Arch Top Guitars and Tone?

Squonk

For those who are not as technology challenged as I am in the magnetic pickup department...

QUESTION number 1 - How does the Hollow Body effect the sound of the humbuckers to give that Mellow warmer tone as opposed to humbuckers in a solid bodied guitar?

It might sound like dof question (maybe it is ? but I cant get the science of it!

Used the Zoom to add some reverb and compression and I am impressed with the tone I am getting.

QUESTION number 2 - I am thinking of upgrading the pickups to possibly Toneriders, but which ones should I get that would keep the integrity of the "Jazz Tone"?

costafonix

Thats not a dof question Squonk,, I think its the fact that the hollow body takes on the characteristics of an acoustic rather than an electric guitar, so the pickups in effect also act as 'microphones'.. I used to gig with a 335 replica and noticed that too, but hey, I could be way off track.

Attila

Gents

I am pretty sure that humbucker or single do not become microphonic. what it is, is the total sum of construction of the instrument which is resonated through the strings and induced into the pickup.

AlanRatcliffe

CostaFonix is on the right track.

The two main things with archtop tonality are the the effect the body has on the way the strings vibrate (which the pickups sense directly) and the microphony of the pickups themselves picking up a little body resonance and adding it into the mix. To a lesser degree, the top vibration also means the pickups are moving in relation to the strings, which ends up adding some comb filtering.

IMO, the best humbucker pickups for archtops are slightly underwound classic models and very lightly potted (if at all). Lollar Imperial low winds, et. al. ? The lower output helps keep the articulation - even with flatwounds, and minimal potting makes the pickups more microphonic (thus picking up more body resonance).

Attila

Nee Alan, not quite on the same side as you on this,

True that loose wound pickups will cause small variable induction conditions, as the coil fields will change all the time, however, here the strings themselves will be the major contributor to these changes

We could also argue that by introducing other factors such as rings or metallic bracelets, on the picking hand would also
disturb the pickups induction field s properties ….

but IMO it does not make it a microphone and if indeed one was to read something on a scope it will be so weak that it would be over powered by the dominant factors.

my 1/12c worth
?

AlanRatcliffe

Simple test: Plug in, turn on, turn up and tap the pickup with a finger. Otherwise, compare a pickup before and after potting.

If it can cause feedback, then it's loud enough to make a difference to the tone.

Attila

Al, I take your point, and bow out, :-[