Pickup install

[chad_svt]

Guys this a freaking retarded question. I need to know how far down from the strings the phat cats i just installed in my sg should be. I cant find it anywhere and they are way jacked up.

[Tweed]

Re: Pickup install

There are no rules for setting pup height. People will give you numbers, but the bottom line is what sounds best to you. Here's a good place to start:

Adjust your polepieces so that they follow the radius (curvature) of the fretboard. The crown of your low E polepiece should be even with or just a tad above the pup cover. Adjust remaining polepieces to follow the fretboard radius, so that string height is roughly the same above each polepiece. Next, lower the pup to where it will be level with the pup ring. This is just a starting point. As you raise (or lower) the pup, you will hear differences in tone. This is all subjective. You might like the sound of your PCs further away from the strings than I might. Or you may prefer them closer. You'll spend a lot of time with new pups fine tuning pup height and polepiece height to find what works best for you. When I install new pups, this is how I start. I take my time and listen carefully to the changes in pick attack, tone and sustain. Eventually, I find the "sweet spot" that works for me. Phat Cats sound great and are fairly sensitive to adjustments, so patience is the name of the game.