For a few pickups more…

Or, the Good, the Bad and the Crunchy

Photo by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash

Sometimes, it’s all about the fit

So I may have somewhat hastily said the following

On knowing when you have finished

But, then sh*t happens..

*Ding* ah, @$*! it

And you get an opportunity to re-think.

In setting up two otherwise very similiar guitars to have a good playability etc., I could not help noticing how different they are*

Tonewood debate contribution #1000001

* this is “muso different” I’m pretty sure most would rightly say — meh — they’re both good

And one conclusion I did come to was that the Seymour Duncans on that guitar seemed to conspire with the more mellow response of the guitar to come out a little dull.

Now, I’ve had some Max Frecknall pickups lying around since the 1990s, and used them at many a gig.

And I’ve upgraded them.

The 30 year tune-up #2 — the silence of the coils

I had one of their siblings in the middle position and I had a hint that their voicing was a good match.

So, let’s get to work.

need to make some room

in the end, I settled for this

The relative pickup spacings

The way single coil pickups are installed into guitars is still mired in the late 80s, it seems.

Fortunately I am sceptical that massively fine adjustment in pickup height is required is required ( more on the great pickup height debate later ), as

Other

A new angle on the bridge pickup

Factors

Which Coil

Typically

Does pickup position make that much of a difference? —” lite edition”

Come

The 30 year tune-up: serious and parallax

Into

JEM style pickup wiring

Play

Such as resonance, impedance, position and how multiple pickups are combined electrically.

So in this case: these are screwed into the guitar. The heights are … OK For Now, as we will hear later.

Hence, this is Fine

Conclusions

There’s a recording (there’s always a recording).

quick work through all the pickup combinations, showing how the whole sits together

Oh, are there recordings…

How Does It Sound — many guitars

Personally, these pickups are a good fit — they have an inherent liveliness, and bring a distinctive Strat-like quack to the tones, which complements the bell-like acoustic response of the guitar.