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Most guitarists who play archtops only use the neck pickup. To me and many others, that is THE sound...THE tone of a great jazz box.
Why do so many archtop makers insist on a bridge pickup??
I couldn't imagine a 'treble' pickup on my baby!
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02-16-2017 05:32 PM
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People who don't play jazz might use a bridge pickup on an archtop. Main styles I can think of would be rockabilly or western swing/country (ie. the Chet Atkins sound).
I only have one archtop with two pickups, a Greco ES-175. To be honest I don't even think I have ever used the bridge pickup on it.
A good neck pickup is all you need. Some people like the physical dampening that the bridge pickup inflicts on the top of the guitar.
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Some people actually prefer the sound of a two pickup archtop even when they never use the bridge pickup.
I think there is something to it
There is a difference in the sound IMHO ...
Not sure if makes that much difference .... but some people think it does
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I like both for comping.
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If you have to cut through a mix you might want to use the bridge pick up, or at least blend its output with the neck pick up.
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Good question....I don't even know if my bridge pickups work.
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even on my electrics, i think i might have heard the non-neck pickups play sometimes, .. a few years back...
.. no, from time to time i do use the bridge pickup on the 335 for albert king type blues sound 
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lammie200 has the answer. I sometimes mix in the bridge P/U for a lighter sweeter tone. But..... the tone knob of the B. p/up is turned down, and so is the volume. Tonal Variation.
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Agree , there's some unspoken rule
that a box with set-in pu's should have
2 ...
I don't use the second pu much ,
and I like 1 pu guitars aesthetically ...
I know there are exceptions but the mainstream
says 2 pups
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The bridge pu works well with distorted
sounds ....
Which I don't much dig
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I have P90's on my arch top and I like the sound of the neck pickup. In some situations when I get that dreaded hum I will use both pickups, but I have the bridge pickup set way down and the poles lowered quite a bit. The advantage of that is when both volume knobs are set to the same number the hum of both pickups is the same level and out of phase (noise canceling). The result is 5% bridge and 95% neck music, and 0% hum. Kind of like a humbucker that sounds like a P90.
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If i never saw another bridge pickup in my life I would not be upset
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I agree, for an archtop jazz axe, i don't see any real need/use for a bridge pickup.
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I would never begrudge anyone there right to a bridge pickup. But to me, it's unnecessary on a jazz guitar. They usually come with all kinds of extra crap you don't need, 2 extra pots and a toggle switch. More stuff to weigh down the top, more wires, more stuff that can rattle, for what?
Vinny says it best. I don't even know if my bridge pickups work..
ive always wondered why the Carlos Santana PRS model has a bridge pickup. He never uses it either. And I LOVE his sound.
JD
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One great thing about Heritage is that they will make you what you want without charging an arm and a leg. I got my 575 with one pup since I never use the bridge and got a 25" scale.
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Hillbilly Cadillac!
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We had many discussion on the L5 Wesmo vs CES here. The Wesmo is usually said to be brighter, the CES more smooth and silkier which works for many people. Such archtops are designed to be electric guitars and the second pickup does change the sound by dampening the top - not what acoustic archtop lovers want (but that is what floaters are for).
The bottom line is - I also don't know if the bridge pickup of my L5 works - but I am glad it's there. The guitar couldn't sound any better.
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For 90% of jazzers a bridge pickup will probably be totally unnecessary.
A world apparently exists beyond this forum where non-jazzers play archtops - did I hear someone mention Steve Howe, Ted Nugent, Scotty Moore, BB King, early Richard Thompson with Fairport Convention......?
These wierd people apprently use both pickups, either at the same time or independently - can you imagine it?
I only hope they have (or had) good shrinks to help them cope with the mental stress this must produce
Last edited by Ray175; 02-17-2017 at 05:35 AM.
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Since Tal used his bridge pickup for playing his pinch harmonics its presence makes sense on his signature guitar
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That question isn't dumb at all, but here is my factual (some may say this wouldn't be different to a tongue-in-cheek) reply to why additional bridge pickups have entrenched even on many full-hollowbody archtops:
1. From the manufacturer's POV: being able to make and sell acoustically restricted archtops, at least guitars without rich upper middles and trebles, at the same time showcasing that the buyers could still have (electric) trebles and more cut-through, if necessary.
2. Dito: in the period when archtops with two or more pickups were developed, people's soft spot for new electronic devices has already been well-marked; it was simply profitable. Back then, getting a second pickup circuit was much more costly (for the buyer) in relation to the overall cost of the archtop, than it is today.
