Floating pickup

A pickup mounted on a bracket above the top rather than sunk into it, so the soundboard can vibrate as freely as possible.

This is the traditional archtop arrangement, where the pickup hangs from the end of the fingerboard or from a bracket on the body and is set just under the strings. Because no cavity is cut into the top, the acoustic response is preserved, and the pickup can be removed without leaving a hole. The trade is that height adjustment is limited to the bracket's travel and the pickup is more exposed to knocks.

Example: a carved archtop fitted with a floating miniature humbucker can be played acoustically in a small room and amplified for a bigger one without losing its unplugged voice.

Floating pickup

See also