How.much does pickup heigh matter?

[angelspade]

How much does it matter how close your pickups are to the strings? Passive and active?

Interested in opinions...I've never experimented much with pickup height.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Pickup height is huge with passive. Active I can't speak to.

If you have it high, you will have more gain/treble; lower the opposite. You can gain a bit more clarity and shave off the treble by slightly lowering.

You can also play with how much the bass or treble strings output by lowering/raising it on that side vs the other

 

[ChurchHill]

Sometimes quite a bit, sometimes not as much. Depends on what the pickup is.

Most Strat pickups use magnets for pole pieces. If you have them too close to the strings, it can cause unnatural overtones and dampen sustain.

For humbuckers, usually just about anything that it not causing the strings to hit the pickups is OK. Higher is louder, but not necessarily better sounding. Lowering them can change the balance of bass/mids/treble. Some pickups are much more sensitive to height than others, especially lower output pickups in my experience.

Maybe more important is getting the bass side to be close to the treble side so that all the strings are as close in volume as possible, but this can also be a matter of taste.

Some may disagree, but I've always started with adjusting the bridge pickup to where I think it sounds best height-wise, ensuring that it's balanced across the strings, then adjusting the neck pickup to where I like the balance with the bridge. I typically like less output from the neck, some don't. Some say adjust the neck first, then get the bridge to match.

Another thing to try is adjusting the pole pieces. The idea was to be able to adjust the output of each string, but it can also change the sound in the same type of way that raising or lowering the pickup itself can, just for each string. I've found that I can really dial in the last little bit by raising or lowering the pole pieces.

 

[Rottweiler]

This is the Gibson factory procedure. Its likely a good start but like the others stated above, it depends on the pickups and your amp also.

I have seen where too high can kill sustain above the 12th fret so test for that.
If you don't like the sound or excess string noise with the pickups up high, you can lower them but also remember you can raise the pole screws. This is especially useful with the P90 pickups.

You can usually tweak each individual string with the pole screws. Some pickups sound better lower but with the poles raised a little


I am re tweaking my BBpro this weekend if I get the time.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

I am just speaking from high gain bridge. I dont use necks. They definitely kill the sustain. None of my guitars have one

 

[ChurchHill]

I am just speaking from high gain bridge. I dont use necks. They definitely kill the sustain. None of my guitars have one

Truth! And I sometimes like a good neck pickup, but... give me one pickup anytime. They do sound different, killing sustain or otherwise affecting the overtones.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Truth! And I sometimes like a good neck pickup, but... give me one pickup anytime. They do sound different, killing sustain or otherwise affecting the overtones.

I found that with the jr, to emulate the neck pickup if your leads are too bright, you just roll back the tone halfway and the volume a little. Sounds great

 

[ChurchHill]

I found that with the jr, to emulate the neck pickup if your leads are too bright, you just roll back the tone halfway and the volume a little. Sounds great

Yep, or pick a little closer to the neck, or all of the above.

 

[Jimty]

I’m a bit OCD with this, so I’d say it makes a difference…

I spend quite a bit of time adjusting pickup height whenever I get a new guitar or swap pickups. I try them high, try them low, see what’s what and then pick a point and incrementally adjust a quarter turn / half turn or so until I like how they sound across clean, driven and high gain. I keep a screwdriver to hand until I’m happy with what I hear the next time I plug in - giving the ears a rest is a good idea.

I usually end up spending more time on neck pickups as I think they’re harder to get right - I hate flabby / woofy tones on the low strings on lower frets and want the notes to hold together/have clarity.

Each guitar/pickup is different so I don’t usually take measurements and port them across. The only rule of thumb is EMGs where closer to the string sounds better to me - too far away and they sound mushy / phasey.

 

[VonBonfire]

Pickup height is huge with passive. Active I can't speak to.

If you have it high, you will have more gain/treble; lower the opposite. You can gain a bit more clarity and shave off the treble by slightly lowering.

You can also play with how much the bass or treble strings output by lowering/raising it on that side vs the other

I agree with this about passives. I take a great deal of time setting my pup and polepiece heights with it plugged into the amp at gig volumes. I might easily spend 30 minutes or an hour making adjustments and checking response on a new pickup and then once I gig it a couple times I'll make any final small adjustments.

 

[JohnnyGtar]

A good trick for extra top end and clarity is to lower the pickup and raise the polepieces. Definitely a cool option IMO.

 

[VonBonfire]

A good trick for extra top end and clarity is to lower the pickup and raise the polepieces. Definitely a cool option IMO.

That's my go-to move for 57 classics.

 

[JohnnyGtar]

That's my go-to move for 57 classics.

Great minds think alike, bro!

 

[BABMusic]

How much does it matter how close your pickups are to the strings? Passive and active?

Interested in opinions...I've never experimented much with pickup height.

Matters a lot, unfortunately. Every pickup is different and the sweet spot will vary depending on the pickup and the wood of the guitar. I don't always believe that closer to the strings is the best sound. You will get more gain, but sometimes you won't need it and the best tone is somewhere further away. Also, if you're using a super high gain amp, there's really no need to bring the pickups closer to the strings.

 

[BABMusic]

I am just speaking from high gain bridge. I dont use necks. They definitely kill the sustain. None of my guitars have one

I never knew this, very interesting. I used to have a guitar with just one bridge, but that was decades ago.

 

[yngHL]

It makes a difference.

I’ve only used passive humbuckers but I found a few things
- even output across all strings when playing chords
- when playing a single string it doesn’t warble and sound out of tune with itself
- it can change the way a guitar reacts acoustically. I found one Les Paul came alive acoustically after changing pickup heights. I think the neck was too close to the strings originally and was choking it a bit

 

[LPMojoGL]

I set my guitars up to the Suhr specs:

"SUHR ACTION SPEC

•NECK RELIEF: while pressing on the D & G strings on the 1st and 17th fret, the relief should measure .005” (0.127mm) at the 7th fret. A capo can be used on the 1st fret.
•ACTION: Open strings should measure: 4/64” (1.587mm) at the last fret (I often go 5/64" on the big and baby E strings, ala David Gilmour)
•Gotoh 510 Bridge Plate: Approximately 3/64” (1.190mm) above body

-SUHR PUP HEIGHT-

• ALL SINGLE COILS: LOW E 8/64” (3.175mm) HIGH E 6/64” (2.381mm)
• NECK HUMBUCKER: LOW E 7/64” (2.778mm) HIGH E 6/64” (1.587mm)
• BRIDGE HUMBUCKER: LOW E 6/64” (2.381mm) HIGH E 5/64” (1.984mm)
• S90’S: LOW E 8/64” (2.778mm) HIGH E 6/64” (2.381mm)
*(Make sure strings are depressed at the last fret when measuring)

IMPORTANT: Please measure and set specs in the playing position."

I adjust, in order: relief, string height, then pickup height to above specs.
Then adjust string height to eliminate any buzzing, fretting out and for ez bends.
Last thing I do is tweak pup height for desired feel and tone.