It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:16 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: 3D pickups
Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 4:01 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 12:22 pm
Posts: 718
I stumbled across this article on 3D pickups on the internet. Has anyone heard of these or had any experience with them. The article is several years old.

http://www.gizmag.com/pauls-3dxy-surrou ... kup/16300/

_________________
You can't have too many guitars!


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: 3D pickups
Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:45 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:50 pm
Posts: 4602
Location: ˚ɷ˚
Looks like snake oil to me, made to sell to people who don't know that pickups aren't directional magnets, but a magnetic field. The field is shaped much like a set of rolling hills based on strength and height of the magnets.
If using individual miniature magnets and spools that are weak enough not to affect each other and merge into a larger field, you pretty much will kill any bending. And if they're strong enough to overlap and affect each other, they're not really different from a standard pickup, except looks. You can't have it both ways.

As for "3D", the site is incorrect when it says that a regular pickup only registers string vibration on the horizontal axis. That's just not how a magnetic field works. In fact, it registers less on the horizontal plane than vertically, where the change of field strength is larger.
And it's not even 3D, as it doesn't measure the third axis - along the string. It's 2D. Just like a regular pickup.
It's also rather pointless, as a round string tends to vibrate the same amount in all directions, so there's little point in measuring two or more directions. The only "stereo" effects here would be from misalignment of the magnets and spools or small bends close to the nut, causing one spool to register a stronger signal than the other. But bigger bends close to the bridge would move the string over to the next string's pickup, which surely cannot be the intention.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 3D pickups
Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 8:50 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:57 am
Posts: 13164
Location: Peckham: where the snow leopards roam
Well now. Interesting. I don't pretend to understand the ins and outs of the shapes of magnetic fields and such matters, but the text on that page certainly has a suspiciously guffy sound to it. I love the invocation of names such as Steve Vai, so that for a second you're starting to think they're endorsers of this brave new pickup design - before you realise they're just being cited as players of the electric guitar. Cheeky!

Then again, something we know about pickups is that if you change any aspect of them, such as the magnets or the way the coils are wound, then you change the sound they make. So, real or bogus theory aside, I suspect the proof of this pudding is in the eating. If it turns out they sound both noticeably different and good then we may have the next exciting new development in pickup technology. We'll see.

I wouldn't bet a single penny on it...

Cheers - C

_________________
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 3D pickups
Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 1:44 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 7:06 am
Posts: 1662
Interesting I do like the idea of the stereo pick up, but then they went and summed it 3Dxy mono, I do understand not everyone has two amps, but the stereo version was most interesting. It would be nice to here it in a real situation, before buying into it
mud


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 3D pickups
Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 4:28 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:33 pm
Posts: 811
I don't see how this would work, but I'm not that bright...I think the Carvin method would work better.

_________________
Good Vibes To Y'all!
Blues, Rock and Outlaw Country
Texas Roadhouse Music at It's Finest...


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 3D pickups
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:00 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 12:22 pm
Posts: 718
arth1 has a point about the strong bends, if you pass over to another strings pickup it seems like it would be a problem. Another thing, the artical was published four years ago. I would think if there was anything to this we would have heard about it by now. I would like to hear one for myself, but I am not going to drop $230.00 for the experience.

_________________
You can't have too many guitars!


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: