How often do you use the full bridge humbucker?

[BenjaminW]

All the time for rhythm, occasionally for lead (I'll switch between neck/bridge depending on my mood and the song I'm playing), but never for clean parts.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Pretty much any time I'm not playing cleans. I'll use the neck pickup for certain leads/crunch stuff too, but I'm on the bridge humbucker for the vast majority of my playing

 

[Emperoff]

Bridge is always full humbucker and always for rhythm. No other options.

/mic drop.

 

[HoneyNut]

Im usually stuck in Pos 4 or 2 for clean tones, strumming or plucked stuff. I would go to the neck pickup if I need a solo boost.

For heavy rhythm I guess its normal practice to use the bridge pickup. For hi-gain solos, I play both neck or bridge, depending on what Im playing.

Ive just started to learn a few Vai passages, and he switches between the positions a lot. Neck, or middle positions or bridge.

Im a fan of being a versatile guitar player, so I guess I use all positions, trying to be a wannabe pro out of a single guitar.

 

[fookite]

For heavy rhythm, it's sort of cool to force yourself to get in the habit of just defaulting to the neck pickup for rhythms *because* it sounds looser and muddier than the bridge, but dialing your amp in so that it's passable. When you do that, you now have a magic switch on your guitar that makes what you're playing tighter and cut more, kinda like a solo boost for chugs.

 

[KentBrockman]

I use the bridge pickup the vast majority of the time.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Cleans and breakup tones I'll use a variety of pickup positions. Especially on an H-S-S guitar. It's fun to mess around,
Heavy rhythms will always be bridge pickup tho. Only exception is leads which will also feature some neck pickup.

 

[Aso]

The majority of my guitars only have a bridge pickup so "always??"

 

[tom schelfaut]

Virtually all the time except for cleans and certain leads

 

[JimboLodisC]

99.9% on the bridge because I'm a high gain rhythm player, I only incorporate a neck pickup for messing around with leads or cleans

 

[shreddyknight]

is there any other position????

 

[DECEMBER]

With a Pegasus/Sentient in a PRS SE Mira I use just the bridge for most high gain. For clean it's usually the middle position, sometimes with coil-split. And occasionally have used just neck or just bridge for clean.
With a jazz/JB in an Epi LP Muse w/2 volume/2 tone I usually blend just a little neck with the bridge to add low end for high gain because the JB is a bit thin compared to the Pegasus. Just bridge for high gain solos. Clean is usually the middle position. This one has individual coil-split for each pickup so sometimes I use both with just one split. Rarely use either one by itself.

 

[Drew]

Whole bunch of you are seriously underestimating bridge humbuckers for lush clean sounds, you know.

 

[drmayhem]

Almost all the time. I use bridge for most solos and lead line, with neck for rhythm - on most of my guitars it is a much nicer sound (although I see a lot of folks above have the opposite approach) and I rarely bother with any single coils, although a few of my guitars have them I just don't like the sound.

 

[KailM]

Bridge humbucker for all distorted rhythm playing, and quite often for leads too, because it cuts better and harmonics are easier.

I do like neck leads but only on the first three strings and generally above the twelfth fret.

For cleans I used to use the neck primarily but for the last few years prefer the middle position, usually full HB but sometimes split. Having a little bridge twang in there adds sparkle and clarity.

 

[vejichan]

maybe i'm the only one but for the last 10 years of playing guitar .. i would say 95% of the time if I'm playing hi gain - i'm using the bridge in series . When i'm playing clean its the bridge in parallel or neck humbucker in parallel or neck single coil. I would even say that the other pickups whether its HH or SSH is merely cosmetic since i'm just using the bridge most of the time.

 

[natra_vedrov]

How often do you use the full bridge humbucker in your guitar? Also, what other pickup position/configuration do you use alot?

For me. In my 20years of playing. With either HH and SSH pickups guitars...i find i pretty much use bridge pickup all the time in hi gain and the neck single coil or hum necj split with the bridge split when playing clean similar to the petrucci

I only play guitars with a HH setup except for a Steinberger that has HSH. The usage is pretty straight forward, bridge pickup for everything distorted, neck pickup for all other sounds be it clean ones or with effects. For me it mostly depends on whether I need a beefy, bassy and articulate tone, then I may choose the neck pickup even for a lead. If I need a tone that can handle high gain, then there is virtually no alternative to the bridge pickup. I used to play a guitar with single coils, but the sound is too thin for my taste, so I switched to humbuckers instead.

 

[ErockRPh]

For heavy rhythm, it's sort of cool to force yourself to get in the habit of just defaulting to the neck pickup for rhythms *because* it sounds looser and muddier than the bridge, but dialing your amp in so that it's passable. When you do that, you now have a magic switch on your guitar that makes what you're playing tighter and cut more, kinda like a solo boost for chugs.

Full neck pickup with the tone knob rolled back a bit is my ultimate tone - it's all boom & doom. It turns to mud and slop pretty easy, but once you dial in your amp and your hands the tone is heavy AF.

 

[blacai]

almost 100% ... my evolution was something like this 2 humbuckers 2vol 2tones -> 2 humbuckers 2vol -> 1 humbucker 1 vol .... make it simple, for the type of music I play, I don't need to worry about tone and neck pickup or even volumen, it's either 0 or 10 and if I want to, just expression pedal

 

[gclef]

I am pretty equal between neck and bridge buckers. It depends on what I am doing/playing at the time.

The middle position is getting more time lately too.