I remember when we parked our line trucks under a 345k line on a foggy day and the induced current knocked a lineman on his rear when he touched his truck. You could say our pickups were to close. :)
Hi Dylan. I just want to take a moment to say thank you for all the information that you put out in your videos. Even though I've played for a long time, I always seem to learn something useful from your videos.
On Phil McKnight's video on this from the past week, his conclusion was that it has an effect, but there's no way to characterize that effect as better or worse, good or bad. It changed the way the decay of the waveform evolved, and was noticeable -- but only because he knew it was happening. In a blind test, I don't think you'd be able to say "this is a bridge pickup with no neck pickup" or "this is a bridge pickup with an inactive neck pickup". So it comes down to the same age-old golden-ear audiophile drama. You can't convince them they're imagining it, and they can't convince you they actually hear anything objective. The effect isn't nonexistent, and it's audible when you know that something has changed. But it's not a "better" or "worse" thing.
The string is made of s ferrous (steel) material, The string is attracted to the magnetic field of the pole piece, which disturbs (pulls) the magnetic flux causing a change in the field. That change in the pattern of the magnetic flux creates a small electrical current in the pickup coil. That current is the signal which is then amplified and causes the speaker to move the cone making an audible sound. The bottom line is: adjust the pickup height and note if a change in volume and tone results. That is what matters.
I adjusted my pickups with a fuzz pedal set to the most gated setting I can get and once they all gate evenly I call it quits. Believe it or not that's been really effective. I started in a fairly low but visually correct position and lift. Bazz Fuss I have will binary style gate.. I like my neck pickup to almost bothersomely low output compared to my bridge.. but I have a single volume and switching between for clean neck to overdrive bridge is really satisfiying and useful. I always run my neck in Parallel if I have 2 pickups and leave the bridge series.. Otherwise I play Junior with a push pull for s-p 11:56 when you took a sip and ad came on and the were in the same position chugging back some Sudafed or something.
I always want this to be a SUPER TONE SECRET REVEALED, and the answer is usually something like "yes, it has an effect, but no, it's not big enough to really matter". I don't know. I've heard guitar people say that single pickup guitars have more sustain than triple pickup guitars. The signal comes from the string's motion - it's an energy transfer. Enough energy for number of pickups to matter? Opinions vary, but, reasonably as ever, Dylan tells me - "not enough to be worth worrying about."
You've got a good setting point , to start with. Glad you're showing that. But ,YEAH , pickups DO pull on the strings. Formulas be damned,... LOL If you get a magnet, close enough to metal, it is going to affect everything concerned. And have an effect on everything in the magnetic field, and everything it does Including string oscillation, volume , tonal qualities, and what it does to the signal, that goes into the controls, and amp. Just to say... I didn't change my pickup height. That was in 1977, and it still ricks , today. I Got Strats, SG's ,PRS, 335's and other LP's and This one is one of my go to guitars. SO, I GUESS IT'S All About THE WAY IT SOUNDS, EH? You're doin' a good job, DYLAN. Keep it up!
I set mine quite low, because my amp has a lot of headroom, so I need to get rid of some low end. I remember a video from Wills Eazy guitars where he put a huge magnet on top of a guitar only to find a small sustain reduction. Nice video Dylan, thanks.
10:58 Metric is not a 'land', it is the whole world. :)) Imperial however IS a land. Actually three 'lands' (Myanmar, Liberia and some third one) out of roughly 200 countries of the world.
Some credible people say that removing the neck pickup gives them tone that sounds better to them. So are we to think that they necessarily had their neck pickup super close to the strings? Or, could it be that in removing the neck pickup, they also removed some electronics--with that being the real cause of the sound difference before and after pickup removal? How will removing a tone pot affect sound?
Removing tone pots on humbuckers is a huge difference! Adds tons of highs and a small bit of volume and possibly a sustain difference. I rip all my bridge humbucker tone pots out. I like one on the neck though for that smothered jazz tone. * I have one axe with a 5 way selector, that allows me to only have a tone pot on 2 of the 5 settings, switching between the neck “with” and without a tone knob sounds completely different.
