# Why one pickup is better - by Phil X



## NGroeneveld (Jan 23, 2011)

Heres an interesting video by Phil X on why he removes the neck pickup from his guitars. He says the magnets in the neck pickup interfere with the string vibration when using the bridge pickup - an interesting idea. The other thing he talks about is the height of the string action and how low action is not always a good thing for your tone. 

Anybody have experience with using one pickup only?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0VZzNXiXO8


----------



## Guest (Dec 19, 2014)

never thought of it in that way before.
makes sense though. I'll have to try it.


----------



## ezcomes (Jul 28, 2008)

i had a tele, and have a double HB guitar where i had disconnected the neck pickup...the tele neck was dead anyways...but, the HB styled its still there...i should try removing it...see what happens...or dump it really low


----------



## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

What he's saying about the single pickup thing is true. From my own related experience, I've always used A5 type pickups but got my first set of A2 pickups last year. Now I wish that all of my guitars had A2 pickups in them. The lower magnetic pull against the strings does give me a bit more "bloom" to my notes. I know that could be subjective, but there's a responsiveness that I find with guitars that have weaker pickup magnets.


----------



## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

NGroeneveld said:


> The other thing he talks about is the height of the string action and how low action is not always a good thing for your tone.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0VZzNXiXO8


never tried removing the neck pickup, but I absolutely agree about string height. I've actually been meaning to raise the action on a couple of my guitars for that reason.


----------



## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Often in 2 pickup guitars, the string/pickup clearance is about 2-3X greater with the neck than the bridge. IME, it's usually the bridge pickup that causes more problems with string dampening through strong magnetic fields rather than the neck. (Course we suspect that Phil X is probably a dude who mostly relies on the bridge pu). In either case, it can definitely be a factor, though. Remember having some really high output minis that would really dampen string vibration, particularly on the high E and B strings unless the pu's were backed way the heck off.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I started a thread on the pickup-makers forum over at MEF on horseshoe pickups, and what it is they do that is different than conventional pickups. The thread has gotten quite long now, and some respected folks have chimed in. Worth checking out. http://music-electronics-forum.com/t38127/

With horsehoe pickups, the string passes_ through _the pickup and magnetic field rather than _over_ it. The end result seems to be that there is less directional tug on the string and there is a longer lifespan to picked/strummed notes. If you've ever listened to Ry Cooder, or my current poster boy, Blake Mills (who also uses a "Coodercaster"), you'll find yourself going "How to they get so much extended life and ongoing bloom out of the string?". And the answer seems to be because of the horseshoe pickup at the bridge.

All of which seems to suggest that maybe our attention ought to be focussed on the bridge pickup, rather than the neck. Now, certainly, if a player has a strong magnet in a neck pickup placed too close to the strings, that will likely have an impact on vibration duration. But I guess the question that needs asking is "At what point in the string's movement is that impact greatest?". Keep in mind the string moves 360 degrees, not just parallel to the pickup OR perpendicular to it.

Players who are best known for playing Esquires will sometimes tell you that they can tell the difference between playing a Tele on the bridge pickup, and playing an Esquire. I suppose some of it is the distribution of mass in the guitar, and the consequence of having a routed-out area for the neck pickup. How much of it is a result of having/omitting a neck pickup is another thing. I guess one could conceivably do an A/B test, by simply removing the neck pickup and sticking an Esquire pickguard on a Tele, and comparing that against a suitable Esquire.


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Mr X may be right, but what you sacrifice by giving up that neck pickup isn't worth it.

I use both (or all three) pickups on any guitar I own. I have one single pickup guitar and it's a peach, but it's pretty limited compared to my other guitars.


----------



## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

I watched this some time ago. I like the concept, however I don't think his sound is any badder-assed than others. Tons of hard rockers get the same sounds without using one pickup axes


----------



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

when i put together my esquire (w/single bridge pup)
i was kind of blown away by how 'alive' it sounded.
so clear and snappy, very responsive to the fingers-
was definately a difference from my other tele.
but then, the body is pine instead of alder-
the neck fatter, the saddles brass instead of steel-
and the pickup was totally different.

so yeah, i dont know.

the theory behind it makes some sense,
but ive never really looked into it.