Of course, the manufacturers tried to outfit their endorsers with the more profitable 2-PU models. Guitarists are a mottled, though quite conservative group: most do think they are going to buy what they themselves would like to hear, but, actually, many buy what they behold or what their heroes are holding in hands. That well-known "mere-exposure effect"... so, 2-PU archtops have gotten traditionally entrenched.
3. The feedback issue: though usually the bellies with two built-in pickups show more openings (the cut-outs), these bellies get stiffened by additional braces. In addition, the screwed mounting rings, the considerable weight of the second pickup near the sensitive bridge area - all this contributes to fight back feedback issues by deadening the soundboard vibrations. This was even more important in a period when 'improved performance' (an euphemism for 'more volume') was more called for than it may be today.
4. Most guitarists are curious beings, they (males are more affected) simply love to play and fumble around, turning flashy knobs and thrilling switches, especially when by doing so they can discern a change in sound. In a test set-up, chimps would probably do the same...
5. From the player's POV: years ago, even many professional guitarists couldn't afford more than two guitars at the same time, one main axe plus one back-up guitar. So, if they had to make a living, they were forced to accept all sorts of gigs in different music genres without being able to resort to a pile of different equipment.
I remember well when - many years ago - I asked this same question "Why two pickups?" a jazz guitarist with his Super 400CES. First, he stared at me, startled, then explained: "Sometimes I get booked for a public or private gig, where people, dancers or the clients are not overly interested in jazz. So, if they ask for some songs of, for example, Santana, I'm glad that I have that bridge pickup on my axe."
I think at least such jazz guitarists deserve my full credit, when they turn up with a 2-PU archtop guitar.Last edited by Ol' Fret; 02-17-2017 at 09:17 AM.
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Long as we're talking about pickups, I want to say that I think Barney Kessel was right and that "chicken head" knobs make more sense for guitars than round ones. Who can actually read the numbers on a tone / volume knob while playing? But a chicken head knob solves that problem---you can see AND feel where "one" is.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...
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Everyone has their quirks, likes and dislikes.
I for one generally will not buy a carved archtop preferring laminates for feedback resistance, and will not buy a git with only one pickup unless the price was REALLY stupid low :-) Setting the bridge pup tone and volume pots down a few notches with the switch in the middle and the neck pup on full is a sublime change in sound from neck pup only. Why more don't try it and use it is a mystery to me.
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I like the mix of sounds you can get with both pickups on - lots of different shades of tone. Also because there's some cancellations between the two pickups wired in parallel I think you can get something more of an "acoustic" sound with both pickups....
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I also have a preference for the laminated not only for feedback but also for tone at least with Gibson, thunk vs plunk.
Originally Posted by GNAPPI
The pickup blending is something I also experiment on the Tal sometimes, bridge pickup with rolled back tone is not bad at all; it can be a very versatile instrument.
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This topic comes up pretty often. The last time it did here's what I posted:
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These are my gigging guitars:
Except for one or two pickups, four of them are as alike as the proverbial peas in a pod, so I choose them by function, or sometimes just color.
For indoor gigs with my big band I almost always use one of the two-pickup guitars. We sometimes do charts on which the bridge pickup or a mix is helpful, especially for dances or variety shows. When I don't need the bridge pickup I turn its volume to zero and use the toggle as a mute switch, thereby preventing noises caused by my jacket buttons hitting the strings to be conveyed to the audience while I'm flipping charts. Finally, they are a little less likely to feed back
For outdoor gigs I usually use a single pickup model. Feedback is never an issue, rarely do anything but jazz charts, usually not in a jacket.
For weekly rehearsals I always use the red one-pickup one. Dress or tech rehearsals get the same one I'm using for the show.
The floater-equipped one I mostly just use in the house.
Except for the feedback issue, I can get about the same sound out of any of them when playing jazz on stage. In my house there's a difference, but that's not where it counts.
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Here's an addendum:
Last night my big band played a (secular) concert at one of the large churches in the area. Since it has great sound and a stage big enough for all of us to fit, I always like playing there. We've been busy gigging and haven't had time to rehearse some of the charts, so we had an mid-day rehearsal and sound check, at which I played my red baby Wes. We determined that my guitar didn't need to be in the FOH. The concert theme was appropriate for Valentine's day, which meant more ballads than usual for us, and I noticed that on sustained chords I was just starting to feed back at my desired volume. My AI Corus+ has controls that can mitigate this, but since I was going home anyway, I left the one-pickup at home and came back with my two-pickup sunburst. I expected that I'd need more volume once the church was filled, which it was, and I did. Had no feedback. Note that if we weren't doing the early soundcheck I would have just taken the two-pickup in the first place, but since I had an out if the one-pickup didn't work, I gave it a try.
Danny W.Last edited by Danny W.; 02-17-2017 at 10:24 PM.
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