Game Changer / Pickup Physics

[Hans Lindauer]

Hi, I just watched the Game Changer videos. Very interesting and revolutionary concept, and I think it is really going to change the game.

But the first question that comes into my mind is this: How the heck would I choose between 8 MILLION different pickup combinations? At random? Is there a randomizer in the app?

It seems like in order for users to really be able to get the most out of the Game Changer, there's going to need to be some education about what kinds of interactions are happening between the strings, pickups, and electronics in order for the user to make an informed decision or educated guess about what pickup combination to choose in order to achieve the sound that he hears in his head.

I feel like this is a great opportunity, actually, to explore the phsyics of guitar tone. It's almost like the Game Changer (plus the rest of your signal chain) becomes your personal laboratory to explore those complex interactions, although I think it would be great if the experts could shed some light on why different pickup combinations sound the way they do.

To me, there's always been this aura of black magic surrounding guitar electronics. It's almost as if guitar makers try certain combinations, and then use what they think sounds best using trial and error, but with of ability to predict the sound based on subjective experience. I'd guess that there are maybe a couple dozen wirings in common use, but I'm no expert. Where does that leave the other 7.9999 million? It's a lot of space to explore, for sure.

I used to work at this cool company where we always just kind of wanted to make everything have every possible option available, but it seemed impossible or improbable or maybe it would just be too many choices for the user. It appears like you guys have achieved this goal, congratulations. I think this is an excellent opportunity to dispel much of the magic and for us all to learn a lot about some simple but also very subtle and complex physics.

 

[Hans Lindauer]

P.S. Can someone please explain the graphic that shows what the pickup combination is?

 

[TNT]

I think one thing for sure - you can't really say "I can't find the combo I'm looking for"!

 

[Slingy]

I dont fully understand all the series and parallel and what that means to the sound of each, but I can think of a whole bunch of combinations that would be really useful.

For example, I think I could get my moneys worth just having a single coil bridge-middle-neck individually along with different popular combinations of them like bridge and middle, neck and middle, and bridge and neck, pair those with a set of humbuckers in series and I think I would be set. Who knows, I havent tried it so its all speculation.

My biggest concern is how the bridge pup sounds when in single mode. Is it as good as the middle single or would I be likely to just prefer the middle pickup for what would be single bridge duties? To me the model with the middle pickup is a definate must have.

Wow I really need to just try this thing.

 

[Big Poppa]

Hans welcome. Hans worked on a ton of stuff for us like the compensated nut bongo and much more....

I agree with you about the education part. We are creating this and learning by day the possibilities. THe education part is huge and we want to provide it and at the very least have the interface serve as a wiki/user submitted kind of deal. This thing is so simple yet so complex that we dont really think that we fully understand where the public will take this. That is not saying that we arent sure of the success...quite the opposite but I think that someone is going to discover a completely different way of using this.

Its like combinations...some of them sound bad.....But what is bad? Is bad something that is foriegn sounding to us? Maybe some kid will use that in a way that it becomes cool? There are some new advancements that we are getting into that are taking this way outside. At the show Apple kept sending over people...It was gratifying This gamchanger is turning into not only a switching concept but a core connectivity tool.

The grid is simple brilliance that came from dudley....The six horizontal lines are the six possible coils and a straight line is parralell...a line that jumps to another bar to complete the line is series...green is in phase blue is out of phase. So you can either go to the library and get presets that are drag and drop or just auditionable or you can create whats in your head using the grid...I want to hear coil one in series with coil 5 out of phase with coil three and series with coil two.....

This is where the education and explaining the possibilities create marketing and acceptance issues. People have been trained and ingrained that there are either three or five sounds. that is what our aural palate knows...also people have no problem creating a signal chain of ten effects but are terrified of creating a new wiring scheme., Think of it like a pool that has a very satisfying shallow end but has the deepest deep end....What I tell people is that dont be afraid of the deep end...you dont have to swim there....but there will be a depth that previously exceeds what you thought was good enough that becomes your new tonal comfort zone.

Whew...did that make any sense?

Hans what sort of stuff are you working on now?

 

[ScreaminFloyd]

That made perfect sense BP. Some will pick up the GC and run with it. Others will take their time -like me- and pick at the combinations. It's going to be a lot of fun to see what everyone comes up with in the next few years with the Game Changer.
It's even been fun for me sitting on the sidelines and witnessing this all come together.

