P.A.F. Pickups: How to adjust P.A.F. Humbucker Pickups (Perfectly!)

[@flangelus]

I am forever grateful that you used the metric system instead of some weird ass confusing .5 5ths of a quarter 32nd of an inch BS

[@VintageRadius]

You can thank the British for the Imperial system that gave us 6/64”

[@bryantrockfield9865]

British is millimeters mate.... not inches ​@VintageRadius

[@SeemsLikeSomething]

I’ve spent countless hours fine tuning this until i realize that I’ve been at it all day and didn’t even actually play. It’s an obsession that only pays off if you can just stop and play at some point lol

[@gillesgenete9598]

I'm in line with you on this. The funny thing is that as our taste can evolve, so do we have to return to fine tuning the height. My set ups are generally ending with pole screws following the curve of strings heights , with E flat, G highest, but B string flat and e higher. Bluesy Les Paul pick ups are lower than rocky SG pickups.

[@evanabbott2737]

I TOTALLY get what you mean....oh my god....😑😁👍

[@SeemsLikeSomething]

Gilles Genete Definitely. I recently noticed I was favouring the low end in my pup heights and changed it to favour the higher strings. After playing a strat for a while, I’m digging the clarity of having the pups a bit further too. Gives it better dynamic range.

[@goswo]

Finally a gentleman who gets it. Soooooooo many so called pick up/guitar “set up” persons only use a number,/masurement, and that is not the best way to go. And wayyy to many set the pick up to high, and dont get the best out of the instrument. Get a good starting point, and then tune by ear. It can take some time, but its worth it.

[@linheitzig6916]

A couple of weeks ago, my lovely wife gifted me a 2020 Gibson Les Paul Standard Unburst. A beautiful guitar! Wanting to do the right thing, I took it to my local music shop where I take all of my equipment and had the luthier set it up. I picked it up yesterday. I came home, fired it up and it sounded just great, as it always does. Today I watched this video. I then took my new guitar and spent about 90 minutes doing exactly how Jon Gundry explained to do. When I was done I couldn't believe the tone that I heard. Just Unbelievable!! I've never own a guitar that sounded that good. I've heard a lot of great sounding Les Paul's in my life time, I'm 65 years old, but I've never own one, until now. Don't get me wrong, my guitars have put out beautiful tones in the past. But this new one I spent the time with and did it to the best of my abilities, I was rewarded. Now, I will gladly do my other guitars knowing what awaits me. Thank you Jon Gundry, I very much appreciate the time you spent making this video so we can all enjoy a great sounding guitar. You have a friend in me for life.

[@ThemFuzzyMonsters]

Nice approach but I wish you had spent time on the under appreciated middle position! My preferred method is to dial-in the bridge first, same way you did, then adjust the neck based on the middle setting. Looking for the maximum “chirpy” center. Play the main riff from The Ocean for reference! The neck pickup usually is fine and can be fine-tuned with its pole-screws. My $0.02!

[@hgostos]

Chirpy middle tones are criminally underrated.

[@Dang...]

Thanks for sharing this. Frankly, I've driven myself crazy with this aspect of tone-chasing. And, now that I've watched this, I'll probably waste more time splitting hairs again soon! The other variable is that each guitar, and, each pup sound so different at different amp volumes and gain settings.

[@TheChadPad]

Might I recommend getting an Orange amp with a "Natural" channel? It's different than a "Clean" channel in that it takes the direct guitar signal and amplifies it through tubes without taking out any natural distortion that occurs when turning up the volume. It's the purest form of your guitar's signal that you can hear, so far that I've seen. I love my Orange Rocker 15, and I recommend one. I found it very useful for adjusting my pickups to find the best dynamics. Just don't turn the volume of it up too loud, or it'll naturally overdrive the tubes! At low volumes, it's just clean, natural amplification of your guitar. The dirty channel really kicks ass too ;)

[@sacredgeometry]

Give a good musician spoons and he will make music with it. Give someone a perfect instrument with literally no music in them and they will never make any sound worth making. Focus on your playing, this stuff is just a distraction. (providing it doesnt need more work) It should take you literally minutes to set up your instrument how you want it. After that anything you do is just time you could have spent playing it. I mean just go and watch Jon play (no offence Jon) but its a case in point. All this talk of tone and he can barely play.

