-
A pet peeve of mine, Gibson places the neck pickup on every guitar that I know of close to the neck with the exception of the 175. Some Custom 175's and the elaborate 775 have the pickup nearly touching the neck, so I doubt it's a mechanical thing keeping Gibson from locating it there.
So, the question is: Would anyone object if Gibson permanently moved the pup closer to the neck?
-
11-17-2014 06:34 AM
-
It would be better if they slanted one towards the treble strings. Es-175's are bass heavy enough but the trebles can sound surprisingly thin in comparison. So yeh, I would go for a slanted pickup.
-
You can cut brightness but you can't put it back in if it was never there in the first place.
-
I thought the usual neck pickup placing on the 175 was in effect directly below where a 24th fret would be; i.e. the 2nd dominant harmonic. That is where the neck pickup on most 24 3/4" scale 22 fret Gibson's sit, (except for the SG of course as the neck will fall off if you place the pickup there!) Not being under that 2nd dominant harmonic, does change the tone of the neck pickup.
-
Trying to understand : This 2nd dominant harmonic thing below 24th fret works only on open strings ? If you play, say, an A on the first string, the 2nd dominant harmonic is below "29th" fret ? Or did I get something wrong ?
Originally Posted by old tube
PTChris, please, come back to us !!!
-
I wouldn't object, but isn't that one of the quirks that makes a 175 a 175?
-
I think you're right 339. Only valid for open strings. Clearly we're only meant to play the cowboy chords on the shorter scale Gibsons!
-
The neck pickup on the ES 175 is in the perfect position--nodally, and in terms of offering room for good jazz picking. The proof is the fact that everybody under the sun chose the guitar at one time or another over virtually every other selection.
The other guitar that had this placement--the Gibson 1936-39 ES-150 with the cobalt "Charlie Christian" pickup--is an even more important jazz guitar. Literally, everyone played that guitar, and it IMO is THE best sounding jazz guitar of all time.
You can move pickups all around, but on a 24-3/4" guitar the 150/175 neck pickup position is king. Listen...listen to all of the recordings made from 1937 to 1977, or so.
-
Ok.. want some more internet bs? (although I think I read it in a book.. big paper thingys we had before the internet)
The 175 Neck pickup was placed further away from the fingerboard so they would not have to user a shim or a rediculously tall pickup ring.
There.. I said it.
-
I never understood this "under the 24th fret/harmonic/halfwaypoint" nonsense. Isn't that only important for OPEN strings? Why does this old wives tale persist, even among seasoned guitar people? (Unless I'm not thinking about string dynamics correctly.) Originally Posted by old tube
-
Agreed with the earlier poster who said the same. It's really simply a matter of measurement, that neck pickup sits right under where the 24th fret would be and therefore it lies beneath the 2nd dominant harmonic for open strings. Les Paul etc. also. Why did Gibson position it there? They were doing it pretty much from their start of fixed pickup electric guitars, so perhaps they did so because it sounded best there, or perhaps they considered the physics of the open strings and used that logic? Doubt well ever know for sure.
-
Old tube makes sense...but my ears tell me that the ES150 sounds best. That's where a pickup should be, no?
-
Remember when Dan Armstrong made those guitars with the movable pickups, pickups were on a rail you could move anywhere under the strings bridge to neck. I think Keith Richards played one for a moment back in the day.
-
Such is the case with the Teuffel Birdfish:
-
Okay it might have moveable pickups, but that one lacks a body Originally Posted by rpguitar
-
Great point. Originally Posted by 339 in june
And doesn't this entire placement topic have something to do with lots of tonal complaints regarding the old Ibanez Joe Pass model?
-
I thought the position was the same, but Ibanez put 22 frets on vs the 20 on 175. Originally Posted by ooglybong
-
That might be, too, so it just makes the Ibanez positioning that much more visually obvious. Good point. Originally Posted by docbop
But the comments I've always read tended to be negative on tonal things (sorry, can't recall the specifics more than that). Also read that Joe allegedly didn't even care for his own signature guitar.
I've never played a Ibanez Joe Pass model but would love to sometime.
-
I too also usually like the neck p/up to be under the 24th fret harmonic sweet spot on most of my guitars. But 2 exceptions that seem to work for me are my '96 Parker Fly Classic w/ 24 frets, and my Eastman 803CE the neck p/up is actually closer to the neck like a ES-775. Go figure, I guess what ever sounds good to my ears works after all,lol!
-
And a bargain at $15,500 ... or $26,000 for the Rhodium version Originally Posted by fws6
Okay it might have moveable pickups, but that one lacks a body
Destroy All Guitars - Teuffel Guitars models
-
You CAN turn the p/up around. Put the adjustable poles closer to the bridge, and raise them up.
Yes, I wouldn't mind if Gibson did it for us.
-
My old DeArmond Rhythm Chief on a stick worked just fine in this capacity. I could slide it from the end of the fingerboard back to the bridge. I liked it about one FAT finger away from the fingerboard. (Sorry, I keep calling the fretboard a fingerboard--all those years of studying the upright bass coming through.)
-
I always surmise that the humbucker is located where it is located for a practical reason: the ES-175 laminate top has an S-shaped dip (dished) under the fretboard and that is the closest spot which is flat enough to mount a humbucker..
Last edited by Jabberwocky; 11-18-2014 at 07:50 PM.
-
+1 Jabberwocky
-
Well I can see why nobody plays these guitars ... why would anyone want one with the pickup where it is
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos