Why Your Guitar Pickups Do Or Don't Sound Good By Scott Grove

[@groovydjs]

My New Acoustic Guitar Lessons Channel: kzbin.info/door/UT74DzWIwfhKOYyfK36OsQ

[@D0nCab]

you have dedicated your life to music and i deeply respect you for that.

[@kurtdutoit2761]

AMEN TO THAT

[@DetroitWrecker666]

I have learned more from this channel than I have learned in ALL my years of playing music and being around the same kind of people. It's too bad you could not have sold this stuff as lessons. Problem is people do not realize they want or need to learn it. Thanks Scott!

[@sammywest]

A few years ago an old black guitarplayer was in my Studio to record his last Blues-Album. He played the hell out of his old guitar. I was so impressed from the magical sound of his guitar and his awesome playing that I asked him on which guitar-model he was playing on ....then he just smiled and laid his hand on my shoulder and said with his kindly voice: "Sammy"... he said ...."its not the guitar" 😊✌🏽

[@vladimirpoutine7522]

3 years later, fill us in bro. Who was the artist?

[@dickdixon6409]

But it was the guitar, dude. Trust me, I know! I have the guitar. I have the studio. A crappy guitar in a great studio is garbage. Garbage in, garbage out. Heck, a crappy guitar won’t even stay in tune for a whole song.

[@Kane-ez]

Lies😂

[@Claimjumper55]

Ok, I was actually taking notes on this one. It's like attending Groovy University. Thanks Scott. I didn't know what I didn't know until watching this one.

[@misterguitargeek]

I always thought my pickups sounded bad because my playing sucks! :)

[@TestSubjectQWTD]

+The Guitar Geek I feel you

[@waynegoff764]

There is something in what you say. You and me both need to getting practicing.

[@TestSubjectQWTD]

It could be worse, We could be bassists.

[@waynegoff764]

Oddly I'm better on Bass but only when I play country.

[@TestSubjectQWTD]

yeah, i can funk away on a bass its pretty fun

[@jinjxmusic]

You guys need to listen to Scott. He's so right about a lot of this information and I appreciate that it's actual info, instead of "guitar legend" that most of us learn. I especially cosign on what you're saying about pots. So many people speak about the "brightness" and "darkness" of wood, though I don't think that has anything to do with it. I know this from experience, at least not the way we think it does. Let me tell you a story. So I have an Ibanez archtop. The pickups that came in it I didn't like so much so I switched them. Until then I had only used strat style electrics and didn't know anything about humbuckers. I theorized: Wes Montgomery used Gibson humbuckers (mostly) so let me start there. I bought a Gibson 57 classic and put it in the neck and a TV Jones for the bridge. I LOVED the neck sound. Like the original pickups I found the pickups very bright though I liked the overall clarity and balance and would just roll the tone back, ala Pat Metheny (thanks to your videos, I don't roll the tone back as heavy, instead striving for a more balance tone). That being said, I wouldn't leave well enough alone. I started changing the bridge (which i don't even use it at the time) pickup to all sorts of things (BurstBucker 3 which I hated in the bridge) until I finally had a Fender made Filtertron put in that I liked. It was perfect, though I decided to tempt fate one more time. After playing some Gretschs I had two Fender made "Blacktop PIckups" put in and I instantly knew it was a mistake (these aren't true "Baldwin Era" specs: they put ceramics in it which sound fine on a Bigsby system, though a regular tune-o-matic, I found they sounded... terrible). I asked the person to make the switch back and he did... kind of. There was noise and issues happening with the guitar in a way I have never experienced. I kept trying to get him to fix it though he didn't or rather "couldn't" get rid of the noise, even though I kept paying him for the work. He was getting frustrated, as if it were my fault for paying him for something he couldn't/wouldn't do. At one point I had someone try and do something weird with the phasing and I think that was the problem. It didn't matter though: he had given up on my guitar. It's something I've seen before: archtops are hard to work on and your average bitter lug head working at a music shop is just trying to get "signal" and nothing more. I ended up going with another guy who lived about an hour and a half drive away. I bought a brand new ebay "harness" with Gibson era pots and caps hoping it would get the sound back to what I was used to (which is, as a description, bright tone I have to almost roll back). This was another mistake. The new harness made the guitar sound "muddy", in all positions. It threw fallacy logic of "maple top and back gives a bright tone" theory out the window. So for a year I kept going back to this guy, driving on the highways, getting a high priced speeding ticket in a small town, the whole nine to get my guitar "back" to what I felt it was meant to sound like. He was adding treble bleeds and other mechanisms that were setting me back even further from the tone I wanted. I literally couldn't sleep at night about it because I felt fucked over. Finally, literally at 4 in the morning one day, I went to the Ibanez website. They have schematics on the web page and I looked and looked hoping to find something i had missed. I did: I noticed that the pots were 500k, though the volume said 500kb, and the tones were 500ka. Another google search showed me not all potentiometers are made equal: that the "B" pot, or linear pot is used in most modern archtops with humbuckers. This helps keep the sweep spectrum wider and more usable. Music companies also use an "a" pot, or audio pot, for tone, oddly enough, making it more difficult to get a muddy tone. It puts all this into perspective: so many people who thought their Les Paul's, SGs, and hollow body guitars sounded too "muddy" and spent an enormous amount on changing pickups to "hotter" (more expensive upgrades) could have likely changed a pot (pots are $7) and been able to hear what their guitar should sound like. I'm almost beginning to believe the misinformation is purposeful though that's another story. Anyway I've sense seen Scott talk about so much of this though if I had known it earlier, it would have saved me a lot of time, money, effort, and frustration. This is all information that, somehow, many guitar players, even real players, simply do not know and I say respect to Scott for putting facts out there, not "joe blow used this" nonesense. Instead of trying to debate this man, how about listen and take it or leave it. Respect to you and thank you for putting this information out there in a no nonsense form.