[@bassfishingwiththeantichri2921]

This was a great explanation of how to adjust pickup height. Especially dialing the middle position and the poll screws. I could hear the differences and agree with their descriptions. Your little lick rubbing off on me was a bonus.

[@irmasil3]

The "boomy" neck pickup in a Les Paul can be problematic as you end up with a fuzz-wolf note if you play with enough distortion...especially on the bottom end. I end up lowering the pole pieces a bit as well as lowering the bass end of the pickup but I keep the top side higher to get searing Gary Moore leads...I always test the tremble end up to the 22 fret bend up to E as this is good indication for me that I have the pickup too high...It should scream on the bend if its good enough, it disappears in output if its too high OR too low....So, that my guide. My 2 cents..Great video!! A good tip: Don't be alarmed if your neck pickup ends BELOW the ring on the bass side....Gary's Stripe 59' is in a similar fashion....Sometimes it's necessary.

[@ijamsum]

I think it is the Gibson 390r neck pickup with the most bass i ever heard on a electric six string guitar your talking about ! I cannot stand my LP pickups so i play my Epiphone LP with much better sounding pickups !

[@bartdebruyne618]

Great video. Once you hit the sweet spot, the magic happens. It can take a while. The sweet spot has little marge within 0,2 mm. You’ll hear it when you’re there. Awesome. Thanks for these other way of setting up PAF’s

[@Stringprodigy]

Nonsense

[@leravishaynes1845]

WOW , an American !!! I watched 8 or 10 videos before I got an American. I was beginning to believe that only Britts knew how to adjust there pick-ups !!! LOL

[@Glicksman1]

Given that every pickup and every guitar sounds and feels different, when I am setting the pickup height on any guitar (if I’ve just gotten it or have changed the type and/or gauge of the strings) I start by lowering them as far as they can reasonably go. I play the guitar that way for a while, sometimes for a few days, and then gradually raise them, playing and listening for what may have changed in the guitar’s sound and feel. I continue in this way, noting where the pickups are when I particularly like or dislike the sound and feel. I continue to raise the pickups until they are very close to the strings, playing and listening as I go. When I have found my sweet spot for them I set them there and I’m done. My preference so far has been for the pickups to be fairly far from the strings. This seems to improve tone and sustain and eliminates unwanted sonic anomalies such as “wolf tones” and such, as well as making tuning easier. Yes, it takes some time and patience, but it’s worth it to get my guitars to sound and feel as good (to me) as they can. While balance between and amongst the pickups is crucial, overall guitar volume is never a consideration for me as it may be raised in many other ways such at the amp or with the use of a booster.

[@OneMomentFromForever]

Thank you for this, loved the fullness of my timbuckers but struggled with the lack of clarity, now it sounds perfect

[@JAZZMANICK]

This is the most important thing for a grate sound .Works only in a good amplifier and it is also personal depending on the way the player uses the pick ...

[@kerrfoot]

thanks for the great video. One of my guitars is a Robin Savoy, with a BBQ Bucker in the bridge, and a Genuine Texas in the neck. both have vintage construction and the neck pick up is middle-of-the-road output and the bridge is more on the higher output. Over the years, making adjustments and trying different strings, things just haven't been sounding quite right. Did some tweaking per your video last night and I'm really liking the sound on getting out. Thanks!

[@kerrfoot]

I wondered if you altered your method in any way for an ES 175. I have the Steve Howe signature with a pair of 57 classic humbuckers. Thanks again!

[@kenmckay194]

The final result is fantastic!

[@kevinking2468]

I really respect the amount of research you have put into your PAF pickups - You have given me a couple Ideas in reference to bobbin design and winding im going to explore - Thankyou!

[@kevinking2468]

Those pickups in that guitar sound excellent!

[@3r1cratpool22]

i ajust a paf a way that it sounds almost like a single coil.. hight pole pieces and drop down de pickups.. pole pieces higher on small strings.. gives me alot of dynamics and vintage sound.. its personal but i like humbuckers for that precise tone that i get with them.. no noise. dynamics like a single coil. good punch on small strings.

[@justinpaquette224]

I often raise all the poles on my neck pickups, because I like how it sounds

[@TwangTen]

Thanks for such a thorough video! You recommend starting with all the pole pieces just above the cover and flat, with no radius. I will try this. For whatever reason, I always tried to match the radius then adjust from there.

