Tele Pickup Height with JD Simo and Dan Strain - Ask Zac 198

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A discussion with my friends, JD Simo, and Dan "Danocaster" Strain about how they set pickup height on Telecaster type guitars. The discussion begins with a look at Simo's 2nd Danocaster, and how he had just changed the pickups to a set of Budz 58s, that then evolves into a discussion on pickups as JD adjusts his new instrument. We also discuss pickups that favor harmonics over fundamental tones, and how JD and I love our Headstrong Lil King amps.
2023 Headstrong Lil' King with 12" Eminence GA-SC64 speaker
headstrongamps...
Danocaster Guitars
danocaster.com/
#askzac #jdsimo #danocaster

[@TheHamebusk]

Enjoyed every moment. In ham radio, we say "armchair copy" when the signal is clear and operators on both sides of the antennas are fully engaged in great conversation. This video is definitely armchair copy!

[@AskZac]

Thank you!

[@THEItchybruddah]

Not only a “Master Class” but master “classy”! Thanks for corralling both these cats to dish some weapons grade data Zac. (Tho I’m gassed I got hear somebody open for Trigger Hippy with a “borrowed” purple 100 watt Plexi and a real Burst.)

[@stephenjones9153]

29 report for the Buzzing 😢😢

[@lazvt8469]

Can't believe Zac didn't talk about his hack of removing the neck from the tone pot....because of him, I've done it to all 10 of my Teles...even my CS. Love that mod!

[@ggman946]

JD Simo reminds me of Daniel Steinhardt from That Pedal Show. You want to hear what he's got to say, but often when he gets the floor to say something, he pauses to collect his thoughts and almost loses the moment before someone else talks over him! LOL Great content. Thank you!

[@Sammywhat]

Great episode, Zac, Truly three people which I would dearly enjoy hanging out and talking Tele ALL day long. Cheers!!

[@mandodude148]

Made me feel better about the way I adjust pickups. I too have always just tweaked them by ear. Another enjoyable and informative video as always. Thank you!

[@joe19912]

Right? Specs are great for the factory build, but fine adjustments should be by sound and feel, preferably by the player or trusted pro like Dan.

[@Patrick00006]

JD is right on about the sweet spot. For Les pauls, it’s a balancing act between the pickup height and the individual pole pieces. I think you don’t have to be afraid to try extreme settings. It’s by doing so that I can get a LP neck pickup to sound snappier, like a single coil.

[@britthibbert7383]

Thanks for this great video, Zac. This one and the 'Tele Tone Tricks' were very educational! I wonder if you'd be interested in doing another video on adjusting tele pickup height, where you take it a bit more step-by-step and explain and/or demonstrate the different qualities of tone that JD was talking about? like, if you or JD would be willing to try to point out the specific characteristics in the tone (harmonics that you want, bass too flubby, etc) that you are hearing and aren't hearing as you're adjusting. I try to listen for these things that JD was talking about, but sometimes my ear isn't sure what it should be hearing and listening for. Thanks for so much great content.

[@VisualGuy]

I have two Danocasters. I mess around with my single cut some, but I haven't touched my double cut pup height. It is perfect. This trio is so much wealth in knowledge and experience. Thank you for filming, Zach. Love ya Dan!

[@GlennJimenez]

JD Simo is a wonderful guitarist! He has always made gear sound great!

[@Southern.child86]

Sitting here with a cold Topo Chico in hand, listening to JD do his thing, his wonderful thing! Thanks for letting us “sit in” on the hang with these guys Zac!

[@ledaswan5990]

I love Topo Chico

[@Nowandthen-zen]

Where did JD get that Klein screwdriver, that’s where the magic is✌🏻🎶🎸

[@bldallas]