I like to play lead on the rhythm pick up. Because of the ridiculous vintage stagger, you need to have the pick up as high as you can to the strings on the high strings, and as low as you can with a low strings. And then when you distort the guitar, you won't get low strings really loud and fizzy, and instead you'll get a lot of distortion on the high strings which is kind of where you want it.
Try moving a strat type pickup closer to the string . As you get it closer the rod magnets begin to dampen the string vibrtion. With 3 pickups on a strat adjusted very close to the strings it can dampen the string vibration to where it sounds quite unpleasant to the ear. This is because in a strat pickup the pole piece is the actual magnet. I don't think the effect is as bad in other types of pickups.
Humbuckers to demonstrate string pull. Interesting choice. Try that again with fully charged alnico V G string 12th fret. Unless your pickups are really low, it's gonna warble.
Sorry! , And, I have to add to my last post. If the magnets are pulling on the strings, it will change the frequency,/ speed/range in which the strings oscillate .THAT, will change the volume, and the freq. and tonal qualities. Correct?
I like those SD Invader pickups. They have those huge hex screw pole pieces, so it doesn't even matter if you have a "F" spaced guitar, the size seems to make up for it... not that I ever tried "F spaced" pickups on any of my guitars.
Dylon, Can you please talk about adjusting pole pieces? Wes Montgomery and Bernie Kessel adjusted their pole pieces individually. Is it possible to talk about some of the do's and don'ts of that adjustment. Anything about Wes Montgomery would be great.
Just remember when you make small, insignificant, changes in a guitar. Either through a mechanical change or an electrical change. You are then _amplifying_ those once minor changes thousands of times until you scare the neighbors......And then you get over it and hopefully enjoy your guitar playing experience. "Shut up and play yer guitar."~ St. Zappa
Does this hold true for bass guitars with bigger strings and magnets? I have watched a few comparisons between the stingray H and HH and there seems to be a big difference in tone.
I was searching info on how Jimmy Page's live tones from the neck PAF are so incredibly clear, even with volume pot turned down (no treble bleed). And then I noticed just how low it sits! It's considerably lower than the pickup ring!
I raise the pickup very close to the strings. Then I slip a nickel between the pickup and the strings. With the guitar in the playing position I lower the the pickup until the nickel slips out, done!
Again thanks for another great video! Fender provides some guidance for adjusting telecaster and Stratocaster pick up height adjustment on their website. They have recommended height adjustment for different of their line of pick ups. As an example, for their standard line of pick ups, they recommend 1.6 to 1.8 mm between the pole piece in the bottom of the string my question to you: being blind, I am looking for a proper piece of plastic/non-metallic to properly adjust this height. Most of the feeler gauges are not thick enough. What would you recommend I use. In your video, you mention two times a nickel thickness. Any input would be appreciated. Big thanks again!
How articulated to anybody. The physics teacher you loved in school. Damn cool, it actually covers so much more than just pickups, the guitar is just a prop to interest and educate the class on such a subject 😁.
Hey Dylan, unrelated to your video but i thought you might be interested. Did you see Fender is releasing new wide range humbuckers with real CuNiFe magnets? $199 a piece too, so cheaper than Lollar or Mojotones
laid my LP , string down. on a flat marble surface, and a glass surface, and there was , in fact, a space, between the surface and the strings ,over/ or under the pickups ,between the bridge and nut , resting on the surface. The pups will pull on the strings! It's a fact. It will cause a slight bow , in the strings. Enough to slide a business card under them. TRY IT...If there's no gap, and they sound good, then you've got 'em adjusted right. Strangely, my guitar sounded great. It was just something I noticed one night , after a gig. The lights came on and I put my head down, and was lookin' at my strings, and saw the bow. I kinda didn't believe, what I was seeing. It looked like the strings were dipping towards the pickups. I took it to a luthier, at a guitar store. I put my guitar ,strings down atop his glass counter, and slid the card under the strings. He observed the gap. Asked him WHY? He didn't have an explanation. My explanation is, that the pickups ARE pulling on the strings. And in this video, you show that exact anomaly, by the raising and lowering of the pups. Don't believe me. Raise 'em up, then flip it over on a smooth level surface, and see, for yourself. By the way. Great Channel.! Good info comes to light.
