Punch from an Antiquity?

[atomicwash]

I'm using an Antiquity pickup (1955) in the bridge of my 62 RI Tele playing classic country from the 50's and 60's. I play through a Deluxe Reverb RI. When soloing, the unwound strings sound great, however, when I go to the wound strings, it seems like the sound doesn't come out as well - it's missing the "punch" that the unwound strings have. Rhythm parts sound fine and well balanced. I've tried adjusting the height of the pickup and I bought a Boss CS-3 compressor; no luck - any suggestions?

[Curly]

Re: Punch from an Antiquity?

welcome

I hadn't noticed the difference in tone between strings

anyway, here's some clips I did of the Custom bridge:

Custom bridge

[mrfjones]

Re: Punch from an Antiquity?

welcome

hmmmm that is the staggered model, i haven't used that one but the only string that should jump out at you really is the g string, it has a very high pole piece under it and since almost no one uses a wound g on an electric anymore it should jump out and make things kinda unbalanced, unless you have a small neck radius.

try adjustig the pickup the opposite way one would normally have the pickup, make it closer to the bass strings and really back it off the treble side. if that doesn't equal things out we can try something else.

Scott

[Imp]

Re: Punch from an Antiquity?

would different material/gauge strings help?

[atomicwash]

Re: Punch from an Antiquity?

Hey, thanks for the replies! The 62 RI Tele has a 7-1/4" radius neck, which is why I went with the 1955 Antiquity. I have tried adjusting the pup height; currently the low E is about 3/32" away from the string and the high E is about 3/16" away. Maybe the low E is too close? I use D'A 11's for strings.

I also would like to point out that this volume thing is mostly noticeable when playing with the band. I'v had other guitarists mention it from gigs as well. It's not as noticeable when I play alone.

Thanks again for the input!

[Curly]

Re: Punch from an Antiquity?

currently the low E is about 3/32" away from the string and the high E is about 3/16" away. Maybe the low E is too close? I use D'A 11's for strings.

I use 4/32" on the bass side, 3/32" on the treble side, then adjust from there ... usually that's pretty close, though, unless the pickups are hotter, like texas specials, which I adjust lower to smooth them out a little

I usually use Ernie Balls, which are a little brighter, and seem to have a little less tension ... anyway, the brightness might help give you more apparent punch

often, it's the little things

[tclixx]

Re: Punch from an Antiquity?

Well I understand this problem because I experienced this and from info i got from a different pickup maker about ajustment of my pickup helped a great deal. Having the bass side to close to the strings compared to the treble side has a lot to do with it. I like to have the treble side & the bass side of the individual pickup to be the same loudness. I was showed that having the bass side about 1/16 of an inch further away than the treble side is pretty close. This balances out the volume and the tone of each side as well. Think closer to string more bass & further away more treble. when the bass string is to close it actually can antenuate the volume of the string and make it to bassy where when it is further away a wound string has more twang & volume. There is a optimum point and this you have to figure out for yourself. Every guitar & pickup is a little different. I emailed SD once about this & they said about the same thing.

Also what can dampen the sound of the wound middle string is to much added mid range on your amp. This will cause a compressed sound to the middle wound string. Sometime this takes a lot of experimenting in the tone to find the optimum spot for the middle tone control of a amp. I noticed that most of the pickup settings mentioned abouve have the bass string about 1/32 further away from the string than the treble side. but if you try it at 2/32 or 1/16 you will find that this balances out the volume & tone & you can use less treble or add more bass to your tone on your amp which helps smooth out the treble side as well. Also you will be able to use more mid range & get more punch with out getting that midrange compression. I was showed that this works on any type pickup. This took some getting use to and changing of tone use on my amp but it worked.

There is one more thing that can atribute to this and that is your string hieght on each string. What ever hieght you like your bottom smallest E string at, set the B string the same hieght and the the G just a little higher & the 4th just a smiggen higher than that. (You need experiment to find the optimum hieght on the wound 4th string because it needs to be high enough not to vibrate against the fret which dampens the volume when you strike it hard). Then the 5th & 6th string will be about 1/64th higher than the 1st string is set. In setting the 1st string hieght, bend the 1st string up as far as you can down below the 12th fret and raise the hieght on it untill it rings good without fretting out at any point in the bend. This will help out in a balanced volume from string to string as well. Not fretting out & strings ringing true without hitting the frets is more important than playing ease. You can get use to any string hieght.

[atomicwash]

Re: Punch from an Antiquity?

Fixed! I moved low E end of the pickup away from the strings, which is the opposite of my initial logic. I have to do some fine tuning of the final position, but it's so much better.

Thanks!