This may be a novice question, but I noticed that some guitars have magnetic pickups mounted at angles. A Fender Telecaster is a good example, but I have also seen guitars with a single pickup mounted at an angle. Is there a particular reason for this? Does it affect the sound?
Reason I ask is that I have a cigar box with a rather large label that I really like that if I were to mount the pickup at an angle, I could preserve more of the label.
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Thanks for the replies. The pickup I have is a single coil so it sounds like I can't really go wrong.
I have angled 6 pole pickups on three string guitars so the pickup isn't hanging out real wide on the sides of the outer strings. It was for looks rather than tone manipulation. And, I usually use 4 pole pickups, mounted straight sideways, on three string builds to allow for a little "fudge factor" when plotting and cutting the pickup mounting hole in the top of the box. My experiences in building demonstrated to me that the strings don't need to be exactly over a pickup pole. So, three strings over four evenly (mostly) spaced poles gives me good, even sound. I read this in Cigar Box Nation or somewhere in the past, and it works for me. I try to be accurate when cutting on builds, but hey...my eyes and my skills are what they are. And I think the finished product looks good and sounds good. My $.02.
The sound picked up by the pickup will vary depending where along the string's length the pickup is positioned. Moving farther from the bridge toward the neck will tend to make the sound, how do I say this, deeper or throatier. moving toward the bridge brings out more of the treble in each string. It is common with a single pickup to put it around 15~20% of the scale length from the bridge. This is a good compromise position for clean sound without too much treble.
Now, If you want options in your sound, then you put a pickup near the bridge, another near the point where finger board ends on the body and a third in the middle of the two. Add a three way switch and you can select the sound you want with the flick of a switch.
Mounting a single pickup at an angle is an attempt to pull out certain characteristics from, say the heavy stings, and different characteristics from the smaller strings. It often becomes a case of splitting hairs, but I guess if you're a professional guitarist, you can tell the difference.
Also, just to confuse things further, some CBG builders angle the pickup to better align the strings with the poles. Most common pickups have six poles. By angling the pickup, you can run each of three strings between two adjacent poles.
So, what should you do?
Don't over analyze things. If you put the pickup out at about 15~20% and angle it a bit (not a big 45) then you will produce very usable sound. Add a tone pot and you can tweak the sound to hit that "perfect" sound you are seeking.
Give it a go and don't worry.