A topic that’s near and dear to guitar players everywhere is pickups – what to use, what we love about them, and how to set them up for optimal performance. For our discussion, I’ll be using two examples of what is essentially the same guitar — a 1958 goldtop Gibson Les Paul Standard with PAF humbucking pickups and a 1956 goldtop Les Paul Standard with P-90 pickups.
Let’s first talk about setting up the pickups. I like the pickup height to be close to the strings, especially the bridge pickup. This results in the most output and brightness, which is the kind of attack I like to hear.
Pickup height is adjusted by using a screwdriver to turn the mounting screws clockwise or counterclockwise. With humbuckers, I like the front, or neck, pickup to be “wooly” – fat-sounding and with some distortion – but clear.
Be careful, however, not to raise it too close to the strings, as the magnets can start to interfere with the strings’ vibrations and cause notes to sound out of tune.
Figure 1 is an E minor pentatonic-based phrase played with the neck humbucker. When I switch to the bridge pickup, as I do in Figure 2, I like the output to be balanced with that of the neck pickup, so that the only thing changing is an increase in the amount of high end, which serves as a sort of solo boost.
In Figure 3, bars 1-5, I have both pickups on, which produces a nice blend between the fatness of the neck pickup and the “cut” of the bridge pickup. This example is played in the key of A, with lines based on the A minor pentatonic scale (A, C, D, E, G), with the inclusion of the major 3rd, C#, alluding to an A7 chord. In bar 5, I switch to the bridge pickup only.
With some P-90-equipped guitars, the neck pickup is too close to the strings and the bridge pickup is too far away. If you were to leave it that way, the instrument will never sound sonically balanced, so follow the same height adjustment guidance given for humbuckers.
P-90s are single-coil pickups, so their overall sound is more sparkly and clear than that of humbuckers, especially with a clean tone. But when overdriven, they will deliver a fat sound that’s killer. Being single-coil pickups, however, they can be prone to noise and hum, so you have to try and address that.
Figure 4 is played with the neck P-90, featuring lines based on the C# minor pentatonic scale (C#, E, F#, G,# B).
In Figure 5, I switch to the bridge pickup, and move from B7 to E7 with lines based on E minor pentatonic.
Both humbuckers and P-90s have their ideal applications, and for many players, including me, the variations in sound, feel and texture are indispensable.
- This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
