what are pick-ups for?

ive tought my self how to play the guitar and ive been playing for a year nonstop and im not bad... but i dont know whats the deal with pick-ups.. some have two, some three. whats the difference, whats the best? just general information, links to sites could help thanks

Originally Posted by: slayer123whats the deal with pick-ups.. some have two, some three. whats the difference, whats the best?

alllllright. basically, a pickup picks up the vibrations from the strings on your guitar and transfers them to the amp where they are turned into sound energy.

a stratocaster has 3 singlecoil pickups. they usually have a brighter, clearer sound. only problem is that they buzz.

other guitars that have 2 pickups (such as Les paul, SG, explorer, etc.) have humbucker pickups. they have a darker, fuller tone. they dont buzz. only prob is that you dont get as much variations on your tone. strats (because they have 3 pickups) give you loads of different sounds.

seymore duncans are really good pickups. this website has all their pickups and mp3's of each. that can help you hear the differences and may help you decide what kind of guitar fits your style.

good luck!

ok...
pickups r generally two type in electric guitar. single coil, and humbucker... single coil is single, eheh... and humbucker is double coil. single coil has better treble and sustain, great for low distortion or clean. and humbucker its opposite. its generally rocker or metalists choice. single coil has the hum problem in cons. (the noise because of the radio signal around it, and u can easily solve the problem with shielding, whatever...) the humbucker kickin hum's butt, so thats why its called humbucker. (so it has no need to shieldin, its noiseless)

u can combine different pickups, like HH, HSH, SSS... combinin different type pickups with serial, paralel, in or out of phase generated unique tones. also the angle of the pickup is important. if u examine strat's bridge pickup, u'll notice its slant...

[font=trebuchet ms]click >here<[/font]

As mentioned above you can have HSH,HH,SSS, ect.ect... and im kinda changing the subject but how would be be able to modify the setup? For example you have a SSS and u want to make it SSH. how would u go about it? Wouldu be able to do it urself?

You could get singe-coil sized humbuckers....

Like SD's, etc.

Originally Posted by: x0o_BurnOut_o0xAs mentioned above you can have HSH,HH,SSS, ect.ect... and im kinda changing the subject but how would be be able to modify the setup? For example you have a SSS and u want to make it SSH. how would u go about it? Wouldu be able to do it urself?

its all about the pickguard...
remove the SSS type pickgurad and install HSS type. then, cut n broaden the pickup cavity for humbucker's place... its all done... later u can switch to the old SSS conf without problem. because large cavity is not a problem for lil old single coil. because its sould be screwed to the plate, and cavity has no any function...

I thought it was done that way, but there wouldnt be any rewiring?

Originally Posted by: x0o_BurnOut_o0xI thought it was done that way, but there wouldnt be any rewiring?

not really, u know humbucker and single coil practically has two wire. hot and ground...
(if u dont wanna "extra split/phase humbucker selection tricks")

u can solder wires easily. if u wanna sure, u can get some fat strat diagrams on internet, and check the differences in wiring...

[font=trebuchet ms]There are some humbuckers on the market that will fit in the same place as a singlecoil pickup. If you have some mechanical skill, and know how to solder, it's a fairly easy task. PonyOne posted a thread in the Tech Talk forum on how to do it. In his case, the body was already routed out for a full-size humbucker, so he only had to buy a different pick-guard.

Another way to go would be to modify the body and pick-guard to accept a full-size humbucker. This takes more skill, and risks ruining the guitar, so it's best left to the experts.[/font]

Originally Posted by: redspecialnot really, u know humbucker and single coil practically has two wire. hot and ground...
(if u dont wanna "extra split/phase humbucker selection tricks")

u can solder wires easily. if u wanna sure, u can get some fat strat diagrams on internet, and check the differences in wiring...

In simple terms... there would be no extra wiring... Depending on how you wanted to do it... there COULD be. For example... generally 500k pots are used for humbuckers instead of the 250k pots generally used for single coil pickups. Most HSS setups I do have one concentric 500k pot which controls just the humbucker... the lower knob is the tone and the higher knob is the volume... then one 250k pot for the single coil master volume and one 250k tone pot for the single coil master tone. This allows me to get TRUE humbucker tones through my humbucker... not just humcancelled single coil tone. This is a custom wiring sample that I've done in the past... You would also run into trouble if you were going to put an active pickup in your strat... like an EMG. These require 25k pots, a preamp battery, and a stereo jack... There are some things to keep in mind. If you want a good clean setup... I would suggest checking out the mini humbuckers by Seymour Duncan... there would be no routing needed... I put a set of the "Everything Axe" Seymour Duncans in my friends '57 Custom Shop Strat. I think the arrangement was a lil'59, Duckbucker, and a lil JB. They sound great and he didn't have to cut up his Custom Shop body or pickguard.

Alright, thanks for the help! Ill definatley check out those Duncan humbuckers next time im on musiciansfriend.