Pickups mounted to body vs. mounted to pickguard

Jason R. · July 3rd, 2009, 09:37 PM

Probably other threads about this, but lots of hits come up with these words...

Anybody got strong opinions (or science) about differences in tone based on how you mount a given pickup? That is, only variable is how the pickup is mounted.

Just curious. My '94 American Standard's pickups are not mounted to the body.

Jason

mellecaster · July 4th, 2009, 12:47 AM

I'm of the Camp that it makes no difference whatsoever ....but then again I don't have Dog ears....and don't use terms like Scooped Mids...Creamy....Full bodied...etc...etc......

jefrs · July 4th, 2009, 01:03 AM

Pickups pickup the vibrations of the string, also then the vibration of the pickup in relation to the string. The string and pickup vibrations are determined by the vibration of the whole instrument. The pickup will vibrate differently if it is body mounted compared to guard mounted.

I've got both. I cannot hear any difference, even when I tried both on the same tele. I doubt my dog can, my cat favours the guard mounted hb at neck.

Body mount for appearance.
Guard mount for ease of adjustment.

ole AZ · July 4th, 2009, 02:59 AM

I'm sure that scientifically there is a difference, but I'm sure no one could identify it via recording.

mijstrat72 · July 4th, 2009, 11:58 AM

G.E. Smith seems to think there's a difference.

Steve G · July 4th, 2009, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mellecaster

I'm of the Camp that it makes no difference whatsoever ....but then again I don't have Dog ears....and don't use terms like Scooped Mids...Creamy....Full bodied...etc...etc......

Killer!

JohnnyT · July 4th, 2009, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mijstrat72

G.E. Smith seems to think there's a difference.

And Eddie VH thinks he does too. But I don't know if he'd know the difference on a tele.

BritishBluesBoy · July 4th, 2009, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mellecaster

... and don't use terms like... Creamy....Full bodied...etc...etc......

I do - but only when talking about beer!

I agree though that I can't hear a difference in body or pickguard mounted pickups either...

surfco · July 4th, 2009, 04:53 PM

no major difference

chknpckn · July 4th, 2009, 05:50 PM

I like Full-Bodied girls, but only if they have Scooped Mids....

sunkidd · July 4th, 2009, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chknpckn

I like Full-Bodied girls, but only if they have Scooped Mids....

OH YEAH!

voided3 · July 4th, 2009, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mijstrat72

G.E. Smith seems to think there's a difference.

That's on the bridge pickup, though. I think the body mounting was for microphonics issues originally (don't quote me on that).

pfogle · July 5th, 2009, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voided3

That's on the bridge pickup, though. I think the body mounting was for microphonics issues originally (don't quote me on that).

Andy Summers teles have the bridge pup mounted to the body. He got it that way and never changed it. FWIW...

JasonRobert · July 5th, 2009, 05:29 AM

I prefer the bridge pickup to be body mounted. I dont really know why, I just do.

sdd28772 · July 5th, 2009, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BritishBluesBoy

I do - but only when talking about beer!

Cheers ill drink to that

Boubou · July 5th, 2009, 08:37 AM

Never understood why anyone could even think of mounting pickups on a pickguard. Kind of like mounting your tires on the hubcaps instead of the wheels

boris bubbanov · July 5th, 2009, 09:44 AM

There's a half dozen ways to mount the pickup to the body; each liable to produce a different result. And if the pup is pickguard mounted, how thick is that pickguard? And which body rout, a Strat type one?

Maybe someday someone will break it down.

In the meanwhile an extra coffee or one less beer may matter more.

mellecaster · July 5th, 2009, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boubou

Never understood why anyone could even think of mounting pickups on a pickguard. Kind of like mounting your tires on the hubcaps instead of the wheels

Does the Term Stratocaster sound familiar to you ?

Sollophonic · July 5th, 2009, 01:28 PM

The only difference I can see is that its easier to swap out pickguards on a Tele when the neck pickup is fixed to the body and not the pickguard.