Great video, but I assume anyone who doesn’t know how to adjust pickup heights, likely doesn’t have the experience needed to just freely adjust them based on tone. So they need some guidelines. I start by setting my pickups at 1/8” below the fretted E (6th) and e (1st) strings. By fretted, I mean highest fret (21 or 22), and like action, measure from the bottom of the string to the top of the pole piece or screw. Though I have pup gauges, an easy hack to use a 1/8” or 3mm Allen key. Allen keys sizes are measured flat side to flat side, so they work perfect for measuring pickup heights. Once everything is 1/8” below the fretted strings, I set the volumes control(s) on the guitar to 10 (max) and the tone(s) o 5 (middle), and tweak the heights for tone. By this I mean I’m really trying to balance the volume from the bass end to the treble end, one eacg individual pup, and from pickup to pickup. 1/8” is really at the widest end of most recommended spacing range, this “tweaking” usually means slightly raising (1/2 turn or so) to increase the softer of the two volumes. Finally once everything is balanced, if I know I have a lower powered set of pickups, or just ant a louder / different sound, , I will raise everything by a full turn and see how that sounds. Y’all might say I’m over thinking it, but this approach is systematic. Unless a player is as experienced as this guy, telling them to just grab a screw driver and start adjusting heights until it sods better, could easily lead to them getting pups that are too close to the strings and they may not notice until they are playing hard or having tuning issues.

[@davidfoarde558]

Dude this was so clear and well explained. Thank you so much for taking the time to write it. I’m not a beginner but this was the perfect refresher and encouragement

[@alexpoteetguitar]

Amazing players and builder. These guys seem like very sweet folks. Love this channel Zac! I do wish the neck vibrato trend in modern guitar player would die off! It gets old seeing every modern guitar player just bend the neck constantly…

[@GabeHelma]

😂 get a univibe or a leslie.

[@boco1951]

Thanks for letting us in on this one!

[@AskZac]

You bet!

[@mototakahe836]

I have not heard "angle of dangle" for years. Thanks for the memory.

[@guitareveryone]

I totally agree on this. I don’t follow the whole pickup height spec thing. I adjust it to the way I like it. Of course you have to watch out for how close the pickup is to the strings to avoid weird overtones and stuff but your ears will tell you that. But for the most part adjusting pickup height is a great thing to experiment with especially if you’re not getting the tone you prefer. Before pulling out those pickups, adjust them first. You may be surprised with the results.

[@VintageRadius]

Agree. I used to follow typical Fender recommendations of about 4/64 treble side and 5/64 bass side on a Strat as example. Then I read Lindy Fralin uses 8/64 as a starting point for the bass side and may adjust even lower from there. It totally changed what I thought was an appropriate range and that you really can just follow your ears.

[@nikolaki]

Thia is why I rarely change pickups, height adjustment completely changes the tones you get. Being a lefty though, I often change the pots to make them usable.

[@VintageRadius]

Don’t lefty guitars come with the pots turning the right way?

[@nikolaki]

@VintageRadius on a right handed guitar the volume goes up as you turn the pot clockwise. On a left handed guitar - which is a laterally inverted guitar - the pot is usually wired up in reverse so that turning it anticlockwise makes the volume go up. Most pots have a log/audio taper but you can also get pots with a linear taper. A linear pot wired backward 'behaves the same' whilst a log pot wired backward essentially becomes an on-off switch. A lefty guitar should have reverse log taper pots installed for the pots to operate with a usable sweep. Most manufacturers install standard log pots in lefty instruments and wire them backwards. What then happens is the volume or tone changes very little until the end where it drops sharply to nothing. Pot turning direction is a point of controversy in the lefty guitarist community. Some prefer their pots to be wired as they would be on a right handed guitar (as was common in the 50s and 60s). Others prefer them laterally inverted - if you want to do volume sweeps [-swells!] it's a lot easier! I like to play clean most of time and unplugged straight into the amp so it's important the volume and tone pots work correctly.

[@VintageRadius]

@@nikolaki that’s really interesting. Thanks! Unrelated, I’ve recently become more interested in pot values after realizing one of my Strat volume pots was reading 213k. Of course I knew pots have tolerances but I never really dug deeper into it. I have some Mojotone 250k pots on the way that claim a tighter 7% tolerance as well as a 300k and I plan to do some experimenting.

[@nikolaki]

@@VintageRadius plus minus 20% is crazy. Yeah, another reason I tend to redo the wiring before entertaining a pickup swap!! Look up PTB wiring - that's my favourite wiring scheme.

[@Noitpure]

Wonderful episode!!! Thanks, guys!

[@RobertCadieux-x6r]

Zac! Do more of this kind of hanging out!

[@UncleDanBand64]

That is how I do it. I only run a bridge pickup. Usually a Rio Grande in a lefty top loaded bridge. I just find the sweet spot. Which to me you can really get the low end snap and growl without the razor blades and ice pics on the high end with pickup slanted the other way.

