What guitars have bridge pickup closer to bridge?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JakeAC5253
  • Start date Start date
JakeAC5253

JakeAC5253

New member
I know this is a strange question that no one asks, but I think more people should. Just because distance from bridge pickup to bridge isn't a regularly stated stat doesn't mean that it should be overlooked. IMO anyway. Having the pickup closer to the bridge can go a long way in adding clarity and snap to a guitar's tone. Moreso than the pickup itself IMO. I am just wondering if one company over the others tends to design their pickups closer or further away.
 
That's really interesting. People are talking literally for hours about the wood, strings and so on, but never the pickup placement. That's like talking about a recorded drum sound, but ignoring the microphone placement. ;)
 
pickup-placement.jpg


I made a point about this when doing a custom with Denny at Mojo bodies. He actually redid the body to accomodate my afterthought request. My intention was exactly as you have stated, more snap. It's a trade off for a bit of body and feel though. You lose a little dynamic from string movement and some meat. I probably went a little overboard, although it does have that clarity. A new guitar I'm working on is only slightly adjusted in the bridge pickup placement. I had Warmoth move the bridge pickup location 1/8" closer than their standard. Denny at Mojo placed the bridge itself a bit closer than Warmoth does, so the diference isn't as extreme as a first glance at the photos may suggest. The saddle to pole middle distance on the low e of the old guitar is 1-5/16, where the new one is 1-3/8.

placement-new.jpg


To answer the question about brands, a lot of Gibson Les Pauls and SGs have close placement.
 
The shorter the scale length, the closer the bridge pickup will be to the bridge, assuming the builder is using traditional harmonic nodes to place the P.U.

I always thought it'd be a good idea for baritone instruments to have their pickups closer to the bridge for added clarity.
 
JakeAC5253":3m885mbj said:
I know this is a strange question that no one asks, but I think more people should. Just because distance from bridge pickup to bridge isn't a regularly stated stat doesn't mean that it should be overlooked. IMO anyway. Having the pickup closer to the bridge can go a long way in adding clarity and snap to a guitar's tone. Moreso than the pickup itself IMO. I am just wondering if one company over the others tends to design their pickups closer or further away.
Click to expand...

If this is a spec that's important to you, the distance between the pup and the saddles themselves is where you need to focus.
 
FWIW, my Hamer USA Standard's bridge pickup is positioned quite a bit more forward of the bridge than my LP. Both 24.75 scale, and the Hamer's shape is basically a Gibson Explorer. I sometimes wonder what motivated Hamer to do that. Not in a derogatory way because the guitar sounds incredible. But that placement on an already huge, heavy, darker sounding guitar is intriguing. The SD 59 in there sounds nothing like a 59 in your typical EVH-ish super Strats, that's for sure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top