[@p2curtis]

I like seeing the process, but I have a difficult time hearing many of the differences in tone and volume in the video. I've been looking at videos to try and help me with adjusting a mini humbucker in the neck and balancing with a tele bridge. Very informative demo, thank you.

[@MrParkerfly1]

Thank you for taking the time to provide this excellent and detailed video. I’m going to get right on this with my guitars.

[@cheycasters]

Thanks man!!!! Shalom from Flathead Lake MONTANA USA!!

[@ijamsum]

I found the volume needs to be cranked up a bit so you can feel and hear the clarity or out of control tones that the sound is blurred and lose all clarity ! Strumming will help you also just so you can hear it out of control totally ! Then your normal playing style you stay with will tell you how dynamic or weak some notes become , then adjust the height up on the pickup just before it becomes less clear sounding but still strong or lower the height when it sounds to blurred or the notes glare to be harsh ! Slide players will set the height to suit there touch and style of tones they seek and tend to play with pickups nearly full volume !

[@abhinavguitar]

Very useful tips on pickup height adjustment.. helped me to finally adjust the pickup heights on my HH mustang and SSS Strat according to my needs.. thank you so much!

[@Oscarhobbit]

Thank you for using metric mm. I am based in Northern Ireland in the UK. You don't know how many videos I watched to get a metric setup. I was never taught imperial measurements at school.

[@Neil.Swinnerton]

I'm in Scotland. A simple formula for metric to USA conversion: 1.6mm = 1/16th inch. 0.8mm = 1/32 inch. 0.4mm = 1/64 inch.

[@underworld3721]

Nice tooltips here on the paf; take care and be safe.

[@Jeronimo.67]

This is soooo typical of what I go though with final setup, but it gets easier after you train your ears and get more experience with a lot of different guitars and setups. And then the next day your ears have "changed" and you do it all over again. Anything to get that sweet spot. I think a lot of players swap pickups out without really mastering this simple but somewhat time consuming detail. I have adjusted a lot of 100 dollar pickup sets and they sound great with the correct setup.

[@diego2246]

Why did it take me so long to get to this video? Now I can properly set the pickup heights knowing what to go after, and not to just “use your ears” as everyone says. Thank you sooo much!!!

[@Stringprodigy]

Why wouldn’t you use your ears? Lmao

[@diego2246]

It is important to use your ears, but it works best when you know what you are after.

[@dtrietsch]

Thanks for your help! Made my LP go from ‘meh’ to awesome!

[@TheAhirishman]

I enjoy watching you and the way you explain it is so easy to follow. Thank you and Merry Christmas to you

[@davidallen346]

Sometimes when u lower the neck pickup on a les paul too much u begin to lose to volume and bridge pickup seems to be louder, so u really have to go by ears to have a suitable preference to ur playing style. Seeing the way u adjust those pickups can make someone slightly mad or OCD

[@treatb09]

people don't realize how important pickup position is to tone. i decided to lower my neck pickup. i found a nice airy tone, but you have to get it just right. any bit of turn for heigh adjustment ruins it. so damn sensitive.

[@Weltrekorder]

This is finally everything i wanted to know about this ! Best you can find in the whole damned big Internet Many thanks , perfect ! and i never, ever write comments.....

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

What's the view on using steel screwdriver on magnetized polepieces? I tried my slot driver on a fine needle and it picked it right up ...

[@dylanmason4620]

That’s crazy. Gibson factory has a method and specs for pickups high and they are not the same high on the lower E and the high E strings. Check the Gibson channel.For distance between the pickup and the strings this is the easy method as a general rule; BRIDGE: Use a dime for the low E and a penny for the high E. Neck: Nickel for the low E and a penny for the high E. Worked great on my guitar.

[@wesleyAlan9179]

The coin trick...I've been doing that for years. My dad used to play in a band when I was a kid, his lead guitarist taught me the coin trick! Good stuff!

[@mathiasjapri]

Thanks for using Metrics.

[@ruud1955rdg]

Poles crews should be same radius as the neck I have been told and it made sence to me.

[@iamgumbydammit2217]

Except that some strings are much higher output than others due to larger size or core.

[@Vito_Tuxedo]

I chuckled when, after talking about “clarity”, you proceeded to do all the adjustments with the amp settings dialed for distortion. I guess it makes sense if that’s the kind of sound you typically use, but it just struck me as funny. Anyhow, I get the basic concepts, which hopefully should apply with the clean amp settings I use. Thanks for the info!

