Ok, I've ranted on this before, but it still gets me and I feel like ranting.
<RANT>
Why, oh why, do some people call the pickups "front" and "back" and expect it to make sense to everyone else? Why not use terms that actually can be understood by just looking at the instrument without having to first sit and memorize these terms that are completely arbitrary and not founded in either science or history before pickups were added to instruments? ... (yes yes, don't get worked up, I'm just ranting... I'm not angry, just incredibly frustrated and confused)
Let's look for a minute at the "anatomy" of an electric bass:
There is a "top" or "front" of an acoustic guitar or acoustic bass (even an upright one, or a violin, etc)..., the part that the bridge is attached to, that the strings go across that you see when looking at a guitarist playing, the part with the sound hole or f holes, if they exist on said instrument. It is also referred to as the "belly" of the instrument in the world of violins etc, not to be confused with the belly of the musician playing the instrument.
That term goes back to the old days of acoustic instruments. One could call the top, the front... it's where the sound emanates from in acoustic instruments, it is aimed at the crowed, and on electric instruments it still is held facing the crowd (Jeff Healey aside), and it is what is most commonly seen first by people just looking at an instrument. This front (or top) of the guitar or bass is the part that you show off, the part people see when you play it... the part that is most normally made attractive or that defines the look of the instrument, mostly.
There is the "BACK" of the guitar... which again, going back to all acoustic instruments, is the part of the body that goes against your belly when playing.
There are the "sides"... which are the edges joining the top and the back.
There is the "headstock"... the part of the instrument that holds the tuners, and the far end of the neck. If you wanted to, you could even say it is the "top"... since the head goes at the top of the human.
There is the "neck" ... we all know what that is, but anyhow it attaches the "head"stock to the "body".
There is the "bottom", the "butt end".... the part of the body that the "end pin" is in - the "end pin" on an acoustic instrument which eventually evolved into the strap button or strap pin on stand up solid-body instruments. There is the one on the top horn, and the one on the body.
Many folks consider the part of the body with the edge past the end of the bridge, that has the (typically right-sided) strap button on it, to be the "butt" end of the instrument. Which again sort of goes along with the "head"stock at the other end.
So, to recap:
So we have a top of the bass...
....A ) which has not been the headstock since the we moved from upright basses to bass guitars... But even if you still call the headstock the Top then fine, we'll call this (Scenario A)
....B ) so the top is either the "TOP HORN" edge of the body (top when looking at someone playing it, the edge facing your face when you play one and look down at the instrument), yes it even has "top" in it versus button horn... (Scenario B)
....C ) or the top is the belly part of the body... the "front" part when looking at a bass being played, the part of the body facing the audience. (Scenario C)
EITHER WAY THOUGH:
... in Scenario A, the BOTTOM would be the strap pin end of the body past the bridge, the "butt end" of the body, the part facing to the right when playing a right handed instrument.. the part facing the floor when you place your instrument in a stand-up type guitar stand on the floor.
... in Scenario B, The BOTTOM would be the bottom horn, or the part of the bass sitting on your lap when you play, sitting down.
... in Scenario C, the BOTTOM would be the back part of the body that is against your belly when you play.
SO HOW, may I ask, does one ever think of the pickup nearest the neck as the "FRONT" pickup, and the pickup nearest the bridge as the "REAR" pickup? What exactly about a bass or guitar's anatomy, standards of part naming, or the way it's held or seen by either the player or the audience, makes "FRONT" nearer the headstock, and "REAR" nearer the bridge?
I believe it was one of the guitar companies that invented these arbitrary terms. But that doesn't make them in any way memorable or fitting or logical. I STILL, to this day, have to think carefully when someone says "use the front pickup on full, rear on 3/4" or something... because there is literally no such thing as a front or rear pickup.
Even within a pickup design, there can be stacked humbucking coils... and there is a "top" coil (closest to the strings) and a "bottom" coil (underneath that).... so again, even the pickup makers think of top being nearest the strings, bottom being closest to your belly... so why do people still refer to these vague terms that have no obvious meaning without sitting and memorizing them just for the sake of it?
</rant>
k, I feel much better now. I know I have said similar things before, but this time I really think I explained it well, and my goal is very small - I just want to change the entire world from using these terms which clearly were invented by some madman.
