Skip to main content

8 COMMON GUITAR PICKUP ROOKIE MISTAKES!

 

Not choosing the correct lead is one of the most common rookie mistakes, and it’s easy to avoid. Choosing the right lead when ordering your pickups will solve many headaches down the road. It will make your installation more manageable, and allow you to reverse the phase if need be.

We get a lot of emails with the subject line of “Help!”, and see a customer having a hard time installing a Gibson Lead in a Fender Tele. This lead won’t work for many reasons. It is good to know about guitar parts. The most common mistake we see: Buying a Single Pickup with an irreversible lead. An example would be buying a single P-90 for your Telecaster, with a Gibson Lead. Doing this will give you many headaches down the road – choose a 2-Conductor lead when ordering, and you’ll be set!

Not choosing the correct pot value is one of the most common rookie mistakes we see. Your Volume and Tone pots are the second most important aspect of guitar electronics – and for a good reason. Putting a Humbucker through a 250K pot will most likely sound like your amp has a “mud blanket” on it. A Telecaster with low-output single coils will sound pretty awful through 500K pots, too. Knowing which pot value your pickup needs is the best way to solve this. Don’t be a rookie: check out our article here to become a pot-selecting wizard!

I get it. I’m a “do-it-yourself-er” too. I love getting my hands dirty and doing the work myself. However, sometimes, you have to quit before you start getting over your head. We answer a lot of questions from customers who are just way over their head with the soldering pencil in their hand. We always recommend going to the professional the same way you’d go to a mechanic for your car. Luthiers are better-equipped for the job, and most likely have the experience and specialized tools required to make your life easier!

To close it out, this one is a common problem we hear all the time. It’s so easy to fix – and to diagnose. If the pickups are too high, you’ll get all sorts of unwanted tones caused by the magnetic field of the pickup. If they are too low, you’ll have a weak and underwhelming tone.

Here’s how to measure and check your pickup height. For starters, you always want to use your ears. Start by pressing the low E string on the highest fret, and measure the bass side of the pickup to the bottom of the string. Ideal starting point height should be about 1/8″. Now, do the same thing on the treble side – it should be 1/16″.

Read More: https://www.fralinpickups.com/2018/03/12/8-guitar-pickup-rookie-mistakes/#comment-159660

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ultimate Beginner Guide for Guitar Lovers (Basic Tips)

  1)Acoustic guitars:   Acoustic guitar generates sound without an exterternal power supply- specially known for its organic and warm tones. The tones generally vary based on the body size, wood type, and craftsmanship. 2)Electric guitars:  Electric Guitars are heavy in general and are well-known for their versatility in pop, jazz, blues, and rock. It requires amplifiers and pedals to produce sound like distortion, reverb, delay, and more. Now, go  grab your fit . You must also know about the  guitar parts  as well. Tuning and Care: It’s important to know how to tune your guitar before you start performing. You can use a tuner or  tuning app . Also, cleaning and string changes are critical for better sound and the health of your instrument. Practice is the key: It takes time, patience, and constant practice to learn to deal with finger pain and chord transition. You have to be very consistent and add it to your daily routine. Explore learning reso...
Post a Comment
Read more

Green Strings: Are Eco-Friendly Guitar Strings a Thing Yet?

  For guitarists, string changes are a regular ritual. Whether you’re a hobbyist or a professional musician, chances are you’ve gone through dozens—maybe hundreds—of sets over the years. But while we might lovingly preserve our instruments, upgrade our guitar bridge for better sustain, or treasure a vintage guitar tailpiece, our discarded strings usually end up in the trash. It’s an environmental blind spot. Strings are small, seemingly insignificant—but multiply that by millions of musicians worldwide, and the waste starts to add up. Which brings us to a pressing, planet-conscious question: Are eco-friendly guitar strings a thing yet? What Makes Guitar Strings Unsustainable? When it comes to sustainability in music gear, guitar strings often fly under the radar. Yet they’re one of the most frequently replaced items in a guitarist’s toolkit. Unlike the core  guitar parts  —such as the guitar bridge, tailpiece, or bridge saddles—strings have a short lifespan and are design...
Post a Comment
Read more

How To Setup Gibson Les Paul Bridge – Installation Guide

  The Gibson Les Paul is a classic electric guitar that has been a favorite of guitarists for generations. One of the most important components of the Les Paul is the bridge, which plays a crucial role in determining the guitar’s sound and playability. Here, we’ll be discussing a step-by-step guide on how to set up a Gibson Les Paul bridge, with a focus on the Tune-O-Matic bridge and its components, such as the guitar bridge saddles and  guitar tailpiece . Before we get started, it’s important to have a basic understanding of the parts of a  guitar bridge . The bridge is part of the guitar that holds the strings in place and allows for adjustments in string height and intonation. The Les Paul bridge, also known as the  Tune-O-Matic bridge , is a popular choice for many guitarists due to its high level of adjustability and ability to improve the guitar’s intonation. Step 1: Remove the old strings. Before installing the new bridge, you’ll need to remove the old strings...
Post a Comment
Read more