pick up positioning

[geoff douglas]

Hi All,
I found this item interesting regarding pickup position and string harmonics.
I was wondering if anyone has actually noticed a change in harmonic response if a pickup is moved maybe 1 or 2 mm length wise for a give note strummed. The article implies that their is a position that for a given frequency there is an ideal lateral location to best pickup these harmonics. Do manufactures actually look for pickup sweetspots that best translates all notes played on a particular string, or should they if they are not.
Just curious to hear peoples thoughts if anyone has experience with pickup positioning.

http://www.ozvalveamps.org/pickups.htm

Thanks
Geoff

[geoff douglas]

Sorry , bad proof reading, lol, i meant to say The article implies that for a given frequency there is an ideal lateral position for the pickup to best translate these harmonics.
Cheers
Geoff

[Philby]

Hi Geoff. There is no optimum position for a guitar pickup because the position of the harmonic nodes (crests) is not the same for each open string, and the node positions keep shifting depending on where you fret the string. Pickups also sample a fairly wide section of the strings, not just a couple of mm directly above the pole pieces, so they will always see a complex mixture of harmonic nodes and nulls.

This page does a good job of explaining it.

I found the article interesting for another reason - the capacitance of your lead can have a significant impact on the sound of the pickups. I read somewhere that Hendrix insisted on using those long, curly, high capacitance cables because they were the only type that gave him the sound he wanted. Now I understand why his cable might have done that.

[geoff douglas]

Thanks Philby for your reply, i will look at the page you listed.
It was an interesting article, i like thinking about the myriad of influences that effect the frequency response of pickups. I learn more ever day ,,
Cheers and have a great weekend all.
Geoff

[guitar_ed]

Hi Geoff,

Another good source for technical info on pickups, why and wherefore type stuff, is: http://billlawrence.com

Take care,

edg

[geoff douglas]

Thanks Ed, i will have a look at that article now.
Cheers all
Geoff