Fluence Cores have unparalleled clarity and performance across different height settings. The magnetic circuits are highly refined, therefore raising and lowering the pickups in relation to the strings can affect the feel and response as well as the output. Like other pickups, setting them too close to the strings can “pull” the strings, resulting in some unpleasant artifacts.
Follow up to the previous post, I set the Abasis in my 8 string a little lower than I typically would in a guitar like that, particularly the bridge pickup. Their outputs are very well calibrated, as both pickups look almost the same distance from the strings without fretting. I’m used to the neck pulled a reasonable distance away, and the bridge cranked up pretty high, regardless of the set.
Thanks for the replies. I think I had the bridge pickup set to high as chords were ringing sorta weirdly in and out of tune when I strummed even if my tuner said the guitar was in tune. I backed it off a quarter millimeter, and it's better for sure.
So I guess these are traditional fully charged magnets, as the manual suggests, like Masta mentioned.
BTW, I don't get people who claim these are extremely hot. The Modern Ceramic is not much hotter, if at all, than the EMG 81. Maybe previous revisions were hotter? I heard they used to be brighter and more over-the-top before. What's the output on the Abasi bridge pickup like, JBFH?