JCSouthpawtele · July 5th, 2009, 05:15 PM

with EVH is all about body contact for some reason..his Floyd rose trems are down travel only and the bridge rests on the body, his pickups are direct mounted to the body. This make for resonant peaks and there fore his pickup choice is critical. His ear is looking for certain frequencies. Thats why every time he's gone to another manufacturer
for his guitar's they have had to redo the pickups. The Musicman was all basswood with a flat flame top, the Peavey was a scooped top and slightly different size and angled,and now the EVH/fender colaboration has had is ever so slight differences. But these three things remain-direct mount bridge and pickups and his pricetag.
I'll buy a lefty Musicman axis someday just because it did turn out to be a good guitar.

Mark-00255 · July 6th, 2009, 12:23 AM

I always thought the debate about pickguard/bridgeplate/body-mounting pickups was a bunch of hooey ... until I set my bridge pickup that way in my second build because it was cheap and easy for me to build a shorty bridge ($100 challenge guitar). The tone is to die for ... maybe there are a dozen other factors as well, but body mounting absolutely worked on that guitar.

Doug 54 · July 6th, 2009, 01:15 AM

ask Tom Anderson !!

pgambon · July 6th, 2009, 02:52 AM

I think that if your pickups are mounted well to the pickguard your probably OK. I've had a number of guitars on the bench with pickups a flopin. The springs we're too short etc. Body mounting gets rid of that variable (again, if it's done right).
I could see it making a bigger difference at super loud volume.

DanofTucson · July 6th, 2009, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdd28772

Cheers ill drink to that

Cheers!

randomhitz · July 6th, 2009, 02:23 PM

My pseudo-scientific assessment is this: for the neck pickup--mounted to the body should only make a difference to the degree that the pickup is microphonic and picks up the physical vibrations from the body. For the bridge pickup--I'm wondering if there could be a baseplate issue, that is. mounting to the body removes the electrical connection to the bridgeplate and to the degree that the bridgeplate acts to some degree like a baseplate would change the tone somewhat.

iansmitchell · July 6th, 2009, 02:56 PM

Well the pickup not only vibrates differently, but pickups feature permanent magnets. Take a bar magnet, pluck a string, and move the magnet over the 12th fret, every motion makes a NOTICEABLE difference.
So when you're on stage, the amp blaring and moving your entire guitar, body amp, etc, the pickups are moving with the body, and moving the strings.
So when mounted this way, as mentioned earlier, the resonant peak changes.

July 3rd, 2009, 09:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jason R. Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2006 Location: Purcellville, VA Age: 36 Posts: 302	Pickups mounted to body vs. mounted to pickguard Probably other threads about this, but lots of hits come up with these words... Anybody got strong opinions (or science) about differences in tone based on how you mount a given pickup? That is, only variable is how the pickup is mounted. Just curious. My '94 American Standard's pickups are not mounted to the body. Jason __________________ Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise. Psalm 33:3 Fly Navy! www.hsl49.navy.mil

July 4th, 2009, 12:47 AM	#2 (permalink)
mellecaster VENDOR Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 7,542 17 Photos	I'm of the Camp that it makes no difference whatsoever ....but then again I don't have Dog ears....and don't use terms like Scooped Mids...Creamy....Full bodied...etc...etc...... __________________ Expert Repair....ReCrafting...and Set-ups Making your World a Better Place...One Guitar at a time

July 4th, 2009, 01:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
jefrs Friend of Leo's Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Newbury, England Age: 54 Posts: 2,086	Pickups pickup the vibrations of the string, also then the vibration of the pickup in relation to the string. The string and pickup vibrations are determined by the vibration of the whole instrument. The pickup will vibrate differently if it is body mounted compared to guard mounted. I've got both. I cannot hear any difference, even when I tried both on the same tele. I doubt my dog can, my cat favours the guard mounted hb at neck. Body mount for appearance. Guard mount for ease of adjustment. __________________ There's two kinds of people, those that hear the music and those that don't.

July 4th, 2009, 02:59 AM	#4 (permalink)
ole AZ Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Verde Valley, Arizona Age: 22 Posts: 1,033	I'm sure that scientifically there is a difference, but I'm sure no one could identify it via recording. __________________ "I could listen to Mike Campbell play me the phone book." - Yoni

July 5th, 2009, 09:44 AM	#17 (permalink)
boris bubbanov Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA + in the past Posts: 14,998	There's a half dozen ways to mount the pickup to the body; each liable to produce a different result. And if the pup is pickguard mounted, how thick is that pickguard? And which body rout, a Strat type one? Maybe someday someone will break it down. In the meanwhile an extra coffee or one less beer may matter more. __________________ When i listen

July 4th, 2009, 11:58 AM	#5 (permalink)
mijstrat72 Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: mqt. Posts: 349	G.E. Smith seems to think there's a difference.

