Is it the pickup, or the tone control???

[coyote]

Not that I'll be ordering it tomorrow or anything, but I'm starting to imagine my dream PRS guitar.
Components as follows:
Semi hollow
Tremolo bridge
Maple flame top, bookmatched
24 fret
'Unfinished' or satin neck. I want to feel wood, not lacquer, under my hands when playing
408 bridge pickup with micro switch
Custom wood 408 style pickup rings

Now the question: is the tone of the 408 neck pup, when the tone control is rolled off, due to the pickup alone? The tone control alone? A combination?

If it's because of both, then I want a Noiseless Strat pickup in the neck position plus a separate Stratocaster tone control for it. So the guitar would have a volume control, two tone controls, one 3 way switch, and one micro switch.

Here is a rough idea of how it might look
I'm sure the controls could be laid out better

 

[sergiodeblanc]

would.

 

[László]

I've had three 408 neck pickup guitars.

It's due to a combination. Clearly. As with any other neck pickup. You start with the pickup's tone (and how it's picking up sound from the guitar itself); The tone control shunts treble to ground as you rotate the pickup.

That's how they work.

 

[coyote]

I've had three 408 neck pickup guitars.

It's due to a combination. Clearly. As with any other neck pickup. You start with the pickup's tone (and how it's picking up sound from the guitar itself); The tone control shunts treble to ground as you rotate the pickup.

That's how they work.

You rotate the pickup? Most folks rotate the knob

That wasn't quite what I was asking (you knew that already)

I meant this: the roll off on the 408 neck pup via the tone knob sounds almost wah-like, sorta like a band pass filter as opposed to the usual tone control. I know Paul has spoken about working both on the pickups AND on the pots to achieve that sound. So if I were to use a 'focused' 408 neck pickup with, say, a Strat tone control, would it sound close to how it sounds now? Or a Strat pup with a PRS tone control?

 

[CatStrangler]

would.

no doubt.

 

[László]

You rotate the pickup? Most folks rotate the knob

So you're saying rotating the pickup isn't the way to do it?

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Lindsey Buckingham rotates the pickup.

...or rather, his guitar tech does...

 

[rugerpc]

I just rotate the whole guitar.

The magnetic field of the pickup interacts with the Earth's magnetic field and that changes both the volum and tone.

Where's that video in the autocontabulator when I need it?

 

[bodia]

I find the easiest way to do this is to turn around

 

[László]

Sometimes I leave the guitar in place and just rotate myself.

It doesn't do anything, of course, but people in the studio with me think it's entertaining.

 

[alantig]

Lindsey Buckingham rotates the pickup.

And just how many people care about what he plays?






What's that? Millions?

Oh...

 

[dkilpatrick]

Sometimes I leave the guitar in place and just rotate myself.

It doesn't do anything, of course, but people in the studio with me think it's entertaining.

You never know, changing your playing position could result in a change in the recording.
We should test this, at what rpm does your butt redline?

 

[coyote]

Man, these threads really get caught in a spin cycle if you're not careful

 

[alantig]

You never know, changing your playing position could result in a change in the recording.
We should test this, at what rpm does your butt redline?

Didn't you see Les's last recording session?

 

[Screamingdaisy]

You rotate the pickup? Most folks rotate the knob

That wasn't quite what I was asking (you knew that already)

I meant this: the roll off on the 408 neck pup via the tone knob sounds almost wah-like, sorta like a band pass filter as opposed to the usual tone control. I know Paul has spoken about working both on the pickups AND on the pots to achieve that sound. So if I were to use a 'focused' 408 neck pickup with, say, a Strat tone control, would it sound close to how it sounds now? Or a Strat pup with a PRS tone control?

Best I can tell PRS guitars have fairly stock value component values in the tone circuits. The wah effect isn't unique to PRS. What is unique is the taper of the controls and the more even response across the sweep vs other brands.

IMO.