Here is what I found. If you roll the volume off and it sounds like you turned it all the way to zero, before you hit zero, then PU's are too far away. Set it on about 2 and adjust them to the level you think 2 should be, or want 2 to be. Then check what it sounds like on 10. Mine hit spot on. 2 should be pretty quiet, but not gone. And it shouldn't be loud, or even moderate, 5 should be moderate. Work up from 2, and 10 will work it self out.
WOW! Thank you for this! I had put my pickups way down, because I thought its better for dynamics, as everyone else said online! I just did this procedure you suggested, and my dynamic skills came to light! My pickups have true dynamics now! wow wow wow! Thank you! Even my playing sounds better now..All those double stops, slides...
Its like what sounds better. Putting your ear right up against the speaker? Or giving yourself some distace to get all of the tone. Boom. There you go.
@@DaveBarlowGuitar That is not funny at all. You need to be aware of that. People will not like you, when your hands are fastfumbeling like that. That is a fact.
@@kimhansen6384 I am not a pro TH-camr or presenter, I am just a normal down to earth guitar player sharing my thoughts with like minded people/guitar players, I dont do this for money and I try to give you the real deal, not some Bullshit to buy more crap. If people dont like me because I didn't go to presenter TH-cam school or I twidle my screwdriver then that's fine with me. I will not conform to what people think is the Guitarist TH-cam norm cos its bullshit. If you want it straight watch my videos, if you want politically correct videos with smiley faces selling you crap you dont need then dont watch my channel.
@@DaveBarlowGuitar I don´t care much for this video, it was just a service message to you. In real life people get annoyed with someone who can´t keep their hands and foots still. That is a fact. You can think about it, or you can just leave it.
I just lowered the pickup on my SG to about 4mm on the bridge. The difference is huge. It’s much easier to coax dynamics out, and I’m also hearing a far richer tone. Less output, but a lot more clarity and harmonic content.
I did the same thing on my SG and agree that 4mm is the sweet spot for dynamics and output. Also slightly raised the middle pull pieces to match the fretboard radius. Thanks!
adjust the pole pieces to match the contour of the neck then raise or lower the pickups. the output sweet spot will produce leveled harmonics between the strings !
I agree and I play on a high gain Agile 8 string. It works across the board with guitars, regardless of the pickup I believe. I backed it down just to pull it back up JUST enough to where it sounds truly proper with all strings. Currently using a Seymour Duncan Pegasus for my bridge and it 100% helped, the voicing is so much more professional sounding
You were totally right with this. My bridge pickup sounded like a bag of ass till I lowered it. Raised the middle and neck pickups a bit too. So even as a bedroom player, the sound difference is enormous. Thanks mate !
“More trebly sound” - I find the opposite, and if you think about it, it makes sense. Bass frequencies require more energy to travel, and as you back the pickups off, you lose bass frequencies first. Backing off tends to have more of a treble and “focused” (piercing) sound. That being said, I like the way you set them and tend to do about the same
I definitely like your approach. Adjust to your taste not what they tell you too. I've always raised them as high as possible, but now I'm going to bring them down and experiment. Thank you. 🎸
To close to the strings and the string will vibrate unevenly across the length of the string creating disonance(yucky harmonic overtones) which causes cancelating vibrations. Yes it will reduce the sustain. You can demonstrate this by amplifing the effect by holding a strong neodymium(sp?) Magnet close to a string.
I've always been primarily an acoustic guitar player, so dynamics are a huge part of my toolkit.. after watching this, it's got me thinking that one of my electrics in particular really suffers from everything being the same volume all the time, which makes it feel pretty lifeless. I'm definitely going to experiment with it's pickup heights.Thanks a lot for this vid, really digging the channel. All the best from here, Robbo.
I have guitar with active pickup and it's not my cup of tea. I lowered bridge super low and the neck is deep beneath pickup ring and finally they sound more i want them to.
I found this because I experienced some bad sound at rehearsal and pick ups seemed to be the problem after testing pedals etc. I really like this, makes sense, you dont need to measure with a ruler really. Thanks!
Thanks man! I was having trouble intonating. My intonation was wishy washy. I keep going over my neck relief and string hight. I couldn't get my intonation decent. Then I came across your video and tried it. And now im getting clear notes and my intonation is consistent. I'm just messing around with it now trying to get more accurate. Thank You!
I'm going to give it a go Dave, pickups I'll try 6 and 8 mil then I'll try 8 mil then I'll try throwing them out the window that doesn't work. Again thanks I wish you were around when I rolled my first joint.
GFS pickups are awesome and very inexpensive. I've got 2 different types and both were a HUGE improvement. CrunchyRails are high-gain (akin to SD SuperDistortion) and CrunchyPat is the other. $34.00/each, both bridge position. Well worth it the low price.
Another point to add here is the type of pickup. A pickup with massive magnets like a Seymour Duncan Invader or Iron Gear Hammerhead needs to be set lower into the body. Too close and the magnetic field can actually affect the string vibrations
Thats what i use a invader i have it like midway between the cover and its not bad but very powerful i should drop it and see. I like my high gain. Bass up but not too much mids drop treble litlle high im death metal thrash stuff and tuned droo A six string
I agree, i got a sd invader attached to a bc rich mockingbird with a mahogany wood, at first it was darker sounding fat and bassy which i dont like then i lowered the pickup about half an inch to the strings and lo and behold!!!
