Without a doubt, pickups are the single most controversial component on an electric guitar. Ask five players what they like and you’ll get five different opinions. And in some cases–depending on who the five players are–the discussion can get rather heated to say the least.
I try to keep an open mind regarding pickups. Since I always wind my own, I tend to try different methods in order to achieve varied tones. I know what I like, but that doesn’t matter if I’m building for some one else. However, when it comes to building your own guitar, there are a few dirty secrets you need to be aware of.
First, there’s the issue of pickup placement. How do builders decide where to locate each pickup? Some luthiers like to finish the guitar first so they can play it acoustically in order to determine optimum placement based on the maximum amplitude of string vibration. Others–myself included–try to best utilize the given space between the bridge and the fretboard’s heel. In other words, I locate the bridge pickup as close to the bridge as possible and the neck pickup right up against the fretboard’s heel. This approach maximizes the difference in tone between the two pickups.
If you try to place the pickups as close to the string’s maximum amplitude of vibration, the effort becomes futile. Why? Because the maximum amplitude of vibration–also known as the sweet spot–changes depending on where you pick and fret the strings while actually playing a song. In my opinion, the goal should be to maximize the difference in tone between the bridge and neck pickups rather than trying to pinpoint an ever shifting sweet spot.
Another approach would be to fill the space between the bridge and the heel of the fretboard with as many pickups as you can stuff in there. But, this method only works if the pickups are radically different from each other in design and tone. For example, you could use a high powered, ceramic or neo mag pickup in the bridge position, a medium powered alnico V mag pickup in the middle and a low power alnico II mag pickup in the neck position. Of course I’m talking about humbuckers here since millions of Stratocasters have shown that multiple single coils work very well this way. Regardless of the style pickups you select, keep in mind that should the pickups be too similar in design, the result will be almost monotone as you switch or blend them.
Next is the issue of installation. Single coil pickups are usually installed by routing the pockets into the front of the guitar and covering them up with a pickguard. This approach is a no-brainer since you can do a sloppy routing job and cover it up nicely. The problem is, if the pockets are crude and or oversized, there may be a detrimental impact on tone. So make those pockets smooth and just slightly larger than the pickup itself. The closer the wood is to the pickup, the greater the body’s contribution to the guitar’s tone.
With regards to humbuckers, make sure the pockets will be small enough to hold the pickup while still being covered by the pickup ring. There’s almost no room for error here so check your template by placing the ring on top of it. Carefully examine all sides of the ring to make sure it covers template’s pocket shape. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to either make a smaller template–though large enough to hold the pickup–or source a larger ring. Also, remember to account for the ring when positioning the neck pickup against the fretboard’s heel. If you rout the pocket too close to the fretboard’s heel, you may not have enough room for the ring.
The last issue is wiring. Before you even start building your guitar, have a wiring schematic at your side. Waiting until the last minute could be a real problem. The last thing you’ll want to deal with at this stage is a control cavity that’s too small for your plans or a wiring scenario that won’t do what you need it to do.
If you’re installing humbuckers, make sure you identify them by adding a piece of tape to the one of wire leads. I usually do this to the bridge pickup. If you’re installing more than two, tape two of the leads and mark them with a “B” for bridge and an “M” for middle. If you forget to do this, you might be able to gently tug the leads where they enter the control cavity and see which pickup moves in its ring. However, I don’t recommend doing this as it could damage your pickup. For single coils, this isn’t necessary since they are usually installed to the back of the pickguard.
That about covers the dirty secrets of pickup installation. If you have any questions or comments send them my way and I’ll try my best to answer them asap. In the next installment of this series, I’ll go a little deeper into wiring scenarios. Stay tuned!