How much difference does the Pickup make

David Friedlander · From: New York, New York, USA

Hi everyone,
If the tone on a guitar was too sharp. That is to say: not smooth enough, requirung turning the tone down on the amp- would changing the pickup be likely to change the tonal character from bright with sharp highs to a more bottom rich, less trebly tone?

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

Well my take would be ..yes..of course..the PUP (Short for Pickup in the TELE' 6 string world) is always part of the equation. Look how many PUPS are available for a Telecaster alone, different windings, different wire size, different magnets etc..it's no different for the Steel. But do keep in mind how one picks the strings (attack) the freshness of strings, the amp settings, the height of the pickup, the guitar body , the bridges and string contact area's ,etc, etc , are all factors that can and will effect the final timbre.

But somehow I think you already knew this..

I guess my point is this...many of us in the Steel and Guitar worlds keep changin' things, I call it messin' with things..before they actually spend the time to learn what it is they actually have in front of them . Finding the tone or timbre of an Instrument is almost as important as practice in my view..work at it, find the reference then make a decision to change at that time..

I have a few sets of pickups for my Carter but the George L's are still there..these are the same ones that I believe the guitar was shipped with in '96..For the Tele', I buy used PUPS off of EBAY all the time..folks just keep buyin' new ones and finding out they ain't doin' what it is they think they will do so they dump them..cheap...but my primary Tele' still has the stock PUPS..I still have not changed them..

Noisless, Texas Specials, Stock Vintage, all sorts..maybe someday I may even try swapping a few..or..maybe not..oh wait, one exception here, Fralins..they are never cheap and not usually availabe on the used market..IF I ever come across a set of Vintage Fralins for a reasonable fee then those would go in the primary Tele for sure..

Pickups can and will change your tone/timbre, but my feeling is not until you know what it is you have in the first place..and what you are looking for..

"I wanna sound like Buddy".."I wanna sound like Brad Paisley".."I wanna sound like John Hughey"...

that ain't gonna happen by changing a pickup...

At a recent show I did play a new Carter with the Wallace True Tones, a remarkable difference between that guitar and mine..so for sure there is a difference..

have fun..good luck

just my take...which in the scheme of things is...

t

[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 15 April 2004 at 02:36 AM.]

Roy Ayres · From: Riverview, Florida, USA, R.I.P.

More turns of wire = higher impedance = less highs and a more "mellow" tone.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Except for the difference between humbuckers and single-coils, which can be profound to some players, all other pickup changes simply do what the controls on a good amp do...they change the tone or volume a little. ('Course, if you have a cheap amp, you may need all the help you can get!)

Therefore, I agree with Tony on this one. A pickup change is probably one of the most insignificant changes you can make. I know I'll get a lot of flak on this, but my new MSA gives me the ability to change pickups in about 10 seconds, and that showed me the simple truth! In fact, if you have a good amp, I think that changing any one of the tone controls by just one number makes a far bigger difference in your sound than changing to another pickup.

They do offer one advantage on a double-neck guitar though, because they can give you different sounds on each neck with the same amp settings. This can be convenient when you don't have time to fiddle with tone controls when switching necks (and playing styles).

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

I can get a tone I like out of almost any guitar/amp combination. I always sound like me!

That said, I still think that some pickups are better for certain styles of music than others. for example, I get much smoother distortion for rock out of my 12-1 vs. my 712. That's a difference that you can't set at the amp, because it happens before the tone controls.

I get a quicker, more dramatic and more consistant tone change by swapping pickups than I would get by adjusting the amp. I like to set the amp for the room and forget it.

------------------

Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax

Paddy Long · From: Christchurch, New Zealand

I have found that they make a big difference, in fact I took them off one steel and couldn't hear a thing.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

My guess is that a bit of steady practice will solve the tone problem. The difference between pickups is subtle and changing them most likely won't help at all. If you want to get a fuller more even tone out of your steel practice without an amp. Or try playing through the smallest, worst amp you can find. Turn the bass to zero and the treble to 10. Once you can get a relatively round and full sound out of that you will no longer have amp or pickup problems.

Bob

David Friedlander · From: New York, New York, USA

Well, the full story is this:
I have purchased an awesome new Williams S10 4/5.
My usual MO- I don't have the time to go to a convention,there's no PSG store in NYC, so I buy one off the internet-sight unheard...

I felt comfortable becausem we all know Bill is a really good guy to work with. At the same time I knew I was taking a risk.
If I did not like the guitar, it was mine- but I'd heard inly good things about them.

So I picked a really nice color scheme and all the tricks I'd been dreamin of ( namely G#-G pedal) and took the plunge.
I asked Bill to wind a Pickup with a tap at 9k.

The thing is absolutely drop dead gorgeous.
Plus, it tunes so easily- both the stops and the strings. It's got these really neat Grover heads with a cam built into the thing so it works almost like a keyless.

The guitar plays like butter.

But I did not like the tone.

It was just too trebly- twangy. I'm sure some people would love it, but I did not.

I was extremely lucky in that my "starter" guitar is a Marlen S10 3/4.
That guitar has tone- period. Once I learned a few chords I was playing the thing in recordings.
My second PSG - a SD12 Emmons PP- also had tone built in.
My Lamar is like that too- full bottom and highs that are bright without being painful.
Smooth, rich tone.
No effects needed ( 'cept a little Fender Reverb)

I just installed a Wallace True Tone Pickup- wound to 18500-
I'm hoping it will make thie guitar smoother- richer sounding.
I am able to compare the guitars using the same amp - a '65 Deluxe Reverb- I'll be doing that tomorrow.
At home tonight thru a small Marshall Practice amp it sounds promising.....

David Friedlander · From: New York, New York, USA

The Wallace True tone really smoothed the tone out.
It's still sharper sounding than the Marlen- but there's a lot more depth to the tone and the bottom

Pretty pretty axe

Forum Index > Pedal Steel		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: