right position for P90

[hotcaster]

...i want to put a couple of p90 in a tele
with the normal bridge cut-off

someone told me the right distance (from 12th fret....i believe...)
to catch the best harmonic possible......?

i tried with a hss pickguard for stratocaster....and take the center of humbucker (for bridge p90position)

and center of neck single coil (for neck position)

it's this method allright????

thanks and sorry for my english.....

 

[SixShooter]

I'd like this information as well. Could you give us say the dimension from the center of the pole pieces to the break point of the strings over the saddles?

How critical is the placement? Do you need to be right at the harmonic?

 

[68thinline]

I've heard it's better to avoid harmonic nodes as they tend to cancel out certain frequencies.

 

[Maricopa]

The position of harmonics change every time you fret a string.

 

[hotcaster]

....yes
....but how to calculate the best position?....or is only a question of goodlooking?

 

[BigDaddyLH]

The position of harmonics change every time you fret a string.

It's even worst if you play slide

 

[Theorage]

As much as I would like a theoretical, equation-satisfying answer to this question, the bottom line is that empiricism rules the day here.

Here’s one of my fav guitars that originally had a HB bridge and a Strat SC neck, and I routed it for some soapbar action. The each is angled (oppositely, matching the original pickup cuts), so you know that harmonic nodes were not attempted!

Check out a Mosrite – it’s neck pickup is positioned with the opposite angle. The Ventures dropped their straight-up Jazzmasters for this “upside down” design. Speaking of… Jimi H’s bridge pickup ended up being backward-angled…

I like member Stewart Ward's advice because it's based on real-world trials, even though he works through the theory. He contends that different Fender guitars owe much of their character due to placement of the pickups, not the pickups themselves. Interesting. I may need to build a hackcaster to try it out for myself. See his post:
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pickups/110322-neck-pickup-placement-harmonic-node-cc-rider.html

Find and download Ward's diagram titled "pu-pos1.pdf", and you can see his graphical analysis. Good stuff. A Tele has its neck pickup as close to the 1/4 string length harmonic (2nd octave 24th-fret) as you'll see on a typical electric guitar. Physically not possible to center a P90 at the same location. As for the bridge pickup, the closer you position the P90 to the bridge, the twangier it’s going to sound. Guild exploited this principle in their well-regarded LP-type guitars, where the bridge HB was close to the bridge. Sounding more SC-like.

My conclusion: pickup position tonally matters in more of a real-world continuum rather than finding Holy Grail sweet spots, especially with P90s.

 

[jkingma]

I'm going to fill you in on a secret. I use a formula that I developed quite some time ago to get the best position for all pickups.
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I lay them on the body and move them around until, esthetically, they look like they are where they should be. In every case, they sounded just right.

 

[Maricopa]

Bingo John!

 

[hotcaster]

great!!!!....the diagram it's very explanatory.....must help to found my personal choice!!thanks a lot

 

[Mike Simpson]

All three positions...

(image removed)

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/196963-tres-recogida-especial-2.html

 

[hotcaster]

3 p90?.....awesome!!!....

 

[tweeet]

Same here

I'm going to fill you in on a secret. I use a formula that I developed quite some time ago to get the best position for all pickups.
.
.



I lay them on the body and move them around until, esthetically, they look like they are where they should be. In every case, they sounded just right.

That's just what I did...though I haven't finished the builds yet to see what they sound like.

 

[cband7]

...now if these were single coils......


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[68thinline]

...now if these were single coils......


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I love those fret markers. Could come in handy for some late night jam sessions.

 

[P Thought]

...now if these were single coils......


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That thang looks like it's goin' a hunnerd miles an hour jest standin' there!

 

[Sterling Sound]

I was just thinking about P90 placement. I looked up this thread to find more information about it. the reason?

My SG's neck P90 sounds insane. Rich, round tone and always - always - louder than the bridge pickup, even when placed at the bottom. It's an Alnico IV and about 7.5 k.

The Bridge pickup is weak no matter how high I put the pickup or just the pole pieces. It sounds less harmonically rich than the neck. It's an Alnico V and is about 8.1 k.

The only difference is that there are three distinct harmonic nodes right above the neck pickup (right above the poles and then left and right to each side).

 

[GotRoot?]

Not trying to change the subject here but.....what is that guitar Theorage? I really like the looks of it. Can or have you posted pics and details about it?

 

[Theorage]

Fender/Squier Venus

To avoid hijacking the thread (not that it's going far...), you can check out my wiring at GuitarNutz2. I write a bit about this unique Fender model.

http://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=music&action=display&thread=3687