Gibson SG Tilted Pickups:

I think it is better to say "change" rather than improve. Improvement is subjective. That said, if it alters the distance of the pole pieces from the strings, then it should alter the tone. IMHO, this would be minimal.
 
Mine are like this in perfect balance (out of phase wiring and full fundamental cancellation for the Peter Green tone)

pickups.jpg
 
RVA said:
I would greatly appreciate if you could explain what this means
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OK - how deep do we go? A note is made up of a fundamental and a load of harmonics on top - they give it the characteristic tone. The fundamental is the frequency a tuner would tell you about - 82Hz for the bottom E for instance. The size of all those harmonics is different between the bridge and neck pickups - that's why they sound different. If you wire your pickups out of phase, and have them both selected you get two opposite signals tending to cancel each other. If you adjust the pickup heights exactly, those two 82Hz waves will cancel out completely. Because all the other harmonics were at different sizes, they don't cancel and you hear them. This is what makes the Peter Green tone - kind of thin and nasal.
 
DonP said:
OK - how deep do we go? A note is made up of a fundamental and a load of harmonics on top - they give it the characteristic tone. The fundamental is the frequency a tuner would tell you about - 82Hz for the bottom E for instance. The size of all those harmonics is different between the bridge and neck pickups - that's why they sound different. If you wire your pickups out of phase, and have them both selected you get two opposite signals tending to cancel each other. If you adjust the pickup heights exactly, those two 82Hz waves will cancel out completely. Because all the other harmonics were at different sizes, they don't cancel and you hear them. This is what makes the Peter Green tone - kind of thin and nasal.
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That is a very ludid explanation, thank you! So cancellation of the fundamental frequency. 2 more questions.

Are the load of harmonics also reffered to as overtones?

How do you measure to know you have cancellation of the fundamental frequency?
 
Yes, overtones and harmonics are essentially the same thing.

You don't have to measure the cancellation. You will hear it as you play notes and wind the pickup up and down. The point at which you get best cancellation will be very obvious.
 
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DonP said:
Yes, overtones and harmonics are essentially the same thing.

You don't have to measure the cancellation. You will hear it as you play notes and wind the pickup up and down. The point at which you get best cancellation will be very obvious.
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Thanks again. I have been doing some tutorials on Peter Green's playing (posted as a thread in "The Classroom"), so I have an acute interest in this topic.
 
RVA said:
I think it is better to say "change" rather than improve. Improvement is subjective. That said, if it alters the distance of the pole pieces from the strings, then it should alter the tone. IMHO, this would be minimal.
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I agree...but probably more importantly. it will allow a greater degree of adjustment, especially the pole pieces. The neck pickup on this guitar is sheer tonal perfection. I'm not changing it. Many colleagues are recommending a 10-11k bridge pickup. But I think 7.93k @ 56°F is fine....
 
Some say it does Robert.im not sure or do i fret about such things.i mean look at the way a P90 Dog Ear pickup mounts.not much do with it.well i take that back i see some make spacers for the dogear pups but ive never bothered with them
 
you could put a tilted pickup ring on that pick guard.excuse the weird lines in photo for i dropped my phone and cracked the camera lense.20170228_121937.jpeg
 
Hi Robert, yes levelling the pickup to the string does make a difference. As RVA said, "improvement" is subjective. My SG has no pickguard so both pickups are mounted in rings. The neck pickup was level to begin with but the bridge pickup showed the same condition as yours with the back of the pickup noticeably lower than the front (actually, probably worse at 1.3mm). people put foam under the pickup to level it but I thought this would mess with height adjustability. I didn't want to bend the tabs on the pickup's legs so I got some aftermarket "tall" style rings & measured the height difference between the front & back of the pickup, then sanded the appropriate amount off the front edge of the ring. In my case it did improve the tone (well, to my ears) & while the difference in tone wasn't radical it was noticeable. Hope this helps. Cheers
 
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ivan H said:
Hi Robert, yes levelling the pickup to the string does make a difference. As RVA said, "improvement" is subjective. My SG has no pickguard so both pickups are mounted in rings. The neck pickup was level to begin with but the bridge pickup showed the same condition as yours with the back of the pickup noticeably lower than the front (actually, probably worse at 1.3mm). people put foam under the pickup to level it but I thought this would mess with height adjustability. I didn't want to bend the tabs on the pickup's legs so I got some aftermarket "tall" style rings & measured the height difference between the front & back of the pickup, then sanded the appropriate amount off the front edge of the ring. In my case it did improve the tone (well, to my ears) & while the difference in tone wasn't radical it was noticeable. Hope this helps. Cheers
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Good idea!
 
If I recall correctly, I achieved the desired result with a folded matchbook cover on one of mine. Bending tabs is risky business, so do it with great reserve. When I want thin and nasally, I play a Fender.
 
Biddlin said:
If I recall correctly, I achieved the desired result with a folded matchbook cover on one of mine. Bending tabs is risky business, so do it with great reserve. When I want thin and nasally, I play a Fender.
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Thanks, Man...

The Gibson spec is 4/64" or roughly .063" between pole piece and string. If I correct the angle issue, I can significantly raise the bridge pickup...
 
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