How high is TOO HIGH to raise my pickup?

S

Spin Doctor

New member
I want to raise the pickup on my Les Paul Studio. My crappy Fender Music master has a Hot Rail in it, and it sounds better than the Alnico II in my LP.

I've noticed the pickup in the fender is pretty high,you can fit a 25 cent piece (quarter) in between it and the strings. The LP has about twice that much room.

People tell me if you raise it too high you lose sustain.

Most people consider me a genius but I can't figure this one out.

In conclusion, I want my Les Paul to sound as kick ass as my crappy Fender.

Dear god..
 
Spin doctor,
Fret the low e string at the 22nd fret. Now look at the clearance between the underside of the string and the pickup or polepiece if it is extended. Raise the pickup until you have a gap of about 1/16"....no less. Do the same thing using the high e string to adjust the other side of the pickup.
Bob's yer uncle;)
 
Spin Doctor said:
My crappy Fender Music master ............. sounds better than the Alnico II in my LP............
I want my Les Paul to sound as kick ass as my crappy Fender.
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Yeah, good luck with that:) You can make that LP louder though. I usually adjust pickups while the guitar is attached to a VU meter for more volume. Closer is not always louder.
 
As high as you like unless you get wolf tones, loss of tone or the strings are buzzing on the pickup cover. I tend to back them down a bit and crank the amp to make up for the volume loss. The tone is just better this way but I have a Tele and this may not apply to Gibson pickups.
 
Luthier

i agree with Luthier. if the pickup is too close, magnetic friction is involved in stopping the guitar string from vibrating... but if the pickup is too far away, the magnets wont be able to effectively pickup the vibrating string. Theres a sweet spot that luthiers know of. it all depends on the string guage and metal too... keep tweaking the pickup height until you find a comfort zone.
 
You guys ever hit the middle pup on guitar with your pick while playing by having them up that high? I never liked strats for that reason, and any other guitar with a middle pickup.
 
Fret the guitar at the highest fret you normaly play up to, check the space between the bridge pup and the high E string, you should have a space about the thickness of a nickel and about twice as much on the low E side. The neck pup should have a little more space between it and the strings. You can vary this a little but not very much. Setting the pups too cloce will shorten sustain, especialy on the neck pup.
 
I don't like the 3 pick up set ups or high set pick ups, I use a 1894 silver dollar for a pick so who am I to suggest anything....keep the tone, crank the amp.
 
To some extent, the greater the gap between the pickup and the string the more harmonically rich the tone will be. This is because the pickup "sees" more of the string. Depending on your playing style richness can be an asset or a liability. Tone is subjective.

Set your pickup to maximum height as described above. Try it out and see what you think. Back down the pickups some and try it again. You should hear the difference. Go from there.

Adjust the pickup you use the most (neck or bridge) for maximum tone. Adjust the other based on volume. I like my pickups to be the same volume. Many people prefer the bridge pickup louder.
 
goodbyebluesky said:
You guys ever hit the middle pup on guitar with your pick while playing by having them up that high? I never liked strats for that reason, and any other guitar with a middle pickup.
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In my opinion, if you have strat pups that high they are too high. They sound the best almost flush with the pickguard.
 
jimistone said:
In my opinion, if you have strat pups that high they are too high. They sound the best almost flush with the pickguard.
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Unless they are lace sensors, in which case the recommendation is to raise them until just before they interfere with the strings.
 
1)plug in

2)raise and lower the pickups all the way, while picking some open notes between screw turns

3)note where you like the tone most

4)repeat until you zero in on where you think it sounds the best

5)make sure it's not in the way of anything

done
 
If you will go to Gibson's web site, in the support section you can find recommendations for pickup height. :)
 
Ironklad Audio said:
1)plug in

2)raise and lower the pickups all the way, while picking some open notes between screw turns

3)note where you like the tone most

4)repeat until you zero in on where you think it sounds the best

5)make sure it's not in the way of anything

done
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HeHe! That is how it works. Simple and Very effective! 5 thumbs up.:cool:
 
The alnico pickups in the LP will never sound like the hot rails. It doesn't have anything to do with the pickup height. Those two pickups just don't do the same thing.
 
OK one more question. What could I put in my Les Paul that is similar to the Hot Rail sound? If I put a Hot Rail in my Les Paul the kids will laugh at me cuz it looks retarded.

Thanks to everybody who gave me suggestions...
 
Spin Doctor said:
OK one more question. What could I put in my Les Paul that is similar to the Hot Rail sound? If I put a Hot Rail in my Les Paul the kids will laugh at me cuz it looks retarded.

Thanks to everybody who gave me suggestions...
Click to expand...

Stand up, Bud. You're kidding about being made fun of, Right? Pull yourself together, man. You are your own best critic. Play your ass off like you got a pair; screw everybody else!;)
 
Yeah I was kidding about being made fun of.

But the Hot Rails were made to fit the slot of a single coil pickup, right? I mean... I've never seen a Les Paul with that Pickup in it. Is there a similar sounding pickup I could get?

Forgive my naive-ness... I don't know much about equipment.
 
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