[@groovydjs]

+jinjxmusic Many thanks my friend. I really appreciate that! That sounds like a REAL nightmare with that axe. You have to wonder about those "pro" luthiers or techs who can't or won't sort out your problem quickly. As you know, KZbin can be a double edged sword. You have a million opinions and a few folks that you can pretty much count on. When you find someone you can count on for information, you don't have to like "THEIR" particular tone or pickup preferences or amps or guitars...but just the solid know how behind all this stuff to share and let people fix their stuff the way THEY want THEIR axe to sound, but with a lot better idea of why and how things work. That's all that's really needed. I'm simply glad that you have a bit of trust in the stuff I toss out there. Like people always say....."Take from it what you need and leave the rest behind". lol Thanks again and Happy New Year!

[@lueyteledeluxe7457]

Great story! I feel the frustration! That is the stuff that could drive a man to the brink, I swear... Ive subscribed to this guy now - after this video aswel as this post (and reply). Nice to have a guitar show with substance.

[@tobiusmanning7336]

Actually A and B pots both get the same range the only difference is the amount you have to turn the knob, both position 0 and 10 are identical. The B pot at 5 is 1/2 the total resistance whereas the A pot (log or audio) position 5 would be a small amount of the total resistance or the majority of the resistance depending on which outer lug you measure in relation to the center. The range and sound are the same, the only change is the sweep. I use B volume posts on guitars where I want to turn down the volume to clean it up, more usable range. 10 is still full volume and 0 is ground. I use A volume pots when I want to have a quick 1/4 turn to be almost off, for swells. I have tried B posts for tone, but it felt like there was almost no change for the majority of the sweep. I find A pots work better for tone. But regardless of which you use the sound is the same just the sweep changes. I always measure the pots, I like having close matching pairs with at least the stamped resistance, ie 520k and 518k for two 500k pots. But that is my preference.

[@jinjxmusic]

@@tobiusmanning7336​​⁠we are on the same page. I keep my humbucker guitars neck volume at around 3 - 5 so it really needs to have a linear. To your point Ive played some amazing Carvin bridge pickup only guitars and due to those typically being 7 - 10 the audio taper pots are appropriate. I just hate this information isnt really taught early on though if it effects a person hopefully they keep searching for the truth.

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

A superb lecture on guitar pickups and how they work and most importantly the frequencies they work at in plain English so it’s very easy to understand.

