Re: Jazz/JB in an SG?
It's easy to raise or lower the pickups - just tighten the screws to raise them and loosen them to lower the pickups. This is a very easy adjustment. The screws are very long so you would have to lower the pu's below the level of the pickguard for the screws to come out.
I also thought the duncans might get harsh if I got them too close. The stock 490/498 were very harsh and muddy when close to the strings - that's why I had to lower them by a lot to get a decent tone, but still not that clear at best.
With the jazz and 59, I kept raising them, getting them closer to the strings and the sound def kept getting fatter. The signal got much stronger so I was able to get a cranked sound through the clean channel of my amp. Of course, by lowering the volume knob on the guitar, the sound became clean again. With the strong signal, I got the clang out of the bridge that I wanted. The 59 bridge was very trebly but balanced when set further away from the srtrings. The jazz also got fatter - it sounded too much like a single coil before the adjustment.
Just play with the pickup heights - this is the way to find the sweet spot for yourself. Everyone has a different idea of what harsh and smooth may be. In my case, I was looking for that fat sound, I did not want the thin clean sound. Like I said, after the adjustment the duncans are just as fat as the 490/498's (which I had set very low). But the duncans sound much smoother, clearer and balanced than the gibson's. Like I said in my other post, I got the gibsons to sound good in a band setting, but they still sounded muddy and congested when playing by myself. The Duncans sound great however. Good luck.
It's easy to raise or lower the pickups - just tighten the screws to raise them and loosen them to lower the pickups. This is a very easy adjustment. The screws are very long so you would have to lower the pu's below the level of the pickguard for the screws to come out.
I also thought the duncans might get harsh if I got them too close. The stock 490/498 were very harsh and muddy when close to the strings - that's why I had to lower them by a lot to get a decent tone, but still not that clear at best.
With the jazz and 59, I kept raising them, getting them closer to the strings and the sound def kept getting fatter. The signal got much stronger so I was able to get a cranked sound through the clean channel of my amp. Of course, by lowering the volume knob on the guitar, the sound became clean again. With the strong signal, I got the clang out of the bridge that I wanted. The 59 bridge was very trebly but balanced when set further away from the srtrings. The jazz also got fatter - it sounded too much like a single coil before the adjustment.
Just play with the pickup heights - this is the way to find the sweet spot for yourself. Everyone has a different idea of what harsh and smooth may be. In my case, I was looking for that fat sound, I did not want the thin clean sound. Like I said, after the adjustment the duncans are just as fat as the 490/498's (which I had set very low). But the duncans sound much smoother, clearer and balanced than the gibson's. Like I said in my other post, I got the gibsons to sound good in a band setting, but they still sounded muddy and congested when playing by myself. The Duncans sound great however. Good luck.
