clintsal
Humbub
There are clearly stated and verified tonal characteristics of the pickups I have selected, but the same cannot necessarily be said for body woods. I have literally been reading forums and builder websites for months trying to make sense of which wood I should go with, and simply cannot do it. However, based on experience, and descriptions and reviews of pickups, I definitely know how I want them to perform.
To break down my preferences, I would say this:
Fingerboard: I strongly prefer the feel of rosewood/ebony over finished maple. While my comparison is between completely different guitars, I also preferred rosewood over ebony for cleans. It seemed to have more 'give' and warmth.
Bridge pickup: I use this position for tight, lower-register riffing (Petrucci - Jaws of Life), djenting (Periphery - The Walk), palm muting, and coil-split for twangy/snappy biting sounds (Incubus - Sick Sad Little World). 'Tight' and 'hard' are terms I would use to describe my desired bridge tone.
Neck pickup: I use this position for jazz-style chording and phrasing, I like a darker but clear tone here. I don't do 'shred-solos', so that is not a priority from the neck. 'Smooth' and 'liquid' are terms I would use to describe my desired neck tone.
Piezo: I want a guitar with hipshot bridge so that I can have this. I have a Qtuner in another guitar and love it, but would like to have the option for the bright clarity that the Qtuner has, as well as a darker, warmer tone of a jazz-voiced neck pickup. I will use the piezo for brighter, more hi-fi chording than the neck. 'Clear' and 'crisp' sounds are what I want to achieve w/ the piezo.
Because of my preferences for each position, it is hard to decide which wood can cover all that ground, whereas I know the various pickups that can address each sound.
With all that said, do I make any more sense? Unorthodox approach, I know, but thats what I do.
To break down my preferences, I would say this:
Fingerboard: I strongly prefer the feel of rosewood/ebony over finished maple. While my comparison is between completely different guitars, I also preferred rosewood over ebony for cleans. It seemed to have more 'give' and warmth.
Bridge pickup: I use this position for tight, lower-register riffing (Petrucci - Jaws of Life), djenting (Periphery - The Walk), palm muting, and coil-split for twangy/snappy biting sounds (Incubus - Sick Sad Little World). 'Tight' and 'hard' are terms I would use to describe my desired bridge tone.
Neck pickup: I use this position for jazz-style chording and phrasing, I like a darker but clear tone here. I don't do 'shred-solos', so that is not a priority from the neck. 'Smooth' and 'liquid' are terms I would use to describe my desired neck tone.
Piezo: I want a guitar with hipshot bridge so that I can have this. I have a Qtuner in another guitar and love it, but would like to have the option for the bright clarity that the Qtuner has, as well as a darker, warmer tone of a jazz-voiced neck pickup. I will use the piezo for brighter, more hi-fi chording than the neck. 'Clear' and 'crisp' sounds are what I want to achieve w/ the piezo.
Because of my preferences for each position, it is hard to decide which wood can cover all that ground, whereas I know the various pickups that can address each sound.
With all that said, do I make any more sense? Unorthodox approach, I know, but thats what I do.