[@jvin248]

Great point about the bridge pickup location relative to the bridge and stressing the pot values. For the viewers: most pots have a 20% 'normal, expected, and accepted' tolerance which can push a guitar sound around a lot. That pot Db drop ... Esquire circuits are often wired with volume only, volume+tone, volume plus fixed tone capacitor, the first setting so it has a cleaner sound path if desired 'on the fly'. You mentioned the Burton Tele with the S-1 switch and humbucker tone, I've been using 4-way switches in Tele-styles to get that humbucker (series) option. Glad to see you're feeling better Scott.

[@SuperEffCee]

You're a great teacher, Scott. I've been playing more years than I care to mention, and I just learned several things from this video. Thanks a lot! Take care, buddy. :-)

[@christopherlangley8441]

This has got to be the most informative and in-depth guitar gear related channel on KZbin. I learn so much from you. Thank you :)

[@dirksanasspisser4920]

you explain things very well. to me at least, and I have major issues with keeping focus and learning anything , and remembering anything important is a challenge in itself. great work man.

[@peterandolfi7243]

You did a great job explaining one of the most difficult concepts without showing the signal on a scope. Bravo Scot!!!

[@kimota47]

I could listen to you talk guitar for forever , because you sound like you know what you're talkin' about. Cheers!

[@elvyfoster7455]

Huge thanks for taking the time to explain all of the information about how guitar electronics influence the sound.

[@Kgeezer]

I've recently discovered your videos, you've answered a lot of questions I've had. It's nice to watch somebody who knows what their talking about and can get the message across. KEEP POSTING Scott.

[@sulutkin]

You said one that many of us never understand or care a less. Many guitarists try to sound amazing by themselves, but at the same time they step on same levels with their sound on bass guitar or keyboards or vocalist. Many famous superband guitarist have quite modest sound by themselves or nothing unsual but with the band they match perfectly. Number two is that every single guitar in this world is very unique. It's even impossible to copy something, no matter you have same woods, picks and pick ups and an amplifier because every guitar has it's own unique harmonies around that basic key note you play.

[@TheNeonRabbit]

I wire mine with a pickup selector, and one master volume. That's it. No tone pots, no capacitors, just a switch and one pot.

[@PainterDans]

Does it sound brighter ?

[@scottwilson7095]

After hearing this video I was wondering if I should bypass my tone pots. I don’t like how they reduce the natural sound as if someone put a pillow over the pickups. I actually hate how they change the sound. I have a strat. Maybe I should put 500k pots.

[@louski331]

Stew-Mac 5417 Golden Age Parsons Street Nickel Alnico 5 awesome vintage recreation at a great price

[@pdp977]

Thanks Scott for taking time to explain all of this. I've just begun customising my guitars and this is very useful. Bought your lessons - if I can learn as much from them as I do from your KZbin channel I'll be a very happy man.

[@larryb524]

Scott I'm probably a little late but this is the first time I've seen you in a while glad to have you back.

[@IvesMarcelin]

it's my first time where i ear someone who reset that clear explanation on the Gibson Guitar !!! very good Men !!!

[@pipercub45]

Thanks for demystifying pickups a little bit. Most local guitar shops can't tell you any of who you taught us!

[@helmutdiggy6874]

Great info , learned a lot.

[@trinacria1956]

Very good info. I had an extensive article that mapped out all the harmonic frequencies and different scale and position of pickup placement, misplaced it, Physics can be coooool kids!!

[@daviddavis8309]

I'm learning so much from you. thank you Scott..30 + years of playing, I never knew. wow.

[@MrPopalosus]

Thank you. I enjoyed that very much, very informative and it concurs with what I've learned about"over wound" pickups. High end quickly drops away

[@groovydjs]

+MrPopalosus My pleasure. Yeah, it's amazing how many people WANT to lose their tone in order to drive their amp harder. A cheap, little pedal will do that for you and let you keep a GREAT sounding guitar sounding GREAT. Happy Holidays!

[@rainbowriderjt7833]

I love that copper Strat and especially how that top is con-caved in!! That is a beauty!!!

