Pickup (music technology)
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A pickup is a
The first electrical string instrument with pickups, the "Frying Pan" slide guitar, was created by George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker around 1931.[1]
Most electric guitars and electric basses use
Magnetic pickups
A typical magnetic pickup is a transducer (specifically a
The pickup is connected with a
The pickup is most often mounted on the body of the instrument, but can be attached to the
Construction
Pickups have magnetic polepieces, typically one or two for each string, with the notable exceptions of rail and lipstick tube pickups. Single polepieces are approximately centered on each string whereas dual polepieces such as the standard pickups on the Fender Jazz Bass and Precision Bass sit either side of each string.
On most guitars, the strings are not fully parallel: they converge at the nut and diverge at the bridge. Thus, bridge, neck and middle pickups usually have different polepiece spacings on the same guitar.
There are several standards on pickup sizes and string spacing between the poles. Spacing is measured either as a distance between 1st to 6th polepieces' centers (this is also called "E-to-E" spacing), or as a distance between adjacent polepieces' centers.
1st-to-6th | Adjacent | |
---|---|---|
Standard spacing (Vintage Gibson guitars) |
1.90" 48 mm |
0.380" 9.6 mm |
F-spacing (Most Fender guitars, modern Gibson, Floyd Rose bridges) |
2.01" 51 mm |
0.402" 10.2 mm |
Very close to bridge, extra pickup (Roland GK series hexaphonic) |
2.060" 52.3 mm |
0.412" 10.5 mm |
Telecaster spacing (Fender Telecaster guitars) |
2.165" 55 mm |
0.433" 11 mm |
Steinberger Spirit GT-Pro spacing (may be typical for other Steinberger guitars) |
2.362" 60 mm |
0.3937" 10 mm |
Output
Some high-output pickups employ very strong magnets, thus creating more flux and thereby more output. This can be detrimental to the final sound because the magnet's pull on the strings (called string capture
Other high-output pickups have more turns of wire to increase the voltage generated by the string's movement. However, this also increases the pickup's output resistance and impedance, which can affect high frequencies if the pickup is not isolated by a buffer amplifier or a DI unit.
Pickup sound
The turns of wire in proximity to each other have an equivalent self-capacitance that, when added to any cable capacitance present, resonates with the inductance of the winding. This resonance can accentuate certain frequencies, giving the pickup a characteristic tonal quality. The more turns of wire in the winding, the higher the output voltage[7] but the lower this resonance frequency.
The arrangement of parasitic resistances and capacitances in the guitar, cable, and amplifier input, combined with the inductive
Humbuckers
Single-coil pickups act like a directional antenna and are prone to pick up mains hum—nuisance alternating current electromagnetic interference from electrical power cables, power transformers, fluorescent light ballasts, video monitors or televisions—along with the musical signal. Mains hum consists of a fundamental signal at a nominal 50 or 60 Hz, depending on local current frequency, and usually some harmonic content.
To overcome this, the
A humbucking pickup is composed of two coils, with each coil wound reverse to the other. Each set of six magnetic poles is also opposite in polarity. Since ambient hum from electrical devices reaches the coils as
When wired in series, as is most common, the overall inductance of the pickup is increased, which lowers its resonance frequency and attenuates the higher frequencies, giving a less trebly tone (i.e., "fatter") than either of the two component single-coil pickups would give alone.
An alternative wiring places the coils in buck parallel, which has a more neutral effect on resonant frequency. This pickup wiring is rare,[9] as guitarists have come to expect that humbucking pickups 'have a sound', and are not so neutral. On fine jazz guitars, the parallel wiring produces significantly cleaner sound,[9] as the lowered source impedance drives capacitive cable with lower high frequency attenuation.
A side-by-side humbucking pickup senses a wider section of each string than a single-coil pickup.[10] By picking up a larger portion of the vibrating string, more lower harmonics are present in the signal produced by the pickup in relation to high harmonics, resulting in a "fatter" tone. Humbucking pickups in the narrow form factor of a single coil, designed to replace single-coil pickups, have the narrower aperture resembling that of a single coil pickup. Some models of these single-coil-replacement humbuckers produce more authentic resemblances to classic single-coil tones than full-size humbucking pickups of a similar inductance.
