Does your guitar really need more than one pickup? Phil X doesn’t think so – and here’s why
In the rock and metal world, the most popular or conventional pickup configuration is probably two humbuckers – one in the neck position and one in the bridge.
But do you even need more than one pickup? Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X certainly doesn’t think so, as he explains in an interview with Guitar World.
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While he’s happy to use whatever guitar the project he’s working on demands, he explains how his “preference” is just one pickup in the bridge position. “I think there’s something magical about it,” he says.
But rather than just leave it there, Phil X dives deeper into the supposed science behind his love of single-pickup guitars.
“It’s very earthy because I feel like if you have a neck pickup, even though the pickup isn’t engaged, the magnet is pulling on the strings and disrupting the vibration from the nut to the bridge,” he explains.
Phil’s theory may well hold some weight; guitar pickups do, indeed, have magnets in them, which are used to convert the vibrations of the metal strings into an electrical signal which can then be transmitted to an amplifier.
Whether or not the magnets of an unused pickup make a noticeable difference to the sound would be largely down to interpretation, and probably completely unnoticeable by more casual guitar players. That said, the science checks out, so perhaps one to experiment with yourself?
Phil X – who used to make video content for vintage guitar store Fretted Americana prior to replacing Richie Sambora in Bon Jovi – developed his love of single-pickup guitars while demoing literally hundreds of instruments.
“When I was playing 500 guitars for Fretted Americana, I realised that my favourite guitars were [Les Paul] Juniors,” he continues. “And it wasn’t just because of the P-90s – there was something magical about one pickup.”
Elsewhere, Phil X recently explained why he favours Gibson guitars over Fenders. “I do like Fenders,” he said. “I don’t use a lot of Fenders. I use guitars that are like a Tele or like a Strat, made by other companies. But that’s a long story. And they do their job, but to me, when I pick up an SG, and I want to rock out, it does everything I want. And even if it only has one pickup, it does everything I want. So, I mean, why stray from that?”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
