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"The Pickup Adjustment Thread"

B Ingram

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Joined
Jan 3, 2016
Messages
730
If you also "tune by eye".

What Kojak showed is a reasonable starting point for listening & tuning (no worse than any other starting arrangement of the polepieces).

In fact, the relative heights of those polepieces is compensating for the smaller core inside the wound strings, as compared to the plain string diameter.
 

renderit

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
10,951
What Kojak showed is a reasonable starting point for listening & tuning (no worse than any other starting arrangement of the polepieces).

In fact, the relative heights of those polepieces is compensating for the smaller core inside the wound strings, as compared to the plain string diameter.

Or leave it there if you "tune by eye".
 

Thunder

New member
Joined
Jul 7, 2004
Messages
288
After years of tinkering, I think I've finally got it! I've read through this thread several times and decided to put my BBs back to factory height on my R8 (and screws flush with cover). I started backing them down 1/2 turn at a time and started to hear a funny "wobbling sound" as the note decayed. When I went too far, the sound faded, so back up a few turns at a time to get it back. Wound up raising the high e screw a bit to bring it into the "mix." I think I've finally found the sweets spots, thanks for all the tips!
 

Gem

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Nov 8, 2017
Messages
4
What an amazing thread.. Sorry to dig it back up, but it's really very informative.. ive lost about 4 hours somewhere though... but i got some nice sounding guitars.
 

0 2339

Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2017
Messages
166
What an amazing thread.. Sorry to dig it back up, but it's really very informative.. ive lost about 4 hours somewhere though... but i got some nice sounding guitars.

thanks brother for bringing it back to light; great info here

cheers
 

skidbrake

New member
Joined
Apr 1, 2018
Messages
1


That's how adjustable polepieces look on a neck p'up when compensating for the inherent output different of a string set with a plain third.

HTH,

After much ado, I found success by first setting the pickups to factory specs for height adjustment, then balancing the pole pieces using a similar approach I found here:

https://hazeguitars.com/blog/how-to-set-pickup-pole-piece-height

As a final step, I lowered the neck pickup until the bass strings stopped sounding muddy, lowered and raised the treble side until I found the sweet spot (which was 1/32" higher than the bass side), then adjusted the bridge pickup down a little overall, to balance its volume with the neck pickup.

I was amazed at how much chime appeared by lowering the G pole piece below the pickup cover. Also, the middle position is now usable with a very nice tone of its own. I've never been able to find a middle position I liked on my R8 or 335, and now I have.

Thanks, all, for sharing your knowledge on this very helpful discussion.
 

Black58

New member
Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Messages
10,139
Glad to help, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you! :salude .. I hate to think about someone dumping a perfectly good guitar, or set of pickups, because they're fucking stupid, or worse ... ignorant! :ganz
 

Black58

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Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Messages
10,139



That's how adjustable polepieces look on a neck p'up when compensating for the inherent output different of a string set with a plain third.

HTH,

This is an EXTREME adjustment! :hee .. But that's the general "horizon line" :salude
 

Black58

New member
Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Messages
10,139
Something I noticed in the last page, and people's particular guitars and their years of manufacture .. If you are searching for something in the 52-60 Les Paul tonality, you need to make sure the HARDWARE is correct, FIRST! A pickup only does what you tell it. :ganz
 

MagicBus

Member
Joined
May 13, 2017
Messages
56
I know the standard advice given to brighten a neck pickup is to raise the pole screws and drop the pickup a little. In the case of a pickup where the slug coil is wound hotter eg. Custombucker, would it not make more sense to drop the pole screws allowing the slug coil to dominate, being closest to the bridge?
 
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