Notation
Most electric guitars have two or three magnetic pickups. A combination of pickups is called a pickup configuration, usually notated by writing out the pickup types in order from bridge pickup through mid pickup(s) to neck pickup, using “S” for single-coil and “H” for humbucker. Typically the bridge pickup is known as the lead pickup, and the neck pickup is known as the rhythm pickup.[11]
Common pickup configurations include:
-
S-S (Peavey Reactor, and some Rickenbackerguitars)
-
S-S-S (Fender Stratocaster)
-
H-S-S (Peavey Destiny)
- H-H (Gibson Les Paul, many others including superstrats)
Less frequently found configurations are:
- S (Telecasters)
- H (Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis, Kramer Baretta, later Les Paul Juniors)
- H-S (Hamer Californian Deluxe, Les Paul BFG, Squier '51)
- H-H-H (some Gibson Les Paul Goldtop and Custom models, Gibson SG-3, Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster (after 1957), Kramer Jersey Star, Ibanez Destroyer, Ibanez PGM200)
Examples of rare configurations that only a few particular models use include:
- H-S, but with single coil in the middle (one model of Fender Jazzmaster, Ibanez RG2011SC, Fender Player Jaguar)
- H-S-S, but with no space between the middle single coil and the bridge humbucker (Hamer Phantom with angled neck pickup)
- H-H-S (Mayones Legend “22” Anders Nyström signature, some ESP Stephen Carpenter Models, and Alembic Jerry Garcia Models)
- H-S-S-H (Music Man Steve Morse Signature)
- S-H (some Telecasters, Music Man “Valentine” James Valentine signature)
- S-H-H (some early seven-string ESP Horizons)
- S-H-S (Fender Wayne Kramer Signature)
Piezoelectric pickups
Sensors
The piezoelectric pickup contains a piezo crystal, which converts the vibrations directly to a changing voltage.
Many
Most pickups for bowed string instruments, such as cello, violin, and double bass, are piezoelectric. These may be inlaid into the
Preamps
Piezoelectric pickups have a very high output impedance and appear as a capacitance in series with a voltage source. They therefore often have an instrument-mounted buffer amplifier fitted to maximize frequency response.
The piezo pickup gives a very wide frequency range output compared to the magnetic types and can give large
For early pickup devices using the piezoelectric effect, see phonograph.
Other transducers
Some pickup products are installed and used similarly to piezoelectric pickups, but use different underlying technology, for instance
Double systems pickups
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2017) |
There are basically four principles used to convert sound into an alternating current, each with their pros and cons:
- A crosstalk.
- Contact pickups register the vibrations of the instrument itself. They have the advantage of producing little feedback and no crosstalk at all. In spite of their lesser sound quality and thanks to their low price, contact pickups (and especially the piezoelectric pickup) have become the most popular transducer.
- Magnetic pickups. Magnetic pickups, as applied in electric guitars, register the vibrations of nickel or steel strings in a magnetic field. They have the advantage that they can be connected directly to an (electric guitar) amplifier, but in combination with a steel-string acoustic guitar the sound tends to be electric. This is why acoustic guitarists typically choose a piezoelectric pickup, built in microphone, or both.
- Electrostatic pickups. Another way is to use the changing capacitance between the string and a pickup plate. These electronic pickups produce much higher dynamics than conventional pickups, so the difference between a soft and a loud pick strike is more pronounced than with other types of pickups.
