Optimal / best string height over pickups

[Old_Skool]

Are there any rules of thumb os the distance between strings and the top of the pickup ? Any recommended guides,

[Pope on a Rope]

It's a personal preference. Experiment and see what you like best.

[doc oc]

One mans method:

 

I like hot pickups so I set most of mine just below where they interfere with the strings. It is clearly audible to me when this happens. Especially with big humbuckers. I start off right by the pickguard and then raise each one till I start hearing the muffling sound. I then back off about a half turn on each side and move to the next pickup.

When I'm done with that, I lower which ever is loudest to more or less match the others in volume.

The only exception I have encountered to this rule are texas specials. They are unbearably bright unless they are pretty close to the pickguard.

 

Hope this helps.

[cratz2]

Yeah, I'd say there is absolutely no right answer. I'm mostly a single coil guy. I like my CS69s and my GFS set that sounds similar to be pretty close to the strings and I like my CS54s almost all the way down to the pickguard.

 

For humbuckers, in general, I like they about half way down, probably probably closer to the body than 'normal' and I usually have the bass side further away from the strings than the treble side.

 

It's definitely a 'try and see what suits you and suits the particular guitar' kinda thing.

 

[TruSlice]

For tube amps, I tend to have the pickups further away from the body so that it will make the amp work harder (by turning it up) to pick up the signal. You get more harmonics and sustain