[@ThroBakChannel]

Lack of clarity becomes most apparent as the tone begins to distort. So if you can get the of note detail you want with distortion you will have plenty of clarity clean. The most important thing is to optimize for your amp tone.

[@Vito_Tuxedo]

I absolutely agree. It makes perfect sense to adjust for the amp tone you typically use. For me, that’s clean; distortion is an effect I add, not a basic sound. I sculpt it as needed to shape it. But we all like different things; the “right” approach is the one that works best for you. 😎

[@3117ss]

How about setting your amp to a CLEAN setting at moderate volume before making adjustments? All that fuzz masks the clarity you seek.

[@ThroBakChannel]

Since note definition is often lost on the low end as the amp breaks up I think an amp at the edge of breakup is the best setting for precise height adjustment.

[@anthonygrilli4919]

Amazing demonstration. Thank you for all your time!

[@alwayswalter]

Thanks. Your video is like being home on a subject somehow threatening for most of us... well for me at least...! great way of illustrating without just saying x.xx her and y.yy there. Loved it

[@Funkymojo75]

Great video and advice. For the neck pickup, it's 4 and a half mm in height or lower and the high E is a hair under 4mm? What about the low E string? I didn't really get it. Thanks...

[@DavidGarcia-pi9wn]

I’m hoping to warm up the bridge pick up of my twin

[@supermanwhereareyounow3081]

I use the ernie ball skinny top heavy bottom which has a thick 6th string I adjust the base line heights and since the 6th string thick the bridge pick up is lop sided..the high e is much lower than the low e..that is ok? my setting become close as yours...

[@stfu5617]

Wow, great video. Super detailed , and very informative. Thanks so much

[@denofearthundertheeverlast5138]

I had a 1971 SG Standard with a walnut finish with black half wing pickguard that was a #2 also, but I finally found out why it was a #2, the block inlays (not trapperzoid's) it had starting on the 1st & 3rd fret were just ever so slightly off square, otherwise it was perfect.

[@Ottophil]

Off square is perfect if you don’t care

[@denofearthundertheeverlast5138]

@@Ottophil Yes, but not for Gibson to sell as a #1, thats the reason it was a #2.

[@olundin]

Thank you for the video! Can the pickup height affect string tension and buzz from the strings?

[@ThroBakChannel]

A PAF or a P90 has minimal pull on the strings compared to a rod magnet pickup like a Stratocaster pickup. Also the bridge pickup has much less impact on string movement than the neck pickup so you can get the bridge pickup much closer to the strings no matter what pickup it is.

[@SeemoreDunkan]

1:51 - is that 2mm from the top or bottom of the string?

[@ThroBakChannel]

Measurements are from the bottom of the string.

[@SeemoreDunkan]

@@ThroBakChannel Thank you! That's what I thought.

[@roddieruddie4545]

I use a drill and set it just like a feeler gauge.

[@markent42]

Great tip - thanks!

[@huskvarsm]

I am just about to buy a set of sle 101 mxv plus for my new les paul 60s neck do I need to change the orange caps inside the wiring cavity.

[@Mark70609]

Thanks for the video, setting up the pickups is often underrated. I tried removing the cover and lowering the screws for the bridge pickup so they were level with the slugs in the outer coil and moving the whole pickup towards the strings. The idea being I wanted to hear more from the slug coil and get a fatter bridge pickup sound. Does this sound feasible? I was surprised you didn't have Gibson Historic, I don't know anything about the heritage guitar so excuse my ignorance. What is the story with Heritage guitar?

[@ThroBakChannel]

That should work. I have 3 Gibson Historic Les Paul’s, an R6, R7 and G0. I switch pickups in and out of these guitars for testing. So from week to week they may have something different.

[@bluecajun2000]

This is a really fantastic video. Such a wealth of information. Thank you for sharing. I'm curious (and maybe I missed it): What amp was used in making this tutorial?

[@ThroBakChannel]

The amp is my modified Matchless Lightning clone I made years ago. This and a Fender Princeton Reverb, also modified for a bit more headroom, are the two amps I always have at the ready to test pickups and pedals.

