Guitarists' Gathering

If you're trying to switch between E and G, I'm guessing you mean the open chords. Another way would be to play an E and then an E-shaped G bar chord.

 

I'm currently looking into purchasing a set of lipstick tube pickups for my olympic white rosewood fretboard Stratocaster. I also purchased a vintage mint green pickguard to go along with it. It's going to look and sound sweet.

 

Mint green? Seriously?

 

Yes. Mint green is actually what they used on 1962 Stratocasters.

 

I don't like lipstick pickups myself...

 

What in particular don't you like?

What kind of electric do you play regularly?

 

Well not many guitars come with them. Are you getting Seymour duncan's or Dimarzio's or something? I tried a Danelectro at my local store, I just found the sound slightly thinner than I'm used to. Just the tone and all of that..kinda hard to describe so late at night.

Well I'm used to having at least one Humbucker, the thick sound of the neck pickup on a distorted channel but volume turned down on the guitar so it only gives a slight grit to the sound, I use that for quiet blues leads or just less loud chords for anything. Just gives a nice thick sound. And the Les Paul(epiphone ) Bridge pick up, trebly but not necessarily thin, use that for everything else, though would go back to the neck for thick rhythm playing...or whatever...it's actually more like "whatever" for everything...though I actually do use the neck pick of a les paul turned down for quiet blues lead.

Though on my Tele I have a humbucker in the neck and a single on the bridge, though I put a Seymour Duncan in there to give it a bit more punch.

Personal Preference I guess.

Also Zaz...by mint green, it's more like Off White with a tinge of Green. I think? Correct me if I'm wrong Wandergaurd, or Zaz if you already knew.

 

Yes, it's a very faint green. You can see one in that link I posted.

Oh, I'm getting a set from Guitarfetish.com. They're specifically designed to fit Stratocasters.

 

Two Words:

Robot Guitar

 

There's just something crunchy in an EMG humbucker than lipstick pickups don't have.

ES

 

Active pickups are just... Yuck.

Any piece of equipment which sacrifices tonal individuality for more output is a thumbs down in my book. Then again, I don't play metal, so I like a warm, pleasant, punchy tone.

 

It depends, I spose, entirely on your intended sound. I'm really into post-metal at the moment which does actually utilise a lot clean tones - yet the guitarists play a Les Paul and custom Telecaster (with a bridge humbucker).

But yeah, if you want punch, single coil pickups aren't your thing.

ES

 

I disagree. I find that single coils offer the most punch, and the most bite, whereas humbuckers and really hot pickups are kind of flat sounding.

 

If that was the case, Wanderguard, why do the guitarists who want that oomph sound play Gibsons over Fenders?

ES

 

I think you're confusing "punch" with distortion. Distortion actually takes away from the effect I'm talking about.

EDIT: Listen to Jimi Hendrix's version of "Hey Joe". His tone in the intro, and especially in the solo are good examples of what I'm talking about when I say "punchy".

EDIT 2: No, better yet, listen to the solo on "The Wind Cries Mary". That's an even better example.

 

Humbuckers aren't flat sounding and are definitely warmer than single coils which can be thin sounding. Also the treble pick-up on a gibson Esq type guitar has more punch than bridge Single coil. But a Neck Single does sound warm like in most Jimi Hendrix.
Though a humbucker is more likely to produce distortion on a clean channel/single channel amp, than a single coil not necessarily sacrificing tone. Though if it's an active pick-up tone is not as high as gain on a priority list.

 

I've honestly never heard a humbucker that could match the clean bite of a single coil. They distort, and get abrasive.

Humbuckers are definitely fatter, but I prefer note clarity to excessive warmth.

 

Awwww I played guitar too soon after coming out of the shower...my callus' are coming off...oh well.

 

lol... I've never noticed that problem.

What size strings do you use?

 

BUMP.

 

I agree, humbuckers definitely have more output (especially actives, since they've got a friggin' battery-powered pre), but they don't bite quite as much as a single coil. I've never really looked into how different pickup types actually output sound, but it seems to me singles are often much more trebly, whereas humbuckers are more mid-rangey. Of course, singles get pretty noisy after a point, so it really depends on the sound you want.

 

That's the one thing I despise about single-coils, is the hum. And unfortunately I've never heard a noiseless single coil I liked.

As far as punch, humbuckers in the bridge position definitely take the cake, but it's still just a little bit different. They don't have the combination of dynamics and bite that single coils have. I love the note clarity and clean tone of a single coil above all else.

I think they sound good distorted too, just a little different. They're smoother when distorted, but at the same time more sporadic. Humbuckers are crunchy sounding, but they seem compressed so it's kind of a more uniform sound.

 

I had an Explorer with active EMGs and I could never get it to sound quite the way I wanted. Now I have a Flying V with passive 'buckers and it's exactly the sound I want.

 

I read that EMGs, due to their active nature sacrifice tonal personality for higher output. That's an instant write-off for me.

 

Don't they have "active" tone control? Generally tone isn't a big issue if you need that much gain. I think...I dunno never used active pick-ups...and this thread needs a bump