Recommended Pickup Height for JB Jr.

[dsamagr]

Hello,
I recently had a JB Jr. pickup installed on my 76' Strat as the Bridge pickup. However, I cannot find Seymour Duncan's recommended pickup height (distance from bottom of string to top of pickup) anywhere on the Seymour Duncan website. Specifically, I'm trying to get the recommended height both at the Low E string, and the High E string. I did find one place on the SD web-site that said start at 3/32, however typically the Bass E would be further away than the treble E. Does anyone know exactly what Seymour Duncan recommends for this? (both Low E & High E)

I use Fender bullet 10's (nickel wound) (.10, .13, .17, .26, .36, .46)
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Danny

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Recommended Pickup Height for JB Jr.

Danny,

Welcome to the forum. I don't know what the "recommended" height is, but it would only be a guide anyhow. The short answer is whatever height sounds good to you is the right height. Each guitar sounds different, and reacts differently to the pickup. Then you have to factor in your sound and what you like to hear. Experimentation is the key.

Start with the 3/32 setting, and then just adjust and use your ear from there. Don't be afraid to make height changes. If you want more bass, raise the bass side up. If you want more treble attack, raise the treble side. Also, take into account the pickups overall height as it relates to the other pickups in your guitar. It needs to sound fairly balanced output wise with the rest of your pickups. Once you find the right height to balance the tone with the guitar, use the adjustable pole pieces to fine tune the individual string response.

There is no one right height, and there is no one wrong height...so don't get hung up on measurments. Just make it sound good to you.

 

[dsamagr]

Re: Recommended Pickup Height for JB Jr.

Thanks Jeff,
That's pretty much what I did. The pickup sounds awesome, but I thought I'd ask for some recommendations. Sometimes when you set a pickup to close to the strings, it messes with intonation, and I wanted to know what the closest possible setting recommendation was. DiMarzio gives you this with their pickups, but I couldn't find it for the JB Jr. Anyway, it sounds awesome the way I've set it, and the intonation is tight, so I'm going to leave it as is. I currenty have it at 3/32 on bass E, and about 5/64 on the high E.
Once again, thanks for responding,
Danny

Danny,

Welcome to the forum. I don't know what the "recommended" height is, but it would only be a guide anyhow. The short answer is whatever height sounds good to you is the right height. Each guitar sounds different, and reacts differently to the pickup. Then you have to factor in your sound and what you like to hear. Experimentation is the key.

Start with the 3/32 setting, and then just adjust and use your ear from there. Don't be afraid to make height changes. If you want more bass, raise the bass side up. If you want more treble attack, raise the treble side. Also, take into account the pickups overall height as it relates to the other pickups in your guitar. It needs to sound fairly balanced output wise with the rest of your pickups. Once you find the right height to balance the tone with the guitar, use the adjustable pole pieces to fine tune the individual string response.

There is no one right height, and there is no one wrong height...so don't get hung up on measurments. Just make it sound good to you.