Great video, Dave! ...New subcriber here. Excellent tip.. lower your pickups and definitely adjust them when playing with live volume and playing with the rest of the band! Been doing that for over 40+ years! Most of the time I have to raise only the high E screw a tad closer to the string. Old fart
He's not wrong here folks, when you play live and the pups are too high the guitar will actually sound muddy, however in a practice low volume environment high pickups will sound better and brighter.
The magnetic pull on the strings is a real thing. Get your pickups close and then check your intonation. With a standard clip on tuner you'll see the needle jump up and down real hard if youre too close. Back it off until it stops and then you'll know how close you can get said pickup. There's a lot of variation for this region, some high output pickups, like hotrails, have to be pretty far from the strings. Adjust by ear from downward from this point.
I just saw another video. He presses down on the highest fret 22 and measures from the pickup on both bridge and neck 2.4 mm. Will try that and your approach. I have Seymor Duncan tb6 distortion and jazz on neck.
I adjusted my bridge pickup and got more sustain. I know some people say it should be the other way around, but I measured the thing and indeed there’s more sustain. (stock cheap humbuckers with cover)
I recently replaced the bridge pickup in my Jackson Dinky with a Seymour Duncan sh6 distortion trembucker and quickly set them to Jackson's recommended pickup height which is about 1.6 mm from the from the strings when fretted at the last fret. Because they are very high output they had a lot of crunch and gain right out of the box with these settings but like you mentioned... The Dynamics or very weak and I did notice a huge drop in sustained compared to the stock Jackson pickups which were very similar output but had a different tone to them, voiced more like a Seymour Duncan sh4 JB. The Jackson pickups had slightly muddy low-end and a very treble high-end with a lot of mids. Your experiences that is presented in your video backs up exactly what I experienced... I back the pickups off away from the strings and I quickly lose some of the output but the Dynamics greatly increased while still maintaining a tight low-end that the sh6 Duncan Distortion is good for. I like a good mid-range hump in my tone and backing off my pickups allowed my high-end to sing just a bit better without being so percussive while keeping my low and tight. Now I feel that I have the best of both worlds and the sh6 Duncan distortion is a lot more versatile in this position being backed away from the strings just a bit just as you state in your video, thank you. Now I can pull off anything from classic rock, dirty Blues to 80s metal the modern metal while before with the pickups closer to the strings... That particular pickup wasn't much good for anything other than high gain stuff like Metallica's and justice for all album out-of-the-box.
I dropped the humbuckers in my Epi Les Paul and it's transformed it from a decent to a very dynamic guitar, with natural full sound compared to previously. I always thought Humbuckers needed to be close but it makes sense ofc because a strat is better tonally with low pickups imo. I've only played at a moderate home volume, through a 1 watt tube amp (with very good overdrive) and the difference is clear, it makes playing this guitar much more enjoyable. Thank you.
it the magnets you got in and you are right the height between the string and the pick up if you lower the pickup it make you amp work better and sound
I never liked the tone i had in my telecaster. The tone of the single coils was way to bright and cold sounding, specially in the bridge position but also in the neck position. I read somewhere about pickup height regarding telecasters that they recommend to lower the pickups so they got furthers away from the strings to get a more balanced tone. They where totally right. The tone of my telecaster had much more sustain, more dynamics, more balanced sound it was so much more fun to play. Yes, it will give you lower output, but you can always add more gain. So i didn't need to swap the single coils as i thought.
What shall I say, I followed your advice and... Ta... Tahhh: I brought the PU's down and my LP sounds perfect - still have to check it with the band!!!
I bought a new guitar a couple of weeks ago and I could not figure out why I couldn't get the intonation set and stable. Then I noticed the pickups were set too close to the strings from the factory......soon as I backed them off to about 1/8th of an inch hey presto intonated fine.
For PAF-type pickups, I completely agree, but for high-gain pickups I like to go a bit closer to the strings. If I have high gain pickups, I'm not going for subtlety.
@@matt926uk1 Funny thing about the SH-1s. I recently bought an Eastman SB59 with what they labeled as "Seymour Duncan Classic '59s", which I assume are just SH-1s, but they seem like they have more gain than my SH-6 Distortion in one guitar, and at least if not more gain than my Full Shred equipped guitar. I back off the pickups even farther than I normally do, and they still roar like a lion somehow. I don't know if it's just the pickups, or if there's less interference with the electronics or something, or maybe just the resonance of the guitar itself adds to the gain more (because I've NEVER played an electric guitar that resonates like this one). Whatever it is, that guitar is pure effin rock n roll and heavy metal.
@@BoozyBeggar Sounds like u have a great guitar there! Maybe some sh-1's are more gainy than others? They are supposed to be low output aren't they? Mine are in a PRS se and until I lowered them I did find they had a lot of output and the bottom end was overwhelming. They still are powerful and full sounding. Now that guitar competes with my Gibson SG. They are really versatile pickups.
Finally....I found somebody to explain in a easy way figure out a height setting for my tone. I use a lot of fuzz distortion pedals so lowering them a bit helped tremendously.
Another cool thing to play around with is to keep the pickups low but raise the pole pieces high. Very dynamic sound. Pushes things to sound more chimey and single-coil like the more extreme the height difference between pickup and pole pieces. It's not for everyone but it can be fun to try if you're not quite getting what you want from your humbuckers, like if it seems like they're just too muddy sounding no matter what height you have them set at.
