Pickup height really is a ***** to figure out.

[Diego]

It's so relative to the pickup and the guitar itself, it can become frustrating.

I'd always believed in the "higher = fatter, lower = brighter" school of thought, but practice shows different things with my guitars today.

My humbuckers (Screamin' Demon, a JB and a Ibanez) all behave that way.
Raise them and the bass becomes bigger and even a bit flubby in the JB, and thicker in the Demon. More mids too.
Lower them, and the notes become clearer and brighter. I even got a bit of twang out of the JB, since it's in a Strat.

With my single coils though, it's the opposite??

As I raised them in my Strat they became noticeably brighter, harder and more "focused" sounding (not a good sound),
and lowering them made the sound warmer, more open and with bigger bass...? :?:
I've set them almost flush to the pickguard, even the bridge one. They sound way, way sweeter.
I wasn't expecting that at all. :smash:
Their sweetspot is low, really low. And my string action isn't low at all, I'd call it almost high actually.

So really, there's no rules in this it seems. Ask all day, but it won't mean a thing until you grab that screwdriver and start tweaking.

What's your story and preferences with pickup height?

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: Pickup height really is a ***** to figure out.

i've got humbuckers and a p-90. generally i've got'em at a relatively close distance, with the bass side lower and treble side higher and the bass side screws sticking out and the treble screws flush, with the screw under the G string even lower as that big unwound string tends to sound harsher to me. with singles, i've always liked the way they sound when lowered a bit.

 

[CountFunkula]

Re: Pickup height really is a ***** to figure out.

I found that when you raise it, it gets more upper mids (but less treble). Too high and it gets very harsh. Lower it, and it does the opposite. It gets more high-end clarity, less harsh, and has a softer "sweeter" attack all at the same time. Too low, and it gets thin/hollow/icepicky.

 

[GoDrex]

Re: Pickup height really is a ***** to figure out.

I like bridge humbuckers raised as high as possible, without being able to accidentally make the strings hit the poles when muting. the neck pick is usually farther away.

on my strat I need the single coils far away from the strings to avoid strat-itis.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Pickup height really is a ***** to figure out.

Trial and error.

I found that the Twangbanger and Brobucker both go better set fairly low. The Brobucker is twice the distance from the strings that the OEM MIK pickup used to be yet it still sounds more powerful and has way more tone!

 

[IanBallard]

Re: Pickup height really is a ***** to figure out.

I hard-mount mine. I tried to find the best average height that balanced thickness with clarity, using drum lug washers, and I just deal with it. I'm kinda from the school of volume knob, palm muting and picking dynamics makes the most difference.

 

[Curly]

Re: Pickup height really is a ***** to figure out.

Diego,
with single coils, and starting with a guitar that's correctly set up, I start with Fender's recommended heights -- usually 4/32" on the bass side, 3/32" on the treble side -- then make minor adjustments to balance out the positions for the particular pickups.

when I adjust, I prefer them lower because I want less string pull/ better touch response. But there is a sweet spot where the tone is full & balanced, string response is good, and lowering the pickups further seems to mute the tone.

 

[Despair]

Re: Pickup height really is a ***** to figure out.

My preference is for the pickup to be at it's right height for that guitar (and sometimes amp).

I actually found my PATB-1b got brighter as it got closer to the strings. More & firmer bass as well. But the mids dropped out so it sounded more like a hex-screw C5 or something, cool but kinda hollow. Backed off, it smooths out and gets more midrangy, towards a broader ranged Custom Custom.

So not every humbucker does quite what you expect...

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Pickup height really is a ***** to figure out.

I have a piece of aluminum that I lay on between the strings and the pickup
that is .095" thick
I use this as a starting point for the set up
listen, then adjust
repeat

I suppose a #2 pencil would work as well as some random starting point

with that said
I have the Jazz/JB set at roughly the .095"
( I measured and posted the actual distances for Travis some time back but don't recall them at the moment )

the JB wants a particular spot or it just blows
once there tho, it has a classic voice

the Carvins are almost buried in the guitar
they are extremely loud and boisterous
overpowering the Vintage Noiseless in the middle

Love the sound of the Carvins and raising or lowering only affected teh volume of these
pickups
their voice was the same either way
meaty and thick
not at all the chime of the Jazz in the neck
and the bridge was only slightly brighter

just what you want from a chugging metal axe