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Topic: Dumb pickup question |
Gerald Pierce
From:
Maydelle, Republic of Texas
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Posted 27 May 2005 12:22 am |
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I have and old 10-string that I need pickups for. I'd like to use a rail-type pickup so that the string spacing doesn't matter as much as with a pickup with individual pole pieces (I presume). On the other hand, I've seen some guitars with pole piece spacing that didn't match up with the string spacing very well at all, but they sounded great. I won't mention any names, but I saw a well-known steel (forum member) player's push-pull Emmons last Summer and the pole pieces weren't matched well at all, but he sounded great (probably because it was a black one).
My real question is, do the pickups that don't have visible pole pieces have them hidden beneath the plastic cover, or are those rail-type pickups (is "rail-type" even a proper term)? How much does accurate string alignment over the pole pieces really matter?
Thanks! |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 27 May 2005 3:40 am
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| Not a dumb question at all, Gerald. Bottom line is, it's fine if the magnets don't line up perfectly with the strings. As with horse shoes, hand-grenades, and artillery fire, being "close" works too! In fact, one steel brand (Anapeg, I believe) only uses 5 magnets on their pickups, one being placed between each string pair! |
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Gerald Pierce
From:
Maydelle, Republic of Texas
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Posted 27 May 2005 8:00 am
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| Thanks for the reply, Donny. I sorta' thought that was the case. |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 27 May 2005 8:05 am
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I think the proper term is "Blade".
Bill Lawrence made some Blade pickups.
Not sure of the downside, but it sure eliminates the pole piece positioning thing! |
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Gerald Pierce
From:
Maydelle, Republic of Texas
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Posted 27 May 2005 8:25 am
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Blade! That's it! Thanks, Pete. I knew something didn't sound right about "rail" type pickups.
I think that's what I want for my old Wright Custom D-10 (unless I could find some affordable originals that still work) so the spacing won't matter. |
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