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Pickup types. At the neck, bridge etc.

I'm in the middle, roughly, of building a guitar from parts salvaged from an electric guitar I bought. On the original guitar the pickup is at the bridge but after really helpful discussions with folks from here I think I'd like my new build to have the pickup at the neck. Can I use the same pickup or do I have to buy a pickup specially designed to go at the neck? No clue here so help would be appreciated before I cut the hole to drop the pickup into.

Cheers folks.

Bear.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ron Ruhs on February 21, 2016 at 12:34pm

I agree with all - if it sounds good to YOU - it is good! Pickup winders do make different winds for different positions where they will try to accentuate what they want in each position. A lot of times (though far from always, as some sets are wound the same in all positions) the neck pickup will be wound less "hot" than the bridge. Strings vibrate quite a bit more at the neck than they do at the bridge so the idea is to control the bass/mud/woof and keep good clarity. The higher vibration also means that it takes less pickup to get the same volume, so the difference in windings are also used to balance out the pickups in a set.

But yea, throw all that out and give it a go. We wouldn't have nearly the cool sounds and ideas we enjoy if we stuck to one thing. Did Gibson, Fender, etc have this down to a science back in the day? Hardly. It was a rubber band that ran the wire turn counter and if the factory worker wasn't watching, that neck pickup could have been wound hotter than the bridge anyway. A group put together a listening test of something like 6-10 59 Bursts and one of the best sounding examples had a weak bridge and way hot neck - which on paper would lead "experts" to believe it should have sounded like crap. Let your ear be the final judge and don't be scared to try something just because the label doesn't fit.

Have fun!

Permalink Reply by Slow Blues Dani & Ol' Grey Bear on February 21, 2016 at 11:50pm

I loved the "if it's good for you" part especially. I think that's the key to cbg building in the way we experiment. I've started a few projects lately that I had an idea of but no clear knowledge of how to do some of the jobs required to finish it. No disasters yet, a few work arounds and lots of helpful folk helping out with advice when I need it. Job's a good 'un!

Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on February 21, 2016 at 2:18pm

when in doubt .......

cover all your bases ;-)

lol

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on February 21, 2016 at 10:32pm

Haha

Speaking of pickups and their tone, A guy over on the TDPRI Guitar Forum has been winding his own pickups and experimenting with different magnets and bodies of different woods.

Findings so far are that Alinco 5 magnets on neck pickups are great for the low/wound strings and not having a muddy tone, but the high solid strings had a thinner/less mid-range tone. Bridge pickups with A5 mags tend to be on the bright side for the low/wound strings and some were shrill on the high/solid strings. Some people prefer a A5 mag pup for the neck and a A2 or A3mag pup for the bridge since A2 and A3 tend to give a fatter/sweet tone.

Seymour Duncan now makes "The Five Two" pickups for Tele and Strat that are hybrid pickups. Each pickup has A5 mag poles for the low 6-5-4 strings and A2 for the high 3-2-1 strings for a great tone on all the strings in any position. I wish they made a A5-A3 pup cause I like the A3's better. What's the difference? Ever notice how the Vintage 50's pickups sound weaker, but usually have a better tone? A3 magnets are to blame. Companies moved to stronger A2 and A5 mags later.

Ceramic/Ferrite magnets tend to have a mid scooped tone which some people like more, but they tend to have a thin tone that others like myself don't like. On the plus side, no mud.

Neodymium magnet: the new kid on the block- not to be confused with that awful boy band. These magnets are 5 times stronger than the Alinco mags of the past, so a little magnet goes a long way. They do have more mid-range tone than the ceramic ferrite mags and they are clear sounding like the ceramic mags.

So there you go, information overload on pickups that may have confused you more than you were or helped some. Seymour Duncan pickups are on the pricey side, but they make some great pickups and have been doing so for a long time. The Five Two pups sound great, check them out on youtube. Maybe some of the pickup winders here on CBN will start offering some of these awesome pups for a better price.

Permalink Reply by Slow Blues Dani & Ol' Grey Bear on February 21, 2016 at 11:45pm

So no Fridge magnets soldered with a couple yards of old plug wire then? Thanks for the detailed information. I'll probably never know what any of it means but I'm sure the intelligent lot around me will gain from it ;)

Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on February 22, 2016 at 12:01am

dont look at this link ..

seriously .... don't do it ....!

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/forum/topics/location-location-locati...

... pffft .. you're gonna look aint ya ? . well .. i warned ya ..

;-)

Permalink Reply by Slow Blues Dani & Ol' Grey Bear on February 22, 2016 at 3:45am

Hah! I like the DPGRT technique even more now. New motto in life? It'd almost be rude not to! :D

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on February 22, 2016 at 9:18am

Any magnets will work. What ever floats your boat. LOL

Permalink Reply by Slow Blues Dani & Ol' Grey Bear on February 21, 2016 at 11:46pm

There's always one clever sod somewhere! ;)