Interesting. Can you tell us the exact minimum distance you would need to put between the neck pickup and the strings in order to eliminate the bowing of the strings that is apparently caused by the magnetic pull?
Use science, use an osciloscope. Set the P.U. to the loudest position (this is the exact P.U. height) on the scope. Presto! No ifs or buts (but the manufacturer says it should be set to (whatever height)).
Does the tuning affect the string pull? My tech said it does since I play 9s in Eb and they are quite slack. he insisted lowering the pickups way low, but I have a hard time believing him...
I think this topic is about as interesting as the tone wood debate. It is also about as factual. Some guys can hear it and others can not. The degree that you hear it depends on a lot of variables like, how long you have played, what instrument and amp you are using and most importantly how much gain you use. Remember when you first started playing and got that first guitar and amp and you thought it sounded amazing? Then years later after hopefully developing an ear better you now use something else and that first rig now sounds like crap to you.
I don't know if it's true, but I have read that if the magnet is too close, it will magnetically pull on the strings enough to dampen its vibration, thus dampening sustain.
Dang I just missed it! Too bad I didnt't get to downvote lol. Who's the 5 best guitar repair TH-camrs? Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, DYLAN, and Dylan. Cuz he spits that hot fire.
I remember when we parked our line trucks under a 345k line on a foggy day and the induced current knocked a lineman on his rear when he touched his truck. You could say our pickups were to close. :)
Hi Dylan. I just want to take a moment to say thank you for all the information that you put out in your videos. Even though I've played for a long time, I always seem to learn something useful from your videos.
On Phil McKnight's video on this from the past week, his conclusion was that it has an effect, but there's no way to characterize that effect as better or worse, good or bad. It changed the way the decay of the waveform evolved, and was noticeable -- but only because he knew it was happening. In a blind test, I don't think you'd be able to say "this is a bridge pickup with no neck pickup" or "this is a bridge pickup with an inactive neck pickup".
So it comes down to the same age-old golden-ear audiophile drama. You can't convince them they're imagining it, and they can't convince you they actually hear anything objective.
The effect isn't nonexistent, and it's audible when you know that something has changed. But it's not a "better" or "worse" thing.
The string is made of s ferrous (steel) material, The string is attracted to the magnetic field of the pole piece, which disturbs (pulls) the magnetic flux causing a change in the field. That change in the pattern of the magnetic flux creates a small electrical current in the pickup coil. That current is the signal which is then amplified and causes the speaker to move the cone making an audible sound. The bottom line is: adjust the pickup height and note if a change in volume and tone results. That is what matters.
I adjusted my pickups with a fuzz pedal set to the most gated setting I can get and once they all gate evenly I call it quits. Believe it or not that's been really effective.
I started in a fairly low but visually correct position and lift.
Bazz Fuss I have will binary style gate..
I like my neck pickup to almost bothersomely low output compared to my bridge.. but I have a single volume and switching between for clean neck to overdrive bridge is really satisfiying and useful. I always run my neck in Parallel if I have 2 pickups and leave the bridge series..
Otherwise I play Junior with a push pull for s-p
11:56 when you took a sip and ad came on and the were in the same position chugging back some Sudafed or something.
I always want this to be a SUPER TONE SECRET REVEALED, and the answer is usually something like "yes, it has an effect, but no, it's not big enough to really matter".
I don't know. I've heard guitar people say that single pickup guitars have more sustain than triple pickup guitars.
The signal comes from the string's motion - it's an energy transfer. Enough energy for number of pickups to matter? Opinions vary, but, reasonably as ever, Dylan tells me - "not enough to be worth worrying about."
You've got a good setting point , to start with. Glad you're showing that. But ,YEAH , pickups DO pull on the strings. Formulas be damned,... LOL If you get a magnet, close enough to metal, it is going to affect everything concerned. And have an effect on everything in the magnetic field, and everything it does Including string oscillation, volume , tonal qualities, and what it does to the signal, that goes into the controls, and amp. Just to say... I didn't change my pickup height. That was in 1977, and it still ricks , today. I Got Strats, SG's ,PRS, 335's and other LP's and This one is one of my go to guitars. SO, I GUESS IT'S All About THE WAY IT SOUNDS, EH? You're doin' a good job, DYLAN. Keep it up!
