general pickup ?

Okay... can someone tell me what the difference between a regular pickup and an "F" spaced pickup is? Pretty please? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Thanks.

Em

[paddok]

Re: general pickup ?

An F spaced pickup is designed for guitars with floyd rose tremolos. A regular spaced pickup, doesn't align the strings and pole pieces up perfectly on a OFR.

[Emthrax]

Re: general pickup ?

Ahhhh. Maybe this is where the "F" comes from then! [img]/images/graemlins/idea2.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Thanks PaddoK.
I would not know this since I don't own a guitar with a FR. But now I do! Good to know, good to know.

Em

[toejam]

Re: general pickup ?

F = Fender or Floyd Spacing since the pole pieces are wider than on a guitar like a Les Paul.

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: general pickup ?

Also referred to as "trem-spaced" or "trembucker spaced" by Seymour Duncan, designated as their TB-# pickups as opposed to their standard-spaced SH-# pickups. DiMarzio and Fender will call it "F-spaced". Typically referred to bridge pickups on guitars with wider string spacing at the bridge, like with Fenders and trem-equipped guitars. Usually, the neck pickup is standard-spaced.

Occasionally you get a pickup like the Duncan SH-8 Invader that has such massive polepieces that there is no need for a TB-8 trem-spaced Invader. And, other pickups with blade polepieces (Duncan Hot Rails, DiMarzio X2N, Duncan Dimebucker, etc.) don't have the spacing rule applied either since the whole blade runs the whole length of the pickup.

There could be exceptions though... [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Emthrax]

Re: general pickup ?

Those blade-type pickups, I'd like to try one of those.

Thanks, you guys. This is exactly the explanation I was looking for.

Here is another one then- do the poles always line up correctly with the strings? I mean, do they have to?
The reason I ask is because I just put two new humbuckers in my Ibby (Dimarzios. Air Norton-neck, Tonezone-bridge). The neck pup lines up perfectly, the bridge doesn't quite. Kinda tricky to move it and adjust it because either way I don't think its going to quite match up on one side. How I have it, the high E and B and barely the G and D strings don't exactly match up,- the strings are a tad to the left, not right over the poles. But the bottom two strings line up perfect.
Am I making sense? [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img] It seems to sound fine.
Hmmm... maybe I can fiddle some more. Just tricky because I have both wires from both pups taking up space going through the bridge space, which I think pushes the pickup a tad to the left.

Em

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: general pickup ?

Nope, they don't have to. My Ibanez RG560 that I sold to Paige had a regular-spaced humbucker in the bridge position so the polepieces didn't line up, but there was no drop in volume on the two E strings. Doesn't matter now that it has an EMG-81 (blades) there. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I think it's just for aesthetics. I haven't noticed any difference. Especially with a hot pickup like the Tone Zone in your bridge, it'd pick up everything around it.

[Emthrax]

Re: general pickup ?

[ QUOTE ]
Especially with a hot pickup like the Tone Zone in your bridge, it'd pick up everything around it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Can I get your guarantee on that, Priest? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
J/K. Sarge wouldn't let me take my guitar out of the house then. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Okay- good to know because I wasn't sure about that. That Tonezone is a hot little pickup- we're getting to know each other very well. [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]
The strings not lining up perfectly over the poles don't bother me aesthetically- just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.
Thanks, bro.

Em

[toejam]

Re: general pickup ?

Some people are anal about pole pieces lining up and say they can hear a difference in output. Others have said they've heard no difference whether they line up or not.

[Newc]

Re: general pickup ?

The Duncan Parallel Axis pickups have the little mini-bars that the strings pass between, for the ULTIMATE Anal-Retentive half-deaf player [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Generally Distortion-class pickups (high output, etc) don't NEED to have the trem-spaced poles, as they're hot enough that you won't really notice a difference. Medium and weaker output pickups benefit more from F-spaced and Parallel Axis-type pickups because the magnetic field is focused more directly at the string.