Switching pickup VS Switching AMP block

[shilohlsk]

Hi All,

 

Just see if someone has the same though with me.

 

To play a song, we might switch the pickup in order to produce the tone we want. But switching pickup while play the song is not easy or smooth to me (I don't want to pay so much attention to switch the pickup while playing a song).

 

Helix provides the ability to switch the tone easier to players.

 

Is someone thinking to set more amp setting for switching the tone while playing a song so that it would be not necessary to switch the pickup anymore?

 

Thanks for your input ;) .

[jbuhajla]

I switch pickups all the time. If I am playing in position 4 on strat, and I want to go to a "lead tone" on the neck pickup, switching pickups is the only real option. For some cases changing amp/drive parameters will work, and in some cases changing pickup will only get the desired effect. 

 

As a guitar player, all of the options should be in your tool bag. Don't sell yourself short. If changing pickups while playing is difficult, practice doing it. Watch/listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan. He'll switch 10 or more times during a song, 3-4 times during a solo. 

[amsdenj]

Variax is a good solution if you want Helix to change guitar pickups (as well as tunings, etc.) from a footswitch, snapshot, or patch.

 

Typically getting it right at the source is sound advice. So picking the playing position and style, pick, strings and guitar pickup should be the first thing you do to get the desired tone. The next thing is the cabinet. The rest just fills in between these primary contributors to tone. Its the things that touch the air that matter the most in tone.

[rzumwalt]

I switch pickups all the time. If I am playing in position 4 on strat, and I want to go to a "lead tone" on the neck pickup, switching pickups is the only real option. For some cases changing amp/drive parameters will work, and in some cases changing pickup will only get the desired effect. 

 

As a guitar player, all of the options should be in your tool bag. Don't sell yourself short. If changing pickups while playing is difficult, practice doing it. Watch/listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan. He'll switch 10 or more times during a song, 3-4 times during a solo. 

I don't disagree, even if I wish I could. I hate trying to gently nudge my pickup selector, being careful to move it on the fly exactly two notches, no more, no less. So the caveat here is, yes, I need to practice more.

But, I'm pragmatic and I've been known to try this. The short answer is, it's not all that effective, at least I haven't found a way that sounds very convincing. It's a bit like trying to make your guitar sound like a different guitar using just amp knobs and EQs. The best I've come up with to make a bridge pickup sound more like a neck pickup is to use an EQ and compressor at the front of the signal to increase bass, mids, and compression amount and decrease gain to compensate. All are very slight adjustments. It doesn't really work, and if you're like me and you aren't going to practice the technique, it's better to just select a pickup at the beginning of each song and change your frame of reference from which pickups you want to change to mid-song, to what gain, bass, treble, compression, etc. settings do I want to change to. But you should probably stick to practice. 

[rzumwalt]

[...]

Its the things that touch the air that matter the most in tone.

I'm not joking right now...can I get this on a sticker for my guitar case? it's already the new lock screen for my phone.