Pickup adjustment on Guitars and Basses | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 12 | Thomann

[@ChazDraycott]

I've been watching these videos all day! Kris is great, explains everything in a clear and simple way, giving me the confidence to restring, fix and set up my guitars! 🙌🏼

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

I really appreciate that! Enjoy tweaking your guitars dude! //Kris

[@sidewaysrain7609]

Adjust pickups higher than you know they should be. Hold finger at last fret pluck the string while turning the adjustment screw to the lower it until the tone stops oscillating. This is the sweet spot for any pickup height it's just that simple!

[@JonadanandtheFreaks]

I didn't understand. Can you explain more precisely please ? 🙏

[@dmmedic34]

Any guitar I own has the pickups as low as possible. No matter what the pickup is, people misunderstand the strength of the magnetic field and that effect on tone. Low pickups provide me with more smooth tone both clean and overdrive

[@Metalovai]

@@dmmedic34 That's how you get noisy outputs.

[@dmmedic34]

@@Metalovai not with me.

[@vw9659]

Great to see these measurements presented firstly in SI/metric units, the units of science. As used by 95% of the world's population.

[@hristo_panov]

Yeah! I'm tired of measuring crazy values like 37/84 :D

[@andesneko]

I can't even understand why some non US channels lower their level to burgers per freedom scale.

[@andesneko]

@UCEG3j67lwura76U6VafmZrQ Easy. "1m/3 ", "third of a meter", "333.3cm", "33.3% of a meter", and so on. Now you tell me how burgers per freedom differs. Because in imperial you still would say "Third of an inch" or similar.

[@TwoThumbZen]

Be a little smarter and learn how to convert units. It's not any harder than dividing a meter by 3.

[@TwoThumbZen]

Meter vs. foot, not meter vs inch. A third of a foot is "4 inches" and is clearly indicated. Of course you will get repeating decimals when dividing an inch by 3 because we unfortunately use decimal counting system as opposed to dozenal where 1 inch/3 = 0.400 inches. Not saying one is always better than the other, but people should know why imperial still exists before dismissing it.

[@waltjames407]

I find almost everyone's recommendations to be too close to the strings for my taste. I usually have to go about twice as far from the strings, about 4 mm, at least on single coils. Otherwise the pickup takes over the sound of the guitar. Back it off to about 4 mm and suddenly I can hear all that nice resonance and breath and depth from the guitar's wood and hardware. If you watch performances of people like Hendrix, Rory Gallagher, et. al. you'll see that many of them have their pickups almost flush with the pickguard. The best tone comes from raising the action a little, lowering the pickups, and playing with some force, IMO.

[@UltraFlynn]

Would love to see a video on setting pole height

[@fajaradi1223]

YES! Especially on how they're correlates with fretboard radius. Does it even matter?

[@Steven_SK]

I've saved a lot of money learning how to fix my guitars. Your tips are always good. Thanks teach!!! Be well Kris!

[@gerryloughran1676]

Cool one of the best video's yet on string height, simple no frills and easy to understand, good stuff

[@eugemcl]

As a general 'rule of thumb' I use 2mm as the 'crossover' measurement for passive and active/low inductance (kinman) pickups. This means passives no closer than 2mm and low inductance no more than 2mm from the strings (measured with strings fretted at last fret). Of course there are exceptions but I always advise people to think of the pickup as similar to a microphone. If a microphone is too close to your mouth it's going to sound muffled and distorted, too far away it's going to sound too weak with poor signal.. So, just like a microphone, there's a sweet spot and that's what each player has to find. Dare I say it? Use your ears 🤘😁🤘

[@paulg7002]

This helped a lot with my cst24 Harley Benton kit. Thanks so much!

[@stephenhill8675]

After spending months trawling through many youtube videos full of rubbish advice and poor content to find an answer to the harsh tone from my duo sonic. I have found the answer at Thomann's thanks for the video and the good advice.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

So glad to hear that Stephen! Enjoy that Duo Sonic, I bet it's a great guitar. Cheers //Kris

[@forgetfulLlama31]

I was getting crazy fret buzz on a Fender Player Plus. Bought it used so there were all the questions in my mind about it not being factory standard, what did they do to it, etc. After trying pretty much everything except refretting, I noticed the pickups were quite high (SSS noiseless).. so I dropped them a lot.. maybe a cm or more. Now the buzz is almost completely gone. and the volume and tone aren't noticeable affected. Great starting point.

