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

[@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!

[@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.)

[@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!

[@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!!

[@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!

[@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.

[@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?

[@jimilee459]

That’s some crazy vibrato. Great show Zac.

[@christmasmusicukulele8318]

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

[@estenray5385]

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

[@boco1951]

Thanks for letting us in on this one!

[@AskZac]

You bet!

[@RobertCadieux-x6r]

Zac! Do more of this kind of hanging out!

[@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…

[@gcatwyo]

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

[@AskZac]

Our pleasure!

[@Nowandthen-zen]

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

[@SteveR5954]

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

[@Noitpure]

Wonderful episode!!! Thanks, guys!

[@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!

[@JBGuitarInstruction]

Thanks, really enjoyed this conversational tone hang...

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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

[@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.

[@grantbob]

Very insightful. Thanks for sharing this Zac!

[@cgavin1]

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

[@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 ✌🏻

[@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.

[@HeyjAjSayJ]

Zac and JD = instant classic

[@Twangler2]

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

[@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.

[@hearpalhere]

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

[@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 🎉

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@RICO_SUAVE21]

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

[@kneedeepinthedoomed]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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?

[@GlennJimenez]

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

[@tanyet]

Somebody needs a Bigsby:). Great vid!

[@victorbeebe8372]

Aloha Guy's! Mahalo for the lesson.

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@godbyone]

A quarter turn !!!Best advice.

[@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?

[@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.

[@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.

[@MurrayWilliams]

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

[@carljohnson8364]

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

[@BOBBRADLEYCHANNEL]

Great one guys!

[@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.

[@division17]

Fantastic episode!!

[@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.

[@GilCrocker]

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

[@Les537]

Thanks boys.

[@jodycopeland1]

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

[@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. 😁

[@briannacery9939]

Gosh, that Telecaster and Princeton sound good!

[@Ivayloi123]

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

[@godbyone]

Great 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.

[@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.

[@user-ok2ju4lw4u]

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

[@les047]

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

[@dondenson3542]

Great guys!

[@jaguarsunburst1570]

Great Video.🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

[@j.b.55]

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

[@piggycity]

Another great video

[@goswo]

Really enjoyed this

[@AskZac]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@johnnymalmsteems198]

Another banger episode 🚨

[@realitynuggets6204]

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

[@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.

[@maxbialystock254]

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

[@NewPraetorianBlues]

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

[@bvs5164]

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

[@AskZac]

It could

[@admarhermans1]

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

[@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

[@danielrose3172]

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

[@dallastoto3189]

I met JD he’s a real good guy! I’m just asking, does shaking the guitar really do anything? ☮️Dallas

[@johnviolette5511]

He's really moving the neck and possibly his fingers slightly to give it a warble sound. different than the tremolo/vibrato that he has when he is not shaking it. It's a great effect.

[@iannicholls7476]

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

[@Nitromessiah]

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

[@ethanhitchcock5431]

G-G-Geekin' out !

[@Tonyscalo]

JD could very well be king of the neck waggers.

[@smellytele9629]

My Dano is the same color

[@jwiegand1022]

Does Dan make his own necks or do any of yall know who's necks he uses?

[@2dazetake]

Any good humbucker will always be level with the pickup ring, famous guitar players always have them down all the way, single coils are raised up to the right height,but hums will always be flat or what most consider low, industry secret.

[@tfunk1829]

Looks like Charcoal Frost.

[@thenicaron1]

Shaking the neck more means it's better more

[@dallastoto3189]

Has anyone besides me looked at HOW MUCH, the guitars sell for?. Obviously not for us small venue honky tonk guitar players.

[@henryb160]

Has JD lost lost some weight? He's looking very healthy, indeed.

[@TobyLee-uv7wb]

Stop shaking that thing!