----------



## keto (May 23, 2006)

I've built a couple of 'esquired' Teles with humbuckers in the bridge, but only because I spend 99% of my time on that pickup. I can't tell a difference in sound or feel, but of course I'm a ham handed hack


----------



## Moosehead (Jan 6, 2011)

I saw that vid on youtube a while back. While it makes for a good debate, 60 some years of electric guitars with 1, 2 or 3 pickups prove that it probably doesnt amount to a whole lot. You might get a bit more bloom/sustain or whatever in your notes. Never bothered any of the greatest guitarists before and it certainly isn't going to make this basement rockstar hack any better so in the end its just another reason to get more guitars 

Want more bloom, turn it up. Sustain? turn it up further. More drive with endless feedback, crank that bitch to 11!


----------



## Judas68fr (Feb 5, 2013)

I agree with the fact that setting the neck pick up too close to the strings will dampen their vibrations and lead to a loss in sustain. That's why I usually set my neck pick ups very low (flush with the pick guard for Teles, Strats and SGs). Same idea for string action: the higher, the more the strings are allowed to vibrate. I don't mean crazy high, but 2-3mm is pretty standard to me (with a fat string gauge).


----------



## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

I always thought it was the guitar that allowed PLAYER to bloom.....

_Ain't never in a million years would dump the mini bucker in my Tele .... _



Moosehead said:


> I saw that vid on youtube a while back. While it makes for a good debate, 60 some years of electric guitars with 1, 2 or 3 pickups prove that it probably doesnt amount to a whole lot. You might get a bit more bloom/sustain or whatever in your notes. Never bothered any of the greatest guitarists before and it certainly isn't going to make this basement rockstar hack any better so in the end its just another reason to get more guitars
> 
> Want more bloom, turn it up. Sustain? turn it up further. More drive with endless feedback, crank that bitch to 11!


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

When Steve Vai and Brian May go to one pickup, I will listen to Phil X's theory.


----------



## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

I have a tele that I had an issue with the low E. It would sound out of tune/warbly when played around the 7th fret and higher. Turns out the neck pup was set too high and pulling on the string. This is fairly common setup issue but sure had me scratching my head.


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

What if I like using the neck pickup?
(And I do)


----------



## parkhead (Aug 14, 2009)

I have known Phil since the days of Frozen Ghost and the Flip stick .... I respect his opinion, but I suspect that while he is 60% right, there is a lot more going on in a single pickup guitar...

The two very best guitars I have ever played were 53 esquire and a 61 SG Les Paul Jr owned by a couple of buddies 
both have a single bride pup 
either guitar would blow any style of players mind for sheer toneful versatility!!!

the third best guitar I have played is another buddies 59 LP standard ... it also has stunning Mojo, but is not as instantly mindblowing as the 53 & 61
what the 59 LP lacks compared to the other guitars, is easly makes up when you explore all of the colors yu can get from the switch and adjusting the controls 

with these three killer guitars the magnetic pull of the pickup or pickups is significantly less than a modern pickup 
signifcantly !!!

with a single pickup guitar you also remove a switch from the circuit & I suspect that there is some loss in signal transfer happening in the typical guitar switch 

so to sum up 
yes the presence of a high magnetic pull neck pickup must somewhat dampen the strings
& this would be worse for modern guitars with stronger magnets 

but it could also be that Phil has removed enough neck pickups to hear the before and after in some of the guitars he has owned 

re string height ...yeah the string must ring to make good tone 


p


----------



## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I thought the slightly improved dynamics and harmonics in my esquires (which I turned back into teles for the flexibility) were due to simplified electronics. Pickup to 1 vol knob to jack takes away a lot of impedance compared to standard wiring.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

1) Unless it is a particularly bad switch, with huge - and I mean HUGE - tarnish buildup, the switch takes nothing away from the pickup signal. If one has misgivings about the switch then I suggest that all your control cavity wiring be done with 18g shielded cable.

