Pole Piece Adjustment.

[Gradie]

Ok, so I've finally received my pups and stuck them in my RG, but before I can make any judgements on my new setup I want to have it set up properly!

So, I remember there was a post with a brilliant description of how what heights to try and how to adjust them, by Steve_R I think. I've searched but can't find it, so if anyone can give advice, or direct me to it, that'd be great!

On a second note, currently I get some background hiss when I'm not touching either pot. I'm presuming this is a grounding issue, maybe a dry joint? Can anyone direct me where to look.

And finally, my knobs keep falling off! The mini pots have ever so slightly thinner shafts than my old pots, is there anything I can use to keep them attached (with push/pull) but allow me to remove them in future if I need to change pots.

Many thanks,
Gradie

p.s. I'll post full comments once it's set up right and I'm home from uni and can use my bigger amp

[Marcel]

Re: Pole Piece Adjustment.

Ok, so I've finally received my pups and stuck them in my RG, but before I can make any judgements on my new setup I want to have it set up properly

I'm just setting my RG up too

And finally, my knobs keep falling off! The mini pots have ever so slightly thinner shafts than my old pots, is there anything I can use to keep them attached (with push/pull) but allow me to remove them in future if I need to change pots.

in the shaft there is normally a gap. Take a screwdriver and make it a little bit wider....

[Gradie]

They are split shaft yes, hadn't thought of widening it with a screwdrive, will get on it as soon as I'm home!

Gradie

[Surgeon]

If you want to adjust pole pieces, find what the radius of your bridge is... Gibson is usually 12"... Then, raise and lower the pole pieces on the humbuckers to match that radius... lower on the sides and higher in the middle... you can then raise and lower the whole bunch to your liking but try keeping the radius the same while doing this... also, by adjusting them in this way, your screws should arrange in a / \ / \ / \ zig-zag pattern, try to put 'em that way since this puts more metal underneath the strings... that should do it...

[Marcel]

never heart abot the zig zag pattern. is it just important that they're +/- 45° to the strings?

My screws looking like this:
(/) (\) (\) (/) (/) (\)

[Surgeon]

Well, you don't need to measure the angle... the thing there is about the zigzag is that, the more metal under the strings, the more pull and vibrations taken... It would also be ok if they were perpendicular to the strings but if they would be parallell, there would be a gap right under the strings, making the effect weaker... I find it perfect with the zigzag pattern, try it, if it doesn't do it for you, sky's the limit...

[Fresh_Start]

Is there any consensus on how high the pole pieces should be overall?

I understand about balancing the output for each string, but still can't figure out what the pros/cons of raising the pole pieces overall is. I'm fooling around with a Custom 5 in the bridge of a strat, and appreciate any ideas on this.

Chip

P.S. not trying to hijack the thread - just another aspect of adjusting the pole pieces.

[Surgeon]

Well, anybody correct me if I'm wrong, but raising the pole pieces tends to make the sound brighter (also giving more output) while lowering them makes the sound darker with lesser output (mellower)...

[WARRENLEELYNCH]

Originally posted by Surgeon
Well, anybody correct me if I'm wrong, but raising the pole pieces tends to make the sound brighter (also giving more output) while lowering them makes the sound darker with lesser output (mellower)...

thats right you are actually raising that whole coil in essence
the slug poles are set flush and not adjustable, so when you raise those screws,you are raising the coil closest to the bridge(trebliest point)
personally i like the screws to be a touch higher (not a lot) than the slug poles,for treble "bite"
seymour was supposed to have said that he sets his JB with the screws so that the bottom of the screw head is flush with the top of the bobbin,i tried this and me no likey!

[Surgeon]

Originally posted by WARRENLEELYNCH
thats right you are actually raising that whole coil in essence
the slug poles are set flush and not adjustable, so when you raise those screws,you are raising the coil closest to the bridge(trebliest point)
personally i like the screws to be a touch higher (not a lot) than the slug poles,for treble "bite"
seymour was supposed to have said that he sets his JB with the screws so that the bottom of the screw head is flush with the top of the bobbin,i tried this and me no likey!

That's what I thought

[papersoul]

How would the zig zag method bebetter than the parallel method which I use currently??

[Surgeon]

Originally posted by papersoul
How would the zig zag method bebetter than the parallel method which I use currently??

As I said, the zig zag puts more metal under the strings... the groove in the screw means metal has been taken out (hence the gap...) therefore, the zig zag ensures that you have more metal pulling directly under the string, resulting in better dynamics...

[shred-dog]

i have been "screwing around" with my screamin demon and found the best tone withit through my amp was with the pole pieces flush to the bobbin like w/l/l was saying in a zigzag of course!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Surgeon]

That's cool, I didn't really like the tone of my pick-ups with the bottom of the screws flush with the bobbin... Great for you man, I might wanna tweak some more...

[papersoul]

It has only been the last 6 months that I have really put a lot of thought into pickup height adjustment and what a difference. I usually try to get the slugs and screw pieces fairly even as far as distance from the strings....or basically I like as much of the pickup as possible close to the strings to start. Rather than having the pickup dropped down and the treble side adjusted high which will give a single coil clarity effect.

This is what I did recently. I have a Les Paul Standard with Gibson Burstbuckers. These pickups are fairly low-medium output and a little bright. Some would say, harsh. I installed 500k pots and .022 caps.

I wanted to get more grunt out of the pickups so i figured I'd raise them as high as possible....bad move. Anyway, I usually start with the low E and high E pole piece flush with the bobbin or bulk of the pickup. I then measure 1/16" from the top of the pole piece to the bottom of the string while depressing the string at the highest fret. I then set each string using the same method to 1-16". This essentially radiuses the pieces. So now I have all the poles at 1/16" from the strings. Then I lower and raise the overall pickup one turn of the scredriver while playing through my amp at a decent volume. I try to stand back about 10' or so while listening for changes.

I find I like the poles to be down pretty close to the pickup for more thickness and girth.

With the Burstbuckers.....I tried having them close to the strings to get more power but it was a bad move. I got to much treble bite and lost some clarity. Also chunking away on some heavy chords revealed too many weird tinny scraping noises. A lot of this can also be the angle in which you hold the pick. I find hitting the string straight on gives a full and thick tone and more blunt where I get more of that scratcy noise coming at an angle to the strings.

Anyway......I lowered the burstbucker from the string now at about 2/16" and I am getting a bigger and fuller tone, while not as bright. Maybe even thicker. I always thought that the closer the p'up is to the strings...the more girth in the tone.