A question of pickup height...

[Guyver1]

ok so i've been playing for some 17 odd years and on every guitar I've ever owned/had the first thing i always did after setting the action and intonation was to fret the 2 E strings at the 24th fret and then raise the pickups till they were a a knats chuff away from the strings. I've always had 2x HB'ers no other config.

In terms of output, sustain, tone, etc is there actually anything negative about having my pickups so close to the strings?? (all my guitars currently have DiMarzio Evo2 bridge and Evo necks). Also my COW Sig has the active EMG humbucker, how does an active pickup's response react to being shoved right up against the strings?

as a gauge whats peoples pickup to string distance (in mm's please not that weird 7/8ths stuff ) on both bridge and neck humbuckers both passive and active..

any helps appreciated.

Leon.

[jackson1]

Having the strings too close to a magnetically powerful pickup could badly affect the intonation, simply due to the magnetic forces interrupting the movement of the strings.

Worth checking out!

[jackson1]

Measuring the distance between the strings and the pickup seems silly to me. Use your ears. I typically have the neck humbucker fairly low to reduce its output, especially in the lower frequencies to avoid mud.

[Guyver1]

until i joined these boards that was one thing i'd never even considered, and its one of the reason for me posting this thread.

cheers for reply

[Guyver1]

found this - http://www.andersonguitars.com/adjust.html

thats alomost exactly what ive been doing all these years

[jackson1]

Guyver1, this made me crack up when checking your site

Do one brave thing a day:

[Guyver1]

heehee i do like that pic

[Guyver1]

found this on the dimarzio pickup faq page:

How high should I adjust my pickups for the best sound?

There is no specific distance that works best for everyone. We measure string height from the top of the polepiece to the bottom of the string when the string (usually the high or low E) is held down at the highest fret. For standard, full-size humbuckers, a reasonable starting point for the bridge pickup is at least 1/16" (1.5mm) from the high E and 5/64" (2 mm) from the low E. There are no recommended distances for the other 4 strings. Their polepieces should be adjusted (if necessary) by ear in relation to the volume established for the first and sixth strings. Once the bridge pickup is adjusted to a useful distance, the neck pickup can be adjusted by ear for a good balance.

that does seem to collerate with my pickup height all these years, but again im still interested in what people here have

[jackson1]

Why do you insist upon authorized certification of your pickup height? You've played for 17 years. Have you ever played with the equalizer on your amp? Or do you look that up in the manual too?

Play with that height yourself and listen. That will tell you more than any paper out there.

Not trying to be an ass - just trying to help.

[dg]

Duncan recommends setting neck hums at 1/8", and bridge hums at 1/16" at the high E and 3/32" at the low E. I've found that these heights are about right for me when using PAFish or med-high output pickups like a Custom. For something hot like the Distortion or especially the Invader, I tend to set them lower. I think quite a few people who dismiss the Invader as muddy never tried lowering it. Like Henrik said, you just have to play with them and go with what sounds best to you.

[straycat]

The old invaders are great, lots of harmonics.

[mm2002]

The old invaders are great, lots of harmonics.

Yep, they are one of my favorite pups. They are very sensitive to height changes too.
On another note, EMGs need to be as close to the strings as possible without actually touching.

[toejam]

Yep, they are one of my favorite pups. They are very sensitive to height changes too.

Another Invader fan here. I put two of them in my old Kelly XLR. They worked out fine and were not muddy at all, even in the neck position. They're pretty high output, so you've got to keep them a little lower as to not be overpowering.

[jackson1]

I loved my Invader in my old Kramer back in the 80's. That combo sounded very close to a metal drum set Very tight and brutal