Guitar Talk!

[Coffee]

oh. So you're using the neck pickups for their (I'm assuming) higher resistance? Otherwise, it would seem to not make too much a difference to switch them.

Anyway, I've been thinking about getting a new electric guitar. I have an Ibanez RG 320 that I got in high school as a present. It's got nice whiny highs, but the overall sound isn't as fat/mellow as I'd like it to be for jazz/blues (it's really designed for .9 strings, which doesn't help). I sure like the sound of Gibsons, though my wallet doesn't, so I've been looking at some used or good replicas. We'll see..

Actually, the neck pickup is usually weaker than the bridge, because the movement of the strings at the neck pickup is not as constrained, and as such can produce stronger currents naturally.

However, it's not uncommon to find guitars in which both pickups are of the same resistance. It's more a matter of taste. I've heard that P90s have a nice sound, and I'd like to try one out, but at the same time, I like a nice strong humbucker sound in the bridge.

I haven't tried many Ibanez guitars. But if I wanted to get a fatter, mellower sound, I'd be tempted to get new, lower resistance pickups. Guitar Fetish does some cheap but commendably good quality PAF-styled hummers. And changing pickups is easy!


In fact, this afternoon I ordered some parts for my project guitar - an affinity Squier strat that a friend cajoled me into buying off him for £25. I don't mind, and it's not a bad base for modding. It'll probably look ugly and produce a lot of weird noises when I'm done with it, but I'm looking forward to how it turns out.

[Jelfish]

Actually, the neck pickup is usually weaker than the bridge, because the movement of the strings at the neck pickup is not as constrained, and as such can produce stronger currents naturally.

Yeah, that's what I meant. A higher resistance pickup at the bridge to bring out the fundamentals and not so much the back-feeding distorted overtones.

However, it's not uncommon to find guitars in which both pickups are of the same resistance. It's more a matter of taste. I've heard that P90s have a nice sound, and I'd like to try one out, but at the same time, I like a nice strong humbucker sound in the bridge.

I haven't tried many Ibanez guitars. But if I wanted to get a fatter, mellower sound, I'd be tempted to get new, lower resistance pickups. Guitar Fetish does some cheap but commendably good quality PAF-styled hummers. And changing pickups is easy!

When I set my guitar to use the neck humbuckers, the sound is relatively richer, so I suppose it stands to reason that I should start with getting better pickups. I'll probably still save up for a new guitar, since the .9 strings still sound rather twangy to me and I'd like the guitar to resonate a bit better, but thanks for the advice. I'll at least improve what I've got.

In fact, this afternoon I ordered some parts for my project guitar - an affinity Squier strat that a friend cajoled me into buying off him for £25. I don't mind, and it's not a bad base for modding. It'll probably look ugly and produce a lot of weird noises when I'm done with it, but I'm looking forward to how it turns out.

Well as long as the neck is still attached and not terribly warped, it should be an interesting project. In fact, I've seen some pictures of people who carve places on their guitar for MIDI devices so they can control things with their pick hand. And at 25# and a few parts, you could potentially end up with a pretty original instrument

[Coffee]

Assuming you have a tremelo bridge, I'd recommend a device called the Tremel-No. It fits into your tremelo cavity and allows your bridge to act as a fixed bridge, one-way tremelo, or a floating trem. This is the short version of actually blocking the trem with a piece of wood. Then you can use heavier strings and the only other adjustment you'd need would be maybe a 1/8th turn on the truss rod. Or just add more springs to the back.

As for spending money on better pickups, I'm talking about spending $30-odd to see if that gets you closer to the sound you want.


I don't personally go in for extras in terms of guitars. I'm sure some people would like a MIDI guitar, but what can a MIDI guitar do that a MIDI keyboard can't? I like my music raw and organic, and the only modifications I'm making, really, are to do with the pickups/configuration, and the control. I invested in a custom pickguard, with a humbucker in the bridge and a single coil in the neck, and I'm going to use a blend pot in place of a three-way switch to connect the two. I'm even considering wiring them out of phase, but then I might need to include a switch so that I can switch between out-of-phase and in-phase.

[Jelfish]

Yeah, I actually fixed my trembridge by myself. I cut out a cube of pages from my telephone directory and just stuck it in there so the bridge had no room to move. It's worked pretty well so far, and I can take out a few pages if it's too much. Back when I first got my guitar, I made the mistake of changing to 1.0 strings without changing the springs and I pulled them out of shape. Of course, I didn't even know about the truss rod back then. So, I've been pretty careful about my guitar's neck, even though it looks ok now. Also, the truss rod on my guitar is not really normal. It's 2 allen-screws on the back of the neck behind the first fret rather the normal screw near the nut. I should put more care into my guitar, but I normally just use it for playing chords and practicing scales. I cannot yet "tap the soul" for my blues on guitar like I can on piano ;)

When I suggested MIDI, I didn't mean to imply that you should get rid of the strings and put buttons between the frets. I meant that you could put a few buttons near the part of the body where you strum. Those buttons can then be programmed to interface with effects controllers, loop machines, laptops, etc. so you don't have to click a mouse or move your foot off a pedal. You could use knobs or a spring loaded wheel for more precise control. It doesn't have to affect the way your guitar normally makes sound. There is some neat software-based audio (or any wave) signal processing that you can use to essentially make any effects pedal, including things that you could not easily do in the analogue realm, particularly event-triggering and interfacing with other media, such as video signals. Check out Max/MSP if you're interested (http://www.cycling74.com/products/maxmsp)

Phasing between the pickups could be pretty interesting, especially if your pickups sound noticeably different. I'd definitely like to hear what that sounds like :)

[pinoyblaze]

haha you guys finally made a guitar thread <3 haha nice

[Coffee]

Actually, those two allen screws on the back of the neck are holding your nut on.

And I just have next to no patience when it comes to electronic music.

[DBXP]

Finnally! A Thread To Fit My Complete Love!

[Coffee]

So, y'know... Contribute :p

[DBXP]

I have a 1958 Epiphone Goth Series Explorer Hardtail with no neck pick up, 2 stickers, and scrapes and scratches all over it...

Amp wise I have a CRATE FXT120 w/DSP and a Marshall Micro Amp (for those long road trips)

Pedal wise all I have is a ZOOMII that has none of it's original stock settings and hopefully I may get a cheap Wah pedal here pretty soon.

[Jelfish]

Actually, those two allen screws on the back of the neck are holding your nut on.

And I just have next to no patience when it comes to electronic music.


That's too bad.

And yeah, I have no idea how my guitar works :D

[Coffee]

well, my guess is that you have a truss rod cover, it'll be a plastic plate on the headstock, or else it'd be a heel adjustment...

Either way, sometimes it'd worth it to get a half-decent setup on your guitar.

[glass__onion]

hi...
i dont know anything about guiters, im just bringing this thread to the top.
oh ya!!!!

[crystalzemoose]

i play guitar but i'll admit my guitar stuff is no where near as valuable as the lot of you.

all i wanted to say was, i want to get jam sessions for the nintendo ds because it'll come in handy when i get an idea for a song when it's impossible to have my guitar around

[Jelfish]

this seems so long ago.

Anyway, I'm working on some percussion for our lil' collaborative (refer to Random Thoughts... p. 85) More on that to come :D :D