i was just wondering...
see those diffrent pickups in each guitars above?
whats are the diffrence?
what type of music it is for? or what kind of music it is suitable to play..

ur answers are much appreciated.
as i wanna make my self clear about guitars..

thanks all

1st Pic - h-s-h

2nd Pic - h-h

3rd Pic - s-s-s




s= single coil = sounds bright with bell-like shimmering tones

h=humbucker (2 X single coil) = sounds thick and warm,

This post has been edited by blacktrix: Nov 12 2008, 10:11 AM

Don't forget that Single coils have that nasty hum to it.... which is why the humbucker was invented.... Hum-Bucker....
Generally, rule of thumb is that Metal/Hard Rock = Humbuckers, Country/Soft Rock = Single coil....... but there is always exceptions to the rules......
You basically use Humbuckers when you want more power, and single coils when you want that twang.

This post has been edited by blacktrix: Nov 12 2008, 10:28 AM

Hey TS, how is your venture of Alnico Pro II? I'm waiting for u to make ur decision. I'm following you~!

to add;

note also that depending on the pickup config, the switching method varies too. there's either 3 or 5 way switching (pickup switch that is). this will effect how the guitar would sound too.

i see so basically....humbuckle is for more heavy la?
but what about those like EMG??
those pickups that doesnt have the "round dots" if u know what i mean

---

Added on November 12, 2008, 3:59 pmalnico pro 2 ????
whats that?

This post has been edited by beastwars: Nov 12 2008, 03:59 PM

those are magnetic poles. some pickup have them covered, some are simply designed without them (eg EMG81). it's more of a difference in design. function wise- it's generally the same.

This post has been edited by zeroglyph: Nov 12 2008, 05:06 PM

wah...I didn't know the EMGs don't have magnetic poles

I thought only the rails are the only pickups without poles

hey2 don't get me wrong there. i mentioned EMG as an example only. not all emg pickup are covered and don't use magnetic poles.

let's change the example to EMG 81 to avoid confusion.

emg-h1 and s1 are some emg models that uses magnetic pole piece.

This post has been edited by zeroglyph: Nov 12 2008, 05:38 PM

EMGs mostly use a magnetic bar rather than individual poles.
I don't recall any EMGs using poles though.

wow..I thought you only have trained ears. Seems to me you have trained eyes that can see through the EMG plates LOL

Well no, I read the technical specs on the EMGs. =|
If I recall its a ceramic magnet bar (similar to the rails on stacked humbuckers) with very weak magnetic field. The small output goes into a built in preamp (thus the hi-fi character which is a love/hate thing) and that'll be your guitar signal.

errr...magnetic pole?
im abit lost here
sorry...

see james hetfield's maltese cross LP custom.
has custom made EMGs that look like regular gold plated gibson humbuckers.
tho the polepieces on those are probably just meant for show to look like normal passives.

off topic a while. i've seen comic with wrong translation.
humbucker >>> hamburger.

so the sentence is like... the hamburger in the guitar.... haha... so... wrong....

riighhhhttt...what comic did u get that from ????
lol

alrite back to the topic...
i heard that many people says...EMG gives much heavy sound
then a humbukcer...is this true????

That is a myth/perception that many ppl have in their minds. Some think that EMG active pickups are heavier but that is not particularly true. Other pickups(passive) from other brand like DiMarzio and SD can be as heavy also. Go to youtube to search for a video comparing between an active and passive pickups. Very well explained there

If you mean heavy by high gain then yes it's heavy.
But for me, by heavy means full, meaty and have a big bawlsy bottom end.
Not the case for the EMG81.

here's some history lesson for ya because i'm bored.

in the early days, pickup was designed with magnetic pole pieces (those round dots). in the late 70's or early 80's, some manufacturer (i have no idea which one, possibly EMG) decided to use a magnetic bar or "rail" instead. the logic is, with pole pieces, some sustain could be loss during a bend when the string moved from the centre of its pole piece. the magnetic rails remedy this by providing an overall magnetic field all over the pickup, instead of just under the strings. however, magnetic rails does not has a strong field like magnetic poles piece (since the field is distributed). this is why you will mostly see magnetic rails being used on active pickups and magnetic pole pieces are used on passive pickups.

i hope i got my history correct .

also don't mistake covered pickup with actual magnetic rail pickup. and pickup with magnetic rails does not necessarily means it's active. again, this is design-based.

btw, emg81,emg85 and emg60 are still considered as humbuckers.

This post has been edited by zeroglyph: Nov 13 2008, 12:36 AM

Hehe.. if you're talking in terms of weight, then yes, EMG actives are heavier than passive pups...