An amplification system with two transducers combines the qualities of both. A combination of a microphone and a piezoelectric pickup typically produces better sound quality and less sensitivity to feedback, as compared to single transducers. However, this is not always the case. A less frequently used combination is a piezoelectric and a magnetic pickup. This combination can work well for a solid sound with dynamics and expression. Examples of a double system amplifier are the Highlander iP-2, the Verweij VAMP or the LR Baggs dual source and the D-TAR Multisource.[16]
Multi-transducer pickups
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2017) |
Hexaphonic pickups (also called divided pickups and
Such pickups are uncommon (compared to normal ones), and only a few notable models exist, like the piezoelectric pickups on the Moog Guitar. Hexaphonic pickups can be either magnetic or piezoelectric or based on the condensor principle like electronicpickups
Optical
Optical pickups are a fairly recent development that work by sensing the interruption of a light beam by a vibrating string. The light source is usually an LED, and the detector is a
Optical pickup guitars were first shown at the 1969
In 2000, Christopher Willcox, founder of LightWave Systems, unveiled a new beta technology for an optical pickup system using infrared light. In May 2001, LightWave Systems released their second generation pickup, dubbed the "S2."[19]
Active and passive pickups
Pickups can be either active or passive. Pickups, apart from optical types, are inherently passive transducers. "Passive" pickups are usually wire-wound around a magnet, and are the most common type used. They can generate electric potential without need for external power, though their output is relatively low, and the harmonic content of output depends greatly on the winding.
"Active" pickups incorporate electronic circuitry to modify the signal. Active circuits are able to filter, attenuate or boost the signal from the pickup. The main disadvantage of an active system is requirement of a battery power source to operate the
Stereo and multiple pickups with individual outputs
Rickenbacker was the first manufacturer to market stereo instruments (guitars and basses). Their proprietary "Ric-O-Sound" circuitry has two separate output jacks, allowing the musician to send each pickup to its own audio chain (effects device, amplifier, mix console input).
Teisco produced a guitar with a stereo option. [20] Teisco divided the two sections in the upper three strings and the lower three strings for each individual output.
The Gittler guitar was a limited production guitar with six pickups, one for each string.
Gibson created the HD.6X Pro guitar that captures a separate signal for each individual string and sends them to an onboard analog/digital converter, then out of the guitar via
See also
- Contact microphone
- Electric lamellophone
- Electric sitar
- Humbucker
- Instrument amplifier
- Lipstick pickup
- List of electronics topics
- Magnetic circuit
- Nominal impedance
- Preamplifier
- Reverberation
- Single coil
- Transformer
- Lace Sensor
Notes
- ^ "Invention: Electric Guitar". www.invention.si.edu. Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ^ Lawing, A Scott (14 February 2017). "How Does a Pickup Really Work?". Lawing Musical Products. Dr A. Scott Lawing. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "Guitar Pickup - MagLab". nationalmaglab.org. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ Elliott, Rod (2021). "Guitar & Bass Pickup Output Voltages". sound-au.com. Archived from the original on 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ Veallpublished, Dan (2020-12-21). "Bass guitar pickups explained". guitarworld. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
- ISBN 978-1-7341256-0-3.
- ^ "The Structure of the Electric Guitar:[Experiment]Let's make and then test several coils - Musical Instrument Guide - Yamaha Corporation". www.yamaha.com. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
- ^ Wheeler. p.214
- ^ a b humbucker
- ^ Tillman, Donald (2002).
- ^ "Gibson Pickups: A Guide to These Epic Game Changers".
- ^ Discrete FET Guitar Preamp
- ^ Mottola, R.M. (2003). "A Listening Evaluation of Discrete vs Integrated Circuit Audio Preamplifiers in Stringed Musical Instruments". Journal of Musical Instrument Technology (23).
- ^ B-Band electret pickup
- ^ Schertler Bluestick
- ^ "About the amplification of acoustic stringed instruments - VERWEIJ Snaarinstrumenten". Archived from the original on 2014-10-31. Retrieved 2013-01-17.
- ^ "LightWave Systems | Technology". Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ^ Wallace, Joe (2006-12-11). "Light Speed Guitars: The Story Of Ron Hoag And His Optical Guitar Pickup". Gearwire. Archived from the original on 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
- ^ "About | LightWave Systems". Retrieved 2012-09-13.
- ^ Meyers, Frank. "Teisco's Spectrum—A Rainbow of Switches and Weird Tone Selections". Premier Guitar. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
References
- Brosnac, Donald (1980). Guitar Electronics: A Workbook. Ojai, CA: d.B. Music Co. ISBN 0-933224-02-8.
- Tillman, Donald (2002). Response Effects of Guitar Pickup Position and Width
- Wheeler, Tom (1992). American Guitars: an illustrated history. Harper. New York ISBN 0-06-273154-8