Pickup switching

[Obivion]

I have seen both Yngwie and Steve Morse switch pickups during the middle of a song by flicking the pickup selector. I want to know i) Is there any purpose to it and ii) If so, could it be done on an LP/ SG due to the pickup selector being in a different place than the strat/ tele that they use?

Thanks in advance

[hairballxavier]

I have seeen both Yngwie and Steve Morse switch pickups during tghe middle of a song by flicking the pickup selector. I want to know i) Is there any purpose to it and ii) If so, could it be done on an LP/ SG due to the pickup selector being in a different place than the strat/ tele that they use.

Thanks in advance

Listen to some Joe Morello and Randy Rhodes. They both made good use of the PU selector switch on LP type guitars to get cool FX.

Personally I used to use LP style guitars but now I play a Tele. The the thing I miss the most about the LP's is the position of the PU selector switch.

For instance, one of my favorite tricks is to set the neck pickup a 0 volume which makes PU selector a cut-off switch or all intensive purposes. (some guys like Morello even install a cut off switch on their custom guitars)Then you can hit a power chord on a down stroke and hit the PU selector on the upstroke with your hand to abruptly mute it. Then on the next down stroke hit it again to turn it back on.


There is all kinds of neat stuff you can do with the PU selector.

I'd go into more detail but I would probably be encroaching into "gear talk" territory. Gear talk isn't allowed in this forum

[ibanezzed]

no gear talk? so we should from now on say how do I play a certain note on a certain thing that makes music, why no gear talk? Just curious?

[EricV]

That rule was put in to avoid endless "Sellign Gear", "Get Cheapest Gear Here" spam, "Which pickups to put into my strat" discussions... the focus is playing actual music.
So this thread is kinda on the fence =)

Regarding the pickup switches... some players prefer to use the neck pickup when they play in the higher positions in order to have a smoother sound. Like for example, play mainly with the bridge PU activated in the lower areas of the neck, and when you get to the higher positions, you switch to the neck PU.

Steve Morse once discussed this in an interview long ago... he said that he likes to switch pickups based on what position he is in to keep the tone balanced. As you might know, on most of his guitars he uses 4 pickups. So he´d use the bridge humbucker in the lower regions, then switch to a split-sound for the middle areas of the neck etc, to use the neck humbucker in the highest areas.
Its a matter of taste if you wanna go that far, but I occasionally like to use the different sounds available with the switch, too. For example, that "bubbly", blubbering smooth Malmsteen-type picking sounds (fast picking in the higher positions) works well if you switch to the neck pickup. Most of the time, I use the bridge-PU when soloing, but of course sometimes the sound is more appropiate if you use the neck one.
Hope this helps
Eric

[coda]

I love changing pickups whilst soloing and it is an integral part of my technique....try bending a D note on the B string 15th fret to the 17th whilst in the bridge position and on the way down switch to the neck....Hendrix all the way...you can create some very cool textures and I reckon it looks cool as well(very important).....liquid smooth fast runs up in the bridge and ultra sharp legatos back down....cool fun...just had to replace my pickup selector on my Les Paul..totally knackered but lasted 14 years so thats all good ;)

[joeyd929]

I change pickups all the time during a solo just to mix it up. Sometimes I will want a tinny loud sound so I switch to the bridge pickup, then right in the middle of a long note I will start with middle pickup and finish note with bridge or neck pickup.

I adds another dimention, I just do it off the cuff when I feel the need...

It can be effective.

[Obivion]

Cheers for the help you guys.

[Blutwulf]

Think of your guitar string as a taut wire stretched between two points. When you pluck it, the widest swing in the vibration is halfway down its length, yes? Well, when the string vibrates, it vibrates at a specific number of times per second. We'll call that the "frequency" of vibration. What your ear hears is the fundamental frequency, and as much of the harmonic range as your pitiful, human ears can detect (in short, it is also vibrating at the 1/4 point, etc... its whole length, actually). Well, when you fret a string, it shortens that length (and thereby moves the middle). Wonderful stuff, that.

Anyway, your pickups are mounted along the last foot or so of a guitar string's length. Regardless of how many pickups you have, the one closest to the center of the string is going to pick up more of the harmonic range. The one closest to your bridge is going to pick more of the fundamental, less muddied by the harmonic range. Most guitar players think of it as treble and bass. It is treble and bass only insofar as the brifge pickup picks up less bass frequency.

Why would one change mid-solo? Why, to take advantage of the differing sounds, of course.

[Jed]

Anyway, your pickups are mounted along the last foot or so of a guitar string's length. Regardless of how many pickups you have, the one closest to the center of the string is going to pick up more of the harmonic range. The one closest to your bridge is going to pick more of the fundamental, less muddied by the harmonic range.

Certainly it's the exact opposite that is the case with any guitar I've played. It's the higher order harmonics that define the clarity versus the softer / less defined tone of the fundamental's sine waveform. The placement of the p/u is such that the neck p/u is more sensitive to the fundamentals while the bridge p/u is more sensitive to the higher order harmonics.

When I want to hear the fundamental and down-play the higher level harmonics, I move my pick towards the 1st node, use the neck p/u and avoid vibrato. Moving the pick towards the bridge, squashing the note via a bit of thumb or introducing vibrato encourages / accelerates the decay of the fundamental. The net effect of any of these is a relative strengthening of the upper level harmonics relative to the fundamental.

respectfully,

Jed

[Blutwulf]

Perhaps I have them reversed. If so, go ahead and reverse anything I have to say in a future post about string distance from the pickup.

[UKRuss]

It's at this time of year that I reflect on such things in a "what's it all for anyway" kind of way.

Are we all not in fact pick-ups under the strings of life strengthing or weakening the harmonic vibrations of our surroundings?

Metaharmonically speaking of course.

Silent Night?

Not if I can help it.

Yeah? Switch me to the bridge position baby, I'm coming home.

[EricV]

Tough day at work, honey?