I would tame the rhythm back when I’d sing so both could be heard equally. Leads had a higher energy level so you wouldn’t be sucked into a sonic hole in the soundscape during a solo. The experience I gained recording teaches you much about these finer details. Playing live you can get away with a lot especially if you use a good sound man doing all the tweaks. You only need a sound that allows you to play well. Recording you have to target the right tones from the start because you learn there are definite limitations to how much you can tweak tracks and still sound as good as good as possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted July 7, 2022 Members Share Posted July 7, 2022 Wanna pivot off this to say guitarers don't have or don't exercise enough real time timbral control. Not at all like a string section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted July 7, 2022 Members Share Posted July 7, 2022 Pretty much the pick up I need, and the position I need, to get he tone I want. Same goes with amps. Live, you need to pick and choose, which tools you want to haul to the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators davie Posted July 14, 2022 Author Moderators Share Posted July 14, 2022 I think I've recently started having another tone epiphany.. Lately been playing a lot on my strat using the neck-only and middle-only single coil positions. It seems to slot in perfectly to the sound and style I currently want in my songs. My HSS Fender Strat was just sitting in my closet for past few years, and only just recently took it back out again. Since then I was mainly playing my HH Yamaha style-strat.. I guess some playing styles really do work better with certain guitars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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