Neck pickup
The pickup nearest the fingerboard, positioned where the string's excursion is greatest, giving a warmer and fuller sound.
Because the string moves most over the middle of its length, the pickup sees a strong fundamental and relatively less upper harmonic than the bridge unit, which is why the neck position is used for rhythm chord work, warm lead lines and jazz. It usually has the highest output of the set for the same winding, and its height matters more than the bridge pickup's because a small change alters the balance dramatically. Players often lower it to keep the low end from turning muddy.
Example: a clean chord melody played on the neck pickup with the tone rolled back gives the round, vocal sound associated with jazz guitar.
See also
Related
- PageBridge pickup
- PageMiddle pickup
- PageActive pickup
- PageAlnico
- PageBlade pickup
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley
- PageAd-Rock