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Thread: Bridge Pick-Up Placement

  1. #1
    Work in Progress Ed Goist's Avatar
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    Default Bridge Pick-Up Placement

    The e-mando seen below will have 2 stacked humbuckers.

    I am very happy with the neck pick-up (PUP) location as shown below, but am still uncertain about the bridge PUP location.

    I don't want the bridge PUP to be so close to the bridge that the tone becomes too thin, pinched and muted, but I also want it to sound like a lead PUP. I believe that the placement below may have the PUPs too close to each other, and the bridge pick-up maybe a little too far from the bridge.

    Opinions?

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    c.1965 Harmony Monterey H410 Mandolin
    "What a long, strange trip it's been..." - Robert Hunter
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  2. #2

    Default Re: Bridge Pick-Up Placement

    well the bridge pup is usually quite thin and tinny sounding . i seldom play in that position though it can sound nice with certain distortion effects . but i do like being able to blend it in with the neck pup . I read in an electric guitar building book , that some people like to place the pups at the harmonics . the 12th fret is the middle so the 5th and 7th fret harmonics are mirrored on both sides . they are equal distance away from the 12th fret .

  3. #3
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bridge Pick-Up Placement

    Maybe not that one, shown, because it's already done,
    Consider, installing the bridge P Up at an angle, , so it is closer to the bridge,
    on the lower pitch strings, bass end, further on the treble , the higher ones.
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  4. #4

    Default Re: Bridge Pick-Up Placement

    Its going to look sweet . hope your not installing a pick guard .

  5. #5
    Work in Progress Ed Goist's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bridge Pick-Up Placement

    Thanks Rico.
    Sorry, but I love pickguards on electrics...I think they look kinda' naked without them.
    This one will have an amber finish, vintage tortoise pickguard, and ebony fretboard and peghead overlay. When she's done she should look a lot like this:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    c.1965 Harmony Monterey H410 Mandolin
    "What a long, strange trip it's been..." - Robert Hunter
    "Life is too important to be taken seriously." - Oscar Wilde
    Think Hippie Thoughts...
    Gear: The Current Cast of Characters

  6. #6
    Registered User Tom Wright's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bridge Pick-Up Placement

    I just now compared my Ryder with similar placement to my 80s Stratocaster. I find the tone on bridge pickup identical to a close approximation. Not surprising, since I measured those Strat locations and had Steve build it to match. I later changed my mind on the Strat angle, and changed to a straight-across setup as in Ed's photo. Better for E string response and tone, and still yields that cool split-position two-pickup Strat tone when set on both pickups.
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  7. #7
    Work in Progress Ed Goist's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bridge Pick-Up Placement

    Thanks to everyone for all the help and the responses.

    I really like the tone Tom gets out of his Ryder, and the best sounding guitar that I've owned was a Deluxe Fat Strat with all the PUPs oriented perpendicular to the strings, so I'm pretty sold on the straight-across orientation.

    Also, I really like the neck PUP close to the neck like Steve Ryder has the mock-up in the pic above.

    As for the the stacked humbucker at the bridge, I've asked Steve to place it at the same location one would find the top coil of a standard humbucker in his typical PUP arrangement. Moreover, I was able to download a drawing of that PUP arrangement from his website, and using MS Paint I erased the bottom coil of the standard humbucker. So; I've asked him to position my bridge stacked humbucker like this:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Based on this drawing, I think we might need to move the bridge PUP just a touch south of where Steve has the mock-up in the pic above. He's going to let me know.

    However, I'm not going to sweat the location too much as long as it's not sitting on the bridge. Moreover, the more I think about it, the more I've realized that in my decades of playing multi-PUP electrics I have almost never played my instruments in the "bridge only" position...I'm usually in "neck only", or both.
    c.1965 Harmony Monterey H410 Mandolin
    "What a long, strange trip it's been..." - Robert Hunter
    "Life is too important to be taken seriously." - Oscar Wilde
    Think Hippie Thoughts...
    Gear: The Current Cast of Characters

  8. #8
    Work in Progress Ed Goist's Avatar
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    Default Re: Bridge Pick-Up Placement

    Thanks again everyone. We'll be keeping the pick-up placement pretty much like the mock-up above.
    Here she is with the PUP channels cut, and the body lightly sprayed with water to raise the grain prior to finishing:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    c.1965 Harmony Monterey H410 Mandolin
    "What a long, strange trip it's been..." - Robert Hunter
    "Life is too important to be taken seriously." - Oscar Wilde
    Think Hippie Thoughts...
    Gear: The Current Cast of Characters

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