Pickups: How high do you adjust?

[Encinitastubes]

How far from the strings do you adjust your pickups? I realize folks will have different tastes, but am trying to figure out if there is some range that is normal. Thanks!!

[featherhead]

Tons of info here. http://www.fender.com/support/telecaster.php

[surfoverb]

I've got mine set about 3mm on bass side and about 2.5mm treble side. (measured with last fret pressed down and measure bottom of string to top of pole piece)

Start with lower than you think and raise from there, you don't want them too close. Usually the bass side will be a tad lower than treble...Maybe start with 3mm on treble side and 3.5 on bass.

Just mess with it until it sounds like a tele.

[Noodler]

Thanks for the thread and especially that link. My Tele came with it's bridge PUP wayyy too low. I've just taken it up to near those measurements.

[GilmourD]

I tend to set mine a bit lower than most people... But I'm weird. :)

What I do is start as low as I can go, usually flush with the pickguard/bridge plate. Then I raise it up until I hit the sweet spot. I keep going in case it gets sweeter higher, but I back off once I start losing the sweetness.

[Twang Tone]

What you're talking about is finding the pickup's "sweet spot". Each and every pickup I've tried has it.

Start low, then incrementally raise each side of the pickup until the optimum tone and volume is reached. Volume is not as important as tone because more volume can always be added at the amp. But finding the sweet spot for the tone of the pickup is all important.

Another fundamentally important point is getting the balance right between the pickups. Make sure they are equal in volume when switching between the two. Ideally, you don't want one louder than the other.

Thanks,

[maestrovert]

the good ol' nickel trick is a fair "rule of thumb" starting point....an' +-1/16" can make quite a bit of difference, tonally.

fwiw i also tend to set my p-ups a lil' lower than most guys...

[RocketshipChair]

The way I set mine up is like this. I lower the bridge pickup to the lowest position (ussually to the point where it is touching the buttom of the pickup route). I then adjust the neck pickup height until the volume of the two pickups is equal. This way the pickups tend to take more tone from the wood, while adding more bass to the bridge pickup and avoiding the dreaded icepick tone that can occur with a telecaster.

Than again this approach isn't for everyone. I'm very unconvential with things like nice. I also have a habbit of turning my mids up to the highest setting to make up for all the metal heads in the world who scope theirs.

[Tycho]

Originally Posted by featherhead

Tons of info here. http://www.fender.com/support/telecaster.php

I love this line:

Set too high, pickups can cause myriad inexplicable phenomena.

[schoolie]

Originally Posted by Tycho

I love this line:

Finally! That explains the crop circles and UFOs! It was pickup height

[hoops]

Originally Posted by Twang Tone

What you're talking about is finding the pickup's "sweet spot". Each and every pickup I've tried has it.

Start low, then incrementally raise each side of the pickup until the optimum tone and volume is reached. Volume is not as important as tone because more volume can always be added at the amp. But finding the sweet spot for the tone of the pickup is all important.

+1.

Rule #1: There are no rules.

I suggest completely disregarding any step-by-step instructions to finding the right setup that are more complex than the one above. You have to just use your ears and your fingers.

Sometimes the sweet spot is not what you would expect. You might end up with your pickups way lower than you're used to, or lop-sided (one side higher than the other).

I've found that usually when you do hit the spot it kind of jumps out at you, suddenly the whole guitar is much more responsive and balanced.

[930vet]

Originally Posted by RocketshipChair

The way I set mine up is like this. I lower the bridge pickup to the lowest position (ussually to the point where it is touching the buttom of the pickup route). I then adjust the neck pickup height until the volume of the two pickups is equal. This way the pickups tend to take more tone from the wood, while adding more bass to the bridge pickup and avoiding the dreaded icepick tone that can occur with a telecaster.

Than again this approach isn't for everyone. I'm very unconvential with things like nice. I also have a habbit of turning my mids up to the highest setting to make up for all the metal heads in the world who scope theirs.

I don't really understand this- what is the mechanism whereby an electromagnetic pickup gets tone from the wood? The only thing I can think of is that it vibrates the pickup in relation to the strings. I always figured that any harmonics from the body that are heard in an electric guitar's output were transferred to the strings and picked up by the pickups; improvements in sustain come from helping the strings to ring longer. I'm open-minded about this- I'm not saying it doesn't happen- but I'd like to hear a theory about how it happens. I think my theory about it vibrating the pickup in relation to the strings is pretty weak.