MIM Standard Pickup Height Question

[SixStringSlinger]

I recently bought an MIM Standard and, as part of my initial set-up, set the pickups to the recommended distance from the strings (after setting my string height): 5/64" on the bass side, 4/64" on the treble.

(I'm fully aware I can set the pickups any way I please; I prefer to start with the factory recommendation and tweak from there to my taste)

I'm happy with this, tone-wise. However, the pickups are hotter than my Strat's, so there is a big volume difference when plugged in (the amp distorts more, as well).

Obviously I can adjust my volume/gain to compensate for the Tele's hotter pups, but I've been thinking about messing with the pickup height to do the same. I don't want both guitars to sound the same, but I'd like to be able to switch guitars and not have to make any other changes (let the Strat sound like a Strat, the Tele sound like a Tele...).

Do you think my idea would work, and if so, so you have any recommendations for a starting point for the pickup height? Or will lowering them enough to accomplish this also change the overall tone to some great degree?

 

[JustABluesGuy]

I tend to set my pickups a bit on the low side. I’ve always done it by ear, instead of by the numbers.

As far as equalizing the volume between two different guitars, I don’t actually switch on the fly that much, and I ride my guitar volume knob constantly, so I can’t say for sure if it would even be a problem for me.

Maybe try setting your strats up with the pickups as high as you can (without wolfiness), and your Teles as low as you can (without sacrificing tone).

Another possibily is to simply combine a clean boost pedal with the strats right in the front of the signal chain. Plug into it with your Strats, and bypass it, and plug your Tele into the second pedal in the chain?

Good luck with it!

 

[JL_LI]

Maybe I'm missing the point or maybe I'm just thinking differently about your problem. I'd set the pickup heights on both guitars so they sound best. The Strat pickups may be set low to eliminate warbling. Balance the pickups with small changes in height so they play at about the same volume. Handle the volume differences between guitars with the volume controls on each of them. If the Tele gets muddy with the volume rolled down, think about adding a treble bleed.

 

[SixStringSlinger]

Maybe I'm missing the point or maybe I'm just thinking differently about your problem. I'd set the pickup heights on both guitars so they sound best. The Strat pickups may be set low to eliminate warbling. Balance the pickups with small changes in height so they play at about the same volume. Handle the volume differences between guitars with the volume controls on each of them. If the Tele gets muddy with the volume rolled down, think about adding a treble bleed.

Well my philosophy tends to be that the further you get from yourself (guitar-->pedals-->amp) the less adjustments you make. So you may adjust volume/tone/pick attack/etc. on the guitar even within the same song. Or change pedal settings between songs. I prefer to set the amp how I like it, and not touch it again until I turn it off. That's just how I look at it, and it's why I'd like to be able to switch guitars without having to fiddle with amp settings.

I take your point. And fortunately my amp has a hot/clean switch that compensates nicely for the Teles hotter pickups (I tend to have it on "hot" for the Strat; I can switch to the Tele and switch the amp to "clean"). I guess my questions is mostly to what degree can I change pickup height to effect a change in volume before it effects a noticeable change in tone.

 

[beninma]

I'd go ahead and lower them. They're really hot. You'll have to decide if you can get them down to the point you're happy with the tone + output level.

It depends on your amp too but for me (Orange amp) I found even my "natural" (clean) channel was way too broken up, no way to get a totally clean sound. Turning the volume down made them get really muddy. I ended up lowering them a lot but still never being happy and swapped them out. Maybe if I'd had a Fender amp with tons of clean headroom I'd have gotten what I wanted with the stock pickups. I ended up putting a Treble bleed in when I got the new pickups so I could lower the volume to clean stuff up without darkening the tone too.

Since I did this I've gotten a lot better at dynamics which helps but I still think I'd find the stock pickups too hot. (I still have them). I'd say I'm in that same camp in terms of wanting to set the amp and leave it. Only thing I do is switch back and forth between channels with the footswitch.

 

[FenderGuy53]

Oh, boy, you done did it now - open a big ole can of worms!

There's 101 ways to get this done; you just to find (and use) the one that works for you.

There's no right or wrong way to do it.

 

[JustABluesGuy]

Well my philosophy tends to be that the further you get from yourself (guitar-->pedals-->amp) the less adjustments you make. So you may adjust volume/tone/pick attack/etc. on the guitar even within the same song. Or change pedal settings between songs. I prefer to set the amp how I like it, and not touch it again until I turn it off. That's just how I look at it, and it's why I'd like to be able to switch guitars without having to fiddle with amp settings.

I take your point. And fortunately my amp has a hot/clean switch that compensates nicely for the Teles hotter pickups (I tend to have it on "hot" for the Strat; I can switch to the Tele and switch the amp to "clean"). I guess my questions is mostly to what degree can I change pickup height to effect a change in volume before it effects a noticeable change in tone.

Experiment with it and see for yourself. It’s easy enough, and you can go back to the Fender Specs at any time, if you aren’t happy with the results.