[@napalmhardcore]

It kind of annoys me when I see comments on videos/posts about setting pickup height saying "I've never used/never use measurements, just set it how it sounds good". Generally speaking, people looking for advice on setting pickup height are inexperienced with setting it and are looking for a neutral/balanced place to start from. They haven't formed an opinion on what sounds "right" or "good". Also, if you've always set your pickup height according to what sounds good to you and have never taken time to try someone else's settings or listen to their explanation of why they set it a particular way, it means you're speaking from a position of ignorance and probably shouldn't be patting yourself on the back about it. For instance, it is intuitive that when you set pickups lower the volume will be lower, but it isn't necessarily intuitive that it will lead to greater clarity. If someone has been setting their pickups and thinking "that sounds good to me" but only been taking into account volume balance, potentially they could have spent years swapping out pickups looking for a set with greater clarity/articulation when all they needed to do was lower their pickups a tad. Yes, taste is subjective, but to a point. If you like what something sounds like, post a video of it and get 400 dislikes and 0 likes, it most likely doesn't sound good in as close to objective terms as is possible. There's probably someone out there that finds the sound of nails on a chalkboard soothing, but due to the overwhelming amount of people that don't feel that way, you can safely make the statement that it objectively isn't a soothing sound. Someone inexperienced with setting pickup height may also not realise problems that can arise when setting the pickup too high. Due to the magnetic pull on the string, it will actually alter the pitch slightly, which for the vast majority of people is undesirable. Without this knowledge and without prior experience, they might think "I really like how fat my pickups sound when I raise them". They might later find they're having what they perceive as an intonation problem and start fruitlessly trying to fix it because they don't know what is causing it.

[@me-bk9er]

haha...ramble on. its all based on your ears and experience

[@lone-wolf-1]

@napalmhardcore Perfectly right!👍🏼

[@osmarkeiroz7304]

Really nice video and good job! And what tip could you give about adjusting p90? On my guitar I can’t leave them with full and warm tone, the sound is very thin too bright for my preference. Should I put the low E side and the high e side and with the same distance in millimeters or the low E side and have to stay lower? Last question: If I place the pickups too close to the strings does that make the tone much lower or higher, thinner or more fat? Thanks

[@ThroBakChannel]

Generally you get the fattest sound from a P-90 by getting the pickup as close to the strings as possible. If you can’t raise the pickup raise the pole screws close to the strings.

[@osmarkeiroz7304]

@@ThroBakChannel Thank you very much for reply, it's a good information and tip!

[@ariesvictorygroup]

My bridge ainico 5 humbucker sounds too open. How can I focus it better? My neck is perfect.

[@yeremiahadi2480]

helo ,how you seting pickup height for hss guitar ?

[@AdrianRP1]

Thanks for the informative video. I thought that you should always adjust your pickup's pole pieces to match the radius of your bridge. Not so?

[@alessandrocerioli2151]

What about adjusting the pole pieces with the same radius of the fingerboard?

[@fabiantorres9613]

I 'll would like to set my gibson like slash. Can you give some tips. Grettings. From mexico

[@ThroBakChannel]

I think Slash prefers a long Alnico 2 P.A.F. tone. For that I suggest the ThroBak SLE-101 set.

[@sydalden]

Help, i don't know whats wrong with my guitar, its sound bassy, the output sounds have more bass in it, so what i do is lower the bass on the amp, but i think somethings wrong

[@ThroBakChannel]

Lowering the low string side of the pickup will reduce bass and increase clarity.

[@sydalden]

@@ThroBakChannel thank u so much.

[@TempoDrift1480]

Probably just play bass notes then.

[@joshmuz9018]

Man I have Tom Holmes pickups so an older paf design and maybe outdated. But the neck sounds good, but the bridge sounds like piercing shrill high tone all the time no matter what it hurts my ears. Opposite problem to you I guess haha. Super bright led Paul unplugged though

[@Tiger_RCD]

Thankks a lot ;) VERY EFFICIENT TRICKS PAL

[@frantisca]

Enjoyed your video. Besides volume and tone variation by modifying the pickup height, you also get a different perception of overtones and harmonics by playing chords. I have 3 main guitars with humbuckers that I have worked on quite a lot to achieve satisfying results. Question: is the slight buzz normal when releasing contact from your hands on the strings ? I thought it was a grounding problem as 2 out of the 3 guitars don't have it… or is it coming from the pickups ? Unpotted ? Asymmetrical bobbins ? Or else magnet orientation ? Shielding ? I can live with it but it bothers me now and then to hear that slight buzz when I release the grip, or having to zero the volume pot to avoid it. I found a way around it by keeping my settings and using a volume pedal. Just curious to know ;-) Thank you for enlightening me ! Cheers

