Les Paul pickup height
My R0's pickups are very low. They're set as per the Haynes Les Paul manual which is :
Bridge = Bass 3/32 and Treble 1/16
Rhythm = Bass 3/32 and Treble 1/16
Anyway, they suggest to do final adjustments by ear and my guitar doesn't sound as bright and as sharp as I'd like it.
So I should lower the bass side. Yes?
Well my bass side is really low already. Any thoughts?
Check this (shite) pic out.
K
PS: It's a historic reissue so the pups sit into the rings. Don't panic!
They should get brighter if you higher them.
IMO, they look FAR too low.
[B]Guitars:[/B]
Gibson Les Paul Studio
Fender FSR Reverse Stratocaster
Yamaha Pacifica 303-12
Encore Strat
Fender DG-4
[B]Amps:[/B]
Marshall AVT100
Dockery 18W TMB
Blackstar HT-5
Roland Micro Cube
Run Off Groove Ruby
Yeh they look low but they measure correct when fretting at the last fret.Originally Posted by KrisUK
The Historic pups are sunk into the rings so always look low.
K
From what was demonstrated to me by Dr Robert last week ... and which you probably know yourself already ...
... forget all the measuring stuff, and use your ears.
If you hear a nice clean note when you hit the string, you can raise the pickup a little (to get some more volume, body, strength, etc) and try plucking the string again. Keep doing that until, when you pluck the string you can hear the "ghost" note, at which point back off the pickup height slightly.
You can also see the effect if you watch how the string vibrates when plucked. If it oscillates unevenly, odds are its being distorted by the magnetic field of the pickup (creating the distorted note).
Like I said ... I'm sure you know all of that already
Yeh I knew that but you explained it better than I understood it in the past so thanks.
K
I normally just raise them as high as they will go without the strings hitting them.
I used to do that too.
But then the Doctor showed me how the magnetic field of the pickups affect the vibration of the string, which affects the clarity of the note. So now, I will raise the pickups as high as they will go without distorting the string's vibration.
+1 to what TTony said, fiddling around with pickup heights isnt going to wreck anything so just mess about and see what you like best. If thats the "correct" height in the manual then either you've somehow (as in not probable) got the wrong depth pickup rings OR, the books wrong
IIRC the Dan Erlewhine book recommends the set-up you already have. My Vintage is set up like this and has a big fat tone that still retains a nice level of highs.
He does say he sets the screw pole pieces to the same radius as the strings/fingerboard.
Mind you that doesn't look like 1.6mm and 2.4mm!
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