Big Lizzy fan.....back in 86 I remember reading Rolling Stone magazine and came across a article that Phil Lynott had died. People a mile away probably heard me screaming a mile away. I went totally ape shit that day.
So this is good stuff So I had a friend who I used to listen to and he always set his guitar trebbly But when the bar filled the sound bounced on the people and Bassed and he sounded great. It also depends how high your speakers are off the floor .and are you one who goes to the back of the hall with a long cable and listens to your self . It all personal preference but if the sound is good Great and if your awsum Great Very interesting Points good vid
another thing to do is record yourself from the back of the room or next to your amp then play it back out of your amp remember the more you drink the better you sound to your self personal preferance
you're right, sometimes people want the treble sound. I got it for the low E and stuff, sometimes when playing live somehow the solo played on the lower strings doesn't have enough bite to it. Tho I want to get real TV Jones'es for my guitar sometime. :)
I like low output pickups in a les paul so it can clean up nice and you can always add more gain to push it over the edge. Lowering the pickups certainly makes it sound warmer and gives it clarity at the same time.
Actually there IS in fact correct ways to adjust pickups. But some like them adjusted incorrectly. Some has shitty ears, some has great musical ears.... And Dave, you're absolutely correct....
Excellent advice, I was given the same advice by an older Guitar tech with a Strat and a set of Fender Texas Specials that I loved, he dropped them so low I was lost for words but when I got home they sounded awesome! I have just Subscribed, g'day from Melbourne Australia.
I set my pickups to 3mm or 2mm on like a strat but my Dean Vx Flying V I set my neck pick up 1mm under the fret board height an the bridge to 3mm sounds good for both types of playing live or home so I don’t have to keep moving them. An like EVH said if it don’t sound good then turn up the volume to 10 😂
Well, it's just kinda surprising how many players automatically think that setting the pickups close to the strings to get that hot signal is the way to go. But nothing could be further from the truth. My Strat pickups are nearly flush to the pickguard and my tone is SRV delicious. Very dynamic, articulate, smooth and sweet. It's probably the most important factor in my tone.
With my D Activators, they're boomy up close and way clearer lowered. My sh5 customs aren't adjustable. Kinda bummed about that because there's a clearer output difference and raising definitely affects that imo.
i get more low end with the pups closer to the strings......and get more treble and lower output. when lower pups from strings and palm mutes sound horrible.....i found with my di marzio evo bridge pup....one time i experimented lowering the pup, but raising the pole pieces gave me tons of treble almost like a single coil.....had to do that with my black winter neck because it was too muddy.....helped it a lot
pickup height effect output for sure. well if it too close the string hits the pickup when vibrates. how person picks depend how much it moves too. for treble that what tone knob to reducing the treble. I have my tone knob at three.
Great vids Dave. Spent thus afternoon putting the original Maxon low output humbuckers back in my 1980 Greco LP Custom. I swapped em years ago for a Gibson set, I think 490/498 set - too compressed, no air. It now plays and sounds better than my 2000 Gibson LP Standard. And looks prettier! Inspired to do this by your vids, you are confirming my suspicions...
A very helpful post thanks. I turned to TH-cam to answer a question I had about pickup height, already knowing what I know. You totally reinforced what I was thinking, and now I need to go and twiddle screwdrivers! Cheers! btw nice Goldtop Classic! GW
Hi Dave, Thank you for reinforcing this idea in me that I desperately needed to do to my guitars. I've also watched some of your other videos and they do offer some great advice. Here in the USA, we have a company called Guitar Fetish and they have lots of great parts and gear for little money. I've just ordered a calibrated set for one of my strats. Tell your little cutie daughter I said HI from California...... Now if you'll excuse me, I have to lower the pickups on my guitars.
My pickups are tightened as far as they can be and there's still 3/4" space between the pickup and the string. Any solutions? Different springs or height screws? Deeper cavity? Anything? Pretty sure it's the pickups because the old ones had no problems.
Great video I’ve always had my pickups nearly touching the damn strings . What I wish to know is , was the 6 ahd 8 mil away from the bottom of the string or raised from the top of the cover , surely it’s the measurinejt between strings and pickups right , excuse my naive comment , sometimes we just do what every one else does
If i click to the back pickup the volume is noticeably lower. I want the same volume clicking between pickups at least. Right now the rear pickup is a lot lower than the front. Is that why
Really like your informative non-pretetious way of explaining things. If you wanna spin your screwdriver, spin it until people's heads explode!! Fuck em!
I noticed on the Les Paul you wrap the strings around the stop tail piece. I have heard that it makes the strings feel possibly one gauge lighter, have you found this?
Great Vids Dave!! I am an experimenter with different tones and adjusting heights in pickups, cheaper pickups, etc, etc. You tell it like it is and I agree with you that a person needs to experiment with different adjustments to get your own personal sound and what feels and sounds good to the individual. Rock on!!
Dave, thanks for your thoughts on the subject. I found this video after watching one of Dickie Betts and noticing how low his pickups are. I'll give it a try.
@@DaveBarlowGuitar Ok. I adjusted both pickups on my ESP LTD AX-50 so as to have 5mm gap when pressed at the 24th fret. After playing for a week the tone especially has changed quite a bit. Now I am ordering a tool kit to do micro adjustments of the screws to match the radius of the neck. I hope I am on a correct path here.
