Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by jim on November 4, 2009 at 2:53pm

depends on the scale length / need more info. farther from the bridge is the dirtiest

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dale Goble on November 4, 2009 at 2:59pm

Aint got that far thinking about it.
Any suggestions on what scale length would be good ?
I was thinking about 25 1/2", like my Acoustic 6 string store bought guitar.

Brings up another unknown question to me.
How does scale length effect sound ?

jim said:

depends on the scale length / need more info

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tim on November 4, 2009 at 3:15pm

lol there is a huge debate on pickup place ment in the guitar word in general. some people say that the pickups should be placed on harmonic nodes http://www.edroman.com/techarticles/scalelength.htm my problem with that is when you fret the string the node changes where its at. any body that plays metal knows this its part of pinch harmonics. after reading many debates and doing a little research i have come up with. it doesnt really matter where you put the pickup.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by jim on November 4, 2009 at 3:17pm

25.5 sounds like a good plan , your comfortable with it. thats what i prefer and mount my pup about 5 - 5.5 " from the bridge.

Dale Goble said:

Aint got that far thinking about it.
Any suggestions on what scale length would be good ?
I was thinking about 25 1/2", like my Acoustic 6 string store bought guitar.

Brings up another unknown question to me.
How does scale length effect sound ?

jim said:

depends on the scale length / need more info

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by jim on November 4, 2009 at 3:34pm

string manipulation is an art. i say just play and have fun

Tim said:

lol there is a huge debate on pickup place ment in the guitar word in general. some people say that the pickups should be placed on harmonic nodes http://www.edroman.com/techarticles/scalelength.htm my problem with that is when you fret the string the node changes where its at. any body that plays metal knows this its part of pinch harmonics. after reading many debates and doing a little research i have come up with. it doesnt really matter where you put the pickup.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Nathan King on November 4, 2009 at 3:40pm

I've heard a good place to put the pickup is approx where the 24th fret would be... Strats are usually like that.

Strats are also typically 25.5" scale... seems like a pretty "standard" length, you should be good with that. Plus, if your 6 stringer is 25.5, the CBG will feel similar if you use the same scale length.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by jim on November 4, 2009 at 4:20pm

yup 5- 5.5 " from the bridge/ whats a strat? haaa


Nathan King said:

I've heard a good place to put the pickup is approx where the 24th fret would be... Strats are usually like that.

Strats are also typically 25.5" scale... seems like a pretty "standard" length, you should be good with that. Plus, if your 6 stringer is 25.5, the CBG will feel similar if you use the same scale length.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Eric Porter on November 4, 2009 at 5:21pm

I think placement is all about the tone you want. The closer to the bridge you place the pick-up the higher the tone will be. Like so many here have said before, there are no rules. My best advice: Experiment Experiment Experiment.

Dale: to answer your question in simplest terms, the longer the scale the deeper the tone. Think about an upright bass compared to an electric. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but that's a general guide line.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Skeesix on November 4, 2009 at 8:51pm

Closer to the neck will give you a bassier sound, while closer to the bridge will give you a treblier sound. Scale length has a similar effect. A short scale length will be treblier (think mandolin), while a longer scale length will be bassier (think bass). The effect on a guitar-like scale length will be more subtle (24-3/4" Gibson scale, vs. 25-1/2" Fender scale).

That's why guitars often have two pickups (or three in the case of a Strat), so you can switch from the bassier neck sound to the treblier bridge sound. Or you can switch on both to get a "middle" sound.

Or you can do like Ronnie Earl does, and just switch on the neck pickup, but vary where you pick on the strings - ie close to the neck or close to the bridge.

ps. for experimentation, you can hook up the pickup to an amp, then hold it close to the strings in varying positions to see what you like. The pickup doesn't have to be under the strings to work, just near the strings.

Skeesix

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Frank Thomas on January 23, 2012 at 5:15am

I know this is an old thread but I am new here and learning. This gave me an idea of mounting a pup on rails that allowed you to slide the pup to any location between the bridge and the base of the neck. Surely that's been tried before.?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Roosterman on November 4, 2009 at 11:59pm

Ermmm.... on almost every guitar I have ever owned (& thats a lot!), I thought it was the neck pickup that was the horrible trebly one, and the bridge one the bassy crunchy one! In fact, I very very rarely use the neck pickups, and I positivly revile all strats!

Anyway, where the pickup is placed doesnt make much difference - as all the others said, the nearer the bridge it is the more trebley it should sound - just strum the strings right next to the nridge to see why - but there are more important factors.

The pup itself is obviously the main thing here - how its wound, how many winds, magnet type etc etc - and with one of Teds you can place it anywhere and its gonna sound great right? If you want to test it, do as Skeesix says, wire it to a jack, plug it in and hold it over an already string guitar - move it up and down and see how much difference moving it those 3 inches makes. Not much.

Then youre prolly gonna have a tone pot anyway. With a capacitor of your choice. Then youre gonna run it through an amp I assume. With lots of tone shaping knobs on it...

Id just place it where it looks best, get strings on and play it to death!!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dale Goble on November 5, 2009 at 12:25am

Thanks to everyone !
No rules, I like it.

Roosterman said:

Ermmm.... on almost every guitar I have ever owned (& thats a lot!), I thought it was the neck pickup that was the horrible trebly one, and the bridge one the bassy crunchy one! In fact, I very very rarely use the neck pickups, and I positivly revile all strats!

Anyway, where the pickup is placed doesnt make much difference - as all the others said, the nearer the bridge it is the more trebley it should sound - just strum the strings right next to the nridge to see why - but there are more important factors.

The pup itself is obviously the main thing here - how its wound, how many winds, magnet type etc etc - and with one of Teds you can place it anywhere and its gonna sound great right? If you want to test it, do as Skeesix says, wire it to a jack, plug it in and hold it over an already string guitar - move it up and down and see how much difference moving it those 3 inches makes. Not much.

Then youre prolly gonna have a tone pot anyway. With a capacitor of your choice. Then youre gonna run it through an amp I assume. With lots of tone shaping knobs on it...

Id just place it where it looks best, get strings on and play it to death!!

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page