[@StephenWhite55]

The basic phenomenon you're experiencing is caused by your body being a moderately-effective antenna: when you touch the guitar's strings (which should be connected to the guitar's ground-plane), you are connecting your body to ground, which drastically reduces it's effectiveness as an antenna - this causes the reduction in induced hum that you've noticed. Not all circuits are equally sensitive to this induced noise - for example, thoroughly shielded control-cavities usually causes a substantial reduction in this hum, when you are not touching the guitar's strings (as well as reducing hum somewhat, at all times). Also, some 'active' pickups (EMG, for example) have built-in hum-cancelling circuitry, specifically to avoid these problems... Also, the simpler the control circuitry in the instrument, the less noise will be picked up. (a single-pickup, volume-control -only "Van Halen' style guitar will always be less noisy, because there's not much in there, to act as an antenna...) I hope this helps; Stephen White

[@g405t]

Can you get a looper pedal and loop the notes you're playing then take note of the height. This way you can hear how it sounds compared to the new adjustment, then if new adjustment sounds better then loop that then repeat, or does the looper lose sound when it records?

[@e.tienne6600]

Great and convincing demo, thanks for sharing. There was a point where I felt you found Oscar ;-) I am curious about the pole screws , I remember reading (Duchaussoir’s) that McCarty was saying the poles screws were very important for the p90 but just for decorum on the HB. Also what is you amp?

[@ThroBakChannel]

The original P.A.F. design had no pole screw but they were added at the suggestion of the sales staff. The do have an impact on the tone of a P.A.F.. The amp is a Matchless lightning clone I made years ago. I modified it to have a little more headroom.

[@e.tienne6600]

ThroBak Guitar Lounge thanks ! Your paf and a Vox-y amp: Oscar!

[@vincentsantiago2gmai]

Can you make a video clean sound with neck and bridge

[@ThroBakChannel]

That is a good idea. I’ll put it on the list.

[@DSTheEngineer86]

Hey Throbak, Thanks for all the instructional/informational videos about pickups! The real question for me is how do you get a humbucker to sound as close to a PAF on a real "burst"? IMO, this sound is characterized as very woody, very very "airy", on both clean and overdriven sounds, and on top of that very thick and creamy on overdriven sounds, especially on the neck pickup. To put things in context, I have a 2018 Gibson Custom Shop 58' Les Paul Standard with Custombuckers (AlNiCo 3's), and I think it doesn't quite nail the "burst" sound, but it might... What do you think? Thanks a lot!

[@ThroBakChannel]

We regularly get contacted by customers that want to replace Custom Buckers. Alnico 3 is not my preference for classic Burst tone.

[@WesleyWattley-xy4fg]

What pick up do you suggest? Please UK artist ​@ThroBakChannel

[@zowenso]

Do you have a video on how you adjust the pole screws? Thanks.

[@ThroBakChannel]

Not yet. It’s a great idea for a future video.

[@zowenso]

ThroBak Guitar Lounge That would be cool, because you guys really break this whole pickup thing down and it’s helpful. Look forward to it.

[@jemrecycling]

A newbie question. . . Does the pickup cover rise and fall along with the adjustments you make when adjusting pickup height?

[@josephf.a.5740]

No, the pickup adjustment screws are not the same screws that hold the trim ring to the body

[@ThroBakChannel]

The poles screws are separate from the cover. The cover is soldered to the baseplate and does not move.

[@jemrecycling]

That's kinda what I thought. Had a string touching the cover and didn't want to mess with the pickup height until I knew what was going on. I adjusted the bridge to correct the problem. Thanks for responding.

[@walshy2116]

Must the pickup always remain parallel to the strings? And do you ever start this and get sort of mixed up and start over lol? I can see me muddying everything up to the point I wish I had a reset button 😀 and what are you playing through? I’m sure it’s a tube but what effects and/or amp etc? Thanks so much

[@ThroBakChannel]

The amp is a Matchless Lightning clone. Ideally you want the pickup parallel to the strings but that is not always possible. If you make adjustments in small increments it helps keep you on track.