2) When there are dual volume and tone controls, and both pickups are on, there can be a loading issue, depending on how the controls are wired. Where the pickup selector is placed between the volume pots and output jack, there is minimal impact when individual pickups are selected, and loading only occurs when both pickups are selected. Where the volume pots are always connected to the output jack, and the selector switch connects the pickup with its volume pot, the dual controls DO provide loading effects, such that volume A's setting has an impact on pickup B's tone if only B is being used.

Where there are two pickups sharing a common volume and tone control, or simply a volume control, there is no loading or signal degradation caused by the addition of a second pickup. The inclusion of a tone pot will result in a teensy bit of treble bleed. but the 2nd pickup does not contribute to that.

3) For _some _set neck guitars - and _some_ issues of the SG are the poster children for this - the inclusion of a neck pickup detracts from the strength/resonance of the neck tenon joint. So I can see where an SG or LP junior may well have a more resonant and sustaining tone than a 2-pickup version of same. But again, this would be an explanation for set-neck guitars, not for bolt-ons.

Still, operating under the assumption that what is left in the body, versus what has to be routed out to accommodate a neck pickup and its wiring, could conceivably change the body resonance, I can see that some players might prefer the tone of a single pickup guitar.


----------



## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

Steadfastly said:


> When Steve Vai and Brian May go to one pickup, I will listen to Phil X's theory.


What about EVH? I think that there are up sides and down sides to everything, it's all just tone chasing in the end though and Phil has just found a formula that he likes. I wish that I could get to the same point rather than chasing the next best thing!


----------



## parkhead (Aug 14, 2009)

Chitmo said:


> What about EVH? I think that there are up sides and down sides to everything, it's all just tone chasing in the end though and Phil has just found a formula that he likes. I wish that I could get to the same point rather than chasing the next best thing!



For the record I do not fully subscribe to Phils theory, and we discussed this 20 years ago. 

However, if you are using a neck pickup with alnico 5 or a strong Ceramic magnet it would have some damping effect on the string vibrations.
In the case of a stratocaster where the neck pickup is directly below the mathematical 24th fret location, that damping effect and its alteration 
of the nodes in an open string is part of the Strat sound ..and is the reason why 24 fret strats sound WRONG.


I do agree 100% with his Basic premise that seemingly minor things can make a huge impact on your guitar tone. 
I also personally believe that 99% of people do not think about these things or do anythig about them.. 

Just to make you all paranoid 
Here are some examples 

POTS: as was pointed out on a dual pickup 4 pot guitar the 2 500k pots make a 250k volume control when both pickups are selected. 
On Gibson guitars made betwen 1972 and 1989 the volume pots were actually 250k or 300k and the TONE POTS were 100k !!!!!!!!!!!!
Most people assume Gibson always used 4x 500k pots... but they changed this long ago probably to prevent players from overdriving their amplifiers .... (yeah... remember they might have thought their main customers were Jazz Guys !) and even Leo was trying to build tighter cleaner soundng amps and considered his BF reverb amps a major improvemnt over the dirty old tweeds with all their distortion 
Even Now Gibson USA guitars use 300k volume pots while custom shop and Vintage Gibsons use 500k pots 

Even when your volume pot is on 10 the value of the pot 500k sits between the hot signal and ground like a 500k resistor. 
So a 500k pot guitar is 2-3 db hotter compared to a 300k pot in the exact same guitar

I measure and replace all volume pots if they do not meet spec. I have played with 1meg... 500k pot replacements...
it works for volume controls but is a little bright for tone controls 
in my non vintage strats I use low spec 500k pots for volumes (450k) and the 300k pots removed from gibsons for tones 

so 
Before you go and Yank out your neck pickup ..to get a better tone you would be better off investing in a cheap digital multimeter 
and learning more about pots ! and soldering 

The TONE Capacitor:
Some people remove it and state that this improves their Tone, by brightening the rig ...it may, but there is way more going on with your humble tone cap...
In Fact I will State categorically that if you want a 59 Les Paul tone, a 54 or 59 strat tone or a Roy Buchanan 52 Tele tone 
and you have tried a few vintage reproduction pickups that are close but not right ... you need to pay attention to your tone cap!!

