KVL Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hey gang... Being somewhat uneducated about guitar, bear with me with what may be a silly question to some.... Some guitars are advertised as having two different types of pups in the bridge and neck positions. My casino has p90 pups in both positions. However, the 3 way toggle switch that selects one over the other, or both, makes the guitar sound different. Are those pick ups actualy different inside, or is it their position in relation to where you pick the strings That afects their sound. Again, this is a moot question if the guitar clearly states it has two different types of pups. THX! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Your question will be answered well beyond what you thought possible............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiphoneFan1989 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Yes, the Pickups are different. Bridge Pickup: P-90T; Neck Pickup P-90R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Are those pick ups actualy different inside, or is it their position in relation to where you pick the strings That afects their sound. Both. Some guitars and some people like to mix and match pickups. There are millions of combinations of both. Some makers sell pickups that are the same "type" but are designated bridge or neck because of slight differences in the output. (or their pole spacing) The hotter one is usually in the bridge position. In the case of P-90s sometimes one is reverse wound so that they act like a humbucker in the center position while eliminating some or all of the 60hz hum. I have one guitar with Vintage Gibson P-90s in it. They are the exact same measurement and the exact same pickup. They sound like night and day just because of the difference in their position on the guitar. I have another with T tops that are very close in output. Again, they sound completely different due to position. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KVL Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 Yes, the Pickups are different. Bridge Pickup: P-90T; Neck Pickup P-90R Cool, Thanks. Both. Some makers sell pickups that are the same "type" but are designated bridge or neck because of slight differences in the output. (or their pole spacing) The hotter one is usually in the bridge position. In the case of P-90s sometimes one is reverse wound so that they act like a humbucker in the center position while eliminating some or all of the 60hz hum. I have one guitar with Vintage Gibson P-90s in it. They are the exact same measurement and the exact same pickup. They sound like night and day just because of the difference in their position on the guitar. Cool, Great info, Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueman335 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Almost all PU's are 'calibrated' meaning overwound for the bridge slot, and underwound for the neck. The bridge location is inherently bright, sharp, and low output (less string vibration), so a hotter PU there helps overcome all of that. The neck location is naturally loud and bassy (much more string vibration), so a brighetr PU there gives more clarity and helps reduce mud. Calibration also helps equalize volumes between the PU's, so the neck doesn't drown out the bridge, which it would if they both were rated for the same ohms and output. Until the mid 1970's, no one paid any attention to calibration, so before then, bridge PU's usually sounded weaker than necks. Because they didn't worry about it, sometimes the hotter of the two PU's wound up in the neck slot, making things worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Also they are (and should be) set to different heights, as mentioned, the string vibrates less over the bridge pickup, so they are generally closer, this is another ploy to overcome the different position of the pickups in relation to the string's length, the neck on the other hand has to be set much lower due to the greater string movement at that position along the string's length. The magnetic field of the pickups have to be set away from the stings enough that it has as little as possible influence over the string's movement, otherwise they would kill the sustain of the string in a heartbeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueman335 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Along with adjusting the PU height, you can also adjust the height of the individual pole pieces to equalize their volumes. Plain strings are louder than wound ones, thick strings are louder than thin ones. The G string is the loudest, the D is the quietest. Adjust the heights accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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