[@jltrem]

In order to avoid the "icepick" sound of the strat bridge pickup, I have my bridge pickup angled in reverse to the standard strat position, I keep the treble side lower than the bass. Evens out the tone.

[@commiehunter733]

I roll off the bridge to about 5/10... Gives a warmer sound

[@jltrem]

@@commiehunter733 My strats have standard wiring, no tone control.

[@commiehunter733]

I roll off the bottom on one when I play the bridge pup, I have a 98 std. Maybe we have different wiring?

[@wasichu66]

Yet another video straight on point. Balance is just right with all needed info but not too complex, easy to follow, entertaining. Production is great, editing, mood, tone of presenter, the whole thing. It feels like a much more mature production format than it actually is, considering this show is not that old. Well, maybe only producers will understand what I'm saying, but well done Kris. And in fact Thomann as well, I think your coms and marketing and product development and associated media is really spot on, great customer service... without a doubt you are to Europe what Sweetwater is to the US, it's not easy to get all of this right, so congrats and keep it up.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thank you so much Christian!! Your comment made me and the team feel really good. Much much appreciated buddy and thanks for being awesome! :) //cheers, Kris

[@michaelbaudin]

I sometimes hit the middle pickup with the pick when playing, which is why I lowered it.

[@landonfinnerty2391]

Pole piece adjustment would be nice. But, this definitely helped.

[@stefanbjelke6500]

This saved me the money for new pups. Suddely my Dimarzio Tone Zone rocks like a maniac. It where sitting way to close. Got rid of many strange noises

[@surgeneral108]

Good job, ...I have set mine low for years now

[@GianTP9793]

Humbucker Pole pieces adjustement please!!🙏

[@n.h.moreno]

Sounds perfectly chunky, man!!! Great tone and right amount of gain ...

[@cloydlestervillaruz9649]

All of this has sense! thank you Sir Thomann!

[@TheSVKJosifek]

Great comprehensive video with all the info one would need. Thank you sir.

[@joeltunnah]

In the Dan Erlewine book he has some pro guitarist's setup measurements, and apparently Jeff Beck's strings are actually touching the pickups on his Strat (when pressing down the string at the last fret). SRV had his set to only 1/16". So I guess they didn't care about the overtones and warble?

[@Xxmeca421xX]

I rarely played my neck pup on my mexican strat until I put 57/62 pickups in it. Man, I didn't realize what I've been missing. Ceramic's were great with effects but alnico's and the right height changed the game for me.

[@rfendlen]

How high do you have them? I've got some vintage style pickups and I think they're too high at the standard recommended heights 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@Xxmeca421xX]

@@rfendlen I start at the number they say then close my eyes and play through my tube amp and adjust them often lol

[@Jesterzero138]

Great video. Very well conveyed and easy to follow. But would love to see a guide on adjusting p90 pickups!

[@MichaelThomasOflaherty]

Thanks thomann this helped me to re adjust my pickup height

[@Y0y0Jester]

This was short and sweet. Very informative!

[@idrisgohofficial5820]

Love this one. My guitar sound feel better than before. Thanks for this tips.

[@mikerichardson499]

I was looking for information for my new guitar's pickup height. It just so happens to be a Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid FR from Thomann's. Thanks! :D No adjustments needed btw!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

What a cool guitar! Enjoy playing it and thanks for watching! //Kris

[@laszloegri4959]

Could you also make a video of 8 string (mostly) active pickups, and what it’s like to sound good? There is no info on the internet about this.

[@mattmartinez7135]

Please do the adjustable pole pieces for passive humbuckers!!!

[@hmv3689]

This is great! I’d just love to see you guys talk about sustainer pickups (fernandes/sustainiac), like height adjustment on those, controls, etc. Love your videos!!

[@benink5690]

I have an es 339 with MHS 2 (alnico 5) and I can basically touch the strings with no issues. Closer the better for me & I still get dynamic cleans!

[@nedstar7378]

Nice video clear and fast and easy information, thanks for sharing.

[@SuperAssasinSteve]

Please make a video for adjusting the pole pieces!

[@niclaszimmermann8329]

Please a video for Hambuckers 🙏

[@CarvedTop]

Good info! What are your suggestions for setting P90 pickups on a LP style guitar?

