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Topic: Emmons 108N pickup |
Fred Rushing
From:
Odin, IL, USA
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Posted 12 Mar 2009 6:01 pm |
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| I realize that tone or sound are very subjective but here is my question. Can someone tell me what I might expect to hear in comparing a single coil Emmons pickup to a 108N type Emmons pickup on a legrande E9 neck? The single coil is 20K Thanks. Fred |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 13 Mar 2009 10:11 am
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Hum (60HZ buzz picked up) is almost totally gone.
As with all dual coil (noise cancellation) type PU's, like the 108N, some of us hear extraneous subtle things not heard in a single coil PU. I attribute it to small "eddy" currents inherrant in dual coils, that cause certain picked up string vibrations, to become out of phase. Critical ears can hear this. I heard it the instant I got my first LeGrande with 108N's. I never did get completely used to it.
In a word, I will describe it thusly: On certain strings at certain frets, an 'after' low level tone is heard AFTER the initial string attack, while at other frets and/or strings it cannot be heard. But again, it is VERY subtle and many do not hear it.
But...for most, this is far outweighed by the lack of hum, especially at higher volume levels.
But more importantly, a given PU is almost always going to sound differently in different guitars. The 108N was designed specifically for the Emmons' "LeGrandes". As such it is great for that guitar, commensurate with the above.
carl
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart. |
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Rich Peterson
From:
Moorhead, MN
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Posted 13 Mar 2009 3:28 pm
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Any combination of two or more pickup coils will result in certain harmonics being emphasized or deemphasized.
Touching a string in the middle for a "chime" mutes the fundamental frequency, so you hear the second (octave up) harmonic. That harmonic has its "node" (rest point) at the midpoint of the string.
A harmonic that hs an odd number of nodes between the pickup coils will be deemphasized by phase cancellation. The vibration is in opposite directions above each coil, cancelling out some of the signal. A harmonic with zero or an even nodes betweem coils will be emphasized. This will change as you shorten the string by moving the bar up the neck. The emphasis will cause the change in sound Carl discusses.
This causes the chime of a bridge and neck pickup combination, and the funky "quack" of the 2 and 4 positions on a Strat switch. It also causes the charactaristic sound of a humbucker. The closer the coils are together, the fewer harmonics are affected. The distance of the pickup from the bridge is also a factor, .
If the pickup has a lead for tapping one of the coils, try experimenting with different value capacitors instead of just shorting across one coil. That bleeds off only the upper harmonics of one coil, so they don't interfere with the other. It retains the power of the humbucker, and almost all the humcancelling, but gives a more "open" sound, like the single coil. |
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