July 4th, 2009, 04:53 PM	#9 (permalink)
surfco Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: ◙ Calexico, CA ◙ Posts: 732	no major difference

July 4th, 2009, 05:50 PM	#10 (permalink)
chknpckn Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Athens, GA Age: 30 Posts: 187	I like Full-Bodied girls, but only if they have Scooped Mids....

July 5th, 2009, 05:29 AM	#14 (permalink)
JasonRobert Tele-Holic Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paddock Wood, Kent, England Posts: 868	I prefer the bridge pickup to be body mounted. I dont really know why, I just do.

July 5th, 2009, 01:28 PM	#19 (permalink)
Sollophonic Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Skipton, N. Yorkshire, England Age: 45 Posts: 717	The only difference I can see is that its easier to swap out pickguards on a Tele when the neck pickup is fixed to the body and not the pickguard.

July 5th, 2009, 05:15 PM	#20 (permalink)
JCSouthpawtele Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Elkhart,Indiana Age: 34 Posts: 375	with EVH is all about body contact for some reason..his Floyd rose trems are down travel only and the bridge rests on the body, his pickups are direct mounted to the body. This make for resonant peaks and there fore his pickup choice is critical. His ear is looking for certain frequencies. Thats why every time he's gone to another manufacturer for his guitar's they have had to redo the pickups. The Musicman was all basswood with a flat flame top, the Peavey was a scooped top and slightly different size and angled,and now the EVH/fender colaboration has had is ever so slight differences. But these three things remain-direct mount bridge and pickups and his pricetag. I'll buy a lefty Musicman axis someday just because it did turn out to be a good guitar. __________________ Fender MIM Tele Lake Placid Blue-stock, Fender 50's Reissue Strat Sunburst-modded, Breedlove-Epiphone and Takemine acoustic's http://www.myspace.com/jodylive

July 6th, 2009, 12:23 AM	#21 (permalink)
Mark-00255 Tele-Holic Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: South of Seattle, WA Age: 51 Posts: 620	I always thought the debate about pickguard/bridgeplate/body-mounting pickups was a bunch of hooey ... until I set my bridge pickup that way in my second build because it was cheap and easy for me to build a shorty bridge ($100 challenge guitar). The tone is to die for ... maybe there are a dozen other factors as well, but body mounting absolutely worked on that guitar.

July 6th, 2009, 01:15 AM	#22 (permalink)
Doug 54 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ohio, Dayton area Posts: 1,287	ask Tom Anderson !! __________________ "Cowboys to Girls"

July 6th, 2009, 02:52 AM	#23 (permalink)
pgambon Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 161	I think that if your pickups are mounted well to the pickguard your probably OK. I've had a number of guitars on the bench with pickups a flopin. The springs we're too short etc. Body mounting gets rid of that variable (again, if it's done right). I could see it making a bigger difference at super loud volume.

July 6th, 2009, 02:23 PM	#25 (permalink)
randomhitz TDPRI Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: telluride Age: 62 Posts: 61	My pseudo-scientific assessment is this: for the neck pickup--mounted to the body should only make a difference to the degree that the pickup is microphonic and picks up the physical vibrations from the body. For the bridge pickup--I'm wondering if there could be a baseplate issue, that is. mounting to the body removes the electrical connection to the bridgeplate and to the degree that the bridgeplate acts to some degree like a baseplate would change the tone somewhat.

July 6th, 2009, 02:56 PM	#26 (permalink)
iansmitchell Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Gainesville, Florida Posts: 1,007	Well the pickup not only vibrates differently, but pickups feature permanent magnets. Take a bar magnet, pluck a string, and move the magnet over the 12th fret, every motion makes a NOTICEABLE difference. So when you're on stage, the amp blaring and moving your entire guitar, body amp, etc, the pickups are moving with the body, and moving the strings. So when mounted this way, as mentioned earlier, the resonant peak changes. __________________ ... Please do not insinuate anything sexual from that.

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