P90 polepieces distance?
- Thread starter Tuned
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Dumple Stilzkin
Pointy star bastard.
F spaced?
Err, I don't think this really matters in this regard? I guess F-spaced or not.
I only need to define their position in the longitudinal direction, i.e. exact spots on the string's span
This varies by guitar.
An sg neck pickup is closer to the bridge than a les paul.
The bridge one is also different I think.
Is there any reason you need precise numbers? What are you going to do with the info, out of curiosity's sake?
An sg neck pickup is closer to the bridge than a les paul.
The bridge one is also different I think.
Is there any reason you need precise numbers? What are you going to do with the info, out of curiosity's sake?
tedtan
Well-Known Member
Yeah, this will vary from guitar to guitar.
Pitt one at the end of the fingerboard and one near (maybe an inch or so in front of) the bridge and call it good.
Pitt one at the end of the fingerboard and one near (maybe an inch or so in front of) the bridge and call it good.
I believe so, yes
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I actually need to rout the body of a SG style project for a set of Gibson P90-s I got from a friend, so I would like to install them into the positions chosen by the maker for this type of pickups. Comparing the photos, it defintely appears the spots for humbuckrs and P90 do not match for both the SG and the LP.
There is plenty of info on positioning humbuckers but I could find zero info on positioning P90s.
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I watched several vids of moveable pickup projects lately, and a fraction of an inch does matter to my ears. True, there are people who say natural harmonics only matter until you press a note on a different fret; but actual listening to guys play the same given riff or phrase while moving the pickup tells me this is not that simple. I have my own thoughts why that may be the case, but that's irrelevent for the question matter
Have you thought about just buying a Gibson P90 SG pickguard and just using it as a template?
tedtan
Well-Known Member
You have two threads on this this topic, so I’ll combine my responses rather than post to both again.
First off, moving the pickups will make a significant difference in sound; no one denies that. But when finding the sweet spot for the pickup based on tone came up in your other thread you said “do you mean, like cutting large basins and move the pups around until I find the sweet spots? That's kinda overkill for this project, LOL”. So if you don’t want to put in the work and hassle to find the location that sounds best to you, just pick a location and run with it - there isn’t a “right” or “wrong” location.
Second, the natural harmonic locations are irrelevant in and of themselves, they’re just dead spots on the string that don’t produce sound. It’s the relative distance from the bridge that matters (there are fewer harmonic overtones as you move away from the bridge, giving a warmer, fatter tone).
The manufacturer didn’t choose a location for the pickup based on the type of the pickup, it was chosen based on the guitar model (see below).
A Les Paul is significantly thicker than an SG. It also has the bass side of the upper bout that joins the body at the 16th fret. Being thicker, and having the attached upper bout, the neck pickup can be positioned over the neck tenon without structural concerns, as there is enough material left on the neck tenon and upper bout to hold the neck securely.
The SG, on the other hand, has too little wood to allow the neck pickup, whether P90, humbucker, single coil, or other, to be mounted as close to the end of the fingerboard as on a Les Paul without risking the neck breaking off of the body. This was especially the case on the early SGs released in 1961 (and copies with that neck joint) which are well known for neck stability issues. Because of this structural issue, the neck pickup is moved further back allowing for a stronger joint between the neck and body. But keep in mind that this is a structural concern for the guitar, not a choice based on the pickup type or tone.
So which location is best for you? You said that you already have a body that is routed for humbuckers, so anywhere in the humbucker routs will work. Moving them to the outside edges of the routes will allow for the most difference in tone between the two pickups, moving them to the inside edges will keep them sounding a little closer to one another, and going for the middle of the routes will sound somewhere in between the two. Which do you want?
Frankly, I didn't expect this question to be THAT dead-endy. It would seem to be such an easy thing to get the simple answer, I thought I'd get the info in 15 minutes.
So you're probably right, this would be the best thing for me to do.
Thank you sir
You really shouldn't have wasted so much of your time on this.
And I really don't need psychoanalysis, I only need the digits. Or, as suggested above, a SG P90 pickguard.
