Help! Urgent!

S

spidey

New member
I've just fitted 2 Pearly Gates pups with nickle covers to my Les-Paul.
Unfortunately I can't try them with an amp till I rehearse with my band and I don't want to bore the rest of the band while I'm tinkering with my pups all night.
I know that its all down to personal taste etc etc and I'm sure that its been asked a million times before but unfortunately I'm in a real rush and haven't got time to search - can someone give me a few basic tips:

1. Good starting point of pup height - both neck and bridge.
2. Good starting point of pole heights - both neck and bridge.

If it makes any difference, I know some people feel the the PG bridge pup can be too bright and this is something that I want to avoid if possible.
Hope you can help!
 
Last edited:
Re: Help! Urgent!

What is the proper height for a pup?
A good starting point for the distance from the bridge pickup to the strings is 3/32 of an inch. The neck pickup can be set to provide a good output balance when compared to the bridge or to produce a particular tone when used together with the bridge. If a pickup is too close to the strings the tone tends to get muddy and lack clarity, and if placed too far away the tone will be thin and lacking in character. All pickups have a "sweet spot" where its tone will be optimal for a given guitar and pickup combination.
 
Re: Help! Urgent!

Hi Jolly - that's great. When you say 3/32 of an inch from the strings - should the string be fretted on the last fret when measuring or is this with an unfretted string?
Also - any thoughts on pole piece heights?
Thanks again!
 
Re: Help! Urgent!

Jolly's method is as good as any.

Mine's a little differant ( not much ) and also as good as any!

I adjust the poles so the dome part of the screw is about even with pickup top. Then I adjust the poles under the A, D and G string to be slightly higher but not much: just enough to match the arch of the fingerboard. I leave the poles for the two E strings and B string about even with the pickup top.

Then I adjust my bridge ht. and intonation.

Then I hold the strings down at the highest fret and adjust the treble side of each pickup to be about 1/16" away from the underside of the high E string and the bass side of each pickup to be about 1/18" away from the underside of the low E string.

Then I play the guitar for a awhile and tweak the pickup ht. to taste.

Lew
 
Re: Help! Urgent!

Thanks Lew - that's very helpful. Do you tend to have the neck pup and the bridge pup the same height then, or is that purely as a starting point?
 
Re: Help! Urgent!

spidey said:
Thanks Lew - that's very helpful. Do you tend to have the neck pup and the bridge pup the same height then, or is that purely as a starting point?
Click to expand...

Really depends on what mood I'm in that day! I probably have the neck a little further away. I listen to each pickup by itself, but also combined since I use the combined tone alot as a second rythym tone on all of my two pickup guitars. Lew
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top