[@evanabbott2737]

ThroBak Guitar Lounge thank you, my pickups keep slanting towards each other...no matter how I raise or lower them. Do I need to take them out of the guitar and take a closer look?😬🙏

[@lone-wolf-1]

Evan Abbott Try with some foam under the pickups, cut a 2-2,5 cm thick foam to the size of the pickups and just place it under the pickups😊

[@evanabbott2737]

Axy-dent-ly 67 thanks, I’ll try it. It’s always bothers me...👍

[@ryans9029]

@@evanabbott2737foam works, but you must install, cut, reinstall, adjust, a few times to get it right. You can also bend the pickup height screw slightly, and it will rock the pickup back and forth a you turn it. Some guys bend the tabs on the pickup itself, but imo, there's no reason to risk the pickup in anyway when the same thing can be accomplished with the.screw itself. Screws are much easier and cheaper to replace. Gibsons are notorious for leaning pickups.

[@vincentsantiago2gmai]

I wish you have Gibson studio guitar 🎸 and show the MM from the neck and bridge high and using a Roland JC120 amp or Fender twin amp

[@ThroBakChannel]

The process for an LP Studio is the same. If you play mainly clean you might want the neck pickup a little closer to the strings.

[@vincentsantiago2gmai]

Like 1 1/2 mm or 2mm from treble side ?

[@pepebvelez]

I saw this PRS special 22 that has the neck pickup flipped. The screws are closer to the bridge instead of the neck. Do you have an idea why they did this ?! Thanks

[@TheForce_Productions]

Because that PRS must probably had not it original pickups. When you change the pups to a PRS you need to flip the magnet and the wiring of one of them in order to keep it classical sounds and the layout of the pups screw sides as you spect (bridge facing bridge and neck facing neck). If you don't want to mess up with your new pups, well you'll got to place them just like the way you saw in that guitar. Cheers.

[@Joey.Darkwoods-Studio]

Thank you Sir! This is a great tutorial!

[@TexanUSMC8089]

Why not adjust the pickup until you get the high that you liked, then raise the poles on the low end?

[@walshy2116]

Great info and thank you for this very much. You’re a wealth of info!

[@thegolfnut812]

What can you tell me about a Gibson Les Paul "G" string going flat. Any suggestions to fixing this problem?

[@ThroBakChannel]

This can usually be fixed with a properly cut nut.

[@thegolfnut812]

I've had a luthier make some adjustments but it didn't really fix the problem. I'm looking into changing the tuners. I've had comments that helped. Frustrating because I don't have that problem on any of my other guitars, only the LP.

[@DavideRuggerini]

does pole screws affect brightness?

[@ThroBakChannel]

Yes. Search our youtube channel for our video about pole screws.

[@97warlock]

yO U can turn the screws & not ruin the pickup? never knew that. - btw, Does have a PAF COvered picup sound more muffled than a Non covered one?

[@rawmusicreviews]

why are you setting paf pups with an overdriven amp, instead of a clean one?

[@ThroBakChannel]

Adjusting the amplifier to edge of breakup allows the pickup height to be adjusted to where you can get a clean tone with a lighter pick attack.

[@grooooved]

Thanks! What's the average neck profile on the 67/68 335's? Thick or thin?

[@KozmykJ]

I like the way you go about explaining things. I first discovered you through your string winding machine vids. I set up much the same way. I've found that some humbuckers sound a little dull or flat. With those, I lower the pickup a bit then raise the pole pieces, most of them at least. Maybe pickup down 1mm and poles up 1mm to start with. Adds brightness and chords sound like there are more harmonics coming through. I've tried some techy methods as well; meter measuring voltage output and also matching strings using an oscilloscope. I watch for both peak deflection and envelope size and shape. Have to make a lot of readings on scope because you can't hit the string exactly the same strength every time. Scoping matches output string to string within one pickup quite well but doesn't seem to work well between pickups. The different pickups' envelope shape and content can give wildly different volume for very similar looking scope traces. I don't often resort to the techy methods unless there's a particular thing I'm trying for.

[@georyans]

I would like your opinion on original paf pickups when some original 57 gibsons are played with original pickups the guitar sounds bright I've found being an EE that magnets loose their strength over time and with pickups that usually means a lack of bass I think those magnets should be re magnetized what do you think?