[@estenray5385]

Great video Zac! Thanks very much enjoyed the hang!😊

[@howardmaryon]

That pickguard-less Danocaster actually looks cool. If a luthier dropped a precision wood plug in the cable slot, even in a contrasting wood color, it would look great.

[@SteveR5954]

Thanks for this Zac - really cool to be able to feel a part of a conversation like this.

[@grantbob]

Very insightful. Thanks for sharing this Zac!

[@joeldowdy404]

♥ this, once you find where you like your pickups measure from the bottom of the string to the top of the pickup on the Low E and High E in mm and remember it or write it down for each kind of pickup then you always know and don't have to fiddle around with it again.

[@howardmaryon]

I wonder if changing from nickel strings to flat wound will change that?

[@brunonjezic6208]

Those stops JD does hit so hard!

[@jimilee459]

That’s some crazy vibrato. Great show Zac.

[@cgavin1]

Love seeing Simo in his element. Great content, sir!

[@christmasmusicukulele8318]

And there is me with a Budz in a $200 telecaster. Sounds great!

[@ewm335]

Another great video, Zac! Re having a Stratty pickup in the neck position: Yeah, there’s always a trade-off, right? As Redd Volkaert said in your interview with him, he prefers a brighter neck pickup. Whether it’s a humbucker or a mini-humbucker or a Strat-style pickup, that both-pickups setting is going to be compromised. Of course, the solution is simple: Buy more Teles!

[@ledaswan5990]

Nice T-shirt Zac. I’ve played that festival every year for over 30 years.

[@JBGuitarInstruction]

Thanks, really enjoyed this conversational tone hang...

[@valleywoodstudio7345]

Cool discussion. You know when you're too close on the neck pickup/bass sting side when the magnetic force of the single pole pieces pull the note out of tune above the 12 fret. That's usually where I set my maximums.

[@chirbin0nidhogg623]

I remember being super interested in JDs methodology for adjusting pickups waaaay back on his first rig rundown with PG and he spoke about getting a certain harmonic with Red

[@gcatwyo]

That was a great way to spend part of my morning, thanks Zac, JD, and Dan!

[@AskZac]

Our pleasure!

[@rebbeche]

Dan is great a true artist and such a great guy, he always answers my questions when I DM him… one day I’ll get one of his guitars. JD is a true inspiration great artist. Cheers guys 🎉

[@ebeep]

In my experience, I think moving closer to the strings increases the fundamental, the bandwidth/frequency range, and the relative volume of transients. Conversely, moving further from the strings increases the ratio of harmonic information to fundamental, softens transient peaks, and gradually begins to reduce bandwidth as distance increases. The sweet spots are subjective and always best dialed in by ear, 1/4-turns for micro-adjustments once you find your preferred zone.

[@tyler-jameskelly]

Very laid back video. Love it. It would be helpful to folks to let them know if the amp is set “flat” or not before you said “tweak.” Love the videos Zac, thank you.

[@godbyone]

A quarter turn !!!Best advice.

[@Harmonizerrr]

Zac and JD = instant classic

[@Twangler2]

Old joke from Dan “The angle of the dangle is directly proportional to the heat of the meat!!!”

[@howardmaryon]

At last! 3 of the most knowledgeable guys on Tele’s showing that there is no “correct” pickup height, you have to find the tone you want by “tweak and listen”. I know what I am going to be doing tomorrow, and it involves a screwdriver.

[@hearpalhere]

Man that must have been such a fun hangout! You are keeping some great company here Zac 🙂

[@bhhNC]

It's been 'a road' getting proper tone on my Tele since I had a modified Peters G/B-Bender installed 3 years ago. The increased string length is a tough tweak, and any different string gauge changes everything. I've began using the two strings from a D'Addario ACOUSTIC 10 set and ... yum.

[@josephcorcoran8714]

I had a brief email conversation with Dan a few years ago about buying one of his T-Style, Single Cut, Tele Shaped instruments but I think he was in the middle of changing over to the new process vs. custom order. I need to look him up again. I’ve wanted one of his guitars for a long while.

