soundchaser59
Well-known member
I have played electric guitar for 35 years, but to this day I know next to nothing about pickups. Oh, I understand the basic electronic principle behind coils and magnetism and how they work. But I know nothing about which pickups to use for what kind of tone.
For years I played stock, off the wall guitars thru so-so solid state amps and never gave it a second thought. But a couple three years ago I finally reverted back to the All-Tube side of The Force. One night while playing my beautifully setup MIA Strat standing in front of the TV, I realized how tired I was of having to tolerate that loud and annoying 60hz hum/buzz in my guitar when I switch to certain positions on 5-position selector switch.
So I was thrilled a week later when I got my guitar back from the local retailer with Fender Hot Noiseless Pickups on it. No more hum. That was about a year ago.
Now I have been trying to "find my tone" and I realize that the one ingredient I have not messed with in the whole recipe is the pickups. I have been thru a couple dozen amps, a few dozen speakers, and a basket full of pedals, with some success. I am closer than ever now with the gear I have to getting the tone I want, but there is still something in the sound I dont really care for. And I am finally wondering if that last "make a difference" ingredient might be those Hot pickups.
I constantly have my tone knobs turned down to 2 on both the guitar and the amp just to tame the highs and to stop that eardrum piercing sizzle. I frequently have a high freq response in my tone that I would describe as simply too much, too hot, too bright, too brash, too edgy, tooooo darn HOT. I have lowered the pickups quite a bit with only small improvements in this biting response. I'm tired of not being able to have a full range of movement on my tone controls for fear of getting ice picks in my ears!
The tone I'm after I would describe as Lee Ritenour meets Jeff Beck. Or put a different way, take Stevie Ray Vaughns licks but play them on Lee Ritenours rig. Not a perfect analogy, but you get the idea. Some of the smoother Steely Dan solos come to mind, on their later albums, like the solo in FM. I'm after smoother, phatter, warmer, darker sound that can still punch and rock and grind but without that old fashioned single coil scream and piercing high sizzle.
So the questions become these: Will different pickups make that much difference? Am I correct in thinking that it's the "Hot" in these pickups that is causing the too bright too edgy tone I get when I crank my tone knobs up? How can I get the smoother phatter warmer darker tone and still be "noiseless"?? Since I cant very well run "a few dozen" pickups thru my ringer, I need to narrow down the options before I buy. So which ones are going to get me closest to the sound I describe? Can I get there or really close to there without breaking the bank on a bunch of custom forged hand wound Dilithium Crystal pickups from the planet Romulus?? And can I do it with the Strat I already have?
I know my amp and my frets, but I know next to nothing about pickups. Any tips/links/recommends?
Thanks in advance!
For years I played stock, off the wall guitars thru so-so solid state amps and never gave it a second thought. But a couple three years ago I finally reverted back to the All-Tube side of The Force. One night while playing my beautifully setup MIA Strat standing in front of the TV, I realized how tired I was of having to tolerate that loud and annoying 60hz hum/buzz in my guitar when I switch to certain positions on 5-position selector switch.
So I was thrilled a week later when I got my guitar back from the local retailer with Fender Hot Noiseless Pickups on it. No more hum. That was about a year ago.
Now I have been trying to "find my tone" and I realize that the one ingredient I have not messed with in the whole recipe is the pickups. I have been thru a couple dozen amps, a few dozen speakers, and a basket full of pedals, with some success. I am closer than ever now with the gear I have to getting the tone I want, but there is still something in the sound I dont really care for. And I am finally wondering if that last "make a difference" ingredient might be those Hot pickups.
I constantly have my tone knobs turned down to 2 on both the guitar and the amp just to tame the highs and to stop that eardrum piercing sizzle. I frequently have a high freq response in my tone that I would describe as simply too much, too hot, too bright, too brash, too edgy, tooooo darn HOT. I have lowered the pickups quite a bit with only small improvements in this biting response. I'm tired of not being able to have a full range of movement on my tone controls for fear of getting ice picks in my ears!
The tone I'm after I would describe as Lee Ritenour meets Jeff Beck. Or put a different way, take Stevie Ray Vaughns licks but play them on Lee Ritenours rig. Not a perfect analogy, but you get the idea. Some of the smoother Steely Dan solos come to mind, on their later albums, like the solo in FM. I'm after smoother, phatter, warmer, darker sound that can still punch and rock and grind but without that old fashioned single coil scream and piercing high sizzle.
So the questions become these: Will different pickups make that much difference? Am I correct in thinking that it's the "Hot" in these pickups that is causing the too bright too edgy tone I get when I crank my tone knobs up? How can I get the smoother phatter warmer darker tone and still be "noiseless"?? Since I cant very well run "a few dozen" pickups thru my ringer, I need to narrow down the options before I buy. So which ones are going to get me closest to the sound I describe? Can I get there or really close to there without breaking the bank on a bunch of custom forged hand wound Dilithium Crystal pickups from the planet Romulus?? And can I do it with the Strat I already have?
I know my amp and my frets, but I know next to nothing about pickups. Any tips/links/recommends?
Thanks in advance!
