Pickup height

[timjohnsmith87]

I like mine so high that when I play the string always hits them. What about you guys?

[reflected]

I use Texas Specials:

Bridge PU: Bass - 8/64" (3.6 mm) Treble - 6/64" (2.4 mm)

then I adjusted the neck PU to be just a tiny bit louder.

[timjohnsmith87]

Originally Posted by reflected

I use Texas Specials:

Bridge PU: Bass - 8/64" (3.6 mm) Treble - 6/64" (2.4 mm)

then I adjusted the neck PU to be just a tiny bit louder.

Been thinking of putting some Texas specials in. How do you like them?

[reflected]

They might not float everybody's boat. It depends on what kind of music you play.

Personally, I love them.

They sound a bit warmer, higher output, stronger mids and presence (staggered poles). This, I think, is what makes them versatile. Just like Lollars they're suitable for more distorted sounds, but unlike those, TX Specials still have plenty of twang.

Many people say they sound "too dark", but I'd say it's not true, they simply have more balls than a standard Tele PU without compromising the Tele caracter.

[Ronkirn]

I rekon the Stratitus is at an epic level on your guitar…. having problems intonating the E and A strings?

Ron Kirn

[motwang]

Originally Posted by Ronkirn

I rekon the Stratitus is at an epic level on your guitar…. having problems intonating the E and A strings?

Ron Kirn

I thought this to. maybe a pickup height adjustment would be in order before buying new pickups?

[Telemarkman]

Originally Posted by Ronkirn

I rekon the Stratitus is at an epic level on your guitar…. having problems intonating the E and A strings?

Intonation? What's that ... ?

[H. Mac]

Originally Posted by timjohnsmith87

I like mine so high that when I play the string always hits them. What about you guys?

Not me. I like my pickups low. Way low.

Is there a point to having the pickups so high that the string "always" hits them? After all, the best way to reduce string vibration is to have it hit something, right?

[charlie chitlin]

I like having mine so low I need a flashlight to see them

[afungus amungus]

I have used the nickel method for years now. One on the high e and two on the low. Back in the 80's I had some EMG's and had them so high they just about touched the strings.

[Ronkirn]

problem is. . . entirely too many think LOUD is cool…. not so… Cool is cool…. and loud is more times than not, obnoxious… but.. today.. seems, obnoxious has become cool.. sup with that?

I have a lotta guys send me Mp3's of their garage bands.. all of 'em are the same…. everything that can be, is turned to "10".. and what can't be turned is moved as close as possible….

every time, it's the same… 2 notes in, and I'm thinking Ooooohhh Fuuuuuuddddge,,,, how long is this gonna last…


this is why I have often said YOU are no authority on how YOU sound… you're prejudiced..if you (the "yous" here are all inclusive) are playing and assessing sound at the same time, you're nuts… at the very least, you should be recording yourselves and making a determination based on the playback.. better yet, have someone else that knows nothing about gear, but likes music, give you an unbiased opinion… I mean, if you were in a studio, doing it right, that's who your producer would be thinking of… he doesn't give a flip what YOU want… he wants to sell CD's..


Someone that moves the pickups up to a height that interferes with the strings… well… where's the bar...

r

[Bartholomew3]

Right on Mr Ron - but without the proper instruction how would a new guy know these things ?

The bar is where they'll never play and get paid union scale.

[Skub]

Originally Posted by timjohnsmith87

I like mine so high that when I play the string always hits them. What about you guys?

I prefer mine like baby bear's porridge.

[waparker4]

When I pluck my guitar strings I like them to vibrate unimpeded.. so lower than yours

[Camplain]

I used to find setting pickup height to be the toughest part of a setup.... wasted more time than I can count tinkering with pickup height...

I've tried it all... nickels, Fender's setup guide, various magic numbers from all over the net... sometimes it would sound good, sometimes not so much... Ultimately it all comes down to adjusting height by ear, but that's easier said than done... It can get so confusing learning to trust your ears... "Is this the sweet spot, was it the way I had it 4 screw turns ago, or have I not found it yet?".

The conclusion I've come to is to not worry about it so much... At some point I realized that every time I tweak an amp knob it makes as much or more difference as a slight pickup adjustment does...

These days I just set all of the amp's eq knobs at 5, set the neck p/u height low enough to avoid stratitis while fretting the last fret and adjust it a bit lower till I like what I hear, mainly looking for a good ballance between bass and treb...not too boomy, not too thin... then I'll adjust the bridge height to roughly match the output of the neck... Final height tweaking is done in the middle position, I like the middle to have that woody/chimey sound, usually I'll just lower the bridge a little more and it sounds ok.....

Then it's time to call the p/u height close enough for rock n' roll and start tweaking the amp eq... for me that's when I find the sweet spot...

I'm sure there are better methods out there, but this is the only way I've been able to quit tinkering and get back to playing.... darn, now I wanna go home and adjust my p/u's.... it's never ending

[timjohnsmith87]

Originally Posted by Ronkirn

I rekon the Stratitus is at an epic level on your guitar…. having problems intonating the E and A strings?

Ron Kirn

What does stratitis mean?

[timjohnsmith87]

Originally Posted by Ronkirn

problem is. . . entirely too many think LOUD is cool…. not so… Cool is cool…. and loud is more times than not, obnoxious… but.. today.. seems, obnoxious has become cool.. sup with that?

I have a lotta guys send me Mp3's of their garage bands.. all of 'em are the same…. everything that can be, is turned to "10".. and what can't be turned is moved as close as possible….

every time, it's the same… 2 notes in, and I'm thinking Ooooohhh Fuuuuuuddddge,,,, how long is this gonna last…

this is why I have often said YOU are no authority on how YOU sound… you're prejudiced..if you (the "yous" here are all inclusive) are playing and assessing sound at the same time, you're nuts… at the very least, you should be recording yourselves and making a determination based on the playback.. better yet, have someone else that knows nothing about gear, but likes music, give you an unbiased opinion… I mean, if you were in a studio, doing it right, that's who your producer would be thinking of… he doesn't give a flip what YOU want… he wants to sell CD's..

Someone that moves the pickups up to a height that interferes with the strings… well… where's the bar...

r

There's no right or wrong way with music though. That's the beauty of it. There is no bar

[Ronkirn]

Stratitus is a term coined by Chris Kinman, I think, It refers to the phenomena where single coil pickups are raised to such a close proximity to the strings, that the magnet's "pull" distorts the vibrations of the string… pulling it into an asynchronous waveform.. the resulting sound mirrors perfectly a string badly out of intonation.

There is no bar

the bar I was speaking of, has Single Malt available…

Ron Kirn

[Toto'sDad]

Especially on a Strat, I hate the Stratitus effect so much, that I hook a tuner up to my Strat with an instrument cord, and keep lowering the pickups until when fretted at the 12th (where you (generally) check intonation) the needle will remain steady on the tuner when moderately plucking a string or hitting it with a pick, I want the note to remain steady and no wavering of the tuner when the note is struck on ANY of the three pickups. If it's wavering I lower until it doesn't.

On the other hand I have a friend that firmly believes you should hear the pick hitting the string, thumping loudly with every note he plays, and have the wonderful shimmering wah, wah effect as the notes are played. Intonation, we don't need no stinkin' intonation.

[dsutton24]

If you like the sound of strings clanking against a pickup, then go for it, it's your guitar and your personal sound. As for me, it would drive me utterly bat****.