Which determines sound more: pickup or shape

[unclefu]

Hi guys!

My question is, for most of you it might be obvious and stupid, but which determines the final guitar sound more, the pickups, or the shape of the guitar? For example, I'd like to have a guitar sound like Motley's Mick Mars, for example like in this song:



But I've got a les paul and I couldn't yet come across any amp with which I was able to get close to this sound, so maybe it's because he's always using strato. Should I get a strato, too, or maybe it's enough to just get a different set of pickups?

Thanks in advance!

 

[bryan_kilco]

I'd say pickups make more of a difference than the body, but it really depends. Passive pickups - your body comes into play more, actives - its electronic based.

 

[Vinny]

Body mass > pickups > strings (type) > body shape

 

[Sloan]

I believed they used Digitech ELEVEN for that album.

Also, he definitely plays a strat and you can tell. I thought he used a bridge humbucker, but his sound still has that single coil tone.

 

[egan.]

Don't forget scale length as a factor.

 

[elapidae1]

Everything is a factor. Strings, picks even the bridge. But more so the body wood, shape and pickups.

 

[MatrixClaw]

I'd say the bigger factor here is the body wood. You're using a large chunk of Mahogany with a maple top and mahogany neck and he's using a thinner piece of (what I assume is) Alder, with a maple neck (which is what most Strats are made out of). He's also using a Floyd Rose bridge and yours has a Tune-O-Matic stop-tail setup. Not to mention, his guitar has a different scale length and a larger top mount with a pickguard.