Interesting Article On Pickup Adjustment:

Robert Herndon said:
If I adjust by ear or feel, my action will be .070" and my pickups will be 4/32".

I set everything now to those specs. Why waste time....
Click to expand...

Absolutely! If that's where it ends up for you and it has been a consistent metric...that's cool. It only make sense that if you found a sound you like and measured it, that you'd start with that same measurement in subsequent setups.

No problem.

But, that shouldn't obligate others to those same measurements.

When I was first getting into all this stuff years ago, I'd sometimes get frustrated because where I liked things wouldn't match "The Specs". I'd fret over the fact that what I liked was "out of spec". Is there something wrong with my guitar...or me...?

Well, it was an insight several years ago to realize that the measurements weren't requirements. It's up to ME if I want to do that on MY guitar.

But, in any future guitars, my previous measurements don't matter. Each guitar has different pickups. I will refer to earlier setups for a starting point...so I agree on that point. But, what I want to hear is the most important measurement.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Mine are all within a few thousandths even when setup by ear...but all three of my guitars are nearly identical anyways...and I like that when I switch, the necks and action all feel the same.
Click to expand...

See, that's the wonderful nature of individuality.

When I pick up a different guitar, I WANT it to feel and sound different.

I don't want them to feel and sound the same.
 
smitty_p said:
Absolutely! If that's where it ends up for you and it has been a consistent metric...that's cool. It only make sense that if you found a sound you like and measured it, that you'd start with that same measurement in subsequent setups.

No problem.

But, that shouldn't obligate others to those same measurements.

When I was first getting into all this stuff years ago, I'd sometimes get frustrated because where I liked things wouldn't match "The Specs". I'd fret over the fact that what I liked was "out of spec". Is there something wrong with my guitar...or me...?

Well, it was an insight several years ago to realize that the measurements weren't requirements. It's up to ME if I want to do that on MY guitar.

But, in any future guitars, my previous measurements don't matter. Each guitar has different pickups. I will refer to earlier setups for a starting point...so I agree on that point. But, what I want to hear is the most important measurement.
Click to expand...

Nothing should be considered a requirement.

Now, when I do setups to help a local shop, i set everything to a specific number for the sake of speed and I use Gibson's published specs. The end user can adjust to suit.

I have worked hard to get three guitars that sound and feel the same. I have a sound that i like - a sound I have worked hard to achieve - and I dont deviate from it.
 
smitty_p said:
See, that's the wonderful nature of individuality.

When I pick up a different guitar, I WANT it to feel and sound different.

I don't want them to feel and sound the same.
Click to expand...

I use the double neck only on Stairway and Hotel California live, but it is used often in the studio on various projects.

Live, the only reason I even have a second guitar is in case of a failure.
 
Robert Herndon said:
If I adjust by ear or feel, my action will be .070" and my pickups will be 4/32".

I set everything now to those specs. Why waste time....????
Click to expand...

It is interesting. We talked about that before - we both end up with the same action height even when doing it by feel. But my pickup heights are all over the place, and vary from guitar to guitar. I am thinking the more resonant ones end up with the pickups slightly lower than on the "dense" ones.
 
gball said:
It is interesting. We talked about that before - we both end up with the same action height even when doing it by feel. But my pickup heights are all over the place, and vary from guitar to guitar. I am thinking the more resonant ones end up with the pickups slightly lower than on the "dense" ones.
Click to expand...

Thus, the beauty of variable adjustments afforded to us by modern hardware.

In the past, very little could be adjusted to individual taste. Thing were glued into place.

In this era of such individual adjustments, as pickup and pole piece height, your setting is quite inconsequential to my setting. I may refer to yours as a reference. But, ultimately, what I like determines MY settings.

My "feeler gauge" is my ears. I've never seen a fan rush a stage with a ruler.
 
Last edited:
gball said:
It is interesting. We talked about that before - we both end up with the same action height even when doing it by feel. But my pickup heights are all over the place, and vary from guitar to guitar. I am thinking the more resonant ones end up with the pickups slightly lower than on the "dense" ones.
Click to expand...

Are the pickups different ohms/outputs???
 
Robert Herndon said:
Pickup+Pole-Piece+heightadjustment.png
Click to expand...

On my Gibson 498T, all poles are generally level and vary from 4/32" to 7/32" from the strings.

However, on the 17k pickups we recently cooked up, I had to drop the g/b/e poles almost exactly as shown - on both bobbins - to not only balance the volume of g/b/e with E/A/D, but to nullify that 'jangle' effect.

The bridge pickup is set by VU meter and ear and looks exactly like image posted above.
 
Ok,

So, I started taking sound samples in audacity and compared the string-to-string volume. When adjusted for nearly equal volume on all stings (with EB .009" x .0046") I had a pattern almost identical to the one shown above in post #19. Shown is the Epiphone Hot HB8B Bridge Pickup - Ceramic 8 Magnet and 14.5kΩ

HB8B Epiphone Ceramic 8.jpg

The Epiphone HB8B is adjusted to a bobbin height of 8/32" bass side and 8/32" treble side. Pink dust is from my red Fender Medium Picks. ALL measurements are taken parallel to the strings with each string fretted at the last fret and with a free 12th fret string height of .070" on both sides. All guitars are set to this specification:

HB8B Pole Pieces 1.jpg

Pole Piece Heights As Follows"

E = 7/32"
A = 6/32"
D =9/32"
g = 12/32" (Negative 1/32" Below Bobbin Surface)
b = 9/32"
e = 8/32

HB8B Pole Pieces 2.jpg

Waveform Volume Recorded Back-To-Back

HB8B String-To-String Balance.jpg

Now, on to the 2016 Gibson with a stock PCB and 498T in the bridge - Alnico V Magnet - 14.2kΩ:

Gibson 498T.jpg


The Gibson 498T Bobbin height is adjusted to 5/32" bass side and 8/32" treble side. Pole piece heights as follows:

E = 3/32"
A = 6/32"
D = 8/32"
g = 9/32" (slightly below bobbin surface)
b = 7/32"
e = 8/32"

HB8B TOP - Gibson 498T Bottom.jpg

Here you can see the volume of the Epiphone HB8B (TOP) compared to the same sample taken (from the same amp) with the 498T on the BOTTOM:

The Les Paul Custom Home-Built Clone and the 2016 Gibson Les Paul 50's Tribute sound almost identical to the ear, even in terms of tone, with the clone being a little darker and better behaved and the Gibson 498T having more high end and reacting negatively to a cell phone in my pocket. The Epiphone does not react to the cell phone, even when laying the phone on the strings to take photos, but the 498T goes crazy when the phone is within a foot of it.

20190423_191956.jpg


Both guitars are fully shielded - The clone with only paint and the Gibson with copper tape - but the Hand-Built Clone is far quieter than the Gibson. The clone has Alpha pots and tiny import style wiring:

Les Paul Clone.jpg

The Gibson has the stock PCB and full copper shielding installed by me:

Cavity.jpg

More to follow when I get the new 10kΩ triple magnet humbucker in the Von Herndon Doubleneck!!!
 
Stuff like this for guitars and amp bias and such is where I lack knowledge...I think if I had things like this to help me I could do some of the minor stuff that needs to be done...So anytime anyone posts stuff like this I am all about it........I am the type that once shown something I can with a bit of determination I can duplicate it...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top