[@genegarneau3822]

I like the pickups, set up high. I found out, it sounds so much different, getting a better sound, more out of the guitar. I agree, you cannot raise them to high, because they will buzz against the strings, bet i try to get them as close, as possible, to get that punch. What a difference. Good video..👍

[@PooNinja]

And after finding the perfect height then compromise a bit to get the outputs off each balanced for an even volume in any switch position.

[@joecantu5252]

Do you prefer balanced per each pick-up, or tilted towards bass notes, etc.

[@BrknHvn]

Guys, these videos are awesome! Keep doing them!

[@marcdamania]

Thank you for this Thomann! These tech/gear how-to videos are very useful and informative :)

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks Marc, that's awesome to hear! :) //cheers, Kris

[@SuperWelder1234]

Awesome 👏 very very good and important information. I wish to know what is the right height for the John Petrucci signatures. Like JP6 and Majesty guitar pickups.

[@Flip11..11]

Hey guys, thank you for another awesome video. I recently stumbled on your videos, and I enjoy the quality info and quality humor. I am now subscribed and look forward to future content. 🤘🏻

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks so much Philip! Check out the Guitar Tech Tips playlist if you like this kind of content. We have over 110 GTT episodes already... 😆 Cheers //Kris

[@axristoss86]

Hi Kris, can you share your goldtop pickup heights? I have the same one I think (50s Standard) and I struggle with the pickup height adjustment and polepieces. Tried to keep my bridge polepieces relatively flat and the bass strings of the neck pickup high enough so the polepiece screw sides are visible to make them a bit brighter. However I keep swinging between weak or too bright for bridge and muddy for neck pickup tones. Thanks for the amazing content!

[@vintagepipesnightmares]

Jeff Beck , Eric Johnson jut two examples. Their pickups almost touch the strings when press the last fret. So very very high. 🤷‍♂️

[@lumberlikwidator8863]

Nice video, good advice. But in future if you’re going to be giving Imperial measurements in addition to metric, instead of using hundredths of an inch, could you please use eighths, sixteenths and thirty-secondths of an inch. All Imperial rulers that I’ve seen are divided into these fractions of an inch.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey, thanks for the input! I'd love to do that but if you convert mm to inches that's the result you get (hundredths) with all the converters I've found. I'll look for a better one for the next time. //Kris

[@lumberlikwidator8863]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Thanks for your reply. You get an A for effort and a like and subscription from me.

[@JadeDude1973]

For Americans: for active pickups, bridge is 5/64ths of an inch, neck is 1/8 inch. Cheers!

[@michaelmorgan9289]

An informative & helpful video. Thanks.

[@bassimprovjams3772]

I would love to see a stingray bass low action pickup with the humbucker as high as possible, I've noticed over the years there is a certain highth i like my fingers to be at when, even my thumb is resting on the B string

[@joecantu5252]

Great Advice, Thank you

[@tendingtropic7778]

Thank you for this! What about single coils on an ultra telecaster (noiseless pickups) -> should the distance really be larger?

[@mrsunshine2204]

Thanks Thomann for this very informative video! Definitely want to see a video on adjustable pole pieces on a Humbucker, please. 👍

[@garycrouse1918]

very usefull and informative for all us dyi folks

[@WS-rc6qj]

Excellent dude I found the right tune.

[@Fogertian]

Ok, Here I go: My Strats have a lot of sustain, thus higher volume than other Strats that I just bought because of the Strings' Tubes mod. So now, no matter how far pickup is from strings (Neck) ... the damn things sound like .... a Telecaster (clean) .... but when I engaged OD/DIST ... the guitars behave like ... Strats ... twangy and organic. I had to change gauge strings set down to .08 to "recover" that clean Strat tones. Now they sound the way a Strat should ..... clean ... and with DIST.

[@udeeksh]

Amazing guitar tone at end. He should have started there.

[@kwentoniburuguduy7352]

thanks for the info i can adjust now my pick up on my electric guitar ......

[@Zwidawurzn]

Danke, Thomann rockt!

[@Dannyrh2]

Thomann, great info, thanks.

[@allmands]

thanks Thomann's

[@RonAshton000]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge mate !

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Sure thing Ron, I'm glad you like the format. Cheers //Kris

[@MeniscoManeiro]

One thing that I always find missing from these videos are comparisons, what does a pickup that's too close sounds like compared to a well adjusted one?