[@Fenderlover1992]

Any advice for adjusting pickups and pole pieces on sg standard with pickups mounted in pick guard

[@ThroBakChannel]

I would use the same method.

[@RavenMadd9]

Thank you Jon

[@danielmcanulty1562]

Thanks, this is a really helpful video, I appreciate the thoroughness and patience!

[@UncleBillyBob732]

Thanks!

[@THOMANDTHEWOLVES]

Thanks for this great video! How high do you set your Humbucker Sized P90s? Just got yours! :)

[@ThroBakChannel]

Use the same method for humbucker sized P90’s.

[@sneifert1968]

At 2mm unfretted, how close would the string be when fretting at say the 20 th fret. I would guess it’s almost touching. I’ve read Gibson spec has height measured with the strings fretted at the last fret.

[@ThroBakChannel]

There is very little strings travel near the bridge so it really is not an issue. However if you hit the strings hard they may slap against the covers. It gives a distinct metallic tone that many players like. You can even see string marks on vintage P.A.F. pickup covers due to this. But the best thing to do is to test for yourself and see how close you like the pickups to the strings!

[@profile1251]

how do you deal with unpotted PAF pups when having a vocal monitor aimed at you ? microphonic feedback is making it necessary to go back to potted pups

[@ThroBakChannel]

This has not been my experience and I gig with monitors regularly and with unpotted pickups.

[@profile1251]

@@ThroBakChannel even with moderate gain and a loud stage you dont have microphonic related issues?> whats your secret?

[@ThroBakChannel]

The pickups are assembled properly with ThroBak repro parts that fit together perfectly.

[@profile1251]

@@ThroBakChannel Care to share your opinion on DImarzios 59 PAF?

[@ThroBakChannel]

I never played or owned a set so I really can’t give an educated opinion.

[@stanesposito2664]

How do you set up the tone controls on the amp?

[@SamJosephMedia]

Great video Very informative Thanks

[@guitarfreak585]

Is it possible to lower the neck pickup, especially a particularly low output one, to the point that you're losing clarity? I've got a set of Bare Knuckle Mules in a PRS that's giving me issues. Bridge sounds great, neck is aaaaaaall bass.

[@vladimirerfan7721]

Try lowering the poll pieces on the bass side.

[@LPCustom3]

Jon; I love the fast motion bits.. kinda like old movies.. DB BTW, coming to NAMM again in 2019? Pyramid's going to have a booth this next year.

[@ThroBakChannel]

I’ll be at NAMM, I’ll stop by and say hi!

[@jerbear1601]

Les Paul neck pickups are usually too boomy and I think a pickup with less bass and more mids and highs is a solution.

[@ThroBakChannel]

A neck pickup with more mids and less bass can still be boomy if adjusted too high.

[@jerbear1601]

@@ThroBakChannel Oh yeah, for sure but some sound too bassy even if you back them off and then when they are backed off too far they lose tone and level in every range.

[@TheChadPad]

Dimarzio Super 2!

[@allanreeling1067]

It's all very interesting but I'm struggling to understand the concept of finding the tone and clarity, you want, by setting the pickups and the poles with open strings. Surely, as soon as you start fretting chords that string to pickup relationship will change again. i.e., as you play further up the fretboard, the string to pole distance reduces.

[@MrShadowofthewind]

Have you tried matching the radius of the strings with the polescrews ?

[@ThroBakChannel]

I have. I find that adjusting to the radius doesn’t address individual string output any better than starting with them flat.

[@MrShadowofthewind]

@@ThroBakChannel Huh, i've had great results using it.

[@ThroBakChannel]

I used to ship all pickups with the poles radiused. But ultimately you end up lowering many of the pole screws. I find that starting flat and raising individual poles works best.

[@paisteplayer1040]

Real simple.. Put them where they sound best to you

[@jerbear1601]

It really does depend on your style, sound type and the pickups you are using but I find so many people set their pickups way too high and its like yelling into a close vocal mic. On my Les Paul I ended up with about 4mm neck and 3mm bridge open string using ears and not measurements to judge.

[@BillLarkinmusic]

Nice advice thank you.

[@abetteryou2025]

when you making these adjustments. Whats your amp settings at?

[@ThroBakChannel]

I like to have the amp set on the edge of breakup so that you can get a little crunch with pick attack.