Multiscale (fanned Fret) Pickup Placement

[Eddie Loves You]

Will this pickup placement give proper coverage for the strings? I guess my main question is about the nature of the magnetic field surrounding each pole and how output will be affected by the strings traveling mostly over 1 pole in some cases and between both in others.

[DC Ross]

Go with a standard placement (i.e. perpendicular to the centerline), otherwise you'll run into volume balance issues.

[Prostheta]

There may still be issues in that respect, especially when you factor in string bending....the solution is to either use rail/bar pickups or having offset coils with compensated polepiece placement. You're definitely in the right ballpark if you can work this out using CAD (I would) :-D

[Eddie Loves You]

Go with a standard placement (i.e. perpendicular to the centerline), otherwise you'll run into volume balance issues.

But the pickups would then effectively be reading the treble strings progressively closer to the bridge; that is what I hope to avoid by angling them.

Are the magnetic fields really that small and concentrated? Do the fields around each pole piece overlap?

[Prostheta]

I'm not an expert on pickups by any means, but I believe that the fields are sufficiently uneven across the width that pickups are manufactured for trem spacing to account for the marginal difference in bridge string spacing spec. Somebody will hopefully chime in regarding actual field shape/strength better than I can, but the fact that these products exist say a lot. String bending physically moving the vibrating string out from neck pickup polepiece fields might be worthwhile covering also....again, not really within my field!!

[WezV]

Go with a standard placement (i.e. perpendicular to the centerline), otherwise you'll run into volume balance issues.

But the pickups would then effectively be reading the treble strings progressively closer to the bridge; that is what I hope to avoid by angling them.

just like on a strat really!! so far i have used standard humbuckers perpendicular to the centreline for convienience and it means i can use the pickups i like. here is the latest nearly done:

[Maiden69]

Why not use 2 single coils and place them so that they cover the string path? Or just make a custom base for the humbucker you already have?

[Prostheta]

+1 on the two singles - great idea. I find it odd that you don't get trem-spaced single coils or at least SD don't do them....

[Eddie Loves You]

Why not use 2 single coils and place them so that they cover the string path? Or just make a custom base for the humbucker you already have?

Yeah eventually I want to make my own pickups; spacing wouldn't be a problem then.

[reantel]

why not a dual rail pickup.....no individual poles, just rails.

[Eddie Loves You]

why not a dual rail pickup.....no individual poles, just rails.

Yeah, if I make my own I may go that route (though there isn't much info on making those, either).

I already have the pickups that I drew into Illustrator (which is why I wanted to know if they'd work, but I guess I could go with some different ones. The only 7 string rail pickups I know of are the X2N-7's. Maybe the 7 string Blackouts but I want to stay passive.

[Paul Marossy]

I like the looks of that guitar. I bet it will be extremely cool when it's done!

[Eddie Loves You]

Anybody else?

[reantel]

I've got a charvel with an angled Dimarzio Evolution Pickup in it. It sounds fine, balanced, i think if you just place it how you have it in your drawing it should work out fine. I do like the idea of two single coils, that could look cool.