[@mjdpoet]

Thanks for taking the time to make these videos. You are very informative. I love to hear wisdom from years of experience. I especially dig it when you share your personal rock history stories. Right on brother!

[@pngaia]

That was BRILLIANT Scott, learned more than have the last 45 yrs or so. Just a tip to fussy p/up afficianados, your sound comes from your fingers, You can make a Gibson sound like a Strat. and viceversa. It's in the fingers.

[@georgewocosky]

Now you've gone & done it . . . ejimacatin' the guitarded ! Thanks again for the rundown of the lowdown ! As complicated as things SEEM, you do a great job of taking it to a level of simplicity . * And a much belated thank you on the tip of listening to Bela Fleck ! !

[@davidvincent6706]

One of the best informative pickup videos that I have ever seen... Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@groovydjs]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@EdDanaGuitar]

One of your best... Thanks Dr Groovy!

[@erichleonhard3188]

Hi Scott, So glad to see you back! There are always going to be people who must feel must be heard, so stir it up. I'm glad these hidden agenda didn't make a permanent dent......glad you're so tough! Thanks for this video.......my favorite subject! Be there my friend, Erich

[@MrClearlakeJim]

I know several Great guitar guys Play great know their stuff. And just today I had questions about pickups. None of them had a even fair answer. Your 28Min Video answered every question I had about them and much more thanks. My guitar has never sounded better.

[@isScoobyDooby]

Hey Scott, G'Day from Australia. I have heard about you in the past and just happened across your KZbin Channel and I am really inspired and impressed by your knowledge.You are a great Teacher mate, and this is a real Lesson in some important aspects of Guitar sound. I am a Fan and am gonna tell my Buds about your channel. Cheers !

[@Jay-sy5yf]

What a treasure trove of awesome information! Thanks a bunch, Scott

[@matthewblack7206]

Hey Scott - you are looking and sounding really well. Over the years I've valued your advice, knowledge and often your sense of humor, too. Keep on Rockin! Matt, Auckland, New Zealand.

[@Bluelightbandit]

Always enjoy watching your videos, thanks for sharing, Doc!

[@groovydjs]

+Danny Perdue Many thanks Danny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@dalepal]

Thank you for posting this. I learned a lot from it. This is very relevant info for anyone wishing to change pickups.

[@scottmatheson2390]

Groovy site man. I've been playing for years(and have read GP Mag for years!) and thus am familiar with some of the info you get into here but If I'm being honest I have also FORGOTTEN a good deal of it! That said you have a new subscriber.

[@paulhendrix5615]

Hello Scot, again thanks for the video. Without starting another issue on pickups and the tone/sound, I have to disagree with you on the number of windings on pickups. In general you are absolutely right, the more windings on your pickup the more highth you loose in the sound. But, after 10 years of experimenting with winding pattern, I found out that a good winding pattern keeps the highth in the sound of a pickup. The experiment resulted in the "Controlled Scatter Wound Windingpattern". This means that by bringing order in the chaos of scatter winding, you can determine how much high and low will go through the pickup. Last year I build the ultimate Stratocaster set for a Hardrock guitarplayer who used to play on Gibson Les Paul guitars and wanted to do some subtle things on a Strat. The resistance of the pickups was brdg 20 K Ohm - mid 16K Ohm - neck 15k Ohm, without loosing highth. See forward to your comment, regards Paul.

[@patrickwcowley]

so very thankful for you sharing your knowledge and i really enjoy your videos. the guitar world is so beautiful, so much to learn, but it's fun to learn it, i've been researching electric guitars everyday for 3 months and there is always something new to learn. it means a lot that you are so forthcoming with your knowledge since some people are bothered by answering questions, so you are and awesome Rock God Teacher:)

[@danielmcanulty1562]

Smart commentary, good points about the pickup location and the peaks and overall amplitude that they're designed for, that was really helpful for me to hear. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@tonyb.7158]

Awesome video SG! Happy you had the comments section open.

[@reggiebellamy7112]

That Strat is gorgeous.

[@scottwilson7095]

Right? What is that?

[@RichardMahinske]

I concur Mr. Bellamy. Fender should have done that sculpting on the upper horn all along. I've got a project Strat coming up and I am including the sculpting.