 

[roburado]

I'm pretty excited about this. I've always wanted a JP6 that would also be an HSS configuration, but I've always wanted to be able to change it back to the HH configuration. Now, with the Game Changer, I can set up a bank--probably Bank A--that's normal JP6 tones or wired up like a JPX, and, I hope, I'll be able to simulate the HSS configuration in another bank--Bank B. Within that bank, I'll be able to configure things the way I would actually use them. I would have bridge humbucker coils in series on position 1, neck single coil (coil 4) on position 5. Positions 2, 3, and 4 could be various parallel combos of individual coisl, because I just love the sound of two single coils in parallel. Then, of course, I have Bank Z for whatever else comes to mind. Of course, the magic is that anyone who thinks my idea is goofy can do their own thing.

 

[beej]

What so brilliant about this idea is how simple it really is for the user. I think that's what so many people are really missing.

I tell you, I'd take one of these on every guitar I own. It would have saved me man-months of soldering, re-wiring, etc. And there are just so many things I've never tried b/c you just can't try everything (until now).

 

[Hans Lindauer]

Hey Big Poppa,

Thanks for humoring a troll, I think it's really cool that you're so active on these forums.

The Game Changer is totally sweet, I never appreciated how much difference the pickup wiring can make on tone until I watched the videos. This is going to be a tough act to follow for other companies.

What I actually predict will happen, is that the serious guitar geeks are going to really study this scientifically and start to shed some light on the physics. I mean, it's actually pretty simple - up to six pickups, wired in different combinations of phases. What fascinates me, is how the strings and the magnetic fields interact when you strum the guitar. There's a lot of resonant feedback happening there, with the magnetic fields of the pickups affecting the strings as much as the strings are moving the electrons inside the pickups. That's why coil 1 in series with coil 6 sounds different than coil 6 in series with coil 1.

They're not just pickups, they're also drivers! Every motor is a generator running backwards.

I think that once people who really understand the physics get their hands on this and start explaining how it works, it's going to make it a lot easier for everybody to get predictable results. I imagine that a lot of the differences will be more subtle, and also that a lot of the less-traditional tones are going to appeal to people who are interested in new types of sounds. The sharing aspect is really cool, because then the way the wiring affects the tone can be explained alongside wiring examples that everyone can try out on their own.

What have I been up to?

Well, as you remember I left EB to go into teaching. I wanted to teach physics, but ended up teaching shop and animation and CAD, and I slowly realized that I HATE KIDS. So I decided to go back into engineering, moved to Portland, and landed a work-from-home job doing 3-D modeling for Smith Optics. It's a pretty sweet gig.

In my spare time I'm also about to release a new product called the Missing Link, which is a little black box that allows you to use your smart phone or tablet as a MIDI remote. Check it out here: The Missing Link : Jabrudian Industries LLC

 

[walleye]

hi hans

not to take anything away from BPs post, but ill post my thoughts on the topic:

after buying a GC, it is probably advised that you lock yourself in a room with an amp and a computer for a few days if you can find the time. after this time, you won't have gone through all the combinations (not sure if its possible to ever get through them all) but you will definitely get a feel for how the coils interact with each other, and i think you'll be able to make more and more educated guesses about predicting combinations.
and thats the first point, I don't believe taht anyone can make a fully accurate estimate of how a pickup combination will sound until you try it, you might have a ballpark idea, but i dont think you can fully know. the GC is the only product available that can allow you to experiment easily and effectively, allowing you to find out what sounds are suited for you quicker than any other product.

also hans dont forget that you can download combinations from the net. this forum and many others will be full of people sharing what theyve found

 

[matty76]

I have a question, say you don't dig the tonality of the pickups in play, yes there are endless wiring options, but can the pickup themselves be swapped out? there are a lot of variables in picking the perfect individual sound, and tonal design of the pickups play a big part, a bigger part for me than switching options. I can see how in the studio this would be a great asset but to the average gigging musician to me seems impractical.

doesn;t make me want one any less

 

[beej]

There's an official Game Changer thread where a lot of this is addressed. Short answer, yes, any pickups can be used. The GC system works with up to 6 different coils.

 

[walleye]

I have a question, say you don't dig the tonality of the pickups in play, yes there are endless wiring options, but can the pickup themselves be swapped out? there are a lot of variables in picking the perfect individual sound, and tonal design of the pickups play a big part, a bigger part for me than switching options. I can see how in the studio this would be a great asset but to the average gigging musician to me seems impractical.

doesn;t make me want one any less

i disagree about the gig impracticality. say you decide to use 6 p/u combos for a certain gig. queue up the 6 sounds in sequential order in whichever way you believe them to be most easily accessible on stage and write them on a piece of paper (practice with the new order so you dont forget). couldnt be easier

edit: reread your post and mine. are we talking about the same thing?