I just got done building a couple of DYI guitar. I popped off the chrome covers. They didnt match in colors ...So I mounted 2 fronts on 1 guitar...and 2 rears on the other.hahaha I like the way both of them sound.lmao They sound slightly different..about as different of comapairing a Gibson to Cibson.lmao
I’m so glad I watched this video. I was about to sell my 2018 Gibson Les Paul Traditional after replacing the stock pickups that were really bright. I had put a JB/59 and then switched them out for 498t/490r and it was too bright. I lowered the pickups and found more sustain, less bright and far better tone. I did this by ear instead of by doing the 1/16 high E and 3/32 low E recommend settings. Now I love my Les Paul. I haven’t measured it yet but it’s definitely lower than the recommended suggested settings I’ve seen on the internet. Keep up the great videos!
My Jackson's factory specs for humbucker pickup height is 1.6mm with the strings fretted at the last fret, which not fretted translates to about 3-4mm at the neck pickup and about 1.6mm at the bridge! Since I can't measure that accurately I have it set up to 2mm at the bridge. Will have a go at changing the height as you suggest though and see how it changes. The pickups are stock high output Jackson pickups.
I've just brought a new Les Paul style guitar (Cort CR200) and i was very very confused about these pickup heights, and after watching your video, i decided to give it a try. First i thought that higher pickup means better distortion and higher gain, but after tempering with the pickups for awhile, i've come to a conclusion that; maybe lower pickup is indeed the best way to go, not too low to the point where the pickup literally sinking into the body, but just reasonably low. Its hard to explain why, but i guess what you say might be the case here, about the "dynamics" and stuffs...So yeah, your video helps a lot, thank you! (And i have a question! Is it normal for the pickup to be pretty loose? Its easily going back and forth with just a slight wiggle, is there's a way to make it tight? Or it supposed to be loose like that?)
Hi, no the Hamer explorer is of Indonesian origin, I purchased it on ebay for £200 from some guy. Anyway I swapped the pickups, tuners and bridge and set the guitar up and now it plays great, as good as any £400 -£500 guitar.
Here is what I found. If you roll the volume off and it sounds like you turned it all the way to zero, before you hit zero, then PU's are too far away. Set it on about 2 and adjust them to the level you think 2 should be, or want 2 to be. Then check what it sounds like on 10. Mine hit spot on.
2 should be pretty quiet, but not gone. And it shouldn't be loud, or even moderate, 5 should be moderate. Work up from 2, and 10 will work it self out.
WOW! Thank you for this! I had put my pickups way down, because I thought its better for dynamics, as everyone else said online! I just did this procedure you suggested, and my dynamic skills came to light! My pickups have true dynamics now! wow wow wow! Thank you! Even my playing sounds better now..All those double stops, slides...
This is how we learn. Awesome, I will try it out.
that's a great idea! I think I'll try this
Who knew Ned Stark had such good guitar advice
Tone is coming.
Lmfao!!!
Dont be a dick bro he doesnt look anything like ned stark …… it’s definitely boromir
Its like what sounds better. Putting your ear right up against the speaker? Or giving yourself some distace to get all of the tone. Boom. There you go.
I was mesmerized by the spinning screwdriver and didn't hear a word you said, Bummer.
LOL
Funny, I was ready to reach through the screen and grab it out of his hands for immediate dispatch out a window.
@@DaveBarlowGuitar That is not funny at all. You need to be aware of that. People will not like you, when your hands are fastfumbeling like that. That is a fact.
@@kimhansen6384 I am not a pro TH-camr or presenter, I am just a normal down to earth guitar player sharing my thoughts with like minded people/guitar players, I dont do this for money and I try to give you the real deal, not some Bullshit to buy more crap. If people dont like me because I didn't go to presenter TH-cam school or I twidle my screwdriver then that's fine with me. I will not conform to what people think is the Guitarist TH-cam norm cos its bullshit. If you want it straight watch my videos, if you want politically correct videos with smiley faces selling you crap you dont need then dont watch my channel.
@@DaveBarlowGuitar I don´t care much for this video, it was just a service message to you. In real life people get annoyed with someone who can´t keep their hands and foots still. That is a fact. You can think about it, or you can just leave it.
I just lowered the pickup on my SG to about 4mm on the bridge. The difference is huge. It’s much easier to coax dynamics out, and I’m also hearing a far richer tone. Less output, but a lot more clarity and harmonic content.
I did the same thing on my SG and agree that 4mm is the sweet spot for dynamics and output. Also slightly raised the middle pull pieces to match the fretboard radius. Thanks!
adjust the pole pieces to match the contour of the neck then raise or lower the pickups. the output sweet spot will produce leveled harmonics between the strings !
I agree and I play on a high gain Agile 8 string. It works across the board with guitars, regardless of the pickup I believe. I backed it down just to pull it back up JUST enough to where it sounds truly proper with all strings. Currently using a Seymour Duncan Pegasus for my bridge and it 100% helped, the voicing is so much more professional sounding
You were totally right with this. My bridge pickup sounded like a bag of ass till I lowered it. Raised the middle and neck pickups a bit too. So even as a bedroom player, the sound difference is enormous. Thanks mate !