I set mine quite low, because my amp has a lot of headroom, so I need to get rid of some low end.
I remember a video from Wills Eazy guitars where he put a huge magnet on top of a guitar only to find a small sustain reduction.
Nice video Dylan, thanks.
Hey! Still waiting on that HSS Strat build! If its dual volume/coil split and master tone it’ll be more awesome! 😁
Great video Dylan, I love when these weird guitar ideas get debunked.
10:58
Metric is not a 'land', it is the whole world. :))
Imperial however IS a land.
Actually three 'lands' (Myanmar, Liberia and some third one) out of roughly 200 countries of the world.
Some credible people say that removing the neck pickup gives them tone that sounds better to them. So are we to think that they necessarily had their neck pickup super close to the strings? Or, could it be that in removing the neck pickup, they also removed some electronics--with that being the real cause of the sound difference before and after pickup removal? How will removing a tone pot affect sound?
Removing the electronics does it.
Removing tone pots on humbuckers is a huge difference! Adds tons of highs and a small bit of volume and possibly a sustain difference. I rip all my bridge humbucker tone pots out. I like one on the neck though for that smothered jazz tone.
* I have one axe with a 5 way selector, that allows me to only have a tone pot on 2 of the 5 settings, switching between the neck “with” and without a tone knob sounds completely different.
I like to play lead on the rhythm pick up. Because of the ridiculous vintage stagger, you need to have the pick up as high as you can to the strings on the high strings, and as low as you can with a low strings.
And then when you distort the guitar, you won't get low strings really loud and fizzy, and instead you'll get a lot of distortion on the high strings which is kind of where you want it.
I prefer my pickups fairly low, both humbuckers and single coils.
Most of the close up pics I've seen of my fave player's w LPs usually have them lower than the ring
Try moving a strat type pickup closer to the string . As you get it closer the rod magnets begin to dampen the string vibrtion. With 3 pickups on a strat adjusted very close to the strings it can dampen the string vibration to where it sounds quite unpleasant to the ear. This is because in a strat pickup the pole piece is the actual magnet. I don't think the effect is as bad in other types of pickups.
That’s why you adjust them properly and don’t have a problem.
Humbuckers to demonstrate string pull. Interesting choice. Try that again with fully charged alnico V G string 12th fret. Unless your pickups are really low, it's gonna warble.
I’d be happy to... I design pickups for a living... it’s something I have tried a time or two.
Sorry! , And, I have to add to my last post. If the magnets are pulling on the strings, it will change the frequency,/ speed/range in which the strings oscillate .THAT, will change the volume, and the freq. and tonal qualities. Correct?
So my question is whether or not it can impact the duration of sustaining the note and impact the string movement in that respect
I like those SD Invader pickups. They have those huge hex screw pole pieces, so it doesn't even matter if you have a "F" spaced guitar, the size seems to make up for it... not that I ever tried "F spaced" pickups on any of my guitars.
Great job on this! Btw I missed some episodes awhile ago, why are you in the RV? Is this an extended vacation or? Just curious.
Do you think the single vs double pup arguement is more to do with extra wiring components than string pull?
Dylon, Can you please talk about adjusting pole pieces? Wes Montgomery and Bernie Kessel adjusted their pole pieces individually. Is it possible to talk about some of the do's and don'ts of that adjustment. Anything about Wes Montgomery would be great.
Just remember when you make small, insignificant, changes in a guitar. Either through a mechanical change or an electrical change. You are then _amplifying_ those once minor changes thousands of times until you scare the neighbors......And then you get over it and hopefully enjoy your guitar playing experience.
"Shut up and play yer guitar."~ St. Zappa
Does this hold true for bass guitars with bigger strings and magnets? I have watched a few comparisons between the stingray H and HH and there seems to be a big difference in tone.
The tonal options of two pups beat out whatever little bit of loss from the pull IMO
What happens if you turn the pickup sideways? Thanks for the awesome content.
I was searching info on how Jimmy Page's live tones from the neck PAF are so incredibly clear, even with volume pot turned down (no treble bleed). And then I noticed just how low it sits! It's considerably lower than the pickup ring!
