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What factors determine the timbre of the sound produced through an electric guitar pickup?
I am looking for the ideal guitar pickup for a custom Jackson Rhoads I plan on ordering. I am presently torn between the Alumitone Deathbucker from Lace Pickups for both the bridge and neck positions, and an H4 Passive Rails/H4A neck/bridge combination from EMG-HZ. I am leaning towards the Deathbucker pickups because of their light weight and unique aesthetic, but the sound they produce is rather thin and very bright. I prefer pickups with a dark, deep, heavy sound, like the sound the EMG pickups provide. I would like to know if the tonewoods used in the body of the guitar can help darken the tone produced by the pickup, or if the tone depends more on the amp the guitar is sounding through than the actual pickups themselves.
2 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
If you choose a pickup up based on how it looks, you're stupid. A decision like that just completely misses the point.
The four major contributors to your overall guitar sound are the pickups, the guitar itself, the amp, and the speakers. Of the four, the pickups are probably the biggest factor (especially when dealing with clean tones).
Every one of those elements influences the tone in a unique way. You just need to play a lot of instruments and listen to the differences in tone between them. What you hear with your own ears will give you way more information than I could with any amount of text.
- 1 decade ago
lucasman says pretty much everything. I'd only like to add that strings change the difference in sound. Some people use a fatter gauge on the lower strings or use all medium. If you go that route it might require an adjustment on the truss rod or in extreme cases could warp the neck with heavy gauge and tightening them up too tight.