[@peterwelsh1932]

Thx again Maestro Scott. This vid is a master piece. Still rewatching this vid, just to keep all the facts straight.

[@marknorris3769]

your reviews are some of the best, really useful and excellent, i noticed you don't allow commenting on some video, trolls are a sad fact of life, but most of us out here know silly hateful comments are to be ignored, thanks for all of your hard work

[@eddiecrutcher4766]

Thank you so much Scott. Picking out pickups is very subjective and also hard for musicians to compare. We have to buy them and play through our gear to get a real comparison and most of us don't have the money and time to do this over and over again. This video has a lot of fundamental information and it's very clearly explained. I have antiquities in my tele and they were a huge improvement over the stock pickups. I put Lollars in my strat and Les Paul and they are the best I've ever played. The pickups and placement have made the biggest difference in tone to my ears. The height with my crappy pickups just seemed to effect volume and some tone. Now with the better (especially Lollar) pickups there is a drastic change with even the slightest adjustment to height. Very responsive to how I play and effects the way I play dynamically. And yes I can hear the guitars unique qualities better. It's great to have the variety of people who care about tone like you, Lollar and all crafstmen who bother to wind pickups for us. Thanks again.

[@gregsbest]

Great video Scott, and your opinions weren't jaded as usual. Thanks for just mentioning the facts. Most informative... And I am Enjoying your lessons. Cheers, gk.

[@ghostownaproach]

Always wished there was some way to mount pickups on rails that you could move them around on to find the perfect space between each as well as the perfect place for the scale length.

[@a11corn]

I've been playing guitar since 1972 and thought I had a pretty good understanding of pickups, wiring, etc.. Until I saw this. Great job not only getting your point across about different factors that affect how your guitar pickup sounds and why but how a guitar or other instrument frequencies factor in the mix in a band situation (1k range). Again, well done.

[@davedynamite77]

hi scott, I bought the Johnson millieum150 stereo combo plus the J12 controller....I took your advise and made sure that I didn't just buy the amp only.....it makes A lot of sense...thanks Mr Groovy.....600 plus shipping....

[@zachisebi]

Well, some people may not like you, but you are making a whole lot of sense sir.

[@groovydjs]

+zachisebi Many thanks. It's nice not to be yelled at for once. lol

[@74dartman13]

Appreciate all the tips. Thanks! I'm building a guitar body and I put the "swimming pool" rout in it. I bought plenty of pick gaurd material. This way I can experiment with different pickups and their location. I never thought a lot about placement though. What you said makes a lot of sense!👍😎🎸🎶

[@groovydjs]

That is a brilliant way to go about it and also to learn placement different placements. Hint, keep the pickguard off just like in the avatar.....put foam or whatever under your pickups while you experiment with pickup locations in order to get the pickup height where you want them.....screw right into the wood. Nobody will ever see them once you toss a pickguard on there anyway. But....it will be a great way for hearing combined sounds of different pickups on at the same time.....tilted different ways and so on.

[@74dartman13]

@@groovydjs will do! Thanks again!👍😎🎸🎶

[@Nopp3]

on the subject of replacing pot values. the tone pots are simple R-C filters. meaning if you change the resistance you need to change the capacitance accordingly to have the same response. F = 1/ (2πRC)

[@timnoble4137]

Great no-nonsense video. Info based on real-world experience/expertise. Much respect for that. It is defo 'horses for courses' when it comes to pickups; you would not enter a dune buggy in the Indy 500 and a super high-powered Indy car would not get 500 yards in the Paris-Dakar. I guess the message is 'respect the design intent of folk who have been building guitars and pickups for 30-50 years'. There is a reason they put certain types of pickup where they do. And swapping pots around is pocket money, but may help get you the tone you are looking for. Thank you so much. One new subscriber.

[@scottwilson7095]

Good review. Thanks. I was a bit distracted by that Red and gold strat you showed. That’s a beautiful guitar!

