So, how do you "normal" people set your pickup height?

Trick Dave taught me. Go to a clean channel and adjust your pups height to where the strings start to sound distorted. Then back them off just a smidge. To equalize the volume/attack on some strings raise the pole pieces up a bit. Rinse and repeat. Works great for me.

I put them close, then back off once the wolf tones disappear.

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I've never measured. Just bring a screwdriver with you to practice, and adjust as needed until you find your sound.

Screw it till it sounds good. Awww yeah.

I usually gradually move them higher until I can really hear the sustain being killed, then I back them up a hair. Then if there are strings that are obviously louder or quieter than the others, I adjust pole pieces accordingly.

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mesh said:

Trick Dave taught me. Go to a clean channel and adjust your pups height to where the strings start to sound distorted. Then back them off just a smidge. To equalize the volume/attack on some strings raise the pole pieces up a bit. Rinse and repeat. Works great for me.

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The distortion Mesh is speaking of is a harsh "skronk" sound that is hard to describe, but instantly recognizable if youget the pickups to close to the strings. I always measure from the highest fret on the guitar, one string at a time.

I don't :lol:

When I put my pickups in, I just sort of screw it in until I feel like they're going to be sitting down far enough. When I string up, the height usually works. Not the optimal method, but hey, I'm lazy.

For passives i find the optimal is about 3mm away on the bridge and then i adjust the neck accordingly.

EMGs and other actives have a weaker magnetic field so need to be a fair bit closer.

The best way to do it is to get as close as possible then adjust away until the bad overtones are gone and you get your desired punch/clarity

I tweak it until it sounds right, basically :shrug:

The genious previous owner of my Omen 7 has screwed the bridge pickup straight into the body... :nuts:

Going to see if I can remount it on the pickup ring so I can use this useful setup tip.

7 Strings of Hate said:

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fuckin' lol'd. :rofl:

stuh84 said:

Screw it till it sounds good. Awww yeah.

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that's what I do :quagmire:

I keep my bridge pickup high enough in that the tone is nice but not too harsh and distorted, and low enough in that it doesn't get in the way when I'm picking. My neck pickup I tend to have much lower, because I like the smooth tone you get from that. Actives tend to be a bit lower as they are higher output (Which oddly is the opposite to what you are seeming to find). Just tweak as you find necessary, all depends on your playing style, the power of the pickup etc.

osiris said:

The genious previous owner of my Omen 7 has screwed the bridge pickup straight into the body... :nuts:

Going to see if I can remount it on the pickup ring so I can use this useful setup tip.

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That's called direct mount, and I for one actually enjoy my pickups that way

MFB said:

That's called direct mount, and I for one actually enjoy my pickups that way

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:agreed: I like direct mount too!

I believe people who prefer pickup ring mounting are in the minority, anyway.

Randy said:

I believe people who prefer pickup ring mounting are in the minority, anyway.

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TAKE THAT PICKUP RING FANS!