Humbucker adjustments
- Thread starter skydog
- Start date
Re: Humbucker adjustments
Your ears are the main weapon here. Its a matter of honing into what balance of eq you want. Raising and lowering the pickup does a slightly different thing to the screws alone. You might find its something that goes on for several weeks - especially as your hearing is more/less sensitive to certain frequency ranges almost on a daily basis.
Your ears are the main weapon here. Its a matter of honing into what balance of eq you want. Raising and lowering the pickup does a slightly different thing to the screws alone. You might find its something that goes on for several weeks - especially as your hearing is more/less sensitive to certain frequency ranges almost on a daily basis.
Masta' C
Well-known member
Re: Humbucker adjustments
I adjust to suit, depending on what each specific pickup/guitar combination needs.
I don't subscribe to an "always"..."always flat", "always flush", "always radius", etc.
I typically start with a flat/flush position, adjust the overall pickup height to where I get 90% of the response and feel I want, adjust all the poles up, adjust them down to compare and then I fine-tune each string from there, sometimes adjusting the overall height a bit more, as necessary.
Not enough people tweak their pickups this way. They leave the pole pieces flat or put the whole pickup at some predetermined distance from the strings and then complain about undesirable "humps", "scoops" and "spikes" in the response.
You can't completely negate a pickups voicing by tweaking, but you can definitely adjust most pickups to get a reasonably wide range of response characteristics.
I adjust to suit, depending on what each specific pickup/guitar combination needs.
I don't subscribe to an "always"..."always flat", "always flush", "always radius", etc.
I typically start with a flat/flush position, adjust the overall pickup height to where I get 90% of the response and feel I want, adjust all the poles up, adjust them down to compare and then I fine-tune each string from there, sometimes adjusting the overall height a bit more, as necessary.
Not enough people tweak their pickups this way. They leave the pole pieces flat or put the whole pickup at some predetermined distance from the strings and then complain about undesirable "humps", "scoops" and "spikes" in the response.
You can't completely negate a pickups voicing by tweaking, but you can definitely adjust most pickups to get a reasonably wide range of response characteristics.
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Chris Pile
Well-known member
Re: Humbucker adjustments
I do what the client wants.
I do what the client wants.
80's_Metal
Underglazed Hair Metalologist
Re: Humbucker adjustments
I've never adjusted them.... Oh great.... Something else for me to fiddle with and over analyze....
I've never adjusted them.... Oh great.... Something else for me to fiddle with and over analyze....
Re: Humbucker adjustments
It's absolutely beneficial to play around with them.
I've went from totally not digging a particular pickup model, all the way to really digging it, just by playing with the screw-heights.
One other way to approach it is to set all the screws flush, then adjust the overall height while listening/feeling only to the outer strings.
Then simply adjust the inner-string's poles to match the response/volume of the outside strings.
I never end up with as much radius at the poles as there is on the bridge,,,,,sometimes some, but not as much as the bridge itself.
Depends somewhat on your particular string gauges and tensions.
It's absolutely beneficial to play around with them.
I've went from totally not digging a particular pickup model, all the way to really digging it, just by playing with the screw-heights.
One other way to approach it is to set all the screws flush, then adjust the overall height while listening/feeling only to the outer strings.
Then simply adjust the inner-string's poles to match the response/volume of the outside strings.
I never end up with as much radius at the poles as there is on the bridge,,,,,sometimes some, but not as much as the bridge itself.
Depends somewhat on your particular string gauges and tensions.
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Clint 55
OH THE DOUBLE THICK GLAZE!
Re: Humbucker adjustments
I just tried following the radius on my HHH Strat and it sounds great!
I just tried following the radius on my HHH Strat and it sounds great!
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