Pole piece height

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Victory Pete

Victory Pete

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I have been adjusting my pole pieces over the years and would like to hear some peoples experiences. Lately this is how I procede: I use a digital decibel meter and set it in front of the amp I use the most, about 3 feet away. I set the amp for a medium setting between clean and distortion. I then try to pick the string as consistently as possible so I can get an average reading on the meter. I am amazed how unbalanced factory pickups actually are. My pole pieces are at all different heights. some are bottomed out and some are way up high. It looks funny. But if I then play the guitar, I cant believe how smooth it seems. It is way more balanced than a factory setup guitar. The factories just leave them nice and flat and even with all the screws lined up.
VP
 
That's WAY more hardcore than the way I do it (and, unless you're using some sort of custom mechanical picker to exert exactly the same amount of force each time, probably not accurate enough to be worth the hassle).

I just do it by ear. I agree that spending some time adjusting the polepieces is a totally worthwhile exercise, but striving for perfect equiliberum from polepeice to polepeice seems like a waste of time to me - if nothing else, as soon as you strum an open chord, fretted notes will suddenly be a bit closer to the polepeices than open notes, and your calibration will be off.

That said... If perfectly even output from string to string is your thing, have you experimented with so-called "optimized string sets," where gauges are selected to keep string tension as close to equal from string to string?
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
That's WAY more hardcore than the way I do it (and, unless you're using some sort of custom mechanical picker to exert exactly the same amount of force each time, probably not accurate enough to be worth the hassle).

I just do it by ear. I agree that spending some time adjusting the polepieces is a totally worthwhile exercise, but striving for perfect equiliberum from polepeice to polepeice seems like a waste of time to me - if nothing else, as soon as you strum an open chord, fretted notes will suddenly be a bit closer to the polepeices than open notes, and your calibration will be off.

That said... If perfectly even output from string to string is your thing, have you experimented with so-called "optimized string sets," where gauges are selected to keep string tension as close to equal from string to string?
Click to expand...

I modify my own sets of GHS Boomers, I use precision spring scales to measure tension from string to string, I do this so all my strings will bend equally. But I think there is more to volume than just tension. The size and make up of the strings for instance.
ViP
 
Victory Pete said:
My pole pieces are at all different heights. some are bottomed out and some are way up high.
Click to expand...

I can understand why you adjust your pole screws so much. It's to compensate for the talcum impregnated old worn out strings

Victory Pete said:
I modify my own sets of GHS Boomers, I use precision spring scales to measure tension from string to string, I do this so all my strings will bend equally. But I think there is more to volume than just tension. The size and make up of the strings for instance.
Click to expand...

Is this with or without talc? What brand, and model scale are you using? What is the average tension when the strings are tuned to pitch? Will you just go away?
 
JCH said:
I can understand why you adjust your pole screws so much. It's to compensate for the talcum impregnated old worn out strings



Is this with or without talc? What brand, and model scale are you using? What is the average tension when the strings are tuned to pitch? Will you just go away?
Click to expand...

A. I always use brand new strings before adjusting anything on my guitars.
B. Chatillon IN-2 and IN-10
C. No
VP
 
JCH said:
I can understand why you adjust your pole screws so much. It's to compensate for the talcum impregnated old worn out strings



Is this with or without talc? What brand, and model scale are you using? What is the average tension when the strings are tuned to pitch? Will you just go away?
Click to expand...

What are ya griping for? He took a vacation in the summer.
 
Victory Pete said:
I have been adjusting my pole pieces over the years and would like to hear some peoples experiences. Lately this is how I procede: I use a digital decibel meter and set it in front of the amp I use the most, about 3 feet away. I set the amp for a medium setting between clean and distortion. I then try to pick the string as consistently as possible so I can get an average reading on the meter. I am amazed how unbalanced factory pickups actually are. My pole pieces are at all different heights. some are bottomed out and some are way up high. It looks funny. But if I then play the guitar, I cant believe how smooth it seems. It is way more balanced than a factory setup guitar. The factories just leave them nice and flat and even with all the screws lined up.
VP
Click to expand...



Wow, that's a waste of time.

I adjust things until they sound good. I have customers who bring in new guitars they are otherwise very happy with just to have me adjust their pickups, so I figure I must be doing it right.

Here's my method:

Fret the high E string and set the neck pickup so it is 1/8th or further from the string (depends on the sound you are after - the closer to the string the hotter).

Next, adjust the low E side of the neck pickup so it is balanced with the High E string.

Then, if you've got adjustable pole pieces, adjust them so all the strings have even output.

Next, repeat all of that for the other strings.

Done.

We don't listen with our eyes, we listen with our ears. Any time you are making sonic decisions with your eyes, that is (to quote the show I'm watching right now) Bullshit.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
Wow, that's a waste of time.

I adjust things until they sound good. I have customers who bring in new guitars they are otherwise very happy with just to have me adjust their pickups, so I figure I must be doing it right.

Here's my method:

Fret the high E string and set the neck pickup so it is 1/8th or further from the string (depends on the sound you are after - the closer to the string the hotter).

Next, adjust the low E side of the neck pickup so it is balanced with the High E string.

Then, if you've got adjustable pole pieces, adjust them so all the strings have even output.

Next, repeat all of that for the other strings.

Done.

We don't listen with our eyes, we listen with our ears. Any time you are making sonic decisions with your eyes, that is (to quote the show I'm watching right now) Bullshit.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...

My eyes verify what my ears hear. It is a very accurate and straightfoward process. My customers are very happy as well.
ViP
 
Victory Pete said:
I modify my own sets of GHS Boomers, I use precision spring scales to measure tension from string to string, I do this so all my strings will bend equally. But I think there is more to volume than just tension. The size and make up of the strings for instance.
ViP
Click to expand...

Most of the guys who actually do this generally prefer to have the tension slightly increase as they get towards the bass strings, for various reasons.

I think it's a lot of psychological mumbo-jumbo myself, but then again by default I've actually ended up with a set not too dissimilar to what a lot of these guys go for, though I run a seriously heavy low B (.68) since I do hit pretty hard.

And this really doesn't have anything to do with volume - it's purely about balancing tension from string to string so your guitar "feels" similar from one string to the next. I just thought, since you seem to care so much about exactly measuring output, this might be something you'd find interesting.

I'm also curious why you bother to measure tension yourself - most of this information is readily available online.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Most of the guys who actually do this generally prefer to have the tension slightly increase as they get towards the bass strings, for various reasons.

I think it's a lot of psychological mumbo-jumbo myself, but then again by default I've actually ended up with a set not too dissimilar to what a lot of these guys go for, though I run a seriously heavy low B (.68) since I do hit pretty hard.

And this really doesn't have anything to do with volume - it's purely about balancing tension from string to string so your guitar "feels" similar from one string to the next. I just thought, since you seem to care so much about exactly measuring output, this might be something you'd find interesting.

I'm also curious why you bother to measure tension yourself - most of this information is readily available online.
Click to expand...

I'm still very keen to see pictures of the process. I'm curious to see if it's quicker, easier and/or more accurate than the string gauge calculator myself and all the other luthiers I know use or quicker than my calculator for that matter.
 
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