pickup heights and how it affects attack, mids and clarity

[bionic]

I have a gretsch with TV Jones Powertron plus in the bridge. I have been adjusting the screws closer to the strings and have been noticing more string to string clarity, attack and mids. TV Jones said every slight adjustment will have a big effect and so far it's been a good effect. Am I sacrificing low end by doing this? Do many people get the screws as close as they can to the strings?

[Guitar Josh]

I put all my pickups as high as they will go. I prefer that tone.

[RvChevron]

Can you also raise the whole pickup higher instead of just the screws?

You might get the low end back a bit by raising the whole pickup.

[bionic]

No the 'trons don't have an adjustable height screws so the only way to do it is by raising the individual screws. Do I have to adjust both sets of screws per pick up or just the six closest to the bridge?

[Rhomco]

Originally Posted by bionic

No the 'trons don't have an adjustable height screws so the only way to do it is by raising the individual screws. Do I have to adjust both sets of screws per pick up or just the six closest to the bridge?

Yes you can (and should) raise the whole pickup by shimming under the pickup. I usually fit springs on the mounting screws just for this purpose. You could use a stack of small washers to do it as well.
Rob

[brad347]

be careful that you're not confusing 'louder' with 'better.'

The human ear often does this. You can always turn up your amp to get the volume you want.

Raising the polepieces will usually increase the output. Lots of people easily confuse this with 'better' sound. They will say "there is more clarity;" of course there is, it's louder! They will say "there is more attack." Of course there is, it's louder!

But what often ends up happening is that the magnets get too close to the strings and cause beating because it's pulling the harmonics of the string out of tune. The magnet being too close can also hurt sustain. It's a balance.

Good luck.

[VintageKnob]

On my LPR7 the pups are high by design, they were at factory height, but I of course lowered the strings a bit. I noticed the first three strings had much more bright bite to them, that sounded OK, but the contrast with the lower strings bugged me. So I lowered the pups to level with the pup rings. Then I raised a few of the individual screws to give a touch more bite here and there.

Lowering them made the overall tone much better, very even.
Same with the pups on my Suhr Pro, especially the neck pup, the pup can have more effect on the strings if it's too close because the strings move easier there being farther away from the bridge.

My point, don't be afraid to lower pups, or keep them low (relatively).

CYA

- D

[oscar100]

higher teh better

[lannyhall]

It depends on the sound you prefer. For me, especially with single coils, they sound better not close to the strings. I have also found that I don't prefer overwrapped (hotter) single coils, as the 'weaker' ones sound sweeter.

[biggreen]

Originally Posted by GuitarTone

For me, bridge pickup as close to the strings as humanly possible, neck and middle low low lower, till they sound warm.

Why is it that Gibsons come factory set up with the humbuckers nearly touching the strings but Fenders come with the single coils 1/2"+ below the strings?

[bluesrules]

I learned to lower pickups on strat's a long time ago. I had them almost touching the strings when fretted on the higher notes to balance them with my other humbucker guitars without changing amp settings. BIG MISTAKE! For the longest time I kept raising the action cuz it sounded like there was fret buzz above the 12th fret. So I'd jack the pups up again and still fret buzz.

Turns out it was the magnets preventing the strings from vibrating that made the sound VERY simular to fret buzz. Screwed the pickups way down and then I was able to have a lower action and a better sound. That was worth a million dollars to me, I hate fret buzz!

[daddyo]

Yes, beware of stratitus with strat single coils - strat pup magnets are at the top and can have a weird effect on the strings like bluesrules says. For most blues, jazz, country, swing, and pop, strats with traditional single coils sound best when they are about 1/8" off the pickguard. Not enough output? Turn up the amp. Obviously some styles of music need outrageous gain so those people will have different needs and settings.

[DonM]

clarity = down
attack = up

[harryjmic]

One thing not mentioned is this:

Higher (really close to strings) - Tends to be more compressed, with more mids, eventually the string loses sustain, and the mids get overly harsh.

Lower (far from strings) more clarity, sweeter sound. Downside loss of harmonic content or should I say sparkle.

I adjust my pu's until the mids get harsh or they start to compress. From there I usually back them down just a touch, I'm talking 64ths of an inch hear hardly anything. The difference between really nice and harsh is sometimes half a turn of the screw. Another thing to try is use an overdrive and set it so you get some sustain. Adjust the pu's until the notes really ring out...there will be a sweet spot.

One thing I do to make it easier for me to remember is I divide the screw head up into 1/4's. So when I adjust the pu's I might sart doing a 1/2 turn and then end up with 1/4 or 1/8th when I'm really close.

[bionic]

Originally Posted by Rhomco

Yes you can (and should) raise the whole pickup by shimming under the pickup. I usually fit springs on the mounting screws just for this purpose. You could use a stack of small washers to do it as well.
Rob

Wow! Thanks so much. I put some surgical tubing laid down length wise as my adjustable shim under the flange of the pick up and now I am able to adjust them and have them closer to the strings and out of the body. Much better low end compared to just raising the individual screws. Had them up as close as they would go and then backed off until I loss the hairy mids. I'm happy and thanks again - I love this forum