I raise the pickup very close to the strings. Then I slip a nickel between the pickup and the strings. With the guitar in the playing position I lower the the pickup until the nickel slips out, done!
Again thanks for another great video! Fender provides some guidance for adjusting telecaster and Stratocaster pick up height adjustment on their website. They have recommended height adjustment for different of their line of pick ups. As an example, for their standard line of pick ups, they recommend 1.6 to 1.8 mm between the pole piece in the bottom of the string my question to you: being blind, I am looking for a proper piece of plastic/non-metallic to properly adjust this height. Most of the feeler gauges are not thick enough. What would you recommend I use. In your video, you mention two times a nickel thickness. Any input would be appreciated. Big thanks again!
How articulated to anybody. The physics teacher you loved in school. Damn cool, it actually covers so much more than just pickups, the guitar is just a prop to interest and educate the class on such a subject 😁.
Cuts the maximum number of field lines produces the most voltage
Hey Dylan, unrelated to your video but i thought you might be interested. Did you see Fender is releasing new wide range humbuckers with real CuNiFe magnets? $199 a piece too, so cheaper than Lollar or Mojotones
laid my LP , string down. on a flat marble surface, and a glass surface, and there was , in fact, a space, between the surface and the strings ,over/ or under the pickups ,between the bridge and nut , resting on the surface. The pups will pull on the strings! It's a fact. It will cause a slight bow , in the strings. Enough to slide a business card under them. TRY IT...If there's no gap, and they sound good, then you've got 'em adjusted right. Strangely, my guitar sounded great. It was just something I noticed one night , after a gig. The lights came on and I put my head down, and was lookin' at my strings, and saw the bow. I kinda didn't believe, what I was seeing. It looked like the strings were dipping towards the pickups. I took it to a luthier, at a guitar store. I put my guitar ,strings down atop his glass counter, and slid the card under the strings. He observed the gap. Asked him WHY? He didn't have an explanation. My explanation is, that the pickups ARE pulling on the strings. And in this video, you show that exact anomaly, by the raising and lowering of the pups. Don't believe me. Raise 'em up, then flip it over on a smooth level surface, and see, for yourself. By the way. Great Channel.! Good info comes to light.
Interesting. Can you tell us the exact minimum distance you would need to put between the neck pickup and the strings in order to eliminate the bowing of the strings that is apparently caused by the magnetic pull?
Use science, use an osciloscope.
Set the P.U. to the loudest position (this is the exact P.U. height) on the scope.
Presto!
No ifs or buts (but the manufacturer says it should be set to (whatever height)).
Those pickups sound really quite nice. Those some of your making Dylan?
Yes sir
Might I ask which ones they were provided you remember that is. I realize you’ve slept a few times since this video lol
Our Flat 6 tele pickups
What pickups are those?
Does the tuning affect the string pull? My tech said it does since I play 9s in Eb and they are quite slack. he insisted lowering the pickups way low, but I have a hard time believing him...
Does the guitar sound good? ………
@@DylanTalksTone Honestly, to me it sounds fine either way
Anyone else wonder what Mrs. Dylan does for a living? If the answer is “nothing” then I am starting a pickup business. TODAY! Some lifestyle! Lmao.
if you followed our other channel you would know lol
I think this topic is about as interesting as the tone wood debate. It is also about as factual. Some guys can hear it and others can not. The degree that you hear it depends on a lot of variables like, how long you have played, what instrument and amp you are using and most importantly how much gain you use. Remember when you first started playing and got that first guitar and amp and you thought it sounded amazing? Then years later after hopefully developing an ear better you now use something else and that first rig now sounds like crap to you.
No magnets don’t pull the string out of tune.
I don't know if it's true, but I have read that if the magnet is too close, it will magnetically pull on the strings enough to dampen its vibration, thus dampening sustain.
Dang I just missed it! Too bad I didnt't get to downvote lol. Who's the 5 best guitar repair TH-camrs? Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, DYLAN, and Dylan. Cuz he spits that hot fire.
what a Ramble on ok so ugh like duh Fred so approx 3 mm yeah cheers
The power of the internet in your hands and this is your contribution to the world...
👍👍👍
Depends on how close the string is