Replacing guitar pickups a good idea?
Most of the time when players want to change pickups it comes down to an output issue. Often heard is, ‘These pickups are too weak. I can’t seem to get enough out of them’,” or conversely, “These are just way too hot for me”. First, the least invasive and least expensive solution should be chosen first. If they are too weak then why not bring them closer to the strings? If you raise the pickup it will hear more, have clarity and get louder. Isn’t that the solution you were looking for? Too hot? Simply lower the pickup away from the strings for less output. There, problem solved! But wait, we have underestimated the proclivity of guitar players to throw money at every perceived problem in order to eliminate it. I say perceived because pickup issues are mostly “perceived” problems and not real ones. When it comes to great guitar tone, pickups are simply a small part of the equation.
Contemplating replacing guitar pickups? Possibly a great a way to give your guitar a new lease of life? Not always. Adjusting the height on the ones you already have may be better. Do so, and you may find an overall tonal improvement to the stock pickup setup. The pickups now installed in your guitar need to be set up exactly like your guitar. A guitar needs a setup and so do your electronics. So, before spending your retirement nest-egg on a set of new pickups, first adjust your guitar with a pickup-setup.
Try a Pickup Setup
In very few cases, changing or replacing guitar pickups will feel as if you are playing an entirely new instrument. But in most cases, after adjusting the guitar pickup-setup on your existing guitar, it will feel new and sound astoundingly different to a discerning ear. Strings present with with more clarity and sustain. Your touch is now dialed in with fuller sound for a more intimate feel especially on a very low action guitar. Exactly like a microphone a guitar pickup hears better at closer proximity. When sung very close to, a mic can be a devastating weapon. Sounds can be more faithfully re-produced when the signal from your guitar is clearer and more audible. A strong guitar signal always processes better than a weak one. In one small step, you raise your pickup. Your guitar has now been transformed into a softer, sweeter, better sounding and sharper tool in your musical tool box. Why did you wait so long to try this? Get a guitar pickup-setup.
When it comes to great guitar tone, “new pickups” are a small part of the equation.
Guitars Need to Be Setup and so do Pickups!
When it comes to great guitar tone, “new pickups” are a small part of the equation. Why? Because they play but one small part in the overall effect of your signature sound. Everything between your guitar pickups and your guitar speaker plays a pivotal role in your tone. An electronics chain can also introduce its own set of issues. Consider all of the points where your signal can be affected: volume and tone pots, effects, cables, grounding, treble bleed circuits, amp quality, strings, picking attack, pick thickness, proximity of pickups to strings, pickup gauss, pole piece size, amp EQ settings, magnet age and most importantly, speakers. When diagnosing a “perceived” pickup problem, all of points in this chain need to be checked as well. They seldom are and careless money is wasted.
Tone has everything to do with…
Tone has everything to do with all of the above. So then, what makes a guitar player feel that changing the pickups will solve all tone problems? Wait for it….. Yes, it’s called, “advertising”. Guitar players like anyone else can easily fall victim to shrewd, convincing ads showing them the only true way to a good guitar tone is buying “their” pickups. Could they be exaggerating their claims? Absolutely, isn’t that the way ads work in the USA? Make a huge claim-then make sales! The truth is, pickups have a relatively minor effect on the overall tone of the guitar. Great tone lies more in the “hands” of a guitar player than anything else. Jeff Beck could sound great with ANY pickup in any guitar.
Roy Buchanan
The last time I spoke with Roy Buchanan he asked me to build him a guitar effects stomp box that “didn’t do anything”. When I asked him why, he just laughed and said, I get tired of people asking me how I get my “tone”. I can just point to the box and skip the explanation. Then added, you know it’s all in the hands! If anyone could afford new pickups it was Roy. The manufacturers were practically throwing pickups at him. He knew the real deal. The finesse and refinement of Roy’s playing was in his attack and subsequent note bending and sustain. He didn’t fall victim to the, new pickup” routine clap-trap pushed by pickup sales teams. The best guitar players have two favorite attributes that make up “their sound”. They are: technical ability or “chops” and tone. When it comes to great guitar tone, pickups are simply a small part of the equation.
Rick Mariner
Haywire Custom Guitars Inc.
Haywire Custom Shop
http://www.haywirecustomguitars.com
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