[@jeffcosner6047]

Thank you Mr. Scott Grove. I've been watching your videos for quite some time. You are very knowledgeable and it's really all common sense. But people like me, the average idiot, doesn't ever think of these things. Never even entered my mind. I was a kid when I started playing and always thought it was set up at the factory so it's perfect. LOL. But many years of playing and purchasing guitars, I started finally noticing things I could do with certain guitars and things I couldn't. My brother in law and I started experimenting on different guitars with pick ups, resisters, pots, etc.... He would read what Jimmy Page did to his guitar or Randy Rhoads and he would try all these things but on different guitars. You opened my eyes and revealed to me factors that weren't considered. Distance. Distance from pick up to bridge. From pick up to neck. There is so much to be taken into consideration. If you remember the old 1960's cartoon Tennessee Tuxedo, how he would learn a little bit from the professor and he'd jump the gun and rush into something he knew little about. That's my brother in law. I'm not the Chumley type but I have to stand in his place and say, Gee Tennessee, I don't know....Thanks for the videos Scott and for telling it like it is. Don't hold back. That's what I like about you man. Keep on groovin'.

[@ronnie5129]

Doctor Groovy, thanks for the video and info on pickup placement, great knowledge to know.. like my X wife used to say Position is everything, LOL, Cheers Buddy, Cousin Figel

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

Hey Scott. Thanks for the info. Pickups are so important. I'm convinced one could put pickups in a rail road tie and it would sound the same as an LP guitar..Thanks for the EQ info. Been trying to cop the Stryper wah EQ tone lately man. Regards from southern Indiana my friend.

[@timthetaylorman]

This is literally the most informative video I have ever watched in my 41 years!

[@groovydjs]

Thanks Tim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@khjfud]

At 1:52 This is why a band with twin guitars should never dial in the same tone! Great video Scott.

[@atrothe]

Wow that brown strat pickguard is gorgeous. Another great video Scott.

[@mikemagnum7987]

Man, Scott, I sure wish this technology and you were around back when I was 25 and trying to learn guitar on my own! I did manage to learn to play enough to fool alot of people who didn't know any better, but......time went by and now i'm considerably older;) and getting back into guitars with an AE that I like, but will be looking at an electric this fall. Thanks to you, I will be able to make a reasonably well informed selection. Thanks for all that you do for us beginner types.

[@bryanst.martin7134]

That was quite informative Scott, thank you. As I am not a musician, (though truly an audiophile) I was unaware of the intricacies of electric guitars. As an electronics tech, and acoustic specialist I fully understand your explanation. I have a friend who has been developing a new pickup that sounds amazing, but as I am working on getting him funded, I will abstain from details. He mentioned it to me a few years ago and I thought "a pickup is a pickup", till I heard it. WOW! I knew he was an electronic genius, one of the few people I ever consult with, but this is disruptive technology. I expect he will be seeking experts in the industry to offer demo units to, but as they will be a bit pricey, a select few Thanks again, Headhunter.

[@jamessanders2164]

Great video Scott, This was very helpful for me. I love learning about guitars it just makes me a better musician and guitar/bass tech

[@danmar007]

Interesting. Learned a bunch of stuff. Thanks Scott.

[@WarrenBey]

And sometimes you hit the tone lottery with putting some Seymour Duncan Black Winters into a mexi strat :-)

[@michaelbishop3701]

Gotta say, the more I watch your videos, the more I learn, Thanks.

[@willkupers]

Great info Scott, that cleared an other blind spot. Thnx.

[@fjonesjones2]

Great stuff Scott, jacobthellamer, You are correct if the inductor is an 'Ideal Inductor' there'd be no resonance, but in the real world they have properties of inductance, resistance and parasitic capacitance due to how they're constructed, means they do have a resonant frequency.

[@chefhawkins]

Blower switches (or "pure" switches as I call them) are honestly my favorite feature on a lot of guitars. Switch to it for a solo, switch back when you're done.

[@ArkyMalarkey]

Thanks for the enjoyable and informative video, Scott. One thing though, and you may have done this deliberately (as not to confuse those unaware of a '64 Firebird's quirks): the pot you're pointing at at 5:02 is not a tone pot, but a volume pot. As opposed to probably all other two pickup Gibsons, pots on original Firebirds were wired in such a way that the top two knobs controlled the volume, and the bottom ones controlled the tone. I, for one, find this configuration to be a lot more logical, since it corresponds to the placement of the pickups on the body. My limited edition '72 Medallion Firebird is basically Gibson's replica of the original '63 Firebird V, but with 'corrected' pot placement. Having once owned a '64 Firebird III, my preference definitely goes out to the 'wrong' configuration.