“More trebly sound” - I find the opposite, and if you think about it, it makes sense. Bass frequencies require more energy to travel, and as you back the pickups off, you lose bass frequencies first. Backing off tends to have more of a treble and “focused” (piercing) sound. That being said, I like the way you set them and tend to do about the same
This is backward. Bass frequencies travel further and get absorbed less.
I definitely like your approach. Adjust to your taste not what they tell you too. I've always raised them as high as possible, but now I'm going to bring them down and experiment. Thank you. 🎸
To close to the strings and the string will vibrate unevenly across the length of the string creating disonance(yucky harmonic overtones) which causes cancelating vibrations. Yes it will reduce the sustain. You can demonstrate this by amplifing the effect by holding a strong neodymium(sp?) Magnet close to a string.
I find it useful to record inbetween height adjustments. So I can listen and compare what sounds better.
I've always been primarily an acoustic guitar player, so dynamics are a huge part of my toolkit.. after watching this, it's got me thinking that one of my electrics in particular really suffers from everything being the same volume all the time, which makes it feel pretty lifeless. I'm definitely going to experiment with it's pickup heights.Thanks a lot for this vid, really digging the channel. All the best from here, Robbo.
I have guitar with active pickup and it's not my cup of tea. I lowered bridge super low and the neck is deep beneath pickup ring and finally they sound more i want them to.
Dude! Dont trust Littlefinger!
Alex R - Music and Luthiery he reminds me more of Ned Stark
I found this because I experienced some bad sound at rehearsal and pick ups seemed to be the problem after testing pedals etc. I really like this, makes sense, you dont need to measure with a ruler really. Thanks!
Thanks man! I was having trouble intonating. My intonation was wishy washy. I keep going over my neck relief and string hight. I couldn't get my intonation decent. Then I came across your video and tried it. And now im getting clear notes and my intonation is consistent. I'm just messing around with it now trying to get more accurate.
Thank You!
Glad it helped!
@@DaveBarlowGuitar thank you
I'm going to give it a go Dave, pickups I'll try 6 and 8 mil then I'll try 8 mil then I'll try throwing them out the window that doesn't work. Again thanks I wish you were around when I rolled my first joint.
GFS pickups are awesome and very inexpensive. I've got 2 different types and both were a HUGE improvement. CrunchyRails are high-gain (akin to SD SuperDistortion) and CrunchyPat is the other. $34.00/each, both bridge position. Well worth it the low price.
Another point to add here is the type of pickup. A pickup with massive magnets like a Seymour Duncan Invader or Iron Gear Hammerhead needs to be set lower into the body.
Too close and the magnetic field can actually affect the string vibrations
Thats what i use a invader i have it like midway between the cover and its not bad but very powerful i should drop it and see. I like my high gain. Bass up but not too much mids drop treble litlle high im death metal thrash stuff and tuned droo A six string
It's a myth
I agree, i got a sd invader attached to a bc rich mockingbird with a mahogany wood, at first it was darker sounding fat and bassy which i dont like then i lowered the pickup about half an inch to the strings and lo and behold!!!
Rodrigo Jr Marquez I had the same problem with a 7 string invader. It was set way too close to the strings. Back it off a bit and lo and behold...
Great video, Dave! ...New subcriber here.
Excellent tip.. lower your pickups and definitely adjust them when playing with live volume and playing with the rest of the band! Been doing that for over 40+ years! Most of the time I have to raise only the high E screw a tad closer to the string.
Old fart
He's not wrong here folks, when you play live and the pups are too high the guitar will actually sound muddy, however in a practice low volume environment high pickups will sound better and brighter.
The magnetic pull on the strings is a real thing. Get your pickups close and then check your intonation. With a standard clip on tuner you'll see the needle jump up and down real hard if youre too close. Back it off until it stops and then you'll know how close you can get said pickup.
There's a lot of variation for this region, some high output pickups, like hotrails, have to be pretty far from the strings. Adjust by ear from downward from this point.
I just saw another video. He presses down on the highest fret 22 and measures from the pickup on both bridge and neck 2.4 mm. Will try that and your approach. I have Seymor Duncan tb6 distortion and jazz on neck.
I adjusted my bridge pickup and got more sustain. I know some people say it should be the other way around, but I measured the thing and indeed there’s more sustain. (stock cheap humbuckers with cover)
U lower it or
I recently replaced the bridge pickup in my Jackson Dinky with a Seymour Duncan sh6 distortion trembucker and quickly set them to Jackson's recommended pickup height which is about 1.6 mm from the from the strings when fretted at the last fret. Because they are very high output they had a lot of crunch and gain right out of the box with these settings but like you mentioned... The Dynamics or very weak and I did notice a huge drop in sustained compared to the stock Jackson pickups which were very similar output but had a different tone to them, voiced more like a Seymour Duncan sh4 JB. The Jackson pickups had slightly muddy low-end and a very treble high-end with a lot of mids. Your experiences that is presented in your video backs up exactly what I experienced... I back the pickups off away from the strings and I quickly lose some of the output but the Dynamics greatly increased while still maintaining a tight low-end that the sh6 Duncan Distortion is good for. I like a good mid-range hump in my tone and backing off my pickups allowed my high-end to sing just a bit better without being so percussive while keeping my low and tight. Now I feel that I have the best of both worlds and the sh6 Duncan distortion is a lot more versatile in this position being backed away from the strings just a bit just as you state in your video, thank you. Now I can pull off anything from classic rock, dirty Blues to 80s metal the modern metal while before with the pickups closer to the strings... That particular pickup wasn't much good for anything other than high gain stuff like Metallica's and justice for all album out-of-the-box.