[@RICO_SUAVE21]

This was great! I don’t feel like I’m crazy spending hours adjusting my pickup heights

[@NateTheMeh]

No pickguard on the tele looks SO BADASS

[@howardmaryon]

I like that look too, I might get a woodwork genius to carve a wood plug to go in the cable trough.

[@morecheesemt]

love this!!! thank you. Also, my silly, irrational guitar ocd would kick in whenever the old tweed case was visible with the feet out…that case should be laying comfortably on a sealy posturepedic. lol

[@CarstenGoeke]

Fantastic episode. I enjoy my Danocaster Single Cut every single day. Bought it few years ago second hand with an Arcane Goldfoil Serial 0001 on the Neck. Sounds awesome. I need to check someday this Headstrong Lil´ King. Hard to find here in Europe. Thanks so much for this episode and greets from Andalucía. Carsten ✌🏻

[@telecasterbear]

Thanks for letting me be a fly on the wall, Zac. For me, I get the most height out of my neck pickup, then go for same output from the bridge pickup.

[@APMTenants]

How many people thought the telecaster neck pickup sounded bad because they didn’t know about the dark circuit? 20 years ago I handed my 52 reissue to a luthier and he told me the neck pickup sounds terrible, but he really loves the middle position. What he thought was middle is actually the neck.

[@carlBigSpoonjohnson]

Man I really like having multiple characters in your videos “live action “ 😂 3 bad azz tele men cheers 🍻 gentleman

[@tanyet]

Somebody needs a Bigsby:). Great vid!

[@victorbeebe8372]

Aloha Guy's! Mahalo for the lesson.

[@sluggo68]

Another great episode. You should do one on the pros and cons of 4/5 way tele switch modifications. A friend keeps pestering me to have it done but I’m happy w/the tones I get and fear altering them. That is unless you already did one on the topic and I missed it.

[@robertwilliams1770]

Dano Caster !!!!! Headstrong amp Boom We love us some tele Talk

[@nickl2883]

Budz pickups are great . I’m lucky to have two sets . One sett in a. Dano and a dano 10k set in a underwood black guard. I wish budz pickups were still available to the public. He was great to deal with. Zac, you should do a vid with dan on what it’s like to develop a set of pickups. Just all about the pickups he likes to use, Florence , budz , arcane and rocket fire. What he likes and doesn’t like, stuff like that.

[@joepassfan]

Which version of the Headstrong did you prefer the (LK, X or S). Are you using the 6V6s or 6L6s? Does the 6V6 have enough clean headroom for a small gig?

[@AskZac]

LK and X with 6V6

[@briannacery9939]

Gosh, that Telecaster and Princeton sound good!

[@ScottsGuitar]

Great chat Zac! I got to see JD play not long ago in Phoenix, his talent is off the charts, especially when he starts stomping around 😅. I’m curious about his preference for Tele over his ES, as they can roughly get similar tones if needed. What about the Tele made it his #1 now?

[@division17]

Fantastic episode!!

[@GilCrocker]

What was that beautiful jazzy piece JD played in the beginning?

[@Les537]

Thanks boys.

[@Strumbum01]

Great vid, Zac!

[@border2beachwithchipleach63]

I really enjoyed this video even though there were only 6 complete sentences actually spoken. 😂😂

[@AskZac]

You posted this twice, and I had to delete the second. Emoji Emoji

[@border2beachwithchipleach63]

@@AskZac Sometimes my internet skills show my age. 😁

[@nunoandradebluesdrive]

awesome video 👍👍📸🥂

[@jodycopeland1]

I use a champ12. Love it it’s light but it has the spank

[@BOBBRADLEYCHANNEL]

Great one guys!

[@kneedeepinthedoomed]

Zac - I'd enjoy your take on Tele vs ASAT, especially regarding pickups (MFDs vs classic). Any ASATs in Nashville?

[@jaguarsunburst1570]

Great Video.🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

[@Heavenreck]

Great Video, Love Dan's work, next Tele has to be a Dano. I loved his surf over sand tele. Ofc now someone is asking extortionate prices for these on a second market.

[@AskZac]

Thanks, friend.

[@MurrayWilliams]

Turn the knobs on your amp. Adjust the height of your pickups. Trust your ears. It’s YOUR guitar. Find YOUR sound.

