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Post subject: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 2:50 pm
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How come some electric guitars have only one pickup? Is there a benefit of of this?


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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 3:15 pm
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Less is sometimes more.

Like a lot of folks, I like a one pickup guitar, doesn't really have any benefit over say a three pickup guitar, it's just preference and the simplicity of it.

There not for everyone.


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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 3:35 pm
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Relic G Man wrote:
Like a lot of folks, I like a one pickup guitar, doesn't really have any benefit over say a three pickup guitar, it's just preference and the simplicity of it.


+1

Leslie West always managed to get the job done......

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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 4:39 pm
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Something with a really nice versatile pickup like a Les Paul Junior or an Esquire can really cover a lot of ground. Plus those guitars make you think about your playing a lot more, you have to work a bit harder to bring the tones out of the single pickup. I always think that by limiting yourself to simple gear you learn a lot more about bringing tones out of the guitar.

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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 5:26 pm
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The magnets in guitar pickups dampen the strings and reduce sustain. And the magnets, being real magnets instead of electromagnets, affect the strings even when a pickup isn't active.
Part of the reason why Teles in general have better sustain than Strats is because they have one less pickup (another reason is the vibrato bridge, which also dampens the strings by not being as stiff as a Tele bridge).

Then there's the radio effect. Especially with single coil pickups, they pick up RF frequencies. And most pickup switches will not completely disengage a pickup when it's not selected, but only the non-ground wire - the ground wiring is still active, so it still acts as an antenna. Strats are very prone to this effect, to the point that some of them pick up AM radio stations if turned at the right angle.

So yes, unless you use more than one pickup, it's detrimental to have more than one.
Many guitar aces physically remove the pickups they don't use, and it's not just to show off a hole in the guitar.
And the Esquire isn't just a piece of history - some (yours truly included) prefer them over a standard Tele precisely because they only have one pickup. Quality beats quantity.


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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 6:19 pm
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Arjay beat me to the punch with Leslie West,Jeff Beck could also work wonders with a Fender Esquire in his Yardbirds days.

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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 6:47 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
Relic G Man wrote:
Like a lot of folks, I like a one pickup guitar, doesn't really have any benefit over say a three pickup guitar, it's just preference and the simplicity of it.


+1

Leslie West always managed to get the job done......

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"And if you're lookin' for some trouble......I'm the man that you're lookin' for."

Arjay


And so did Felix Pappalardi with the Gibson EB1 Violin Bass. One pickup. "Crossroaders"

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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Wed May 07, 2014 7:55 pm
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This dude's been known to play with only one pickup from time to time...
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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 2:54 am
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I find it interesting that Eddie Van Halen, after all the years of mods and tweeks ended up with...

one pickup. 8)

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Last edited by omar59 on Thu May 08, 2014 2:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 3:32 am
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Highline wrote:
This dude's been known to play with only one pickup from time to time...


And no tone control. That's my first modification to ever guitar I buy, disconnect everything apart from the switch and volume control. Simplicity is a good thing.

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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 6:37 am
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Though I own a lot of guitars, I have only two that are single pickup (not counting my vintage Tele bass).

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This Tele Signature Model is pretty simple, but it's also a two-trick pony in that you can split the humbucker for two distinctive sounds. It has a volume control and a coil-splitting switch, but no tone control, so you do have to work to get the sound you want.

I like it.

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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 6:47 am
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My drummer/producer/best friend plays an Epiphone Junior with a single P-90 in the bridge position (basically a Les Paul Junior single cutaway with a bolt-on neck). After he upgraded the tuners, that little guitar rocks.
We've used that guitar on more recordings than any other guitar, besides my Telecaster. He and I both love the punchy, unadulterated tone and sustain of that cheap little guitar.

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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 4:01 pm
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It was Eddie Van Halen that started the one pickup Strat-style craze in the 1980s (just one of MANY crazes started by him, actually). Eddie's famous Frankenstein was known for having a neck pup that was there for only looks (not hooked up to anything).

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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 4:31 pm
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I use this Strat a lot with the one pickup.

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Post subject: Re: Guitars with one pickup
Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 6:27 pm
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................. And, the P'up is always in the Bridge. I'm thinking one day some brave guitar hero will put it in the Neck, like all of those old hollow-body jazz arch-tops.

Or where I think it sounds best, the middle (can get in the way maybe?).

And just to hijack the thread: Why is the pickup best in the Bridge and not some place else on an electric guitar? Does it matter if that electric guitar is solid or hollow-body? Inquiring minds have to know.


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