[@jeanmikael_1265]

The sound of pickups too close at 1:08.

[@tombstoneisevil]

Wach out! a flying razorblade just pass thru your left! ;) ...cool video, nice you go on all possible pickup sets

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks man, we give our best. So does the razorblade. Haha! //cheers, Kris

[@basicforge]

I don't worry about how far away the pickups are. I just change the pickup height and pole pieces until they sound good to me.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

That is probably the best method, I do that too. The only thing that's important for that is to know what you want to hear. That's only an issue for players with less experience. Measurements and numbers can be really useful for them, to have a good starting point. Cheers //Kris

[@luismorsa666]

Amazing video, great explanation of pickup height, I have a question, the high output passive humbuckers' height, is that same height the one for a 7 strings guitar with passive pickups?

[@kiillabytez]

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.

[@BluesIsDerBeste]

Where's that video on correctly adjusting the pole pieces?

[@huzirrizal8165]

Good info. Thanks bro 👍🏻

[@guitarans]

YES!!!! Pole vids please!!! Great videos $$$

[@johnnyguitar-uu3zr]

Hi, good video,,,, Maybe you can help me ??? i watch your channel a lot, On my Fender Strat The High E and B string is not as Loud as the others I raised the pickups on the high side But No change ..any ideas ??? thanks ....I don't know what else to do , there is a Big difference in output compared to the G,D,A ,& low E....

[@Savior.Mountgreen]

I see you mentioned the height of a single coil pickup. Does this measurement refer to the height of the low E and high E pickups, or is it specific to the high E string only?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Usually you state the closest point between any of the string and the pole pieces. This can vary, on some guitars it's the low E on some others it's the high E. If you get two measurements you'll get both E strings. That's obviously the most accurate way. //Kris

[@Savior.Mountgreen]

@ThomannsGuitarsBasses With these measurements, both the low E and high E pickups are aligned. This way, the low E part is no longer further away from the high E, they are at the same level.

[@BarberMister]

What tools would you recommend for setting up a bass with two soap bar humbuckers?

[@Alek_Archer]

I've been experimenting with pickup height for ages until I realized that adjusting those pole screws properly can make just a huuuge difference to how my guitars sound.

[@nipplemonster5848]

Pole screws? What?

[@Alek_Archer]

@@nipplemonster5848 haha, I was going to say "pole pieces" but didn't erase it properly when changed to "screws" :)

[@marinmitu995]

Chris. At min. 3:29 you present some measurement for Hum PU. What guitar is in the picture ? On Thomann shop in 23 pages I didn't find . Please help me. Thanks man.

[@armansrsa]

you forgot to say that a hot output can distort your input stage on your amp.. that is a pretty big deal if you use a tube amp

[@TheBedroomRocker1]

How do you adjust the height of soap bar P90 pickups? They do not have the screws on the side for that

[@stanislavmigra]

I adjusted pole pieces on my humbuckers due to wife complaining, she dont hear certain strings as good as she thinks is right So I have low E and G lowest, A B high E slightly higher and D string highest. Cant explain, but she is happy and I dont complain 🤓

[@latterhaha]

I just bought a cool old fender tele japanese from 1993. But I will have to adjust the neck pickup to 4 mm otherwise it will not intonate properly. But the sound then becomes too bass. Is it the older pickups that have more magnetism?

[@jorgecasadob]

Changing the height adjustment screws on my pickups. Can it be done without removing the pickup from the guitar??

[@Kai-San7]

Hey Kris, you said that you shouldn't go closer to the strings as 2.4 mm on singlecoils. Do you set the bass and treble side the same height? So for example both bass and treble 2.4 mm distance to the string?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

I usually get closer to the strings on the treble side than on the bass side when using vintage style single-coils with staggered pole pieces. Just to balance out the volume of the strings. The 2.4mm is mainly important for the low strings to avoid that "wolf note" issue. Cheers //Kris

[@Kai-San7]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses thank you so much Kris, you're super helpful. Really appreciate all of your tips!! I have the v mod pickups from the professional strat. Cheers

[@jamesagnew6512]

Great video. Nice haircut too.

[@Ace8Three]

I have hss strat with 250K pots in volume and neck tone and 500K pot in bridge tone. Also 0,47 cap. I use JB hum in bridge and fender fat 60's in neck and middle. My single coils sound very dull even when they are correct height. Should I adjust them even higher?

