Members Operator Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 Now it's not too dark anymore. Just thought I'd report this exciting new development to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr.Picklebottom Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 what do you mean? did you raise or lower the pickup? oadjust the height of individual pickup thingies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members erksin Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 Too close to the strings'd. If you lower the body of the pup in question and then bring up the individual poles to taste that should brighten things up nicely. Amazing what tonal improvements can be made with a simple screwdriver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Operator Posted February 14, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 Totally! I tried bringing up the screws just a half turn each, to see what that would do before raising/lowering the pickup height, and it's basically perfect. Just a little nudge. Way cheaper than a new pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zappa74 Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 Too close to the strings'd.If you lower the body of the pup in question and then bring up the individual poles to taste that should brighten things up nicely. Amazing what tonal improvements can be made with a simple screwdriver. So my tele's neck pickup is dark... I should try dropping it a bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mel Cooley Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 So my tele's neck pickup is dark... I should try dropping it a bit? Yes. Or possibly replace/remove the cover. Different types of cover finish can darken the sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members erksin Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 So my tele's neck pickup is dark... I should try dropping it a bit? Yep. My homey Kittycaster has an ingenious way of setting Strat pickup heights to perfection - dangle a paper clip on a piece of string over the polepieces at the height of the string. Lower the pickup until you can no longer feel the magnetic pull on the paperclip. Your guitar will have a lot more sustain and likely sound a lot better overall. I've used this method on a variety of guitars and it seems to work no matter what pickup is used, but it's most noticeable on a Strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zappa74 Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 Thanks guys.. hopin this works out. I wasn't crazy about the neck single coil when I first got the guitar so I raised it a bit. Time to mess with it again. That paper clip idea is clever. I liked his tip regarding how to set up your amp with your guitars colume rolled back to about 7. I thought that was so simple but really smart too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notjonahbutnoah Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 Word. You can really eq a pickup by adjusting it. Brighter, darker, more output, less output. I mean, there are limits, but it's surprising howmany people do it with a ruler and not their ears, or don't even adjust at all, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gambit Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 Huh.. That paperclip idea sounds like its worth a try! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bieke Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 cool gonna try it on my Tokai, paperclip and screwdriver trickery ftmfw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members macadood Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 Huh.. That paperclip idea sounds like its worth a try! yea, sounds ingenious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vinnies Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 what's the screw on a pickup attached to? i'm wondering if there's damage when a screw is screwed all the way out or in. and yes, i have no idea what's inside a pup besides wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Turd Furgison Posted February 14, 2012 Members Share Posted February 14, 2012 they are there in case of an emergency. lets say you are at a gig and take the back off your crybaby to impress a waitress with the new fasel inductor you installed. after getting her digits you go to put the plate back on, but to your horror you can only find 3 of the four screws. this is where the pickup screws come in handy, just take one out, and bang, your wah is back in action ready to help you melt some faces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zappa74 Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 Yep.My homey Kittycaster has an ingenious way of setting Strat pickup heights to perfection - dangle a paper clip on a piece of string over the polepieces at the height of the string. Lower the pickup until you can no longer feel the magnetic pull on the paperclip. Your guitar will have a lot more sustain and likely sound a lot better overall. I've used this method on a variety of guitars and it seems to work no matter what pickup is used, but it's most noticeable on a Strat. Gave it a go on my telecaster. Definitely cleared up/gave life to the neck single. It was waaaay high before adjustment and I dropped it down via the paperclip idea. Played around for a while and ended up raising it a tiny bit from the paperclip location and bam... perfect. What a great reference point. Tried it on my HH guitar just to see where I was at and it turns out they were already right at 'paperclip range' and I've never had a complaint with the way that guitar sounds. Another win. Thanks again for the heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterstomach Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 Yep.My homey Kittycaster has an ingenious way of setting Strat pickup heights to perfection - dangle a paper clip on a piece of string over the polepieces at the height of the string. Lower the pickup until you can no longer feel the magnetic pull on the paperclip. Your guitar will have a lot more sustain and likely sound a lot better overall. I've used this method on a variety of guitars and it seems to work no matter what pickup is used, but it's most noticeable on a Strat. i like this thread and i love this post. how helpful! i'm going to try this. i've always just kind of been shooting in the dark when adjusting pickup height. and i bet i've got them too high. i'm going to try this on my main guitar when i next get down to my practice space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Capsule Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 Interesting, my SG bridge pickup sounds like {censored} most of the time i'm going to have to try this next time i do a re-string. Yep.My homey Kittycaster has an ingenious way of setting Strat pickup heights to perfection - dangle a paper clip on a piece of string over the polepieces at the height of the string. Lower the pickup until you can no longer feel the magnetic pull on the paperclip. Your guitar will have a lot more sustain and likely sound a lot better overall. I've used this method on a variety of guitars and it seems to work no matter what pickup is used, but it's most noticeable on a Strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BHz_econo Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 seriously no one knew this already??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Capsule Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 seriously no one knew this already??? For Serious. Makes perfect sense and i feel like a moron for not thinking of this on my own... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members conky Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 This thread is full of win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TomCTC Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 AH PBBLT PBBT PBBLT PBTLTTTT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Capsule Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 This thread is full of win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members arthurdent'd Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 Thanks guys.. hopin this works out. I wasn't crazy about the neck single coil when I first got the guitar so I raised it a bit. Time to mess with it again. That paper clip idea is clever.I liked his tip regarding how to set up your amp with your guitars colume rolled back to about 7. I thought that was so simple but really smart too. yeah, that is what I do with my amp when I gig, except I set the guitar volume at 8. I think humbuckers sound great rolled of a bit, allows for more air in the sound, less compressed, jangle and such. Of course it works better for some music, and not for other kinds of music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Operator Posted February 15, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 seriously no one knew this already??? Never had a reason to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members erksin Posted February 15, 2012 Members Share Posted February 15, 2012 seriously no one knew this already??? You'd be surprised. It's the simple stuff that gets overlooked most often I've found. I thought I knew what I was doing and used to follow the Erlewine book guidelines when setting heights, but it doesn't really account for the pull of the various magnet types. The paperclip method Kitty told me about focuses solely on the string pull which can vary wildly within types of pickups. This takes all the guesswork out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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