Each electric guitar offers various shapes as well as different technical features to ensure a 'unique' sound. Specifically, the pickups are intended to produce a distinct tone in conjunction with the body and the strings used. This page aims to demonstrate how differently a selection of common electric guitars can sound. A total of six models were recorded in four different genres and in three to a maximum of five fixed pickup settings. The results were divided into a genre comparison and a pickup comparison to clearly highlight the differences from guitar to guitar, as well as the variations within a single guitar and its settings.
Guitars used
The following models were recorded for comparison:
Fender Stratocaster (Japan 1989 - Bridge pickup switchable from Single Coil to Humbucker)
The experimental setup was designed to record both the "dry" signals of the electric guitars and the amplified signals of a Marshall JVM 410H in parallel. For this purpose, the electric guitar was connected to a pedal using a very short signal cable (see Influence of Cable Length) and then connected to a DI box from BSS Audio. The DI box provided the dry signal, which was routed through an AD converter (manufacturer: DAD) into the DAW (Nuendo – Steinberg). At the same time, the Marshall amplifier was connected via the link output of the DI box. The corresponding speaker cabinet (MR1960B 4x12 with custom speaker configuration) was placed in a separate recording room to eliminate unwanted noise from the guitarist and amplifier. The cabinet was mic'd with a Shure SM57. The microphone was positioned slightly off-axis from the dust cap of the Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. The distance to the diaphragm was 3 cm. The microphone signal was also routed through an AD converter into the DAW and recorded in parallel with the dry signal.
Funk A volume pedal with no adjustable settings was used. The Marshall amp was set to the middle level of the "Clean" mode with the following tone control settings:
Jazz A volume pedal with no adjustable settings was used. The Marshall amp was set to the middle level of the "Clean" mode with the following tone control settings:
Metal A "Metal Core ML-2" pedal was used with the following settings:
The Marshall amp was set to the middle stage of the "Clean" mode with the following tone control settings:
Blues A volume pedal with no adjustment options was used. The Marshall amp was set to the low level of the "OD1" (overdrive) mode with the following tone control settings:
Genre Comparison
In the following videos, the results of the genre comparison are presented. Each video uses a fixed genre for all the guitars. For each guitar, three pickup settings are played in succession: Neck, Middle, and Bridge. It is important to note that the Music Man Luke, Brian May Special, and Fender Stratocaster have two additional pickup settings (Neck-Middle and Middle-Bridge, or Neck-Bridge and Neck (Phase-reversed)-Bridge). These were not included in the videos for a uniform comparison. The humbucker mode was used for the Stratocaster's bridge pickup.
The guitars used in the experiment are equipped with several pickups, which convert the mechanical vibration of the strings into a weak electrical signal that is then amplified by an amplifier. The pickups are installed at various positions beneath the strings on the guitar's body and can be switched into different configurations using a selector switch. More information can be found on the main page of Electric Guitar Sounds in the section "The Electric Guitar."
Pickup Comparison: Fender Stratocaster The following video compares the pickup settings of a Fender Stratocaster. The Stratocaster used for the recording has a special feature- the bridge pickup can be configured as either a single-coil or a humbucker. Since the other two pickups are pure single-coils, the bridge pickup was also used as a single-coil for this video. This is intended to ensure a consistent comparison. The genre used for this comparison is funk.
Pickup Comparison: Fender Stratocaster Pickup Comparison: Epiphone Les Paul Next, you can listen to the different pickups of an Epiphone Les Paul. The special feature of this Les Paul is that the pickups have been replaced with Gibson pickups and are also configured as humbuckers.
Pickup Comparison: Epiphone Les Paul Pickup Comparison: Squier Telecaster Another well-known guitar is the Squier Telecaster (the brand Squier is a part of Fender company). It also allows switching between three pickup configurations. Pickup Comparison: Squier Telecaster Pickup Comparison: Ibanez GB-10SE The last guitar featured in the three-pickup trial is the Ibanez GB-10SE. It is unique in that it was designed specifically for jazz. However, for consistency in video style, funk is used as the genre for this comparison. Pickup Comparison: Ibanez GB-10SE Pickup Comparison: Brian May Special The Brian May Special has a unique wiring feature- in addition to the Neck, Middle, and Bridge pickups, it is also possible to combine the Neck and Bridge pickups. Additionally, the Neck pickup can be phase-reversed. Pickup Comparison: Brian May Special
Pickup Comparison: Music Man Luke II The Music Man Luke II also offers five pickup settings. These are traditionally divided into Neck, Neck+Middle, Middle, Middle+Bridge, and Bridge. Pickup Comparison: Music Man Luke II
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Frederik Seifert, who not only provided the numerous guitars for this experiment but also produced and recorded the short music pieces in various genres for us.
