Comparison Rocket ST-02 vs Parksons ST40

Electric guitar pickup layout diagram. The letters used in this diagram indicate the types of pickups:

- S - single. A single-coil pickup that looks like a narrow strip, often with a number of “buttons” (magnets) corresponding to the number of strings. Such modules provide clear and ringing sound, well suited for jazz, blues and other similar genres. On the other hand, the sound saturation from single-coils is not very high; they are poorly compatible with distortion and other similar effects, which is why they are poorly suited for “heavy” styles of music. In addition, such pickups are susceptible to external magnetic fields, which can degrade the sound.

- H - humbucker. A type of pickup with two coils, originally created to compensate for the shortcomings of single coils - in particular, to reduce the level of interference from external magnetic interference. However, in the end it turned out that humbuckers differ noticeably in the color of the sound: it turns out to be less expressive, but more dense and rich, making it excellent for playing “overload” (distortion, overdrive, etc.). A classic pickup of this type has two coils positioned side by side, making it noticeably wider than a single coil; and Standard class humbuckers generally look like two single coils installed close to each other. However, in addition to this, there are other design options - for example, a hamcanseller..., which has coils “on two levels” and is comparable in width to a single. Also note that there are humbuckers that can switch to single-coil mode (see “Coil Cutoff” for more details).

—J. A subtype of S-type pickups with one coil and an additional pole for each string. This variety first appeared on the legendary Fender Jazz Bass. J pickups have a versatile sound that suits almost any style of music.

—P. P pickups have two magnetized poles per string, but they have a unique feature: they are cut in half and wound in reverse. The advantage of this winding is the humbucker effect (see type “H”). The wide and long shape of the P pickup provides powerful and punchy sound in genres such as rock, metal, punk, etc.

- P90. A special type of single-spool single with a wider but shorter bobbin. These pickups are installed in the bridge or neck area of the guitar. Their distinctive feature is a characteristic “rock and roll” sound with warm, soft and rich timbres. Instruments with P90 pickups are often used in alternative rock, blues, indie, etc. styles.

The pickup diagram describes their types, number and relative positions. Our catalog uses a bridge-to-neck designation: for example, an HSS design means the guitar has one humbucker at the bridge and two single-coils near the neck.

This parameter determines, first of all, the overall color of the instrument’s sound. Thus, the above version of HSS will produce a sound that is quite clean and expressive, but at the same time a little denser and lower than on a purely “single-coil” electric guitar. There are many models available that are equipped with only one type of pickups. Moreover, the more pickups, the deeper and richer the sound, as a rule. In addition to all this, many other factors affect the sound of the instrument, so when choosing, you should not look only at the pickup circuit.

The number of volume controls provided in an electric guitar.

If there is only one knob, this means that the musician can only adjust the overall volume of the instrument. However, there are models that have several volume control knobs — usually there are no less of them than pickups (2 or 3), which allows you to separately adjust the volume of each pickup. And since the characteristics of the sound depend on the type of the used pickup (see "Pickup Diagram") and even its location, then by changing the mutual volume of the individual pickups, you can achieve different coloring of the sound. At the same time, the design may also include a general volume control, which allows you to adjust it in the classical way and not mess with the settings of each pickup.

A type of pickup switch used on an electric guitar.

This switch is responsible for turning individual pickups on and off, and can also control coil cutoff (see above). Accordingly, the manufacturer chooses its type primarily depending on the number of pickups (see "Pickup Diagram"). So, 3-position switches are typical mainly for models with two pickups — they usually allow you to turn on each of them separately or use both at once. The 5-position controls are common on 3-pickup models with stratocaster or superstrat bodies (see “Shape (Appearance)”). Note that the specific combinations of pickups available in such instruments may be different, this point will not hurt to clarify separately. The most advanced option — a 6-position switch — is extremely rare, mainly in expensive custom class instruments.

A separate type of switch is the balance control, used mainly in bass guitars (see "Type"). They are not responsible for turning off individual pickups (there are usually two of them), but for changing their volume relative to each other. Roughly speaking, these are two volume controls for separate pickups, combined in one knob (of course, there are also two pickups in such instruments). In fact, the balance control in this case also provides a smooth change in timbre: the pickup near the bridge picks up high frequencies better, the pickup near the fretboard picks up lower frequencies, respectively, and the colour of the sound changes depending on which of t...hem sounds louder.

The material from which the body of an electric guitar is made. For models with cutouts (semi-acoustic, see "Type"), in this case, only the material of the back deck and sides can be taken into account, and data on the top deck is given separately (for more details, see "Deck Cover Material").

Now on the market there are cases of such trees: red, maple, agatis, ash, alder.

It makes no sense to dwell on each of the materials found in modern electric guitars. Their variety is very large, however, unlike acoustic guitars, the body in this case does not play such a significant role in shaping the sound, and its material has a relatively small effect on the acoustic properties of the instrument (although the exact degree of such influence is a moot point). If you wish, you can find detailed data on a particular material in special sources, but in fact it makes sense to look primarily at the appearance of the instrument and its price category.