Balancing 2 pups - help?

[knotty]

I have an Ibanez RGA121. For those not familiar - stock it has the Ibanez V7/8 pickup set. They run through a 5 position switch which gives

front series/front para./front & back/Back 1 splitcoil & Middle 1 split coil/back.

I have replaced the originals with PG Neck and JB bridge.

Result is nice tone neck (pos1). A nice , brighter tone bridge (pos 5) but when I try both (pos 3) it just sounds like the JB bridge on its own again.
The other positions are OK and the wiring is right.

I suspect it is the pup height and balancing the volume by doing this. Currently they are both about 3 mil gap (last fret measure).

The pups on the 121 are direct mount so adjusting the gap is a pain.
Am I right in my assumption (before I spend hours of sweat and cursing)?

WIll I only notice the difference under specific conditions?

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Balancing 2 pups - help?

Raise the PG until it's as loud as you want it.

 

[knotty]

Re: Balancing 2 pups - help?

Raise the PG until it's as loud as you want it.

I have already tried that and the neck volume is higher than the bridge.Still though, as soon as both pups are selected the JB takes over completely.

Is it because it is so much higher output?

 

[CenterStaqeSilver]

Re: Balancing 2 pups - help?

The JB humbucker is a nuclear reactor at about 16k vs the PG. You can adjust the heights of both to try to compensate, but I'd say set the tone and height of the PG first and if you then can't adjust the JB properly, get rid of it and put in something of reason comparison tonewise and of lower output.

That's why I didn't consider the JB for the bridge for a Jazz; I don't want to lose position 2.

You could wire it so you have two volumes and two tones, but it sounds like the JB is just too strong. You should have the pickups close to the strings as normal, not having to have one quite far from the strings to lower power, since distance from the strings affects tone also.

Sometimes you just have to ask yourself, "What would Jeff Beck do?"

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Balancing 2 pups - help?

Sometimes you just have to ask yourself, "What would Jeff Beck do?"

He'd put a Jazz/JB set in his Tele-Gib.

The JB is a hot pickup, but I've used it with neck pickups like the APH, PG, 59, and Jazz with 0 balance issues.

It is more in your face than most neck pickups tonallly though, which is probably why you hear it more in the mid position.