I dropped the humbuckers in my Epi Les Paul and it's transformed it from a decent to a very dynamic guitar, with natural full sound compared to previously. I always thought Humbuckers needed to be close but it makes sense ofc because a strat is better tonally with low pickups imo. I've only played at a moderate home volume, through a 1 watt tube amp (with very good overdrive) and the difference is clear, it makes playing this guitar much more enjoyable. Thank you.
it the magnets you got in and you are right the height between the string and the pick up if you lower the pickup it make you amp work better and sound
I never liked the tone i had in my telecaster. The tone of the single coils was way to bright and cold sounding, specially in the bridge position but also in the neck position. I read somewhere about pickup height regarding telecasters that they recommend to lower the pickups so they got furthers away from the strings to get a more balanced tone. They where totally right. The tone of my telecaster had much more sustain, more dynamics, more balanced sound it was so much more fun to play. Yes, it will give you lower output, but you can always add more gain. So i didn't need to swap the single coils as i thought.
@Dave Barlow - You are absolutely correct on the spacing and how it improves the dynamics and the sound. (I learned this the hard way!)
What shall I say, I followed your advice and... Ta... Tahhh: I brought the PU's down and my LP sounds perfect - still have to check it with the band!!!
You are right, the pick-up breaths better when you lower it
I bought a new guitar a couple of weeks ago and I could not figure out why I couldn't get the intonation set and stable. Then I noticed the pickups were set too close to the strings from the factory......soon as I backed them off to about 1/8th of an inch hey presto intonated fine.
For PAF-type pickups, I completely agree, but for high-gain pickups I like to go a bit closer to the strings. If I have high gain pickups, I'm not going for subtlety.
I agree
Yes. I have sh-1's 4mm from the strings in one guitar and a dimarzio tone zone 1.6 mm from the strings in another
@@matt926uk1 Funny thing about the SH-1s. I recently bought an Eastman SB59 with what they labeled as "Seymour Duncan Classic '59s", which I assume are just SH-1s, but they seem like they have more gain than my SH-6 Distortion in one guitar, and at least if not more gain than my Full Shred equipped guitar. I back off the pickups even farther than I normally do, and they still roar like a lion somehow. I don't know if it's just the pickups, or if there's less interference with the electronics or something, or maybe just the resonance of the guitar itself adds to the gain more (because I've NEVER played an electric guitar that resonates like this one). Whatever it is, that guitar is pure effin rock n roll and heavy metal.
@@BoozyBeggar Sounds like u have a great guitar there! Maybe some sh-1's are more gainy than others? They are supposed to be low output aren't they? Mine are in a PRS se and until I lowered them I did find they had a lot of output and the bottom end was overwhelming. They still are powerful and full sounding. Now that guitar competes with my Gibson SG. They are really versatile pickups.
Finally....I found somebody to explain in a easy way figure out a height setting for my tone. I use a lot of fuzz distortion pedals so lowering them a bit helped tremendously.
Great to hear!
Another cool thing to play around with is to keep the pickups low but raise the pole pieces high. Very dynamic sound. Pushes things to sound more chimey and single-coil like the more extreme the height difference between pickup and pole pieces. It's not for everyone but it can be fun to try if you're not quite getting what you want from your humbuckers, like if it seems like they're just too muddy sounding no matter what height you have them set at.
Right on!
"The Boys Are Back In Town Down At Dino's Bar And Grill " :)
well spotted :)
Big Lizzy fan.....back in 86 I remember reading Rolling Stone magazine and came across a article that Phil Lynott had died. People a mile away probably heard me screaming a mile away. I went totally ape shit that day.
So this is good stuff So I had a friend who I used to listen to and he always set his guitar trebbly But when the bar filled the sound bounced on the people and Bassed and he sounded great. It also depends how high your speakers are off the floor .and are you one who goes to the back of the hall with a long cable and listens to your self . It all personal preference but if the sound is good Great and if your awsum Great Very interesting Points good vid
TY Brother ! As you said, it really is a matter of taste, rather a precise measurement ,,,
another thing to do is record yourself from the back of the room or next to your amp then play it back out of your amp remember the more you drink the better you sound to your self personal preferance
Thanks for this video. I toss different ideas around in my head.
Very helpful and eye opening! Thank you so much!
you're right, sometimes people want the treble sound.
I got it for the low E and stuff, sometimes when playing live somehow the solo played on the lower strings doesn't have enough bite to it.
Tho I want to get real TV Jones'es for my guitar sometime. :)
Great video and very good explanation for adjusting pickups properly. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
I like low output pickups in a les paul so it can clean up nice and you can always add more gain to push it over the edge. Lowering the pickups certainly makes it sound warmer and gives it clarity at the same time.
Let me clarify for everybody,There is no correct pickup height It is completely subjective.What sounds good to your ear is what is correct.
Yes I agree Jerry, just trying to give a starting point.
as per my statement in the notes accompanying this video :)
Actually there IS in fact correct ways to adjust pickups. But some like them
adjusted incorrectly. Some has shitty ears, some has great musical ears....
