raising the poles

[Ostia Man]

If you raise the poles of a humbucker, dose it changes the sound? and how?

 

[guitarist]

The closer the pole pieces are to the strings, the more output, too close and the magnetic field might interfere with sustain. Pretty much the same effect as raising the whole pickup. But if you raise some poles more than others you can adjust the balance between the strings. Also raising all the poles on the side of the humbucker closest to the bridge might result in a slightly brighter sound.

 

[Light]

The individual poles on a humbucker are there to balence out any volume differences between the strings.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[ggunn]

The closer the pole pieces are to the strings, the more output, too close and the magnetic field might interfere with sustain.

The symptoms of getting a pole piece or pickup too close to a string is not so much sustain interference as it is adding weird harmonics and "warbling" to the sound of the vibrating string. It will never sound in tune.

 

[Sirnothingness]

Exactly. You want a wierd effect? Just raise the pole under your sixth string.

 

[Ostia Man]

and, if I lower the pickup and raise the poles?
how will this afect the sound?


Thanx to all.

 

[foo]

It will lower the overall volume of the pickup (and potentially give you a cleaner sound) - except for the pole pieces that you raise which will increase the volume of the strings under which you have raised the polepieces.

What kind of sound are you looking for - and what type of guitar and pickups do you have?

 

[Sirnothingness]

Personally, if you're not very experienced with set ups and that, I would have a tech take care of it for a few bucks.

 

[ggunn]

Personally, if you're not very experienced with set ups and that, I would have a tech take care of it for a few bucks.

Or just play around with it and see what happens as a learning experience. It's pretty easy to put it back where it was... HOWEVER, if you lower a pickup too much by the screws at either end, and you back the screws all the way out, that will release the springs that they push against and the pickup will fall into the body of the guitar. If that happens, you'll have to take the strings off and remove the pickup to reassemble it, and that's a real PITA. Now, THAT's a learning experience, and of course the reason I know to warn you of it is I did it once myself.

 

[Ostia Man]

Thanx to all!
I'll go and screw around with my pickups


Thanx again