IMHO the Original tone of those instruments is 33% the unique and horrble (by modern standards) Tone Capacitor 
essentailly some of those old capacitors RESONATE and RING OVER at certain frequencies... imagine the way the size compistion and volume of a closed back guitar cabinet or enclosure compares to a raw speaker with no enclosure ... the enclosure adds efficiency at certain frequencies 
some older capacitors resonate dramatically at certain frequencies, 99% of modern capacitors including Russina PIO and other Modern REPRO capacitors DO NOT exhibit any more than 3% of the effect of say a Sprague Bumble Bee or 160P adds to a humbucker 

most Modern snake oil capacitors are 99% marketing or reproduction packaging... those who have scrounged authentic Bumble Bees 
and such know what I am talking about ... for the rest of you this may be a HUGE revelation 

BRIDGE BITS 

I am a fan of authentic bridge and tailpiece parts ... Cold Rolled Steel Blocks for Strats & Aluminum Stop Bars on Gibsons these make 3-5% tonal difference 

Bottom line 
investigate these small elements a little deeper and you should get some pleasurable and measurable results for very little dough 
a good volume pot is under $10 and in some cases can make a world of difference 

Example:
I see lots of guys looking for an SRV type tone out of a strat and they will try all sorts of pickups or swap guitars constantly... 
yet none of them realize that a stock type pickup set with a 500k volume pot puts out 2-3 db more signal for free ...
will this make you play like SRV ...NO sadly but if you play some BLUEZ and want a little more HONK out of your strat 
this will get you a hair more 

True Story 
Years ago I bought a really clean 1969 Marshall 50 watt at a pawn shop without even listening to it ... it was dirt cheap so I paid and RAN to the car with it .... 
trying it revealed HOLY GRAIL level Marshall tone ...this amp does it all ZZTOP... AC DC ...EVH it just sounds pissed off when you play it 

I opened it up thinking FINALLY THE MAGIC MARSHALL CIRCUIT is in my hands ...and behold the damn thing was a dead nuts untouched 1985 
50 watt PA circuit ...

later on some work with a Multi Meter gave up some secrets ... here are the actual specs on the pots 

VOLUME 1 & 2 1.5 meg treble 220 k Middle 35k Bass 1.5 meg 
presence 35k 
so when this amp is on 10 in real world terms the volume is on 15 ...
all factory stock parts ...

there is more to the tone of this amp than that but if 1.5 meg volume pots existed or were easy to find they would make a stock amp more gainy at the upper end of the dial 


p


----------



## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Chitmo said:


> What about EVH? I think that there are up sides and down sides to everything, it's all just tone chasing in the end though and Phil has just found a formula that he likes. I wish that I could get to the same point rather than chasing the next best thing!


EVH is a bit of a one trick pony as far as tone is concerned. although it has evolved over the years, at any point in his career or recordings, there isn't very much variance in the sounds he goes for with in a song or album. Subtlety isn't really his thing. he generally has 2 speed: fast and faster. loud and louder. 
I think that's easier to do in a one guitar band, because you don't have to fight through the mix/stand out from another guitar.


----------



## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

Wow some great points in this thread!
*parkhead*, I totally agree! Switching around your pot values is a really cheap way to experiment with the tone of your guitar.

I personally like to run neck pickups with no tone pot, only volume. I also drop my neck pickup real low, just above the pickguard, thus removing it's pull on the strings.

*Diablo* good point. Whether you like Eddie's tone or not, hes only really got one. Not the best example of a one pickup guitar. 



Well I think I'm going to have to build myself a 1 pickup guitar to test some of this stuff out.

Nathan


----------