And Dave, you're absolutely correct....
i dont agree with you.
the insane high making sound kind of muddy at high gain.also you will have a lot of feedback
just my personal opinion
Good video i have my invader pickup not too high but a little raise good sound
often wonder about it. thanks for sharing.
Excellent advice, I was given the same advice by an older Guitar tech with a Strat and a set of Fender Texas Specials that I loved, he dropped them so low I was lost for words but when I got home they sounded awesome!
I have just Subscribed, g'day from Melbourne Australia.
I set my pickups to 3mm or 2mm on like a strat but my Dean Vx Flying V I set my neck pick up 1mm under the fret board height an the bridge to 3mm sounds good for both types of playing live or home so I don’t have to keep moving them. An like EVH said if it don’t sound good then turn up the volume to 10 😂
helped me out alot! cleaned up my sound!! thanks for the input!!!
Glad it helped!
I agree with your video. But I've only been playing for 40 years.
I think that certifies you as very experienced :)
Well, it's just kinda surprising how many players automatically think that setting the pickups close to the strings to get that hot signal is the way to go. But nothing could be further from the truth. My Strat pickups are nearly flush to the pickguard and my tone is SRV delicious. Very dynamic, articulate, smooth and sweet. It's probably the most important factor in my tone.
With my D Activators, they're boomy up close and way clearer lowered. My sh5 customs aren't adjustable. Kinda bummed about that because there's a clearer output difference and raising definitely affects that imo.
i get more low end with the pups closer to the strings......and get more treble and lower output. when lower pups from strings and palm mutes sound horrible.....i found with my di marzio evo bridge pup....one time i experimented lowering the pup, but raising the pole pieces gave me tons of treble almost like a single coil.....had to do that with my black winter neck because it was too muddy.....helped it a lot
Very helpful. Thank you for the clear explanation. It makes sense. Thanks for posting.
Glad it was helpful!
pickup height effect output for sure. well if it too close the string hits the pickup when vibrates. how person picks depend how much it moves too. for treble that what tone knob to reducing the treble. I have my tone knob at three.
Great vids Dave. Spent thus afternoon putting the original Maxon low output humbuckers back in my 1980 Greco LP Custom. I swapped em years ago for a Gibson set, I think 490/498 set - too compressed, no air. It now plays and sounds better than my 2000 Gibson LP Standard. And looks prettier! Inspired to do this by your vids, you are confirming my suspicions...
@jerry D that is right but also wrong, there are certain type of pick ups and pick up heights that match a certain genre
Agreed, as stated in the video, all down to personal taste at the end of the day.
Whoa ! When did Ned Stark pick up guitars ?
Same thought
You mean Boromir?
Rwitam When he stole the axe from the executioner.
always stark are metal as fuck
More Faramir i'd say, either way, dude looks like he'd be equally at home wielding an actual axe as these ones.
What is the optimal height for pickups for a B.C. Rich warlock or does it not matter? Mine appears to be set at 6.3mm or 8.4mm
Thanks for taking the time to record load sharing this, I am just about to lower my pups. Gordon Smith makes some nice guitars eh.
Very helpful advice. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
yup...i take mine down a bit..for less pronounced pick attack output...if that makes sence...it seems to pull some mids out?? i like it...
I like that tone
A very helpful post thanks. I turned to TH-cam to answer a question I had about pickup height, already knowing what I know. You totally reinforced what I was thinking, and now I need to go and twiddle screwdrivers! Cheers! btw nice Goldtop Classic! GW
EXACTLY what I ws trying to find out! Understand your explanation completely. And thanks a billion.
MachOverspeed
Hi Dave,
Thank you for reinforcing this idea in me that I desperately needed to do to my guitars.
I've also watched some of your other videos and they do offer some great advice. Here in the USA, we have a company called Guitar Fetish and they have lots of great parts and gear for little money. I've just ordered a calibrated set for one of my strats.
Tell your little cutie daughter I said HI from California...... Now if you'll excuse me, I have to lower the pickups on my guitars.
I'm adjusting my humbucker, but after doing so it's not level. Any idea what could be causing that?
forward or back tilt gets on my nerves, I usually put some foam backing on the pickup, solves the problem every time.
My pickups are tightened as far as they can be and there's still 3/4" space between the pickup and the string. Any solutions? Different springs or height screws? Deeper cavity? Anything? Pretty sure it's the pickups because the old ones had no problems.
cut the springs down a bit, this will give you more room to raise the pickup.
@@DaveBarlowGuitar I replaced the springs with better ones. The coils were too narrow before.
well i agree with you dave less is better
Great video I’ve always had my pickups nearly touching the damn strings . What I wish to know is , was the 6 ahd 8 mil away from the bottom of the string or raised from the top of the cover , surely it’s the measurinejt between strings and pickups right , excuse my naive comment , sometimes we just do what every one else does
I just go by what i hear usually, also every pickup is different and so is every guitar.
s mitchell wow what a prick you are. I can’t stand idiots like you
Intro song sounds like Pantera's I'll Cast A Shadow
If i click to the back pickup the volume is noticeably lower. I want the same volume clicking between pickups at least. Right now the rear pickup is a lot lower than the front. Is that why
Really like your informative non-pretetious way of explaining things. If you wanna spin your screwdriver, spin it until people's heads explode!! Fuck em!