[@willthunderbay7652]

Wow - covering so much info in an very approachable way. Nice

[@BigJackGameplays]

Hey Dr. Groovy I just want to say that every video you make my head explodes. You teach things in a manner that almost everyone cannot. Whenever I see another instrument channel it's so boring because people talk, talk and talk, and they don't know what the fuck they're talking about hahahaha. But as always that was a great video!

[@groovydjs]

For the kids who were groaning about how noiseless SINGLE COIL PICKUPS WORK. There are a few ways. Only a few involve a "Dummy" coil. I put videos up about this in the past, but, as usual....nobody listened. Then you can check out the pickups I use (Lace Sensors) which do it in a different way all together. Start the bickering on my channel again and you both are gone.

[@JUSTICE-hl1sv]

“With Knobs Wide Open” If Creed was a metal band. Love your videos bro, very in-depth. Thanks

[@therealericjackdaniels]

Learned so much from this video. Thanx Scott

[@gregaltenhofel7326]

Some of us understood this more than others because in a previous video you did. You taught how most things were fighting for that 1K band width.

[@gregaltenhofel7326]

Perhaps it was a later video and I just saw this after.

[@Megzamani]

thank you. now I know pickups I have seen for sale at the shops need research done to find its voicing.

[@garytolodziecki7030]

Thank you ,your awesome for a biginner like me, merry Christmas, gary

[@als1023]

Another excellent video from the master of all guitar things info, Thanks Scott !

[@deepblue1963]

I drool over that Pink, Paisley Strat! Love it!

[@rafsza]

It is necessary to consider also input impedance of an amplifier or a pedal which adds parallel resistance to guitar potentiometers and in this way it affects resonance peak of pickups. The inductance of pickups in Henry along with cable capacitance in Farads create resonance curve in kHz. The number of a bobbin windings influences not only output of a pickup but also its inductance. On the other hand, the length of a cable creates capacitance in Farads. If these parameters are too high, the resonance peak is too low and a pickup sounds muddy. If we could measure the inductance of a pickup and the capacity of a cable, we could calculate the approximate resonance peak by a math formula (which I am not able to type here). By the way, pickup bobbins have also small capacity. However, it would be of no use because we musicians are controlled by our ears anyway.

[@roybrookton7938]

Thanks for your time and effort in this and all your videos, l stumbled upon your channel and loving it,lm a newbie, 6monnts but can't get enough, from learning the basics to pedals, basically everything, but not at the cost of learning the basis, its mixing it up that keeps me interested , plus lm 48 and every one is saying lm too old to learn to play or bother with it now any thanks again regards Rory

[@awow100]

Exactly the video I was looking for. Thanks Scott!

[@louski331]

very well taught thought iknew it all but i learned some good stuff from you today!!!!

[@ade2064]

What's that flying v/ telecaster in the background? Looks cool, is there a demo of that anywhere?

[@msheplervideo]

Thanks! Very helpful! ...and Lace Silvers I agree. Love em.

[@357bullfrog]

I herd you'd quit making videos and I really wish you'd start back. I just found your ch the other day . I've been playing a long time but there's still tons of things I don't know and you know a lot of em . I geuss what I mean is I love learning and I hate to see someone quit while there's still so many of us who can benefit from picking your brain. Thanks for listening. I'm long winded.

[@natedanaste]

Wow thanks for all the awesome info man. Glad I stumbled on to this. I'll definitely subscribe to your channel and see what else I can learn ha!

[@frogdogify]

That Stratocaster with the body contour is amazing 😻

[@ashscott6068]

It's not the resistance of the pots that sucks volume and tone, it's the LACK of it. The higher the resistance, the less goes to ground. But you can buy pots with a gap in the track, so there's no path to ground at all when the track is fully open. Or, some guys have one position on the selector switch for, say, bridge pickup with all the controls bypassed. For me, guitar pots just shouldn't be there. Its the wrong place to mess with the signal

[@Jinkyuu1999]

Dude love this video I hate it when they say that a particular pickups sounds like shit! For instances lot of people poo poo on Duncan designed pickups well they sound just great on my schecter omen 7!

