If you could only have one pickup, would you choose bridge or neck?

TeleMaster · April 2019

Bridge pickup all the way on Teles and Les Pauls. I rarely use the neck. I use the neck/middle on my Strats. You need something to cut through and the bridge is normally better in my opinion, unless the bridge pickup is too bright, which can be the case on Strats.

Sassafras · April 2019

Bridge. I hardly ever use neck pickups apart from a Strat on neck and middle pickup setting.

skippy76 · April 2019

Neck on a strat and bridge on a tele or LP for me

Blaendulais · April 2019

starwarsnosebleed said:

Definitely bridge. I think im a bit deaf and need that top end!

As you age and lose your higher frequency hearing thats what happens. The worse thing in the world at gigs/jam nights is oldies playing with massive tinny treble unaware those under 40 are in agony from all the high frequency

Note to self...turn down treble till it sounds muffled and it is bright enough for anyone under 40

DrBob · April 2019

Johnnyseven said:

Moe_Zambeek said:

Bridge. I have no real need of a neck pickup to be honest.

/\ What he said!

Exactly right

Neil · April 2019

Gibson - bridge

Fender - neck.

Whitecat · April 2019

Neil said:

Fender - neck.

Even on a Tele??

Greatape · April 2019

DannyP said:

I can't believe all you neckies!

Neck pickup is the bedroom pickup.

Yep...Hendrix and all those bedroom gigs he played..

Blueingreen · April 2019

If pushed, neck. But I'm very much a two (or 3) pickup guy. I'd never want to own a one pickup guitar.

TTBZ · April 2019

DrBob said:

Johnnyseven said:

Moe_Zambeek said:

Bridge. I have no real need of a neck pickup to be honest.

/\ What he said!

Exactly right

And me. I might occasionally use the neck pickup for messing about on some clean stuff but in my band it's never used. Still meaning to set my SG up as a "standard jr" with just the bridge humbucker..

chris78 · April 2019

My favourite guitars are teles. What’s a neck pickup?

digitalscream · April 2019

Bridge, because some of the pinched harmonics I use result in very little vibration over the neck pickup (some to the point where they won't actually make a sound). Those nodes are smaller over the bridge pickup, and thus there's less variation in amplitude.

Also, you can sorta-kinda use a standard tone control to make a bridge pickup have neck pickup-like aspects, but the reverse isn't true.

stimpsonslostson · April 2019

chris78 said:

My favourite guitars are teles. What’s a neck pickup?

Mines an Esquire since I did away with the shiny ornament in the pickguard.

I can go further... than neck or bridge. I know the specific model of pickup.
If I could only have one pickup it would be an Oil City Alligator 90 bridge pickup. It’s a wonderful thing and I can always find “my” tone with it.

DrBob · April 2019

TTBZ said:

DrBob said:

Johnnyseven said:

Moe_Zambeek said:

Bridge. I have no real need of a neck pickup to be honest.

/\ What he said!

Exactly right

And me. I might occasionally use the neck pickup for messing about on some clean stuff but in my band it's never used. Still meaning to set my SG up as a "standard jr" with just the bridge humbucker..

Neck pickups are fine for those occasional moments of “quiet contemplation” they’re definitely a nice to have rather than a must.
Except for Jazzmasters, then it is a neck pickup thing