LoL
Talk among yourselves...
<RANT>
Why, oh why, do some people call the pickups "front" and "back" and expect it to make sense to everyone else? Why not use terms that actually can be understood by just looking at the instrument without having to first sit and memorize these terms that are completely arbitrary and not founded in either science or history before pickups were added to instruments? ... (yes yes, don't get worked up, I'm just ranting... I'm not angry, just incredibly frustrated and confused)
Let's look for a minute at the "anatomy" of an electric bass:
There is a "top" or "front" of an acoustic guitar or acoustic bass (even an upright one, or a violin, etc)..., the part that the bridge is attached to, that the strings go across that you see when looking at a guitarist playing, the part with the sound hole or f holes, if they exist on said instrument. It is also referred to as the "belly" of the instrument in the world of violins etc, not to be confused with the belly of the musician playing the instrument.
That term goes back to the old days of acoustic instruments. One could call the top, the front... it's where the sound emanates from in acoustic instruments, it is aimed at the crowed, and on electric instruments it still is held facing the crowd (Jeff Healey aside), and it is what is most commonly seen first by people just looking at an instrument. This front (or top) of the guitar or bass is the part that you show off, the part people see when you play it... the part that is most normally made attractive or that defines the look of the instrument, mostly.
There is the "BACK" of the guitar... which again, going back to all acoustic instruments, is the part of the body that goes against your belly when playing.
There are the "sides"... which are the edges joining the top and the back.
There is the "headstock"... the part of the instrument that holds the tuners, and the far end of the neck. If you wanted to, you could even say it is the "top"... since the head goes at the top of the human.
There is the "neck" ... we all know what that is, but anyhow it attaches the "head"stock to the "body".
There is the "bottom", the "butt end".... the part of the body that the "end pin" is in - the "end pin" on an acoustic instrument which eventually evolved into the strap button or strap pin on stand up solid-body instruments. There is the one on the top horn, and the one on the body.
Many folks consider the part of the body with the edge past the end of the bridge, that has the (typically right-sided) strap button on it, to be the "butt" end of the instrument. Which again sort of goes along with the "head"stock at the other end.
So, to recap:
So we have a top of the bass...
....A ) which has not been the headstock since the we moved from upright basses to bass guitars... But even if you still call the headstock the Top then fine, we'll call this (Scenario A)
....B ) so the top is either the "TOP HORN" edge of the body (top when looking at someone playing it, the edge facing your face when you play one and look down at the instrument), yes it even has "top" in it versus button horn... (Scenario B)
....C ) or the top is the belly part of the body... the "front" part when looking at a bass being played, the part of the body facing the audience. (Scenario C)
EITHER WAY THOUGH:
... in Scenario A, the BOTTOM would be the strap pin end of the body past the bridge, the "butt end" of the body, the part facing to the right when playing a right handed instrument.. the part facing the floor when you place your instrument in a stand-up type guitar stand on the floor.
... in Scenario B, The BOTTOM would be the bottom horn, or the part of the bass sitting on your lap when you play, sitting down.
... in Scenario C, the BOTTOM would be the back part of the body that is against your belly when you play.
SO HOW, may I ask, does one ever think of the pickup nearest the neck as the "FRONT" pickup, and the pickup nearest the bridge as the "REAR" pickup? What exactly about a bass or guitar's anatomy, standards of part naming, or the way it's held or seen by either the player or the audience, makes "FRONT" nearer the headstock, and "REAR" nearer the bridge?
I believe it was one of the guitar companies that invented these arbitrary terms. But that doesn't make them in any way memorable or fitting or logical. I STILL, to this day, have to think carefully when someone says "use the front pickup on full, rear on 3/4" or something... because there is literally no such thing as a front or rear pickup.
Even within a pickup design, there can be stacked humbucking coils... and there is a "top" coil (closest to the strings) and a "bottom" coil (underneath that).... so again, even the pickup makers think of top being nearest the strings, bottom being closest to your belly... so why do people still refer to these vague terms that have no obvious meaning without sitting and memorizing them just for the sake of it?
</rant>
k, I feel much better now. I know I have said similar things before, but this time I really think I explained it well, and my goal is very small - I just want to change the entire world from using these terms which clearly were invented by some madman.
LoL
Talk among yourselves...
