Author Topic: Pickup Placement (Read 120 times)

benson_murrensun · « **on:** April 29, 2010, 11:03:11 AM »

When builidng a guitar and deciding where to place pickups along the length of the strings, is it generally agreed that the pickup(s) should be placed under a certain harmonic point, or does it have more to do with the amount the string moves back and forth when plucked and what is desired of the sound it produces in that regard? I'm sure both are considerations, but which seems to be of higher priority?

hieronymous · « **Reply #1 on:** April 29, 2010, 11:15:31 AM »

My understanding is that the harmonic point idea is a fallacy, since that point changes as soon as the string is fretted...

benson_murrensun · « **Reply #2 on:** April 29, 2010, 12:49:14 PM »

That makes sense to me. (Why didn't I think of it? Duh.)

mica · « **Reply #3 on:** April 29, 2010, 01:02:47 PM »

I like to have to pickups are far apart as physically possible so you can get the greatest range of sounds. The bass pickup sounds bassier to closer it is to the center of the string, the treble pickup sounds treblier to closer it is to the end of the string.

Older Alembics sound a little different from newer ones, and I think it's primarily due to the bass pickup placement. Anytime we make a new instrument with the bass pickup close to the fingerboard, it sounds like an old classic Alembic to me.

sonicus · « **Reply #4 on:** April 29, 2010, 04:39:34 PM »

I have not seen any newer sliding pickup design Alembic Instruments recently.

benson_murrensun · « **Reply #5 on:** April 30, 2010, 08:52:13 AM »

Mica,

That's interesting. My buddy J-Bone made a bass (from raw lumber), his very first attempt, and it came out GREAT. I admired it so much that he just up and gave it to me for my 50th b-day. It sounds wonderful; and it happens to have two pickups (J-style) which are separated as much as physically possible from each other.
(He has made several others since then, and he seems to have quite the knack for it.)