P90 pickup height

[kingsxman]

Anyone have any recommendations for pickup height on a pair of Duncan sp90-1 vintage? They may be vintages or they may be "hot". I'm not sure.

 

[blueman335]

Re: P90 pickup height

Soap bars or dog ears? To get them high enough (usually they sit a little low for me), I use plastic spacers to raise dog ears, and wood shims to make platforms for soap bars, so they sit on a solid base (I don't like the foam rubber method that's usually used adjusting for soap bar height). The wood platform gives them more sustain & low end.

 

[cheezemaster]

Re: P90 pickup height

P90s are genrally set a bit lower than humbuckers, but I like to raise the bridge one a bit. Blueman mentions using wood blocks underneath.. which isn't a bad idea, although I've had good results just using the foam that comes in Duncan pickup boxes.

 

[kingsxman]

Re: P90 pickup height

Soap bars or dog ears? To get them high enough (usually they sit a little low for me), I use plastic spacers to raise dog ears, and wood shims to make platforms for soap bars, so they sit on a solid base (I don't like the foam rubber method that's usually used adjusting for soap bar height). The wood platform gives them more sustain & low end.

I'm not following how the wood works underneath the pickup...

Do you mean you put it under hte pickup to screw the mounting screw in?

 

[blueman335]

Re: P90 pickup height

I'm not following how the wood works underneath the pickup...

Do you mean you put it under the pickup to screw the mounting screw in?

With soap bars, they have two big screws that go thru the PU into the wood, and a piece of styrofoam is used to steady the PU & regulate height. I think this is as crappy a mounting system as you can get. Manufacturers shouldn't cut such deep cavities for P-90's. So to correct this, I basically raise the level of the wood to where it should be.

I get a pack of wood shims from Home Depot, and cut sections of them, and layer them, using glue & screws to hold them together. To tell how high I need to make the platform I place the loose P-90 on it. Obviously the bridge P-90 requires a higher platform than the neck. Once the height is set, I file a small channel for the PU wire to lie in. Then I screw the P-90 in, so the baseplate is firmly anchored to the platform. Good solid connection, and vibrations between the wood & PU are transferred much better. This helps adds sustain & low end.

 

[kingsxman]

Re: P90 pickup height

With soap bars, they have two big screws that go thru the PU into the wood, and a piece of styrofoam is used to steady the PU & regulate height. I think this is as crappy a mounting system as you can get. Manufacturers shouldn't cut such deep cavities for P-90's. So to correct this, I basically raise the level of the wood to where it should be.

I get a pack of wood shims from Home Depot, and cut sections of them, and layer them, using glue & screws to hold them together. To tell how high I need to make the platform I place the loose P-90 on it. Obviously the bridge P-90 requires a higher platform than the neck. Once the height is set, I file a small channel for the PU wire to lie in. Then I screw the P-90 in, so the baseplate is firmly anchored to the platform. Good solid connection, and vibrations between the wood & PU are transferred much better. This helps adds sustain & low end.

Sounds good..but what do you do if you need to raise or lower the height? Sounds like your kind of set in stone...

 

[blueman335]

Re: P90 pickup height

Sounds good..but what do you do if you need to raise or lower the height? Sounds like your kind of set in stone...

You do the main height adjustment with the shim platform by putting a yardstick across, from the nut to the bridge (because the strings are off or loosened at this point) to see where you're at. The pole pieces are used to fine tune the height, so you get some leeway there. You don't do any radical height adjustments to HB's once you have them set, so there's no need to for a P-90 either.

 

[kingsxman]

Re: P90 pickup height

You do the main height adjustment with the shim platform by putting a yardstick across, from the nut to the bridge (because the strings are off or loosened at this point) to see where you're at. The pole pieces are used to fine tune the height, so you get some leeway there. You don't do any radical height adjustments to HB's once you have them set, so there's no need to for a P-90 either.

Makes sense. I did some adjusting on mine last night and found that you DO have to use the pole peices more than I might with standard humbuckers. Mine has the foam below it and its not working real well...so I needed to raise the pole peices to get them closer to the strings.

I can see some advantage for sure to your method. Routing a path for wires seems like a pain..but if the end result is better tone..it makes sense.

 

[blueman335]

Re: P90 pickup height

I can see some advantage for sure to your method. Routing a path for wires seems like a pain..but if the end result is better tone..it makes sense.