[@scotthayes83]

love your videos. Super helpful!

[@furiousone84]

Hi sir, what are your recommendations both pickups height for Squier Jazz Bass?

[@drunkenmonkey.incgohamjeed9580]

I want to fix my ESP Ltd bridge and neck pickup.... What would be the exact mm for generating perfect sound

[@aiden_macleod]

My bridge pickup is tightened as far as it can be and there's still 3/4" space between the pickup and the string. Any solutions?

[@BaronsDuju]

You said the treble side of the pickup on a Strat will need to be higher. But why?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Because of the design of vintage style Sinlge-Coil pickups. The pole pieces of the B and E string sit lower than the rest, so this side (treble side) has to go higher for a balanced sound. //cheers, Kris

[@vicente9929]

Doing this on my Fusion II!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Me too on mine. Haha! //cheers, Kris

[@vicente9929]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Great! I might change the pickups though. What pickups do you recommend for metal and jazz fusion? I play the HSH version.

[@jameselliano1203]

WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG !!!! If anyone tells you to use a rule tell them to shove it. 1) Lower your Bridge pickup. 2) Raise the high E until it is bright but smooth. Too high and you'll know it. Check by hitting 17th, - 20th fret. You'll know when it sounds best because you are listening to one string. 3) Plug in a distortion on the guitar through an amp and slowly raise the bass side while strumming. Do so until you get a good nice crunch. We are talking about setting the distortion to just over overdrive into slight distortion. You are aiming for an AC/DC tonality. easy to find adjusting this way. If the bass is too high lower the pickup and using a screwdriver adjust the 3rd and 4th pole pieces to adjust mids to taste. But you may not have to do that depending on how evenly the pickup is wound. Point being. This is a tried and easy way to set your bridge. 4) Lower the neck pickup and do same to high E side. 5) raise base side until you get a nice crisp clean tone. no distortion pedal. Done through clean amp. You are done. Nothing complicated. Throw away that stupid rule. Totally shit advice. IMO !!!

[@MC-jm7hi]

Good video. Thanks.

[@rockywalter119]

Thank you so much ❤

[@axxywaxxy9316]

Hi guys! Is it recommendable to set humbuckers like single coils? Treble side higher than bass side?

[@fabioclaudiomaghini1214]

When you talk about heights and give measures, you mean the low E height?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

As you can see at 2:07 I mean the pickup distance to both low and high E strings. Cheers! //Kris

[@fabioclaudiomaghini1214]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses so also in flat poles pups, both high E and low E shall stay at the same distance from strings, right?

[@noormartini3208]

i got my guitar yesterday and the top pickup is loose its moving and it somehow looks uneven how do i fix that or is it supposed to be like that

[@TiberiusWorld]

Ibanez rga42fm 2 humbuckers distance please...also the pickups closer to the bridge are in an angle not parallel to the strings is it normal?

[@ChrisChocol]

let you know in the comments if i want a vid on pole piece adjustment? that's why I'm here lol

[@ronaldsalas3080]

Does this humbuckers pickup height works also for MP90? Mine is MP90.

[@Leon_tornasol]

Hey bro¡ great channel¡ would u recomend to me a height to adjust my bartolini single coil bass pickup? I feel it sound too low compared to the split coil.. its a spector euro lt 4 bass .. soubd amazing but have that unbalanced volumen or output issue..thanks¡

[@MichaelMacherey]

Thank you Kris, what about switchable Pickups (Humbucker Single Coil) ? Tilting this kind of Pickups in direction of head or Bridge, make this a sense?

[@MichaelMacherey]

Especially for HB Fusion II HSH I`m interested in, thanks!

[@MichaelMacherey]

I got my first Fusion II HSH with Neck Humbuckers tilting towards the headstock, was this maybe by intention of HB, and I didn`t get it at this time!?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey Michael, humbuckers will often tilt in one direction. That's normal and you shouldn't worry about it. If you don't want to leave it how it is, you can put some foam under that pickup. That will make it sit in the cavity straighter. You don't have to tilt humbuckers like you do with strat pickups, since the pole pieces of HBs are even unlike on strats. //cheers, Kris

[@turjobiswas6405]

What will be the measurements of EMG HZ pickups for lespaul