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.

[@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!

[@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

[@gerryloughran1676]

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

[@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

[@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?

[@GianTP9793]

Humbucker Pole pieces adjustement please!!🙏

[@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?

[@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!

[@paulg7002]

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

[@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.

[@n.h.moreno]

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

[@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.

[@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?

[@allmands]

thanks Thomann's

[@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!!

[@surgeneral108]

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

[@mattmartinez7135]

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

[@TheSVKJosifek]

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

[@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

[@Y0y0Jester]

This was short and sweet. Very informative!

[@michaelbaudin]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@cloydlestervillaruz9649]

All of this has sense! thank you Sir Thomann!

[@niclaszimmermann8329]

Please a video for Hambuckers 🙏

[@DoobelyDoobelyDoo]

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

[@joecantu5252]

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

[@CarvedTop]

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

[@gs7788]

ok. now that I have values ​​of 2.4, 24 and 2.2 on the bass side, what is the best value for treble? I would like to ask for specific numbers. I care very much. I love your store and advice!

[@SuperAssasinSteve]

Please make a video for adjusting the pole pieces!

[@idrisgohofficial5820]

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

[@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 🤘😁🤘

[@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!

[@tendingtropic7778]

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

[@nedstar7378]

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

[@BrknHvn]

Guys, these videos are awesome! Keep doing them!

[@landonfinnerty2391]

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

[@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

[@joecantu5252]

Great Advice, Thank you

[@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.

[@Dannyrh2]

Thomann, great info, thanks.

[@thechance123]

How about a P-90 or Jazzmaster style? thanks

[@drunkenmonkey.incgohamjeed9580]

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

[@TheBedroomRocker1]

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

[@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!

[@mrsunshine2204]

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

[@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

[@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??

[@michaelmorgan9289]

An informative & helpful video. Thanks.

[@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.

[@WS-rc6qj]

Excellent dude I found the right tune.

[@Zwidawurzn]

Danke, Thomann rockt!

[@huzirrizal8165]

Good info. Thanks bro 👍🏻

[@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.

[@tendingtropic7778]

no telecaster? is it the same distance as for the strat?

[@BarberMister]

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

[@garycrouse1918]

very usefull and informative for all us dyi folks

[@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¡

[@rockywalter119]

Thank you so much ❤

[@guitarans]

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

[@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?

[@BluesIsDerBeste]

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

[@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?

[@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

[@MC-jm7hi]

Good video. Thanks.

[@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?

[@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....

[@turjobiswas6405]

What will be the measurements of EMG HZ pickups for lespaul

[@bassimprovjams3772]

Can to high of bass pickups when plugged into an amp give a bad blown speaker sound?

[@gunnarbergvall6502]

Thank you 😀

[@jamesagnew6512]

Great video. Nice haircut too.

[@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

[@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

[@furiousone84]

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

[@uoctii]

hello, does exist any single coil pickups non adjustable or i broke mine

[@christianfilouler]

are the specified mm with the side pressed down ?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

They are measured as shown at 1:48, so the string pressed down at the last fret. Cheers //Kris

[@sabognaako363]

can i use ernie ball super slinky on a floyd rose bridge??

[@ronaldsalas3080]

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

[@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

[@RonAshton000]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge mate !

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

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

[@Gimi.Endrics]

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

[@Gimi.Endrics]

@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.

[@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

[@scotthayes83]

love your videos. Super helpful!

[@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?

[@axxywaxxy9316]

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

[@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 ......

[@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.

[@vintagepipesnightmares]

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

[@ginoblaazer5103]

Chris talks about a chorus sound if the pickups are to close to the strings. But I have this sound all the time even if the pickups are flat to the body. They are lower output alnico 2 humbuckers. Can anyone help me ?

[@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.

[@saschakuebart3337]

What 19" rack tuner are you using in the back?

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Check the gear link in the description. It's all in there. //cheers, Kris

[@saschakuebart3337]

Thomann's Guitars & Basses Thanks mate 👍🏼

[@ibanezjjung]

great video

[@Elvis-dw7ux]

My Orange Roland Cube 60 guitar amp. has a Pre-Out and Main In connection at the back. As it is more than 30 plus years old with no Manual, I don't know what they are for? Please advise.

[@caorach3354]

This is effectively an effects loop I would guess, not having seen the amp myself. Basically you could put certain effects pedals in this loop so the pedal would get all the effects pedals you have between your guitar and amp plus it would also get, say, the distortion added by the pre-amp in your Cube. So you could come out of your "Pre-Out" jack and into a reverb (as an example) and then come out of the reverb and back into the "Main In" jack on the amp. This video shows Brian Wampler using this loop to put a "master volume" in his Fender amp: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnnCkntjqq-EpsU

[@Elvis-dw7ux]

@@caorach3354 Thanks...will try it out. Wonder if I can plug my MP3 directly into the Main In?