WLH Bridge Pick Up Height; 57 Classic Neck Pup Height
- Thread starter UTGrad
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David Garner
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Re: WLH Bridge Pick Up Height; 57 Classic Neck Pup Height
I can't speak for the WLH, but the 57s I always had at about 1/8 inch (8/64). Give or take -- it might be 7/64 on one side or whatever. For some reason, my Duncans prefer being set higher than that. Both the Antiquities and the Custom Shop Pearly Gets set are close to or dead-on factory specs -- 4/64 on both sides for the Antiquities, 4/64 treble and 5/64 bass for the Pearly Gates on the bridge. I've messed with both a lot, and that's just where they sound best. Same on the neck -- they're both right at 6/64 on the neck, which is exactly what Gibson recommends. I'd start the WLH at 4/64 on both sides and the 57 at 6/64 on both sides and tweak from there. All measurements taken with the E string (treble or bass) fretted at the last fret.
The method I use is simple. First, I don't do this for hours at a time. I give my ears a rest and come back to it. That drives my wife crazy because she gets tired of listening to it, but I find my ears fatigue after a while and I don't hear differences as well. Second, I start by lowering, always. The 1/16 and 3/32 (6/64) heights are sort of the recommended settings, but that is really close. So I usually go down a half turn. Everything works in 1/4 turn increments, so that's 2 1/4 turns. Then I play and listen. If I like it, it stays. If I don't, I may raise or lower it another 1/4 turn or so. Once I get the basic tone I like (which, again, with Duncans is always REALLY close to those Gibson-specified settings), I listen for balance. Am I getting too much low or high? If so, I raise the side I'm not getting enough of OR lower the side I'm getting too much of. That's why 5/64 on the bass side of the Pearlies works. Set evenly on both sides, the bass strings were too prevalent and choked out the treble strings. With just that half-turn difference for that pickup, it balances out.
Mostly, I recommend starting with your eyes -- set them to the factory heights using a ruler -- and then tweaking with your ears. Ignore the ruler once you start tweaking until the very end.
At the end, I do a final measurement and log the results in case I ever start tweaking again and want to go back to "home base."
I can't speak for the WLH, but the 57s I always had at about 1/8 inch (8/64). Give or take -- it might be 7/64 on one side or whatever. For some reason, my Duncans prefer being set higher than that. Both the Antiquities and the Custom Shop Pearly Gets set are close to or dead-on factory specs -- 4/64 on both sides for the Antiquities, 4/64 treble and 5/64 bass for the Pearly Gates on the bridge. I've messed with both a lot, and that's just where they sound best. Same on the neck -- they're both right at 6/64 on the neck, which is exactly what Gibson recommends. I'd start the WLH at 4/64 on both sides and the 57 at 6/64 on both sides and tweak from there. All measurements taken with the E string (treble or bass) fretted at the last fret.
The method I use is simple. First, I don't do this for hours at a time. I give my ears a rest and come back to it. That drives my wife crazy because she gets tired of listening to it, but I find my ears fatigue after a while and I don't hear differences as well. Second, I start by lowering, always. The 1/16 and 3/32 (6/64) heights are sort of the recommended settings, but that is really close. So I usually go down a half turn. Everything works in 1/4 turn increments, so that's 2 1/4 turns. Then I play and listen. If I like it, it stays. If I don't, I may raise or lower it another 1/4 turn or so. Once I get the basic tone I like (which, again, with Duncans is always REALLY close to those Gibson-specified settings), I listen for balance. Am I getting too much low or high? If so, I raise the side I'm not getting enough of OR lower the side I'm getting too much of. That's why 5/64 on the bass side of the Pearlies works. Set evenly on both sides, the bass strings were too prevalent and choked out the treble strings. With just that half-turn difference for that pickup, it balances out.
Mostly, I recommend starting with your eyes -- set them to the factory heights using a ruler -- and then tweaking with your ears. Ignore the ruler once you start tweaking until the very end.
At the end, I do a final measurement and log the results in case I ever start tweaking again and want to go back to "home base."
Re: WLH Bridge Pick Up Height; 57 Classic Neck Pup Height
Thank you very much for this post.
Thank you very much for this post.