[@Ivayloi123]

Hi There Zac! I would ask in what position should volume and tone be, while making the adjustments?

[@HalHawkins-j8i]

It’s a Memphis thang…. Middle position! Great work y’all.

[@maxbialystock254]

Standard at the bridge, JB HB at the neck. But fellas, on film day a little more wake and a little less bake

[@les047]

gear aside, you are a lucky man with friends like this.

[@dondenson3542]

Great guys!

[@johnparsons661]

Nerd here, did you all ever get around to actually measuring the pickup height? I'm all for using the ears, but the actual measurements might help pass on some general info to the public. J.D. is an awesome player, and I always find his interviews to be interesting.

[@j.b.55]

Great Guys and great wealth of knowledge….JD…is all that ‘neck-wigglin’ necessary Lol 😂😂 habits die hard!!! Great playing!

[@goswo]

Really enjoyed this

[@AskZac]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@TwangThang57]

On JD's main Dano with the neck 'bucker, how does he/Dan have it wired? Pot values? Parallel resistor? Neck tone bypassed? Cap values........ ? I have a mini 'bucker from a from a '69 Les Paul Deluxe in the neck of my Tele. Had various bridge pickups...., currently running a Mojotone Broadcaster Quiet Coil. I have yet to reach nirvana regarding tonal and/or volume balance between the two pickups ( apparently JD's has the same imbalance as per this convo). Closest I've come is 500k pots, neck tone bypassed, 470k resistor from switch to ground to make tone pot 250k(ish) for the bridge pickup. Would love to hear how JD has his wired.

[@AskZac]

No tone on the neck

[@AllenGarberGuitarFun]

Oh man…that was righteous! Thank you so much! Also…Dan for the win with the Fryette PS-2, the Brown Box AND the Ebo E-Verb and the Marshall half stack! Also, to be clear…is JD’s new Danocaster using the wiring scheme which has the Tone control functioning on both pickups? Did I hear that right?

[@tedcallahan9149]

I heard tone control on both

[@AllenGarberGuitarFun]

@@tedcallahan9149Yes, I think I heard it too. I think JD said it as well…I’ll have to watch again.

[@roddieruddie4545]

I enjoyed the talk but being new to guitars and also wearing hearing aids it wasn't much help in guiding me towards a good basic starting point. For players with good knowledge it was probably diamonds for them. It was nice to hear the thoughts of accomplished players.

[@MrAnderswt]

I must admit that the neck-bending thing makes me uneasy. It's like being car- or seasick. Sorry.

[@NewPraetorianBlues]

JD's vibrato technique reminds me a lot of Ruben Nielsen

[@admarhermans1]

Great video! I don’t even play guitar, 😆... (If I did it would be most definitely on a Tele.) I play bassguitar. 🖖

[@godbyone]

Great great video

[@piggycity]

Another great video

[@johnnymalmsteems198]

Another banger episode 🚨

[@danielrose3172]

The middle is where the tele shines... Les Paul also.

[@realitynuggets6204]

My tele needs more fairy dust. I learned something today.

[@andoros.7017]

Does Dan source out the bodies and necks pre-cut or does he build his Danocasters from scratch?

[@AskZac]

He has different companies that make bodies and necks

[@Nitromessiah]

JD could play a DaisyRock and make it sound like a Nocaster. Not fair. Get a mere mortal in there!

[@bvs5164]

Would changing amps then require a change in pick up height?

[@AskZac]

It could

[@reiniervelu2282]

Hi @AskZac, Many thanks for your great videos! Question, whats your opinion about reversed telecaster bridges? (where the pick-up at the EAD strings is closer to the bridge). Have you ever played one? On one hand it sounds like messing with the great design of Leo, on the otherhand it sounds like a great way to have more attack at the low strings and warmer highs. Greetings from the Netherlands!

[@AskZac]

I have never tried them, but have been curious.

[@ethanhitchcock5431]

G-G-Geekin' out !

[@ledaswan5990]

Why does that guy keep shaking the neck of his guitar?

[@smellytele9629]

My Dano is the same color

[@iannicholls7476]

Right! Where’s my Tele and where’s my screwdriver?

[@michaelnelson3469]

I watched 8 minutes of guys not talking about pickup height and couldn't take that JD Simo guy any more.

[@AskZac]

Thanks for sharing!!!