 

[drewbixcubed]

Hi, I just watched the Game Changer videos. Very interesting and revolutionary concept, and I think it is really going to change the game.

But the first question that comes into my mind is this: How the heck would I choose between 8 MILLION different pickup combinations? At random? Is there a randomizer in the app?

It seems like in order for users to really be able to get the most out of the Game Changer, there's going to need to be some education about what kinds of interactions are happening between the strings, pickups, and electronics in order for the user to make an informed decision or educated guess about what pickup combination to choose in order to achieve the sound that he hears in his head.

I feel like this is a great opportunity, actually, to explore the phsyics of guitar tone. It's almost like the Game Changer (plus the rest of your signal chain) becomes your personal laboratory to explore those complex interactions, although I think it would be great if the experts could shed some light on why different pickup combinations sound the way they do.

To me, there's always been this aura of black magic surrounding guitar electronics. It's almost as if guitar makers try certain combinations, and then use what they think sounds best using trial and error, but with of ability to predict the sound based on subjective experience. I'd guess that there are maybe a couple dozen wirings in common use, but I'm no expert. Where does that leave the other 7.9999 million? It's a lot of space to explore, for sure.

I used to work at this cool company where we always just kind of wanted to make everything have every possible option available, but it seemed impossible or improbable or maybe it would just be too many choices for the user. It appears like you guys have achieved this goal, congratulations. I think this is an excellent opportunity to dispel much of the magic and for us all to learn a lot about some simple but also very subtle and complex physics.

Hi Hans! Welcome to the forum, & thanks for chiming in on TGC! BP already discussed most of your inquiries, but as for more info on the inner workings, we are about ready to put out some new videos really showing off the tones and functionality of the guitar, bass, and website.

I checked out The Missing Link a while ago, and that is some cool control! Nice work!

 

[Hans Lindauer]

Thanks, Big Poppa and the rest, for humoring my mildly trollish post. It's awesome that you're so active here. Hi Drew and the rest of the crew!

I wrote a sincere and lengthy (and rather eloquent, I might add) reply, but then when I hit send I guess I wasn't signed in anymore or something so now it's gone forever. At first I thought I was being moderated and I was a little incredulous, but then I realized what must have happened.

Long story short, I think this is really cool and I miss you guys and I really do think you'll be able to do some cool physics experiments with this if you hook up some scopes and spectrum analyzers. Yo know, take things to the next level. You could even expand the matrix by a dimension or two by splitting the coils, but I'm sure you guys already have that one filed at the USPTO. If not, that one's mine now suckas. Haha.

Big Poppa, I'm working for Smith Optics now doing 3-D CAD, living a cush lifestyle from my home office in Portland, OR and losing a lot of sleep trying to develop the Missing Link. And if you guys are thinking what I'm thinking re:that and you steal my idea I'm going to be pissed but I know you've got a really good lawyer I have a funny story about that which I'll tell you when I see you in Frankfurt. P.S. Nice Birkenstocks.

 

[GHWelles]

I know you've got a really good lawyer

Who would that be???

 

[Hans Lindauer]

It's you, Henry.

The story is pretty short, but you'll find it funny so I'll tell it here. At the EB vs. Earvana deposition, I had mis-read the papers and thought Earvana was suing EB. I also thought that the other lawyer was the one representing Ernie Ball, and you were Earvana's lawyer. I re-read the papers after the depo and got the first part sorted, but it wasn't until we met again in LA that I figured the second part out.

 

[Big Poppa]

Hans that is brilliant. ALso the great thing aobut dressing as caesar is you get to wear birkenstocks....without the saab and the cordouroy blazer

 

[Stephen]

Hans, I'm not sure if you were asking about the physics because you yourself are interested or as an education for every player? Either way, while I usually prefer to just play and fumble to experiment with sounds, I sometimes also like to dig deeper and learn why stuff works. Some time ago I read about a yet unpublished study by Manfred Zollner, a german professor, about the physics of the electric guitar. It is not complete yet, but close and the bulk of it's 800 pages is already translated into english.

You can find it here; click on "Physik der Elektrogitarre" then choose your language. The single chapters are linked as PDFs, so it's not the most practical website but it works. There is also a more compact paper (8 pages) on some of the basics here.

Cheers

P.S.: Is it just me or are links within posts no longer underlined?

 

[DrKev]

Thanks for the links Stephen! With a PhD in physics and a LOT of experience with German scientists, deciphering some of the English translations really is a trip down memory lane! When I've finished moving to my new apartment this weekend, I'll have a "little light reading" to indulge in. Hooray!