[@groovydjs]

+James Carbajal I hear you my friend. Some of my favorites are some that are SUPPOSED to be pure junk, according to the different "forum experts". lol

[@813lynch]

I have heard people say "oh your Dead Showdown Dime ML is gonna sound like shit because i have one" Needless to say i grabbed 1 for myself & mine screams compared to his,and why ? He put EMG 81/85 in the guitar. It's like dude u can't compare the 2. I just got my 1st Schecter Kenny Hickey custom(Type O Negative) and that Sustainiac humbucker pickup gives me that unique feedback that Type O(or even Eyehategod) that i'm looking for as to having to flip my levels every 30 seconds. Great video i did learn alot personally.

[@monkfry]

Thanks for posting the info.I've always found that my guitars sound a million times better when I let someone else play them!!

[@turnercarl]

I could listen to you for hours talking . doctor groovy . I think its time to start calling you professor groovy

[@groovydjs]

+Carlos Vanquish Thanks my friend! I get SOOOOOO many people that constantly tell me that they HATE the sound of my voice. lol I didn't tell them to keep coming back. lol I'm happy that you enjoy some of the stuff I put on here. It's a big compliment! Happy New Year to you!

[@icebob8555]

Which is why I’m not a pickup switcher . I do build custom guitars and a thought goes into voicing a guitar my last guitar had no volume or tone semore mini hum strait out the back no resistors powerful sound wack the preamp good my goal is to make my own tone not replication of a factory tone those guys put a lot of science and thought into there guitars. In the used pickup world I’ve come across some gems most players have a box of old parts I’ve gotten great vintage pickups from people who put miss matched pickups in there guitar thank you

[@Biblicalgiants]

Scott. When I was a teenager I had the USA Dean Budweiser Bow Tie guitar. I traded it for a distortion pedal or something dude. I feel like kicking myself now.

[@aaronbutkovich7586]

Just to clarify what he means by "K" For frequency, he's talking about Hertz. He means 1 thousand Hertz when he says 1k. For resistance of potentiometers, he's talking about Ohms. He means 500 thousand Ohms when he says 500k. Also about potentiometers: the relationship between potentiometer and pickup is incredibly complex. The volume pot eats away at the signal. But the tone pots change the resonant peak, not eat away at it. The energy from the natural peak is not dumped to ground. It is covered to another form. Volume also affects the resonant frequency in a similar way, but it dumps excess energy to ground resulting in a more compressed filter than the tone control (ie no bass boost )

[@JoeBaermann]

The tone pot adds load even on 10, so there is a difference between having one in the circuit and having none or a no-load pot when it comes to maximize a passive pickups output, which at max has less volume on the treble to higher mid frequencies than with a tonepot in place, hence why it might or might not be a good idea to use a 1 meg linear volume pot with a very high output bridge humbucker that only has a volume pot connected. Also the reason for a 25k pup sounding darker than a 17k pup, more resistance adds volume but also takes away some highend. With pickups that have the exact same output there is not a lot of frequency difference when picking up at the same harmonic spots on the strings (exact same placement), they can “feel” different though, matters for the player and no one else. Even with slight offsets and output variances it matters less for the listener. It’s still important for the player to have pickups not reacting to different for some concisistency, more so for those who stay within a set style without to much variety, and if switching a lot between styles it’s about to find what suits best to the player without them having to do radical changes to how they interact with the instrument. Some even prefer to throw one or two EQ’s into their rigg instead. The speaker units, IR or cab sim are the main thing that will matter for anyone else, also the only thing in the entire signal chain that has a frequency response graph, which dictates what will be audible, plus the mic might take some more away with dependency on type and placement. Unfortunately, trying out different type of speaker units can be a hassle, plus that most of the recorded speaker comparisons never sound like it would with the band in the rehearsal room or at a small club. A lot of reading up on models and how others experience them can be helpfull in narrowing it down though.