Thanks Dude
dave...good to see a hamer player...i love them and drool over them...and i can say...the new line is ballz out fukn killer
I noticed on the Les Paul you wrap the strings around the stop tail piece. I have heard that it makes the strings feel possibly one gauge lighter, have you found this?
scott grove for the win! great video again man! thanks b.
Good video mate I came over from David Winters channel liked and subbed and learned something thanks brother.
Great Vids Dave!! I am an experimenter with different tones and adjusting heights in pickups, cheaper pickups, etc, etc. You tell it like it is and I agree with you that a person needs to experiment with different adjustments to get your own personal sound and what feels and sounds good to the individual. Rock on!!
For some reason my pickups keep popping up and down (Not the metal bit) But the plastic part, what can I do ?
Sounds like they have been messed with, suggest replacing them :)
Dave, thanks for your thoughts on the subject. I found this video after watching one of Dickie Betts and noticing how low his pickups are.
I'll give it a try.
yes, give it a try can make quite a difference but does depend on pickups, guitar and playing style :)
How to play 1969 on guitar
I´ll try tomprrow 🎸🤘
Excellent video, thank you! :) Keep it up!
The manufacturer said "round eye....your amp sucks....i had to go into body....i trying outrunnin highs til 1/8 below decorative cover or more....
What about people like me who never might play live?
What height should we look for?
Go with whatever feels right for you, there is no right or wrong way :)
@@DaveBarlowGuitar Thanks. If I ever went live I would first do all these adjustments too.
@@DaveBarlowGuitar Ok. I adjusted both pickups on my ESP LTD AX-50 so as to have 5mm gap when pressed at the 24th fret. After playing for a week the tone especially has changed quite a bit. Now I am ordering a tool kit to do micro adjustments of the screws to match the radius of the neck. I hope I am on a correct path here.
I just got done building a couple of DYI guitar. I popped off the chrome covers.
They didnt match in colors
...So I mounted 2 fronts on 1 guitar...and 2 rears on the other.hahaha
I like the way both of them sound.lmao They sound slightly different..about as
different of comapairing a Gibson to Cibson.lmao
Hey Dave! Is the "Dino's Bar & Grill" on your t-shirt the Dino's from Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town" ?????
yes :)
@@DaveBarlowGuitar That's AWESOME!
www.bathroomwall.com/products/thin-lizzy-inspired-dinos-bar-and-grill?variant=31864463236
@@DaveBarlowGuitar That was my next question... WOO-HOO! A Xmas present for myself! Thanks again, Dave!
All I could think was “Adderall would probably stop the twirling”
sorry
Great wisdom from Eddard Stark. :)
Great videos
I’m so glad I watched this video. I was about to sell my 2018 Gibson Les Paul Traditional after replacing the stock pickups that were really bright. I had put a JB/59 and then switched them out for 498t/490r and it was too bright. I lowered the pickups and found more sustain, less bright and far better tone. I did this by ear instead of by doing the 1/16 high E and 3/32 low E recommend settings. Now I love my Les Paul. I haven’t measured it yet but it’s definitely lower than the recommended suggested settings I’ve seen on the internet. Keep up the great videos!
By ear is the best way :)
@@DaveBarlowGuitar You’re absolutely right on this one! Thanks...much appreciated!
I like your videos.
My Jackson's factory specs for humbucker pickup height is 1.6mm with the strings fretted at the last fret, which not fretted translates to about 3-4mm at the neck pickup and about 1.6mm at the bridge! Since I can't measure that accurately I have it set up to 2mm at the bridge. Will have a go at changing the height as you suggest though and see how it changes. The pickups are stock high output Jackson pickups.
I feel ya brother! Thank you very much! You helped me more than you know! You are spot on!!!
Cheers Dave, great video.
I want that scatchplate on my Gibson Les Paul Junior
Thanks Man !! Nice video . What brand is your V shape guitar ?
Hand Built in the UK in 1982 by a company called Gordon Smith
I see ... Thanks !! I love V shape ...
I have an ibanez s370 with after market seymour duncans. It's frustrating finding my pickup height on these.
I've just brought a new Les Paul style guitar (Cort CR200) and i was very very confused about these pickup heights, and after watching your video, i decided to give it a try. First i thought that higher pickup means better distortion and higher gain, but after tempering with the pickups for awhile, i've come to a conclusion that; maybe lower pickup is indeed the best way to go, not too low to the point where the pickup literally sinking into the body, but just reasonably low. Its hard to explain why, but i guess what you say might be the case here, about the "dynamics" and stuffs...So yeah, your video helps a lot, thank you! (And i have a question! Is it normal for the pickup to be pretty loose? Its easily going back and forth with just a slight wiggle, is there's a way to make it tight? Or it supposed to be loose like that?)
Yes I put foam underneath my pickups if they seem a bit wobbly ;)
Dave Barlow I see, thank you for replying! i really appreaciate it!
Hi Dave im getting new high to my pickups! The measurement its fron the top of the pull piece or the cover of the pickup? Thanks!
I usually go from the cover, then tweak the pole piece afterwards.
Dave will you do a video about your Hamer? Is that a Californian? I'd like to see more about it.
Thanks
Hi, no the Hamer explorer is of Indonesian origin, I purchased it on ebay for £200 from some guy. Anyway I swapped the pickups, tuners and bridge and set the guitar up and now it plays great, as good as any £400 -£500 guitar.
OK thanks Dave. Must be junk.
It sounds and plays great, defo not junk, done over 200 gigs with it :)