Seems like every P-90, soap bar or dog ear, sits a little low. Maybe it's because I like a higher action for string bending.

For a wire canal (in the platform) I just use a coarse file. Only took a minute, as it just has to go a short distance to the hole in the body that travels to the pots. The reason for doing this is so that the base plate can lay flat on the platform, and not wobble on the wire. You should be able to make the shim platforms in an hour or two at most, and it's a one time thing. Then the PU's are secure & your tone is improved.

 

[kingsxman]

Re: P90 pickup height

Seems like every P-90, soap bar or dog ear, sits a little low. Maybe it's because I like a higher action for string bending.

For a wire canal (in the platform) I just use a coarse file. Only took a minute, as it just has to go a short distance to the hole in the body that travels to the pots. The reason for doing this is so that the base plate can lay flat on the platform, and not wobble on the wire. You should be able to make the shim platforms in an hour or two at most, and it's a one time thing. Then the PU's are secure & your tone is improved.

Thanks again. I'm going to try to do this this week. I'll be stopping by Home depot tonight. I saw a video by Lollar where he did something similar but he used a whole piece of wood. My guess is that might be a better method but it'd be too hard to find the right thickness of wood.

I'll try a dremmel to make the route for that pickup wire.

 

[sosomething]

Re: P90 pickup height

For adjusting pickup height, I use these:

Goes hand-in-hand with a tried and true step-by-step method for finding optimal pickup height for any pickup - P90s included:

1.) Lower pickups until they're pretty low

2.) Play through an amp and listen.

3.) Gradually raise the pickup height while playing and listening until it starts to sound good

4.) Keep raising them, playing and listening until they start to sound less good

5.) Lower them back to where they sounded more good.

6.) Enjoy!

 

[blueman335]

Re: P90 pickup height

I saw a video by Lollar where he did something similar but he used a whole piece of wood. My guess is that might be a better method but it'd be too hard to find the right thickness of wood.

That's why I use shims. Unless you're a carpenter with lots of pieces of wood laying around, you're better off using shims and taking advantage of their adjustable height.

 

[kingsxman]

Re: P90 pickup height

That's why I use shims. Unless you're a carpenter with lots of pieces of wood laying around, you're better off using shims and taking advantage of their adjustable height.

Thanks for the hints. FYI I used the Home Depot wood and installed the new pickups. I actually swapped pickups so its not a direct tone comparison. Unfortunaty I couldnt get the neck height exactly where I want it with the shims. I ended up using shims and 2 popsicle sticks. (Doh). Its a bit low so I'm going to have to eventually try something else. It is close enough so I can raise the pole peices to where they need to be though.

Its late so I cant turn it up. These were Lollar P90's I put in. (Took out the SD Vintage soapbars). Not notice a ton of extra low end at this point...but hopefully can turn it up tomorrow and do a better test.

 

[blueman335]

Re: P90 pickup height

Unfortunaty I couldnt get the neck height exactly where I want it with the shims. I ended up using shims and 2 popsicle sticks. (Doh). Its a bit low so I'm going to have to eventually try something else. It is close enough so I can raise the pole peices to where they need to be though.

I think I used 2 pairs of shims (4) for each dog ear P-90. Because they're angled, you match one piece up with another one that will make the two of them level. If you need more height, do it again. You can cut any part of the shim to get any increment of height you want. For each shim, I glued it down; for each pair of shims, I put 2 screws into them, to make a secure platform.

 

[kingsxman]

Re: P90 pickup height

I think I used 2 pairs of shims (4) for each dog ear P-90. Because they're angled, you match one piece up with another one that will make the two of them level. If you need more height, do it again. You can cut any part of the shim to get any increment of height you want. For each shim, I glued it down; for each pair of shims, I put 2 screws into them, to make a secure platform.

Thanks. I used 2 pair on one pickup. The neck I just measured it wrong. Fist time.. I'll probably end up pulling it and taking it out and trying again.

Dont your screws potentially hit the bottom of the pole pieces?

 

[blueman335]

Re: P90 pickup height

Thanks. I used 2 pair on one pickup. The neck I just measured it wrong. Fist time.. I'll probably end up pulling it and taking it out and trying again.

Dont your screws potentially hit the bottom of the pole pieces?

Haven't had that happen.